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One of the best ways to eat a healthier diet is to eat more fruits and vegetables. And one of the worst things about buying fresh fruits and vegetables is watching them go bad in your produce drawer and throwing them away. No one wants to throw their food and money in the garbage.

One way to help ensure you’re eating your produce is to make a plan. Having a few meals and snacks planned out means you’re more likely to eat up.

Another key is to store your fruits and vegetables the right way to keep them fresh. As it turns out, the refrigerator is not the go-to storage unit for all your produce. Below are four types of produce you shouldn’t keep in your fridge.

Tomatoes

If you’ve ever grown tomatoes, then you know that they love the heat and hate the cold. Turns out even after they’re plucked from the vine, they still hold their aversion to cold.

The fridge is not the ideal place to store tomatoes. Store them there and your perfect tomatoes turn into a mealy disappointment. They’ll still be good for cooking, but not the best for eating fresh.

Instead store them on your counter (not in direct sunlight) and enjoy them when they’re ripe.

Fresh herbs

Fresh herbs like basil, parsley and cilantro actually don’t belong in the fridge. Spending extended periods of time in a cold environment like a refrigerator causes them to wilt prematurely.

Fresh herbs do best when stored on your counter and treated as you would fresh cut-flowers. A fresh bunch of basil can be stored in a cup of water (change it every day or two) away from direct sunlight. Covering it loosely with a plastic bag will help keep it moist, but make sure the bag has an opening to allow for some fresh air to seep in.

Potatoes

Potatoes like cool, not cold temperatures. They do best at around 45 degrees Fahrenheit, which is about 10 degrees warmer than the average refrigerator.

Most of us don’t have a root cellar (a cool, dark place to store root vegetables like potatoes), so keeping them in a paper bag in a coolish spot (like a pantry) is best.

Why paper? It’s more breathable than plastic, so the potatoes won’t succumb to rot as easily.

And why not the fridge? Storing potatoes at cold temperatures converts their starch to sugar more quickly, which can affect their flavor, texture and the way they cook.

Onions

Onions don’t come out of the ground with that protective papery skin. To develop and keep that dry outer layer, they need to be cured and then kept in a dry environment like a pantry, which is not as damp as the refrigerator.

Also, lack of air circulation will cause onions to spoil, as will storing them near potatoes, which give off moisture and gas that can cause onions to spoil quickly.

Store onions in a cool, dry, dark, well-ventilated place. (Light can cause the onions to become bitter.)

Scallions and chives, however, have a higher water content, bruise more easily and have a shorter shelf life, so store these alliums in the fridge.

EatingWell is a magazine and website devoted to healthy eating as a way of life. Online at eatingwell.com.

© 2022 Meredith Corporation. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.