This post is sponsored by Rubbermaid FreshWorks
Salads are my go-to lunch all summer long. And you guys know I tend to get a little crazy with toppings! No two salads of mine are ever the same. I usually include a base of greens, some kind of homemade dressing, a few vegetables, a crunchy topping, and a cheese. And most of the time I’ll add a protein on top – salmon or chicken leftover from dinner, a fried egg, a No Bull Burger, or whatever I have on hand to make it a meal.
I’ve partnered with Rubbermaid FreshWorks just in time for National Salad Month (May) to showcase a week’s worth of lunch salads. Their FreshWorks Produce Savers are designed to keep produce fresher longer than when stored in original store packaging or open in your fridge. The FreshVent in the lid regulates airflow to create the optimal environment for produce, and the CrispTray at the bottom keeps your produce from sitting in moisture and also increases airflow to help reduce spoilage. FreshWorks comes in a variety of sizes – even a long one designed for asparagus! And the collection is dishwasher safe (score).
I did a little experiment to test out the technology and split asparagus, green beans, raspberries, and arugula between FreshWorks and original packaging. Here they were on day 1 looking nice and vibrant!
I did a check in at the 4-day mark and everything still seemed to be doing OK. But by 7 days there was a noticeable difference between the original packages and the produce in FreshWorks. The main difference was the firmness of the produce. Nothing went rotten on me, but the asparagus that was loose in my fridge was totally floppy compared to the crisp and straight FreshWorks stalks. The green beans in a bag were floppy and getting slimy, but the ones stored in the FreshWorks were still firm and dry. Same with the arugula – it hadn’t spoiled in the bag yet, but the FreshWorks arugula was crisper. The raspberries seemed to be about the same to me.
I am certain had I given these all another week the bagged ones would have spoiled first.
Aside from the produce longevity, the produce savers are also great to keep your fridge organized! Having all of my produce in matching see-through containers reminded me of the fruit bowl effect – you will eat what you can see. And I definitely ate a lot of salad last week!
So what kinds of salads did I make? Here they are! Unless otherwise noted, I used my basic homemade dressing (olive oil, white wine vinegar, dijon, honey, lemon, salt and pepper). And often I added some leftover protein on top or had a Greek yogurt on the side, but for simplicity’s sake, I photographed them only as the base salads.
Farmer’s Salad
Arugula, green beans, asparagus, tomatoes, strawberries, walnuts, feta
Feeling Fruity
Arugula, strawberries, raspberries, goat cheese, almonds
Massaged Kale
Kale, sesame soy dressing, avocado, tomatoes
Greek
Romaine, cucumber, tomato, olives, feta
Bruschetta
Tomatoes, basil, goat cheese, balsamic, olive oil served with toasted sourdough
Herb Blast
Arugula, dill, basil, strawberries, olives, avocado
Clean Out The Fridge (Obviously #7!)
Every ingredient you have left on hand!
Thanks to Rubbermaid FreshWorks for inspiring this post. #LongLiveProduce
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says
That’s awesome, I’ve never food prepped salad days in advance before! They look super fresh (and delicious!) 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Heather R says
I love these containers! They do just what you said! They are perfect
Pauline says
Hey Kath, tomatoes should best not be stored in the fridge, they lose their flavor quickly :-). Just my 2 cents!
KathEats says
I wouldn’t store an heirloom in there but haven’t noticed any detriment to the little grape tomatoes which otherwise go bad on me fast.
Pauline says
p.s: https://gizmodo.com/why-storing-tomatoes-in-the-fridge-is-a-bad-idea-1787928573
Shana says
I’m impressed with these containers! It is not realistic for me to make multiple trips to the store during the week for fresh produce, and I’m more likely to want produce that looks appetizing so it helps a lot if it lasts a week in the fridge. Great post!
Andrea says
I love the asparagus picture. It convinced me that I need these!
Pauline says
ok! In my experience the little ones (and I only buy those) last around 10 days before they go bad, so I don’t buy so many of them. It’s just a big difference in taste, I compared storing them in the fridge and on the counter and the counter definitely made the race regarding to the best taste :-).
Jessica says
I LOVE this post.
Colleen says
I don’t know, it seems like they take up a lot of space in the refrigerator and I’d be certain to lose all those inserts and lids.
Sally says
I really want these!
Linds says
I always seem to struggle with good salad combos. Thanks for posting these delicious looking mini-recipies. They’re great inspiration!
Laurie says
I totally want this entire collection. I love having my fridge ultra-organized (I have soda and wine holders and pull out plastic baskets). To be able to portion out the veggies and have them stay crisper/longer is just awesome. Thank you for sharing!!
Linda @ the Fitty says
Oh my gosh I would love these in BLUE!
Kelly says
Love this! One of my New Years Resolutions was to have less food waste so I love anything that adds an extra couple days to the life of my veggies!
Denise says
They are pricey, but they more than make up for it by abating food loss!
Jeanie says
They look beautiful!
Katelyn says
A friend of mine and I were just talking about these containers last week! I cut up a carton of strawberries, and after being in my fridge for less than a week, they were getting mushy and sticking together. I always wondered if these were worth the cost. Have you tried them with strawberries? I’m curious if they make a big difference with them since you mentioned the raspberries seemed about the same after your 4-day test. Love all your salad combinations! I’m going to try some different ingredients. For me, no salad is complete without avocado and onions 🙂
KathEats says
I think you significantly shorten the shelf life if you wash or slice produce before eating it. Which is unfortunate because that makes so much sense to do! I have been putting strawberries in them since getting the containers, and I haven’t had any go soggy on me, but I haven’t done any more experiements.
Simone says
I´m a huge fan of meal prepping too. I usually do my prepping session on Sunday and prepare for the week. That makes it easier for me to stay on track with healthy food. My favorite right now is carrot ginger soup 🙂 It´s easy to make and it also tastes great without heating it up. At work, I´m always the one who comes with a lot of containers of food.
And you can definitely see a difference in using cheap containers or quality containers. The food stays fresh for longer in the quality containers.