10 Healthy Foods with a Long Shelf Life

One of the benefits of eating vegan is plant based foods tend to last a lot longer than meat and dairy products. Find out some of the healthiest vegan foods with long shelf lives.

1. Frozen Vegetables - Frozen vegetables are frozen right after they are harvesting, sometimes making them healthier than produce that had to travel thousands of miles to get to your grocer. These are a great cheap way to eat your veggies. 
   For maximum health benefits, avoid extreme heat from boiling or the microwave. 
   To remove bitterness some frozen veggies have, squirt a little lemon juice while cooking. 
2. Frozen Fruit - But frozen bags of fruit or freeze fresh fruit that’s going bad. Great for smoothies!
3. Dry Beans - Buying uncooked beans (especially in bulk) saves a lot of money and cuts down on the sodium that’s in canned beans. (Some hints on cooking beans here)
4. Bulk Rice - Buying giant bags of rice is a great idea. You can keep the rice for long periods of time and save money in the long run.
5. Pasta - At $1 a box you can’t really go wrong with spaghetti. Look for store brands and if you can afford the extra 50 cents, try whole grain pasta for a healthier bowl of noodles.
6. Nuts - Nuts are essential for a healthy vegan diet, not to mention they last an incredibly long time. Save money by buying nuts in bulk online or at bulk grocery stores.
7. Nut Butters - A $6 family size jar of peanut butter can hold you over for months. Nut butters are great for breakfast, in smoothies, even mixed with soy or coconut milk in a stir fry.
8. Herbal Tea - Many teas, especially herbal teas have wonderful health benefits. Green tea releases antioxidants, while Red tea helps with allergies. Tea will last for a long time if kept in a tightly sealed container. Look in stores like TJ Max and Marshalls for gourmet teas at bargain prices!
9. Bulk Potatoes and Onions - Potatoes and Onions can almost make a meal on their own. They last a very long time, but be sure to keep them in a dark, dry, and cool place. Sunlight speeds up the spoiling process on these veggies significantly.
10. Soup - Poor people have been making soup for thousands of years for a reason. It’s easy, it saves rotting food, and it’s delicious. Initially (and briefly) boiling the food kills bacteria, and adding salt helps preserve the ingredients. (Check out this post on the benefits and how-tos of soup basics)

Potatoes are bad for you?

Recently many people have put potatoes on the “do not eat list”. Low carb, high protein diets like Atkins have dieters cutting out carbs and eating more meat for quick weight loss. The Atkins fad has died down considerably, but it left a blemish on our starchy  friend’s good name.
While potatoes are a starchy carb it does not mean they are “bad”. When baked, potatoes are actually high in vitamin C (27% DV), potasium (26%DV), and fiber (15% DV). These and other compounds help against free radicals, heart disease, and cancer.
The real health problem regarding the potato isn’t lurking in the vegetable. It’s what we decide to add to the vegetable. A few buzzwords associated with potatoes are butter, sour cream, deep fried, and ketchup. These high fat/sugar “garnishes” are what give us that little jiggle when we walk, not the potato itself.
So here are a few tips to keep in mind when preparing your pots.

1. Leave the skin on. While the skin doesn’t actually contain any significant nutrients, the layer just under the skin has the highest concentration of vitamins. Peeling off the skin also peels off that rich layer right underneath. 
2. Bake/Microwave>Boiled. Baking or microwaving your potato is the best way to maintain the nutrients.
3. Less fries (sorry). Frying any food in oil immediately does more harm than good. Vegetables are especially porous and will soak up whatever you put them in. When you cook with oil, it not only fries the vegetable’s outer layer, it also soaks up the oil underneath, adding a considerable amount of fat.
   Try to consider french fries and potato chips as a occasional indulgence, not a regular side for lunch. Opt for the side salad instead and try to only treat yourself to fries once in a while.
4. Eat small, colorful potatoes. The smaller the potatoes, the more skin you’ll be eating. Colorful potatoes tend to have more nutrients than white potatoes. Try buying variety bags like the one pictured above.
5. Don’t eat green or sprouting potatoes. This is a sign that your potato may be carrying a toxin called solanine. Solanine develops when potatoes are exposed to sunlight. Not only can these potatoes taste bad, but they sometimes cause health problems like diarrhea and poisoning. Also avoid potatoes marked “prewashed” because this leaves potatoes more vulnerable to going bad. To avoid spoilage, store potatoes in a cool dark place. Do not put potatoes in the fridge, and keep them out of sunlight.

So go grab that variety bag of colorful potatoes and make yourself some Irish stew. They’re delicious, and best of all, they’re cheap. Happy St. Patty’s day!