Have you ever found a droopy head of lettuce that was accidentally left in the fridge for too long?
The immediate reaction may be to throw it in the trash, but not so fast! Cook Ama Boadiwaa (@amaboadiwaa_gh) has a super easy hack to bring your floppy lettuce back to life — saving both your wallet and the planet from unnecessary food waste.
The scoop
All you need to revitalize your lettuce is a large bowl and some water.
Simply place the lettuce in the bowl and fill it with cold water. Filling the bowl with room temperature water and adding ice cubes or placing the bowl in the fridge will each also work.
Once about 30 minutes have passed, your lettuce should be looking and feeling much more firm and crisp.
Lastly, drain the water from your lettuce, and dry off any excess moisture.
Once your lettuce is dry, it is ready to be eaten immediately, or placed in a container to be stored in the fridge for another couple of days.
How it's working
Utilizing food waste prevention hacks like Ama's are a great way to stretch your dollar. Plus, it reduces food waste.
When food waste is sent to landfills, it rots and produces methane gas, which is 28 times more potent at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
|
What's the most common reason you end up throwing away food?
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Bought more than I could eat 
The EPA also reports that food waste is the biggest producer of methane gas over other types of waste in landfills. In fact, food waste makes up about 58% of landfill emissions.
This alarming statistic highlights a startling reality: that around 38% of food in the U.S. is never sold or eaten. In 2022, an astonishing 78 million tons of food waste was sent to landfills, per ReFED.
Luckily, reducing the amount of food you throw away is one of the easiest things you can do — and it can have a huge effect on cooling down our planet. Properly storing food and utilizing your freezer, planning your meals ahead of time, using recipes with food scraps, and composting are all excellent ways to curb food waste sent to landfills.
What people are saying
Users in the comments of Ama's video were delighted by the simple way to save sad lettuce.
"The best hack ever," wrote one person.
"Ama, I tried this and it worked," said another user. "Thanks."
Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
