There are many precautions to take when preparing produce for salads, smoothies and juicing.
The precautions are important to prevent contamination of the produce from E. Coli, handling, pesticides, and other bacteria.
These precautions extend to shopping, washing and properly storing, produce.
For Example:
When shopping, choose unbruised and undamaged produce.
Select organic when possible.
Wash your hands thoroughly before and after handling produce.
Thoroughly wash any surface they have touched, including knives, and cutting boards.
Always wash oranges, melons, squash, pineapple and other produce with inedible rinds before cutting or peeling the produce, since cutting or peeling will transfer contaminants to the edible fruit.
Dry produce with a clean cloth and cut away damaged areas or rot before serving.
When working with cabbage and lettuce, always discard– and never eat– the outer leaves (and always wash the inner leaves).
How to Wash Produce:
- Smooth-Skinned Produce: Spray Bottle Wash
I keeping a blend of vinegar and water at a 1 to 3 ratio in a glass spray bottle on my kitchen sink which makes cleaning smooth-skinned produce easier. I add 2 T fresh lemon juice to the vinegar mixture to increase the acidity and help kill off increased amounts of bacteria, including E. Coli.
Use the glass spray bottle to mist the fruit or vegetable, thoroughly coating its exterior with the vinegar solution. (I use glass to prevent the acidity of the lemon and vinegar from eroding in plastic bottles).
Allow the produce to sit with the solution for 30 seconds before rubbing its surface with your hands, and rinsing it under cold, running water. This removes all vinegar taste.
Cleaning smooth-skinned fruits and vegetables by gently rubbing them with your hands instead of an abrasive scrubber. (This prevents you from breaking the skin before the fruit or vegetable is completely clean, which could expose the flesh to contaminants or early rot).
Tomatoes, apples and grapes are examples of smooth-skinned produce.
2. Rough- or Firm-Surfaced: Sink Soak Wash
Broccoli, cauliflower, leafy greens, melons, potatoes, berries and other produce without a smooth or soft surface are slightly more difficult to clean.
They require a soaking in a 1 to 3 vinegar and water mixture. Adding 2T lemon juice to the vinegar mixture makes it more effective by increasing the acidity. This can help kill increased amounts of bacteria, including E. coli. Washing berries with a vinegar solution offers additional benefits — it prevents them from molding within a few days of purchase.
For heads of cabbage or other greens, you will need to separate the individual leaves for thorough cleaning. If you use your sink as the container for the water and vinegar mixture, you should have plenty of room.
After their soak, scrub the vegetables with a soft vegetable brush, and rinse them under running water.
3. Storing Produce:
Keep your fruit and vegetables ready for salads, smoothies, and juicing by washing them before storing.
- Most fruits and hardier type vegetables can be stored at room temperature. The more delicate and perishable items such as tomatoes, berries, leafy greens, celery, cucumbers, and herbs should be stored in the refrigerator until needed.
- To keep leafy, stalk, and cruiciferous vegetables crisp and extend their use: Store them in the refrigerator wrapped in moist paper towels, or in vejibag.com.
Keep your produce safe for daily consumption and enjoyment for your health, wellness, and healthy aging.
Life Life Optimally,
Kristie
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Kristie is a wife and mother of 4 and an athlete. She has been working in healthcare for more than 25 years. Kristie’s goal is to assist her patients to achieve and maintain an exceptional level of health and life-balance. She successfully blends prevention, optimization, hormone therapy, and age management with balanced and healthy living into her progressive wellness and integrative medical practice. Read more
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