102 | How To Keep Green Beans Fresh for Longer – Simple Produce-Stretching Hacks!

My husband once told me that it’s getting too expensive to eat plant-based, mainly because he saw the rising prices of plant-based milks at our local grocery store. But then I started to list some of many other ways we were saving money eating this way. What I didn’t get to tell him, though, was this: there are also lots of strategies that can be used when buying plant-based foods to stay on budget, and smart hacks to help extend your fresh produce and minimize food wastage. These will stretch your shopping dollars so you can save more money in the long run!

 

So how do you do that with green beans? In this episode, I’ll share the results of an experiment I did last Fall to figure out the best ways to store green beans after bringing them home from the store, so you can get the most out of them with less waste. So, if you want to learn one smart way to make eating plant-based on a budget doable…even with rising food prices, join me on the inside!

 

 

Join -> www.plantnourished.com/ppltcourse

Contact -> [e-mail]

Learn -> www.plantnourished.com

Connect in the Facebook Community -> www.bit.ly/pbdietsuccess

Apply -> Free Rapid Health Transformation Call: https://bit.ly/plantnourished

Free Resource -> Quick Start Grocery Guide for Plant-Based Essentials: www.plantnourished.com/groceryguide

 

 

Have a question about plant-based diets that you would like answered on the Plant Based Eating Made Easy Podcast? Send it by email ([e-mail]) or submit it by a voice message here: www.speakpipe.com/plantnourished [Plant Based, Plantbased Diet, Plant-Based Budget Tips, Less Food Waste, Smart Produce Hacks, Grocery Tips, Save Money, Budget Eating, Money Saver Tips]

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
Many people think that eatinga plant-based diet will be too
expensive, so they don't doit, or give up soon afterwards.
But eating plant-based can be enjoyableand cost saving, if you know what money
saving tips and strategies to use.
So how do you do that with green beans?
I'm excited to share that with you today.

(00:24):
In, this episode, I'll tell you aboutthe results of an experiment I did
last fall to figure out best way tostore green beans after bringing them
back from the store, so you can getthe most out of them with less waste.
So if you want to learn one smartway to make eating plant-based on
a budget possible, even with risingfood prices, join me on the inside!

(00:51):
Welcome to the Plant BasedEating Made Easy Podcast.
I'm your host, Anna Tseng, plant-basedRegistered Dietitian and Transition Coach.
Hi Friend, do you want to regain yourhealth with plant-based eating but feel
overwhelmed and lost about how to do it?
Do you feel it'll be hard to changeyour meat-heavy diet and impossible

(01:11):
with working, running the home,or chasing after the grandkids?
If so, you're in the right place.
Here you'll find simple strategies,clear nutrition guidance and
practical tips to help you thriveplant-powered with more energy.
So, if you're ready to ditchthe guesswork and transform
your health the stress-free way.
Cozy up now with a hot cup of tea orlisten while you walk and let me show

(01:34):
you how doable plant-based eating can be.
Let's do this!
For many, knowing how to store freshproduce is an art and skill learned
through experience and from advicegathered from family and friends.
Well, I am no different.
It's something I've learnedmuch about already, but that

(01:57):
I'm still learning about.
What makes it more challenging isthe fact that different produce have
different storing preferences, and thatthere are so many fruits and vegetables
out there in the plant-based world.
A year or two ago, I was at thestore and saw green beans on sale.
I was ecstatic because oneof my daughter's favorite

(02:18):
vegetables is green beans.
So I picked a bunch of deliciouslooking fresh and slender green
beans, put them into a storeplastic bag and brought them home.
Then I chucked this bag intothe produce drawer in the fridge
and promptly forgot about them.
Life was busy and I was trying to use upother expiring fresh produce at the time.

(02:42):
Well, imagine my shock a week laterwhen I rediscovered this bag at
the bottom of the produce drawer.
They were still in the clear groceryplastic bag, but the inside of the bag was
moist and wet, and some of the green beansnow had a bit of white fuzzy mold on them.
I was so disappointed at myselffor letting this happen and

(03:04):
for not cooking them sooner.
I couldn't believe I had now wasted moneyand missed out on the full enjoyment
of these green beans as a result.
Though I managed to salvage abouthalf of the green beans that day and
cooked them up immediately, I wasstill disappointed and frustrated
at myself for not using them soonerand for not storing them better.

(03:27):
Have you had an experience like this?
Well, after that incident, I wasdefinitely more careful with my
future store-bought green beans.
I even spent time online, lookingat blogs and help articles to figure
out a better storing solution.
But most of the advice I foundwasn't very helpful and didn't

(03:48):
work, at least not in my case.
The advice from many web articles wasjust to put the green beans into a
bag and to store them in the fridge.
Well, that definitely didn't work forme, because I found the green beans just
gathered moisture within the bag fromall the condensation forming on them,
even though I had put them in the producedrawer at the bottom of the fridge.

(04:11):
That's why, out of frustration, I setout on a mission a few months ago to
figure it out myself, once and for all,what the best ways were to help the
green beans I buy stay in good condition.
So let me tell you what I did and theresults, so you can use these smart
produce-stretching hacks yourself.

(04:33):
This is what I did.
Last fall, I purposely bought and broughthome a bunch of fresh green beans, even
though it was expensive at the time.
But I still bought them becauseI was on a mission to help not
just our family but those in myCommunity, meaning you as well.

(04:54):
So I brought a bunch of freshgreen beans home and then cut
off any already decaying ends.
Then, I split the green beans intofive smaller bunches and put them in
different experimental conditions.
For the first bunch, I only wrapped themin a piece of paper towel, then put the
whole thing in a sealed plastic bag.

(05:15):
For the second bunch, I rolledthe green beans up in a sheet of
newspaper and taped the end part soit held together into a neat package.
For the third bunch, I wrapped asmall bunch of green beans up in a
piece of paper towel, then wrappedthe whole thing in newspaper.
For the fourth bunch, I wrappedthe green beans up in a piece of

(05:35):
newspaper, and then put the newspaperpackage in a zip plastic bag.
And finally, for the fifth bunch, Iwashed them, then patted them dry,
before wrapping them up tightlyin plastic wrap, and popping
this fifth bundle in the freezer.
I know, I know, I went a littleoverboard, but I wanted to be

(05:56):
thorough in this experiment.
You may be wondering,why all these layers?
It's because I knew, from past failedattempts, that green beans love to
stay dry, so I was trying to do my bestto help them do that in the fridge.
The results?
Well, after 10 days of being untouchedin the fridge and freezer, I took these

(06:20):
bunches out, opened the packages, andexamined them, and this is what I found.
For test number one, with thebunch wrapped in a piece of paper
towel and then in a plastic bag,it did not work well at all.
In fact, this might have beenthe worst of the bunches tested.
The paper towel was moist andin it the beans had turned

(06:43):
all moldy with decaying ends.
All of those green beansgot tossed in the trash.
For Group number two, the ones wrappedin newspaper, they fared better.
The green beans had stayed dryand there was just a tiny bit
of mold on the tip of one bean.
But lots of brown spots haddeveloped on the beans, so they

(07:05):
didn't look very appetizing.
I was, however, able to salvage 10out of 30 green beans that were decent
looking, so that would be a thirdrescued from the bunch, or 33 percent.
The beans in Group 3 werewrapped in a piece of paper
towel and then in newspaper.
The paper towel didn't seem to help much,except perhaps in causing the green beans

(07:29):
to develop slightly less brown spots.
But there also seemed to bea bit more white fuzzy mold
as well on some of the beans.
So out of 21 pieces, I could only salvageabout 6 green beans, which would be
slightly less than that from Group 2.
Group number 4's beans were wrapped ina piece of newspaper, and this bundle

(07:49):
was then placed into a plastic bag.
As it turned out, thiswas not a good idea.
The newspaper had become all softand moist, and then when I opened
the newspaper bundle, I foundthat the green beans inside had
turned mostly moldy, though theydidn't have as many brown spots.
In the end, I could only save a portionfrom 3 pieces out of 16 pieces, so this

(08:15):
is definitely not a good storing option.
And the fifth group thatwent into the freezer?
These came out beautifully in termsof there being no mold or brown spots.
But, of course, as theythawed, they became soft.
So this method will work well ifyou are just planning to throw them
into a soup, casserole, or stew.

(08:38):
Just don't plan to eat them raw.
So here's what I learnedfrom this whole experiment.
Green beans really like to be dry.
So wrapping them in paper towel andputting them into a bag won't work.
Neither will putting them in newspaperand then putting them into a sealed bag.
What seems to work better is to justwrap the dried green beans in newspaper

(09:01):
in a bundle and pop that bundle in theproduce drawer, as this seems to create
a more breathable, drier environment.
But even if you use this method,I would recommend to still use the
stored green beans up within 5 days.
But in all cases, check them over onceyou bring them home from the store,
and snip off any already decayingends first, before storing them away.

(09:25):
Now if you plan to store them forlonger, like for more than 5 days, I
would recommend washing, patting dry,and then freezing the green beans.
This works if you don't plan toeat them raw, but will be cooking
them in some way in the future.
So today we looked at how toget the most out of the fresh
green beans you buy or harvest.

(09:46):
The key is this, green beans like dryness.
So anything you can do to keepthem dry will go a long way
to helping them stay fresh.
Now here's an action step to take.
The next time you go grocery shoppingand decide to bring home a bunch of
fresh green beans, try out one ormore of the produce-stretching hacks

(10:06):
discussed today to make them last longer.
I hope today's episode will help you savemoney through less food wastage so you
can enjoy plant-based eating on a budget.
My husband came to me recently, tellingme that it's getting too expensive to
eat plant-based, mainly due to the risingprice of soy milk and other plant-based

(10:29):
milks at our local grocery store.
It's true that the cost of these milkswas rising, but then I reminded him
of a myriad of other ways that we weresaving money eating this way, such
as buying shelf stable dried beansand whole grains, and not needing to
buy raw meats and other animal-basedfoods that were also rising in prices.

(10:51):
But what I didn't getto tell him was this.
There are also multiple ways to saveat the store when buying plant-based
foods, and easy hacks you can usehome to get the most out of your
produce and minimize food wastage.
These will all go a long way towardsstretching your shopping dollars, so
you can save more money in the long run.

(11:14):
So Friend, if you want to learn how toeat plant-based in ways that won't break
the bank, I invite you to join the onlinePlant-Powered Life Transformation Course.
This six Module online course willteach you the tips and tricks you
need to confidently eat plant-basedon a budget, with tasty, easy-to-make,
yet affordable plant-based recipesusing commonly available ingredients.

(11:39):
You'll walk away not only masteringthe basics of plant-based eating with
practical strategies and essentialskills, but also learn produce-stretching
and money-saving hacks to help youstart and thrive eating plant-powered,
while saving money, time and energy.
Get more details about this Courseat plantnourished.com/ppltcourse

(12:00):
or see the link in the show notes.
Thank you for listening to the PlantBased Eating Made Easy Podcast.
If this podcast has helped you,please take a moment to rate and
leave a written review on theApple Podcast app or on iTunes.
Knowing how this podcast hasmade a difference in your life
never fails to light me up.

(12:22):
I may also select your reviewto be read on this show.
Remember that moving to plant-basedeating can be simple and doable,
even with your existing healthchallenges and busy lifestyle.
If you have a plant-based diet questionyou'd like me to answer on this show,
share that question with me using thecontact options in the show notes.
Thanks for joining me today andI can't wait to connect with

(12:45):
you again in the next episode.
Until next time, keep plant-focusedand thriving, my Friend!