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To: goodwithagun

Absolutely.

The trick is to start with dry produce. If your lettuce is wet from the misters, blot it w/a paper towel and let it sit out until dry. I will use a towel in-store, wrap and tuck some inside the head (I use red-leaf lettuce). Your paper towel is only damp, so let it dry out and it can be re-used for cleaning.

Wrap the dried lettuce in a dry paper towel, insert in Green Bag and just close the bag loosely and store in your veggie bin. I have the humidity control on my produce bins set slightly dry of the medium mark. Wash the leaves as you use them. If the towel becomes wet in storage, replace it with a dry one. All that is on the towel is moisture, so, again, you can let it dry out and re-use it for cleaning. Your dirty floor won’t care.

Do not even try this with pre-packaged salad mix. They rot much sooner than head lettuce, no matter what you do.

For peppers, cukes, even apples: while whole, place in Green Bag with a dry towel in the bag and roll loosely closed. When you go to use the veggie, slice off what you will use and re-wrap the cut piece. Rinse the piece you are going to use and use as you wish. Replace towel on cut item if it gets too wet. Color may bleed from a red pepper, for example, but it will still be re-usable for cleaning. If you completely wrap the cut edge of a cuke or an apple, it will dry out slightly. and will need to be thinly sliced away before reaching a usable portion.

For grapes and berries, I put the entire vented bag/box into the Green Bag and add a towel, close loosely. Take out what you need and wash only those pieces.

I place tomatoes on a side counter with the entire container, if cherries,in the Green Bag. I take out what I will use and wash those. Sometimes tomatoes will grow a dry white mold. If you catch this early, you can just rinse it off, dry the tomatoes or let them air dry on a plate, return to the Green Bag and they are all fine for use and there is no harm to the tomatoes or to you. I never refrigerate tomatoes.

Green Bags can be reused. Rinse well and dry completely after first use. You can tell if they are still good if the color is still bright. Also, the zeolite that is the working ingredient on the inside of the bag (molecular sieve that traps ethylene) feels grainy on a usable bag. When the bag is lighter in color and the inside is smooth to the touch, it is done as a produce protector, but it is still usable as a plain old storage bag.

I have used the Debbie Meyer Bags, as well as some cheaper brands, like Brawney (sp?). They all work. The Debbie Meyer ones are more expensive and _may_ be superior, but they are not always available and the off brands can be 1/2 the price.


67 posted on 12/31/2010 12:37:52 PM PST by reformedliberal
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To: reformedliberal
Wonderful! Will definitely give them a try! LOL, you sound a lot like me. The rare occasions we eat out is at Sandella’s which is very healthy. They always put too many paper napkins in the bag, so I use them for cleaning. My husband just laughs, but he knows that every little bit helps!
70 posted on 12/31/2010 1:48:25 PM PST by goodwithagun (My gun has killed fewer people than Ted Kennedy's car.)
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