Pre-washed, pre-chopped, ready-to-go salad greens in sealed bags can be found in the produce department of just about every grocery store and supermarket. Those bags are certainly a tempting option, but experts warn that you should never buy them. It’s not because they’re overly concerned that bacteria might make it through all that pre-washing in a chlorinated bath, it’s not the rumors of fecal contamination that have shown up in tests, and it’s not concern for just how long ago those greens were cut and washed. Believe it or not, it’s the cost. Paying at least four times the cost of the bulk option to get salad greens cut up, pre-washed, and sealed in a plastic bag is a waste of money. Take a bag of store brand Hearts of Romaine, pre-washed and chopped that typically sells for $3.49 for a 9-ounce bag. Compare that to a fresh head of romaine that costs just $1.49 or roughly 83¢ for the same 9-ounce portion. That’s a 420% markup for someone else to do a little washing and chopping. Just seeing the difference in price should make you more than willing to do the prep yourself.
