How to Make Homemade Fruit and Vegetable Wash
We had this discussion with my pickleball group about how to clean your fruits and vegetables. I live in a small town in Indiana where many farm, have gardens, can and so I enjoyed the conversation. With the new emphasis on Make America Healthy Again, I thought detailing inexpensive homemade ways to clean your fruits and vegetables from dirty and pesticides. Many don’t realize that even organic fruits and vegetables have some pesticides, but just pesticides that are approved for organic foods by the FDA.
If you want to clean your fruits & vegetables to ensure they are pesticide-free, there are a number of different types homemade sprays or washes you can use.
What You Need
1 measuring cup
Spray Bottle
Colander
Distilled White Vinegar
Baking Soda
Lemon Juice
Cleaning Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
A combination of water, distilled white vinegar, baking soda and lemon juice are an effective way to clean your fruits and vegetables.
Recipe 1:
One recipe calls for ¼ cup distilled white vinegar, 1 cup water and ½ tablespoon of lemon juice. Put these ingredients into a spray bottle. To completely fill the spray bottle, you might want to double or triple the recipe ingredients.
Put the fruits or vegetables into a colander & spray. Let the produce sit or pat the fruits & vegetables dry with a clean cloth or paper towel.
You can also put the wash in a bowl & place the produce in the bowl & let soak for a couple of minutes.
Recipe 2:
Another recipe calls for ¼ cup distilled white vinegar, 1 cup water and ½ tablespoon of lemon juice. Put these ingredients into a spray bottle. To fill the spray bottle, you might want to double or triple the recipe.
Recipe 3:
Another recipe calls for 1 cup distilled white vinegar, 3 cups water and 1-2 teaspoons baking soda. Mix well.
Fill the bowl with the wash solution. For cleaning berries, immerse 1 – 2 minutes in wash. For herbs, thin-skinned fruits and vegetables: immerse 4 – 5 minutes, thicker-skin produce: immerse 10 – 15 minutes. Rinse thoroughly.
Cleaning Leafy Vegetables
Put the greens in a clean bowl. Fill the bowl with a solution of 1 cup distilled white vinegar to 4 cups of water with 1 tablespoon salt. Let sit for 3-4 minutes. Rinse the greens off under cold water either using a colander or salad spinner.
For more information, here are some really great resources:
https://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/packages/food-network-essentials/How-to-wash-fruit-with-vinegar
https://www.health.com/home/how-to-wash-fruits-and-vegetables
https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/homemade-fruit-and-vegetable-wash/
https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-your-own-fruit-and-veggie-wash-256797
By Barbara Day, M.S., R.D. is a registered dietitian with a Master’s Degree in clinical nutrition. She is the Chief Blog Organizer for www.DayByDayLiving.net
Barbara worked as a research nutritionist with the military’s tri-service medical school & working as a performance nutrition consultant to Navy SEALS’ BUD/S Training Program and West Coast active Navy SEAL Teams. Barbara is the former nutrition performance consultant to the University of Louisville Athletic Department. She is the author of Fast Facts on Fast Food For Fast People and High Energy Eating Sports Nutrition Workbook for Active People used by the University of Louisville, University of Tennessee Lady Vols and the Tennessee football program, the LSU basketball program, the Buffalo Bills, the Cleveland Browns and by the United States Navy SEALs.
The former publisher of Kentuckiana HealthFitness Magazine, Kentuckiana Healthy Woman magazine and radio show host of Health News You Can Use, Barbara has over 50 years of experience in promoting healthy lifestyles to consumers. Barbara is a former runner who walks, a spinner, pickleball player, hiker, a mother and grandmother to 13 grandchildren.
