Storing - Bagels stay freshest when stored in tightly sealed plastic bags. Allow to cool before transferring to plastic bag. Never store bagels in paper.

Reviving - Several day old bagels tend to harden. They may be freshened up by toasting, broiling, microwaving very briefly (15 seconds), or moisten with water and bake for 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Freezing - Bagels should be cool before freezing. Slice, place in freezer bag, sealed tightly. Sliced bagels may be popped in toaster while frozen.

Refrigerating - Don't do it! Keep bagels at room temperature or freeze them. Bread products (including bagels) go stale up to 6 times faster in the refrigerator. Fortunately, stale bagels can be brought back to life fairly easily - see reviving.

Bagel with Jam - For those of you who are very active, a good post-workout choice is a bagel with jam. The bagel will be slightly slower digesting, but it is still an excellent source of carbs and will still be faster than other options such as grain bread or oatmeal, and the jam will provide a good dose of sugar to add to that for that very fast insulin spike. Since bagels are more calorie dense, you'll want to save these for when you have a really hard workout, or are having a very active day in general.