rabbit veggies

[eyorelop]

Does anyone have any good tips for keeping your rabbit veggies from getting wilty?

[Elrohwen]

I try to buy things that stay fresh longer – I buy a lot of romaine because it comes in large heads and stays fresh for over a week without any special care (I leave it in the plastic grocery store bag and just throw in the fridge). I also buy green and red leaf lettuce, but I use those up first, since they don’t last as long (especially red leaf lettuce, which seems to wilt much faster). Anything that is already cut and washed will wilt very fast, so I use it within 2-3 days.

Herbs can be kept longer by putting the cut ends in a glass of water, though find parsley keeps just fine in the grocery store bag for a full week without any problems. It’s not as crisp at the end of the week, but it’s certainly not wilted or bad either.

So basically, I buy the things I know will last the longest, and use up fast wilting veggies first. I shop for veggies once per week and almost never throw anything out because it’s wilted, so I don’t have a problem. If you’re trying to keep things longer than a week, you might want to try those special veggie bags, or a special lettuce tupperware type container (I’ve seen them at BB&B and heard they work pretty well). My biggest issue with keeping veggies longer than a week is that I can’t physically fit more than a week’s worth of veggies in the fridge with the groceries for the people, so it’s never been a problem for me.

[eyorelop]

Where do you find herbs?  The only ones I have seen so far are at the grocery store and for $1.99 in this tiny plastic box you get the tinyest amount hardly enough for even 1 feeding?

[CocoaB]

Not trying to advertise, but I use the (real) Tupperware FridgeSmart containers. We have two larger ones that hold quite a bit of lettuce. They have vents on the front and ridges on the bottom to help keep veggies fresher longer. I can keep lettuce fresh for almost two weeks.

[Elrohwen]

My grocery store sells the little plastic things of herbs, but right next to it they also have bunches of herbs for the same price (but you get 5 times the amount in the bunches). 3-4 bunches of parsley lasts a week for my buns – they get a small handful every day with their lettuce.

[jerseygirl]

Here’s a link to a super duper thread full of tips. I’ve been storing mine like Binky Bunnys picture in the linked thread. Since doing this I’ve found things so much easier . https://www.binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/a…fault.aspx

[FluffyBunny]

Try not to get wet veggies. If they’re already wet at the store, dry them off. Wetness makes the veggies wilt and rot extra fast.
Also, make sure your fridge is cold enough. A slightly warmer fridge can cause veggies to wilt quickly. Just don’t make it too cold or your veggies will freeze!

[Helenor]

I like to keep potted herbs to feed my rabbit with. I was able to find some at Safeway (parley, basil, mint). They always stay fresh that way.

[MayaConsuelo]

If you live in a city or town that has an ethnic market, like Asian or Hispanic, you can usually get fresh herbs there for much cheaper (like a huge bunch of cilantro for 30 cents.) Fresh herbs keep better if they’re somewhat dry and wrapped in paper towels or newspaper. I occasionally raid my neighbor’s garden (with his permission, he’s my friend) and also scavenge greens that people won’t use from my friends (radish or beet greens, carrot tops, etc.) As a longtime vegetarian I have always had the problem of veggies going bad too quickly (especially if they’re wet, they’ll decay super-fast.) I buy in smaller quantities and make frequent trips to the supermarket (as in every day basically.)

[allegrabunny]

I get really good deals on good herbs and lettuces at a gourmet cheese shop of all places…(I live in WI. gourmet cheese shops are not that uncommon) also you might try a bulk shopping store like Costco. Growing your own is also cost-effective and fairly easy to do in containers in side. I also get free dandelions from my backyard. (don’t worry I garden organicallly) I have those Debbie Myer green bags too,

[Dee]

Wow, I’m glad I read this- I always thought greens should be kept damp! Y’kno, cuz in the supermarket they have those misters spraying water om the veggies every few minutes… but it makes sense that being damp would lead to decay. I do wrap my greens in paper towels as soon as I get home (I find they wilt/rot very fast in plastic bags) and I put them in the veggie bin in the fridge. I also wash a whole bunch and keep them in a big plastic strainer lined/covered with paper towels- that way I have greens ready for the buns for a couple days. My buns get greens on demand (vereee spoiled!) and they tend to demand them at least 3 times a day. But I will try drying the greens off before storing them.

One good idea I have is to get a salad spinner to get excess water off the greens. It really cuts down on the trouble and paper towel use! I try not to think about what I spend on greens, paper towels and water (Upton water bills are CRAZY expensive- you’d think liquid gold flowed through the pipes by the bills they send us). I’m gonna try going into Worcester/Framingham and trying an ethnic market. I do go to Market Basket and it’s amazing how much bigger and cheaper the bundles of greens are there- if there’s a Market Basket around any of you, I highly reccomend it!

[LoveChaCha]

I’ve noticed certain grocery stores keep their vegetables out for a few days.. few days too long. I go to a super market and I’ve noticed my lettuce that I buy for Chacha stays GREEN and FRESH for nearly a week. My dad said that it depends on how often grocers rotate the greens.. wowza.

I stay away from certain places. I can’t stand seeing romaine that has brown stuff on it!!

[Beka27]

I keep heads of lettuce whole, wrapped in paper towels for each day. The last couple days, if the outer leaves are looking wilty, I can just peel those off and toss them, and still have fresh leaves underneath. I veggie shop once a week.

Romaine is a staple at our house because it does last so long. Sometimes I’ll get red leaf, but it turns so quickly.

[Beka27]

That thread Jersey posted was a great one! So many and ideas and pics!

[Arson]

What i like to do to keep my veggies fresh is wrap them in a few sheets of paper towel and store them in standard storage bags. For some reason, the paper towel helps to keep them fresh so they last a while.

[LoveChaCha]

The place I get my veggies are not damp at all. They are wrapped in their own plastic. No wonder they last so long…

[Bumblebunny]

I have had good results with cilantro and parsley by cutting the band holding each bunch, sorting through for anything that looks bad, then wrapping it loosely in a couple of paper towels and putting it in a veggy storage bag. They keep for at least a week without wilting. I also buy a bag of three hearts of romaine lettuce that have a ‘use by date’ two+ weeks ahead and it really seems to keep in the bag it comes in.

[RabbitPam]

I only wash my veggies right before feeding herself.
I use a vegetable drawer in my refrigerator for her food. What made a huge difference was when I lined it with a large linen cloth – the thin kind used for baking covers or really, really thin towels that are plain cotton. I line the bottom, set the veggies in the drawer, and loosely fold over the towel to cover it all, then close the drawer. It keeps so much longer than any other bag or container I’ve tried. When outer leaves start to spoil I tend to cut off the bottom of the head and remove the bad parts to keep it from spreading. (maybe it isn’t, but I feel better.)

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