Guess we oughta start liking carrots and cabbage, huh?
The Takeaway
- Some fresh foods last 4+ weeks in the fridge — without sacrificing nutrition
- Greens and berries spoil fast, but hardy produce like carrots and cabbage go the distance
- We created a “Fresh Food Longevity Index” to compare shelf life, nutrition, and price
- Buy smarter, waste less: You can still eat fresh without tossing wilted spinach every week
- Bonus: Downloadable shopping guide for cost-effective, long-lasting produce
When Your Lettuce Dies Before You Eat It
Ever bought a clamshell of spring mix on Monday and tossed it, slimy and sad, by Thursday? You’re not alone. For seniors trying to stretch their grocery budget — and eat healthy — nothing feels worse than throwing fresh food in the trash.
With inflation nudging prices up (again), fresh fruits and vegetables can feel like a gamble. And if you’re living alone or cooking for two, you’re not powering through a Costco-sized container of strawberries before they grow fuzz.
So what can you buy that actually lasts in the fridge? We dug into USDA data, grocery receipts, and nutrition rankings to come up with our own “Fresh Food Longevity Index.”
It's not just about shelf life — it’s about value per nutrient, too.
Meet the “Fresh Food Longevity Index”
We rated popular fruits and vegetables on three criteria:
