Do you know how to clean your produce naturally?

I don't know about you, but I take time picking out good produce for my family, and want to fully enjoy it.....and much prefer it to be clean...

Now, I am not talking about produce from my garden (a veggie garden is on the to do list so not quite there yet), more so the produce I purchase from the grocery store or farmers market. 

I don't know how many hands have touched my blueberries, or what pesticides might have been sprayed near my kale. I like to buy organic, but I still want to know it is clean because I really don't know the conditions of where it has come from.

When shopping, I rely on the Environmental Working Groups Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 list. Each year the EWG update the list so it is always good to check back every so often.


But, what do you use to keep the cleaning process natural? How is the best way to clean your fruit and veg?  Here are a few you can try:

1. Wash with cold water - rinsing multiple times with cold water, and getting into all the crevices will remove a good amount of dirt, bugs and pesticides.
2. Soak in a vinegar and water solution - mix 4 parts water with 1 part white vinegar, and soak your produce for 30 minutes. After soaking, be sure to rinse thoroughly.
3. Salt solution - dissolve 1 part salt with 9 parts water, soak, then rinse really well to remove the salt. 

Different methods work better for different fruit or vegetables, so play around and see what works for you. It also helps to use good quality, chemical free water. If you have a water filter system, try to use filtered water when cleaning your produce.

When I come home from grocery shopping, I like to prep as many fruit and veg as I can so they are ready to use. I don't clean everything before I store it, but I clean a lot of what I put away. 

I like to clean things like zucchini and dry off really well before storing. I soak my kale, rinse well and use a salad spinner to remove the remaining water, then store in a container ready to use. I clean and trim the carrots and celery. I also clean any fruit such as apples, oranges, and mangoes. I will often clean berries ready to eat, but in all honesty, they rarely make it into the fridge. I don't wash potatoes until I am ready to use. I find it is hard to make sure they are dried properly before storing.

All this prep does make grocery day a little more involved, but when I have less time during the week, it makes it so much easier having a lot of the produce ready to go. If I have a few extra minutes, I will often create mason jar salads at the same time so there is no excuse not to eat a healthy lunch!