We are getting to that time of year when fruits and veggies are really coming into abundance and so by extension, we are all going to be washing a lot more fruits and veggies. When I’m pulling things from my own garden a quick rinse is all I need, but whether I’m buying from the farmers market or grocery store I like to give my veggies an extra bit of washing to make sure we are ingesting any extra chemicals or fertilizers.
Even organic farmers use fertilizers, and honestly, I don’t really want to be eating any cow poop. Do you? Not to mention all the people who could have potentially touched the produce while checking it out. Same goes for chicken eggs. We raise our own laying hens, so we know right where the eggs are coming from, but they still sometimes end up covered in chicken poop. A little soak makes the dried on poop easier to get off without a bunch of scrubbing.
The thing about washing fruits and veggies is that some of them can be delicate, so you don’t want to actually scrub them. Similarly, for things like berries and grapes. How exactly do you expect to scrub all 8 million tiny little fruits? Put simply, you don’t. I find the best way is to give them a good soak, and then a good rinse removing any excess dirt with my hands.
There are a couple options for a good organic produce soak. You can use vinegar in water in a 1 to 3 ratio or you can use water and a couple drops of therapeutic grade lemon essential oils. Another option is to combine the two. This is my preferred option, mostly because I like the smell.
I use Rocky Mountain Oils, around my house and their lemon essential oil is easily one of my favorites. It’s got a great smell that just brightens up the world!