Shoot director FREDDIE STEWART | Food stylist ROSIE REYNOLDS | Stylist WEI TANG
Bagged salads are a common item in many people’s weekly shop, as conveniently, the leaves are already washed and prepared, however, they’re one of the most frequently wasted foods due to their limited shelf-life.
These bags of salad often go off before we even get around to eating them, and the plastic packaging is not easily recyclable. In winter, a lot of salad is imported, which also adds on the food miles.
It’s often cheaper and better for the environment to buy whole heads of lettuce, and you can prepare the leaves in advance, so they’re more convenient to use throughout the week. Just separate the leaves, wash well, then tip into a salad spinner to dry them well. You can then store them in the fridge, covered with a damp sheet of kitchen paper.
If you can’t get away from the convenience of bagged salads, some companies are trying to make them more sustainable. Unbeleafable, for example, (unbeleafable.co.uk) grows salad leaves in vertical UK farms using 100 per cent renewable energy, from seed to packing. The leaves aren’t sprayed with pesticides, so they don’t require washing, which in turn means they aren’t bagged while wet – ensuring they stay fresher for longer. There are also ways to recycle plastic salad bags – enter your postcode on the Recycle Now website (recyclenow.com) to discover how and where.