I spend 40 minutes cleaning my fruit and veg to make it last longer – I only have to do a grocery shop every three weeks
A food blogger and mother has revealed her simple routine to ensure her fresh food lasts for weeks, reducing monthly grocery costs and saving time.
Washington resident Amy Cross only has to go grocery shopping every three weeks thanks to an unusual food hack that extends the shelf life of her fresh groceries and reduces food waste.
The 47-year-old shared a clip on Instagram detailing her method for preparing and storing fruits and vegetables to give them the best lifespan. we buy’.
Everything from berries and lettuce to potatoes and peppers are included, and Amy says the process takes 40 minutes.
“I only go grocery shopping once every three weeks,” says food blogger Amy.
Amy Cross only has to go shopping every three weeks thanks to an unusual food hack that keeps fruit and vegetables fresh
Amy cleans and rinses all her fruits and vegetables, and keeps her refrigerator organized to ensure her produce lasts a long time
Amy spends a total of 40 minutes cleaning her fruits and vegetables and then storing them in glass jars to maintain freshness
By being diligent in the way she prepares and stores fresh produce, the food blogger says she saves both time and money by cutting out unnecessary weekly shopping
‘By washing and storing my produce, it stays fresh all the time and we have no food waste.’
Amy shares her simple tips with her 120,000 followers on Instagram (@thecrosslegacy) and on her YouTube channel.
In her recent post, she filmed part of her grocery shopping, explaining how each item was stored for maximum freshness.
The food blogger started by washing the produce in half an hour using bowls and a salad spinner.
She uses a timer set for two minutes to ensure she doesn’t over-soak the fresh food as she multi-tasks washing several items at once.
Thanks to her strict preparation routine, Amy only has to go to the grocery store every three weeks
The entire process takes the food blogger 40 minutes, but it is well worth it to save time and money in the long run
Amy rinses her fruits and vegetables with water and then with white vinegar for a thorough clean
In the video, she started with the roots, rinsing them with tap water and vinegar and rubbing them to remove any last dirt.
She removed the stickers from the lemons and avocados and placed them in a bowl of water to rinse them.
She washed and chopped the tops of the celery to freeze for the stock, while the celery sticks were added to a pot of water and vinegar.
Peppers, lettuce, cucumbers and potatoes were rinsed separately in the same manner.
With onions, Amy said she “listens” to hear if the skin sounds “wrinkled” – an indication that the skin is drying out, in which case she will use it first.
Berries and grapes were soaked in water and vinegar and shaken so that all sides were clean.
She showed how disgusting the strawberry water looked after the first cleaning, calling it “absolutely disgusting.”
Amy said the water after she cleans the berries is “absolutely disgusting.”
The food blogger from Washington first washes the leaves before drying them in a salad spinner
Berries and grapes are soaked in water and vinegar and shaken so that all sides are clean
Herbs were also washed before going into the salad spinner to dry, in addition to lettuce leaves and lettuce.
Amy explained that after washing everything, she lets the produce dry on tea towels on the counter for two to three hours before storing it in glass jars for another ten minutes for longevity.
For the spring onions, she places them root side down in a pot of water and stores them on her counter.
Although it takes her 40 minutes to sort everything after the store, it’s definitely worth taking the extra time out of her day to save time and money.
Amy said: ‘The time I spend after shopping means I know I have products that have a shelf life of several weeks.
‘Because I don’t have any product waste, I save so much money on groceries.
‘If I only go shopping once every three weeks, that doesn’t seem like a waste of time to me. Overall, I save so much time preparing the food.
‘All those quick trips to the store in the past were wasting time and money. Now that inflation is so high, it is even more important to be able to use the things we buy.’