making fruits and vegetables convenient

Are some of you looking for a simple method of making fruits and veggies more convenient for you and your family?  This is what I do
to keep healthy foods the first and easiest choice in our home.

 When I return home from the market the first thing I do is restock our "cold storage pantry" (aka: the unheated laundry room).  This room stays cool so it is the perfect place to store fruit!  To store the fruit I put low, flat baskets lined with dish towels on top of our wood storage shelves that are just the right height for the kids to help themselves. 

I fill them with apples (several varieties), pears, citrus fruits - oranges, grapefruit, lemons and limes (for juicing), bananas, mangoes, pomegranates and other in season fruit.

The other day my son had a friend over so I asked them if they would like some fruit for a snack.  I had to laugh when I heard the boy open the laundry room door and exclaim,

"Oh wow this is SOOO cool!" 

I thought about it afterwards and thought that it must have looked like a grocery store to him and he could have whatever he wanted!

Next I fill up the sink and toss all of the vegetables in to soak.   I like to have the produce prewashed so it's ready to use from the fridge.  Washing everything right away all together saves water and time.

 Then I grab my glass containers, compost bin, chopping board, knife and peeler and I'm ready to start chopping!

 The entire routine of washing, prepping, chopping all of this produce, and clean up only took me half an hour.

Less time than it takes to bake a batch of cookies!

Here's what we have:

Back:  cherry tomatoes, orange wedges, jicama strips, pineapple chunks

Front:  cauliflower flourettes, sliced cucumber, colourful bell peppers

After all of my hard work I treated myself to some fresh made juice!

 

 1 apple + 2 carrots + 1/4 lime = 1 glass of the most delicious apple carrot lime juice (minus the 2 sips missing!) 

 

Having lots of raw food choices that can be quickly made into
 ~ veggie and dip plates 
~ packed in to lunches or
~ used in the juicer 
makes it our fast food!
What do you keep in the fridge?

~ joey ~ 

Shared with:
Frontier Dreams - Keep Calm Craft On
 Like Mama~Like Daughter - Eco-Kids Tuesday
 Seasons of Joy - Waldorf Wednesday
 Made in a Day
 Brighton Park - Tender Moments with Toddlers and Preschoolers
 Natural Suburbia - Creative Friday
The Magic Onions - Friday's Nature Table
 The Pistachio Project - Simply Natural Saturdays