How to Clean Fruits and Vegetables

When thinking about how to clean fruits and vegetables, buying a bottle of cleaner that you see in the produce area of the grocery store may be an option. However, you can easily make your own mixture for a fraction of the cost.

Edible Exteriors

Fruits and vegetables have either edible outsides or not. The benefit of eating the skins of apples, potatoes, zucchini and cucumber, for example, are that you get fiber in your diet. However, the downfall is some fruits and vegetables skins may have been exposed to pesticides. Even if you wash the outside of the fruit or vegetable reallly well, you may not be able to completely get rid of the residual pesiticides. Not good!

This is why it is recommended that you buy organic fruits and vegetables if you plan to eat the skin. It is not as big a deal when you are not eating the outsides like on a banana or an onion.

Instructions

You will need:

1 spray bottle (clean and never used with chemicals)

2 cups water

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp baking soda

Mix the ingredients in the spray bottle. The liquid will appear a bit foamy.

To clean fruits and vegetables, simply spray the liquid on the food. Let sit for 5 minutes. Rinse under cold, running water, using a soft scrub brush on the food if desired. And that’s how to clean fruits and vegetables.