You’ve seen it in the movies. A small child with an infectious smile hands his beloved teacher and big juicy apple. She delightedly accepts the fruit, rubs it on her sleeve, and then takes a bite. Rubbing your fruit on your clothing to clean it up may have been sufficient back in the good ole days, but no way is that going to do you any good today! Learning how to clean vegetables and fruits naturally is a big deal for your health and the health of your family in today’s world. In this post, we’ll discuss just exactly what’s on your produce and how to get it off naturally and safely.
Learning How To Clean Vegetables And Fruits Naturally Shouldn’t Come As A Surprise Because.....
Have you ever noticed what goes on at the grocery store concerning your produce? For example, you are looking over the peaches that you’d like to put in your cart. Then, another customer walks up beside you, looking at those same peaches. He starts touching them. Picks them up, checks them for imperfections, puts them down, picks up another few and repeats the process over and over until he has selected the peaches that meet his standards.
Did you ever ask yourself, “where have his hands been?” Did he pick his nose before he came into the store? Did he choose the shopping cart that the teenager sneezed on as he walked inside? You just don’t know!
What is on your produce?
So, really, do you have any idea what’s on your produce? We’re told all the time to wash our hands, especially considering recent events with COVID-19. So why wouldn’t you want to wash your produce? What’s on it? Where has it been? Who has handled it? Mysterious questions. And hopefully the answers aren’t too much of a shocker to you.
#1: Pesticides. This is the most concerning thing on your fruits and veggies. Bug poison. Is that really something you want to put into your body? Have you ever thought, “I’d like some of that poison please.” Said NO ONE EVER! Last time I checked that seemed like a really bad idea. Even if you buy organic, according to an article published by Forbes here, they still use a form of organic or natural pesticide on fruits and vegetables. This may be better than synthetic pesticides, but it’s still a pesticide.
#2: Wax. The other thing on your produce is actually locking in the pesticides. Wax. Yup. Sounds tasty….if you’re a waxworm. Have you ever wondered why we even put wax on our produce? “The primary reasons for waxing are to prevent water loss...and thus retard shrinkage and spoilage, and to improve appearance. Dyes may be added to further enhance appearance, and sometimes fungicides.”
I love how the blog eatcleaner.com puts it, “The FDA has approved several waxes for such use, made from shellacs, paraffins, palm oil derivatives and synthetic resins. So what’s the big deal about wax if the FDA says it’s safe? Those ingredients are also in waxes for your car and kitchen floor, so of course it makes sense we would be eating them too.”
Whoa. Wait a sec. Dyes? Fungicides? Shellac?! Isn’t that what the girls do in the nail salons? What the what!
#3: Germs In General: Lastly, remember the guy who just might have picked his nose before touching all those peaches? Or any other dirty hands from a number of people handling the produce?
So, is this enough to convince you as to why you really ought to consider washing your vegetables and fruits when you get them home from the grocery store?
Wax on. Wax off. Time to karate chop that gunk right off your produce.
Alright, by now I hope you are dying to learn how to clean vegetables and fruits naturally. I mean, soon your kiddos are going to be running down the hall ready for a snack right? #kidsarealwayshungry. Wouldn’t it just ease your mind knowing that you are providing them not only with a healthy snack but one that is safe and clean as well?
Produce Wash Recipes
Over at Mommypotamus.com you’ll find three great produce wash recipes that I like. I especially like her two soaking solutions and I’ve included them below. Of course, you can check out her entire blog post here which is well worth the read.
Recipe #1 With Baking Soda (Soak Method) – Add 2 teaspoon to 4 cups of water and soak (produce) for 2-15 minutes. The longer the veggies and fruit soak, the more pesticide residue is removed. Scrub with a produce brush for extra cleaning power if you have one, then rinse.
Recipe #2 With Vinegar (Soak Method) – The studies done on vinegar have used different ratios, usually 1:10 (one part vinegar to 10 parts water) or 1:3 (one part vinegar to three parts water). How much you use is up to you, but because straight vinegar has also been shown to
remove certain pesticides (and probably others that have not been tested), I go with 1:3. The study using 100% vinegar only soaked for 10 minutes to achieve results, so I use a 1:3 ratio and soak for 20-30 minutes or longer. Scrub with a produce brush for extra cleaning power if you have one, then rinse.
Another option you have to clean your produce is with a spray solution. I’ve modified the recipe over at livesimply.me. Her blog post about her produce wash is very educational and informative. I encourage you to take a look sometime. Here is my modified spray recipe:
Recipe #3 In a large bowl, combine 2 cups water, ½ cup white distilled vinegar or apple cider vinegar and 10 drops lemon essential oil. Pour the ingredients into a glass spray bottle. Then simply spray the solution directly onto the produce. Rinse. No need to refrigerate. Just store in a cool dry place.
Why Baking Soda, Vinegar and Lemon?
These three ingredients are quite versatile and easily accessible. But even more importantly than that they are power packed with awesomeness!
Mommypotamus.com references an article by NPR that tested different cleaning techniques using vinegar and water. The solution that used a diluted vinegar rinse removed 98% of bacteria. I’d say those are pretty good odds!
As far as baking soda goes, this study used apples as their test subjects. It proved that baking soda can remove nearly all of the most common pesticides when soaked in a diluted baking soda solution for 12-15 minutes. Again, pretty amazing. However, don’t mix baking soda and vinegar unless you want to recreate your 6th grader’s volcano science experiment.
Lemon essential oil is antibacterial and antimicrobial. So you can see why it’s a good ingredient for a produce wash. Good bye germs!
That’s it my dears. You’ve just learned how to clean vegetables and fruits naturally. It’s simple and effective! You are well on your way to riding your produce of pesticides and other grossness as well as providing your family with safe and healthy options! Go you! Next time you go grocery shopping try it out and let me know your experience. Subscribe to our email list: [box/link here for the option to subscribe] There you’ll find access to more posts that I know will bring you health and healing. Until next time my friends!
References:
