Less face it, eating clean can often feel like a chore, especially when it comes to produce. Fruits and vegetables can be a hassle to prep or store, and often go bad before they can be consumed. 
Adding these helpful hacks for fruits and vegetables can help ensure success in your journey to eat clean, make prep and clean-up easier, and also reduce food waste! Win-win-win!
Make enjoying an orange or tangerine less messy with an accordion cut preparation. Simply slice a bit of the stem end and bottom with a knife, make a small cut through the peel down to the core lengthwise, and then fan out the segments. Peel out each segment and enjoy!
Keep delicate fresh herbs wilt-free and at-the-read for a week, even two weeks, by setting in a glass or jar of water and covering loosely with a plastic produce bag. Set jar in the refrigerator, lifting bag to snip off what you need, when you need it. Every three days, cut off a bit of the ends from stems and refresh with clean water. Or, you can splurge for a fresh herb keeper, which is basically the same idea. This is one of my favorite fresh herb tips and clean eating tips — because fresh herbs add so much flavor to recipes with virtually no calories, sodium or fat.
Use a vegetable peeler to easily make razor thin slivers of red onion to for your salads and other recipes. 
Reduce or eliminate okra slime, also technically known as mucilage, by soaking cut okra in a water and vinegar mixture with up to a 4:1 ratio. For example, a quart of water to 1 cup of vinegar is enough to soak okra, about 1 pound. After about 30 minutes to 1 hour, drain soaked okra well before patting dry thoroughly. Cook as desired.
Wondering how to store tomatoes? t’s best to keep fresh tomatoes on the counter, at room temperature, with the stem-side down until the ripen. This keeps air from entering the scar, keeping them fresh longer. However, tomatoes still attached to the vine should be kept stem-side up. A few days after ripening, move tomatoes to the fridge to prevent spoilage.
If you are cooking for just one or two, enjoy an abundance of colorful produce before it goes bad in your produce bin can be a challenge. You may be wondering how to eat more vegetables and fruit while being mindful to reduce food waste. Even though it’s a bit more expensive, loading up on prepped fresh veggies from the salad bar makes it easy to add variety to your diet and eat the figurative rainbow. Use in your fresh dishes at home, or as ingredients in recipes!
To ensure the best flavor, texture, and proper browning of sautéed mushrooms, follow these tips. Add a bit of high smoke point oil or clarified butter to a skillet and bring to high heat. Add thickly sliced mushrooms (use a mushroom slicer for consistent results) to skillet, don’t over crowd. Mushrooms release a lot of water, and overcrowding will create steam and causes mushrooms to boil in their own juices. This results in slimy, soggy mushrooms that have not caramalized and created a nice brown exterior. So instead, place a modest amount of sliced mushrooms in very hot skillet so that expelled water evaporates. Cook in batches, if needed, rather than piling them high in the skillet.
When you want small bits of banana (not puree) for use in muffins, quick breads, oatmeal and other recipes, easily dice them by cutting banana in half lengthwise and then scoring until knife hits the peel (don’t cut all the way through). Pick up banana half and hold upside down over bowl, pop out.
Take simple watermelon to the next level with and 2-second flavor boost. Try simple watermelon seasonings combos like ground cinnamon with a couple drops of vanilla; chili powder with lime juice and jalapenos (or Tajin); ginger, sesame seeds and soy sauce; or sea salt with lemon juice. This is a great “save” and prevention of food waste tip if you end up with a less-than-optimally-sweet melon.
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Do you have a clean eating tip, a fruit and/or vegetable tip, or how to prevent food waste tip? Please share in the comments! XOXO, Jennifer