Archive | 11:35 am

To Be or Not To Be… Organic

9 Mar

I have always been concerned about what is on the fruits and vegtables I buy in the store because I really don’t know where they have been and what type of sprays could have been used on them. EWG (Environmental Working Group) came out with  handy grocery list for what produce you should definitely try to buy organic and what you can get away with not buying organic (and save yourself some pennies) based upon the pesticide level detected. Here is a visual:

However, whether you buy organic or not, ALWAYS wash your fruits and veggies well! :)

Here is a Produce Washing Tonic recipe I found at Passionate Homemaking.

Produce Washing Tonic
Adding a bit of lemon juice or 3-4 drops of grape­fruit seed extract can give it an extra boost!

3 cups fil­tered water
3 Tbsp white dis­tilled vine­gar or apple cider vine­gar
2 Tbsp baking soda

Mix ingre­di­ents together in a spray bottle. Spray it on fruits and veg­eta­bles. Rinse well with cold water. You may also com­bine in the sink to dunk your pro­duce if you desire to wash in large batches. This tonic is not rec­om­mended on mush­rooms as they will absorb the flavor.

Produce Washing Tips

1. Use a scrub brush for root veg­eta­bles, and pro­duce with rinds, groves or waxy sur­faces, and rinse well. This includes melons!

2. Dis­card outer leaves of leafy veg­eta­bles. Rinse each leaf indi­vid­u­ally. Make sure they are dry before stor­ing in the refrig­er­a­tor as mois­ture can encour­age the growth of bac­te­ria.

3. Wash more tender fruit (berries, grapes, etc) in a colan­der.

4. Cut pro­duce on a clean cut­ting board with a clean knife.

5. Thaw meats on a sep­a­rate tray or plate in the refrig­er­a­tor to pre­vent meat juices from drip­ping into pro­duce draw­ers.

6. Clean and san­i­tize the refrig­er­a­tor pro­duce drawer regularly.

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