fruit/veggie wash?

[NovelMama]

Anyone have a recipe for a fruit/veggie wash? I buy one from my HFS but it's expensive and doesn't last me very long with all the produce I buy. I checked in the homemade cleaners thread and didn't see anything there.

[HummusDip]

I never ever wash my produce. I wash loose lettuce leaves but only because they have dirt and sand on them. But my other fruits and veggies I never wash. :shrug

[Blue Savannah]

MT, do you mind if I ask why not? Do you eat all organic?


This is a great topic; we've been eating less organic since groceries are getting to be so expensive. I'd like to wash as much junk off them as possible. :cup

[Sandollar]

I got this one from Oprah.
1 c. water
1 c. vinegar
1 Tbsp. baking soda
20 drops GSE
spray on let sit for 5 -10 minutes, rinse with water

[KatieMae]

:up What's GSE? :shifty

[Lady TS]

Grapefruit seed extract.

[AdrienneQW]

I put baking soda and GSE into a bowl of cool water for washing produce. I don't measure... maybe 1/4 cup of baking soda and 20-30 drops of GSE? :think

[StrangeTraveller]

Shaklee's BasicH2- just a few drops in a sink full of water will wash your whole batch. :rockon

[Sandollar]

oops, thanks for explaining GSE :) also I put it in a spray bottle, Im trying to remember to wash all produce as soon as I bring it home, still working on that . :think about the shaklees, Ive been wanting to buy some of that I guess you can use it for everything, maybe w/ some of our stimulus $

[HummusDip]

MT, do you mind if I ask why not? Do you eat all organic?


This is a great topic; we've been eating less organic since groceries are getting to be so expensive. I'd like to wash as much junk off them as possible. :cup


Yes, all organic.

Why? I don't know, I feel like it's unnecessary. I'm not a germ-a-phobe. Since it doesn't have pesticides and such on them, I don't worry. Yeah people handle them and they may have dirt on them. But maybe that's what helps us be so healthy? Is that limited exposure to germs, giving our bodies that chance to build immunity. :shrug

Like I said I only wash my loose lettuce leave bundles (not bagged lettuce) but that's because there's TONS of visible dirt and sand on them. And I only rinse them with water.

[schmamy]

:popcorn

[SansSouci]

I use a Fruit & Veggie spray from the grocery store. I don't go through it too quickly. But I've also considered using the recipe from Oprah (that show was great!), or also using the Shaklee Basic H (which I already use for cleaning my house).

I'm not too worried about the dirt. I'm probably just paranoid, but I just assume the people picking the produce could possibly have some disease (HepA) and might not have the best sanitary conditions when working all day in the field... and I guess I feel better knowing that I've done my best to wash that off! Plus I have heard that doing a good rinse can help get rid of the pesticide residue - so that's always nice too!

[tempus vernum]

Yes, all organic.

Why? I don't know, I feel like it's unnecessary. I'm not a germ-a-phobe. Since it doesn't have pesticides and such on them, I don't worry. Yeah people handle them and they may have dirt on them. But maybe that's what helps us be so healthy? Is that limited exposure to germs, giving our bodies that chance to build immunity. :shrug



Hmm. . .well, I agree with everything in there -- dirt is very good for you :tu EXCEPT th epesticide thing. I was SHOCKED to do this survey online once that had you put in what you ate and your pesticde exposure. I put in all organic food and still had pesticide exposure so I did some research.

Pesticides travel up to 1 mile, evaporate into our air and are carried away by water drainage into the beds. Those three things cause the majority of organic food to still contain pesticides - lower than traditionally raised but they still have them due to the flow of pesticides.

In fact, a wonderful CSA in our area had a sod farm move in next door several years ago :td Sod is the highest pesticide crop and the CSA has the water drainage into their farm. We don't get food from that CSA anymore. :O But it occurred to me that I don't know the situation for all farms that I get from and most organic foods have a lot of pesticides.

That said, I haven't been washing our foods well lately -- except lettuce but I couldn't let this pass by without comment :shifty


Im trying to remember to wash all produce as soon as I bring it home, still working on that .

washing produce before you are going to use it causes it to go bad quicker, just FYI. I do batches - I wash a bunch of veggies, cut and put it in containers cut up to make quick salads or for snacks. Then when it's gone, I do more. Just enough that it won't be bad when we are ready for it :)

When I am washing things, I usually do a quick rinse or spray with organic Appple cidar vinegar. It's said if you do 20 minutes each of food grade hydrogen peroxide soak followed by organic ACV soak, it removes all the bacteria, disease and pesticide reside. ANd it is supposed to make nutrient absorption better.

I am trying to start using water with a very acidic ph to rinse my fruits and veggies because it's super quick (out of water machine) and it's supposed to do everything ACV and H2O2 does. But most people don't have a water ionizer to do this with ;)

[Sandollar]

:think I knew that about strawberries but not other produce, good to know thanks!