It’s no secret that I like to peruse the internet in search of interesting articles that I can share with you. Mostly, I like to read all of the comments that you leave after I share–it’s like my adult contact for the day {not that Lucy doesn’t inspire some pretty deep conversations}. So, the other day, I clicked on an article about bagged lettuce, and why you may want to go back to the standard leafy greens that you have to wash and then tear into bite size pieces.
The article gave a couple of reasons a fresh bunch or head of lettuce is best: First, the sheer use of water to produce washed and ready lettuce is pretty crazy compared to how much it takes for you to prepare a head of lettuce at home.
Second, they typically use chlorinated water to wash the pre-prepared stuff, which means you are getting a little more than you bargained for {whether you care or not is totally up to you}. Third, because washed and ready lettuce takes time to prepare and package, you may be getting older lettuce than the bunch you could take home and wash. Each day lettuce sits, it loses a little of its nutrients–so that salad may have diminished vitamins compared to fresh, plucked from the ground lettuce. The list goes on, but I thought those were kind of the top three highlights.
I’ll totally admit, I buy bagged salad mixes when they go on sale for $2 or less. Fresh is best, and lettuce is so incredibly easy to grow nine months out of the year, BUT sometimes when I am putting a meal on the table, that one less step makes me happy. I accept that some days convenience wins.
Do you have a preference? Do you like the convenience of bagged? Can you taste the difference? Will you only eat home grown?
Talk to your buddy Mavis…
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Tamara says
I prefer prepping my own salad greens; however, when cooking for a crowd (35 -75 or 200 people), bagged salad is much more practical! And, if it is a toss up between NO salad and bagged salad, go for the bagged!
Irene says
I prefer to buy fresh heads of lettuce – I hate picking slimy bits out of the boxes and I feel like they just don’t last as long.
I do buy bagged spinach in enormous bags and just freeze the leftover bits as soon as it starts to loose it’s freshness.
I want to try growing my own mixed baby lettuce next year. But so far I’ve been absolutely terrible at keeping plants alive. I never remember to water things. Or the hail destroys it… Maybe I will be better next year.
Ashley says
I’ve never had luck with bagged salad, it always gets yucky fast. Even if I serve it the day I buy it, anything left over typically gets tossed because it goes brown and slimy. I occasionally buy spinach and coleslaw mix in bags, but those seem to hold up better.
JC says
I totally agree that bagged can be more practical, but it’s so much cheaper to grow it. I suppose not every family eats salad every.single.day like we do though. If I am cooking for a crowd I prep the salad greens the day before and just store them in the fridge so it’s ready to go. I do however buy coleslaw mix sometimes, and if I forget my lunch I will swing into the store for the salad kits. Did I mention that I eat a lot of salas
pamela sheppard says
At least 99% of the time I buy bagged salad. It is much more convenient for me. To get the variety of lettuces and/or veggies I like it would cost me a fortune! (I don’t garden) AND produce lots of waste. I only purchase them when they are on sale. I do have better luck with a certain brand over other brands so I prefer that one.
Mandi says
I had great luck this spring growing lettuce. We had more than we knew what to do with, and gave bags away! But then once the weather gets hot, forget it. I just can’t seem to keep it going. Which is really frustrating, because at the time you most want to eat fresh salads from the garden, the lettuce is a wilty, buggy mess. So then I buy it. I don’t buy bags, though, I get the boxes, usually Safeway O Organics 50/50 mix or something similar. I’m hoping someday to figure out the whole growing-lettuce-through-summer thing! I think a lot of it is figuring out which varieties can take the heat, and which can’t.
Jessica says
I cannot do bagged salad/lettuce. The preservative that they wash the produce with makes me ill.. and tastes/smells horrible. I used to think it was only me.. until my cousin and I were talking and she has the same issue. I know a lot of restaurants use bagged mix..I can taste it! So for us at home I wash and process iceberg, romaine, spinach and carrots and toss it all together!
Mavis says
That’s interesting, I’ve never heard of it making people ill but I can see how that might happen!
Ginger says
Jessica, same thing for me! It’s like eating bleach. I can taste it and smell it.
VICKIE says
me, too! someone said maybe it reacts to my medicine? but I can smell it & taste it, but others in the family cannot.
Deborah from FL says
Hey! Me too. I didn’t know why, but that preservative thing totally makes sense. The smell alone makes me queasy. Living in central Florida, my lettuce growing season isn’t very long, but I take advantage of it. Bagged is NOT for me. 😉
P.S. It’s so cool to know I’m not crazy over that lettuce thing. Thanks for sharing that, ladies. 🙂
Julie says
I don’t get ill, but bagged greens taste soapy to me. Also, f I buy bagged leafy greens, they go slimy within 2 days. If I buy a head of leafy greens and clean and bag them myself as soon as I get home, they last a week or more and stay crisp as long as I have washed, spun dry, and bagged appropriately.
Martha says
Jessica, I ALWAYS get the runs when I eat bagged lettuce! I love it, but because I know what will happen to me, I try to limit my intake. Noticed it first about 25 years ago when I would eat salads from McDonalds during college and it hasn’t really changed since. On the other hand, I get the same reaction when I prepare my own romaine lettuce and let it sit torn up more than two or three days. So who knows?! I just stick with my own and keep it as fresh as possible.
Marcia says
I noticed that I often get sick from restaurant salads. I assumed it was because the lettuces weren’t properly washed, but maybe it is a preservative?
It’s not *always*, but often, and more likely to happen with spinach. I know of a couple of local restaurants where I don’t have the problem and others where I do.
Anyway, I get lettuce from my CSA or buy heads and wash it.
Karin Paradise says
Bagged lettuce always has at least a couple slimy pieces so the whole bag smells gross (to me anyway). I do tend to be very sensitive to odors. I rarely buy bagged but when I do, I wash it and pick out the slimy stuff. So there’s not much time savings over washing a whole head. Also, tests have shown that these bagged mixes are full of bacteria. You should always wash pre-washed produce!
Ellen in Clackamas says
I have done ok this year growing a packet of mixed greens. I did put a row cover over them during those days we we topped out over 90′ (geez–more than 25 of those days down where I live!! Hot-hot summer). I eat from that patch at home. But like Mandi I also have had very good luck with the boxed Safeway O Organics. I buy a box and take some everyday for lunch and very seldom have any slimy pieces. Have never noticed any off smell or taste
auntie M says
Ever since I opened a bag of organic triple washed baby spinach and found it absolutely covered with gritty mud I decided to buy the unbagged stuff and wash my own.
Brooke says
I never buy bagged lettuce. I do sometimes buy the big container from Kroger or Whole Foods. I really like Organicgirl brand. I wish I had better luck growing lettuce. I just planted 3 varieties last weekend, so hopefully we will have a nice fall crop
Carla says
If I buy bagged I thoroughly rinse it. Otherwise I think it tastes “off”. I prefer to get it from a grocery store salad bar. Pricey yes but if it’s the only way I will get a salad to eat (due to laziness ) I will bite the bullet.
Jen Y says
I buy the 4-pack if artisan lettuce heads at Aldi in the plastic shell. I wash them at home, store them in the shell with paper towel & peel off a leaf at a time as I need it. They last my husband & I about 10 days eating one to two salads a day.
Cheryl says
I never buy the bagged stuff either, convenience is more expensive and usually slimy as well. I do buy many heads of romaine however and lately it seems that one head is one salad…or I am just weird.
Pam says
I’ll buy the coleslaw blend in a bag (anything that saves me from grating/shredding cabbage). It’s not my favorite but it doe seem to last pretty well. I don’t care for the bagged salad greens. They all seem to have an extraordinary level of water in them.
Lisa Millar says
If I have to buy lettuce ( really try to keep plenty in the garden) I buy a fresh head – mostly because I am avoiding the plastic packaging that is creeping in more to the fresh fruit and veg sections.
Plus I don’t trust someone to wash my greens for me, so I’d have to wash them anyway
And price.
Lana says
I don’t like the taste of bagged salads but when something like a holiday rolls around and our empty nester household grows to 16 at many meals I am certainly going to go for saving time and energy. I prefer the huge cheaper bags at Sam’s or even the spring mix there. 95% of the time thought it is fresh greens washed and spin dried and stashed in a produce keeper for salads for the week. It tastes better and is so much cheaper.
Linda says
I buy bagged when we only are going to eat one salad. If salad is in heavy rotation then I buy heads of lettuce. One head of lettuce will last longer but only if it’s going to be eaten right away. The bagged is easier and faster sometimes. I also like those large containers of baby spinach. I’ll buy those over regular spinach every day.
Rhonda says
I actually like bagged lettuce,especially mixed field greens.great with chopped tomatoes,olive oil,apple cider vinegar and a bit of salt