Cooking for one - The Lettuce Problem
 

I am not crazy about vegetables. I try to have a side salad with my lunches - usually mostly iceberg or romaine with dressing, maybe a little onion or tomato and cheese on top. I can't really manage a salad as my entire lunch so I don't eat a whole bowl of it, just a small handful of lettuce.

The problem is, lettuce goes red/brown very quickly. I have been buying the bags of pre-cut lettuce, but they only last a couple of days. Heads of lettuce aren't much better.

Anyone have any tricks for keeping lettuce longer?

Not really. Lettuce goes limp quite quickly. Buy smaller heads, or keep leftovers (dry, not wet) in a closed tupperware container in the fridge.

Iceberg keeps the longest. I sometimes get the packs of baby greens, but they go bad quickly.

Lately, my salads have been devoid of lettuce. Just cherry tomatoes, baby peppers, carrot sticks, celery, sometimes a radish or a baby cuke. I splash on some rice wine vinegar, or maybe some ranch dressing.

Now that it’s summer, a nice homegrown tomato sliced with some mozzarella slices and some olive oil and balsamic is a really filling salad.

Between the constant ecoli scares and the cost, and the short shelf life, I’ve been ditching the lettuce. I don’t really miss it.

I don't sell Tupperware, but they have containers called FridgeSmart containers that allow you to adjust the airflow based on what produce is inside.

A caprese salad is indeed a delightful thing. Had one today for lunch! And you are right about lettuce, goes limp quickly, not particularly beneficial as a vegetable (certainly not when slathered with lots of salty/sweet/fatty dressing).

Try Bibb lettuce with living roots in a clamshell container. Might be called Boston or Butter lettuce. Easy to clean the leaves and just enough for 2 salads. Also great for lettuce wraps. Iceburg has a lot of bitter parts I discard anyway. I'll pick up a Mediterranean salad and find it's good for a second day~ generally a mix of spring greens, baby spinach, artichoke hearts, olives, chickpeas and shredded carrots. Already done~ no work no waste. I'm not a fan of cooked vegetables but often make a platter of sliced red peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, radish and red pepper hummus. Campari tomatoes with homemade vinaigrette is good too.

Also, try and insure that your refrigerator isn't getting to a freezing temp with too much produce. (This is probably not an issue with the OP's delight of vegetables.) If the leaves freeze at all, they will thaw into slimy mush. The darker leaves in the mixed greens are particularly susceptible.

I do! I do!!
Seriously, I have been doing this for years and it works. I am single and I can make lettuce last at least a week ...sometimes longer.
First of all--iceberg? yuck other than a wedge salad.
Romaine and sturdy lettuces like frisee work best for this...soft leafy red lettuces are the first to spoil so you will only get an extra day out of them with this method.
Wash and completely dry your lettuce or use the prewashed in a bag. Put your lettuce (whole leaves are best but even torn pieces are ok) in a METAL bowl (like a mixing bowl) and cover with a piece of aluminum foil and seal/crimp all around the edge of the bowl. Put in fridge and take out pieces as needed and seal back up. If there seems to be dampness when you open the foil just put a piece of paper towel on top. So simple and I use this all the time. I swear that your lettuce will be super fresh a week later if you do this right. You're welcome.

What is Bogo in English ?

buy one get one (like 2 for the price of 1, but it requires customer to get two of them). When a store has a sign like (2/$5), then client can buy only 1 for $2.50.

I’m guessing: Buy One Get One free (BOGOF)

I don't have a problem with vegetables (except for mushrooms), so I haven't tried this with lettuce myself.

Buy a head of romaine, give it a fresh slice on the core end, put it in a wide mouth jar or vase with maybe an inch of (preferably filtered) water, and keep it on your counter. Pull off a leaf or two everyday. Give the bottom a fresh cut as needed and change the water every couple of days.

I keep my green onions sprouting this way. I imagine it'd work for romaine since it's long/tall in shape.

The Atlantic still cleaves our language into two. Dropping the “Free” part of “Buy One, Get One Free” provokes a minor form of anathema.

Cogollos de Tudela. First type of lettuce I ever ate for pleasure. Love nearly all kinds now.

Cloudship, since you’re not particularly keen on vegetables, have you tried using salt to remove that zingy “green” bitterness from cucumber? There are lots of ways to do it, but the simplest is to just cut cucumber into slices, sprinkle with salt and leave for between 1 and 2 minutes. Then rinse and give the cucumber slices a little squeeze. Then dress as you would usually. I personally struggle with a mound of cucumber, but after using a bit of salt to leach them slightly, eating through big quantities becomes a joy.

I now substitute baby spinach for lettuce. A bag of pre-washed baby spinach will be fresh for 4-5 days.