DIY Low Impact Produce Wash
Apple peels, sweet potato skins, carrot tops, curly leaf kale, all dirty dudes, all nutritious, and worth a good wash. Taking on this ethos of using every part of your produce requires a little bit more preparation.
I try to buy organic / local when possible to avoid any extra chemical residue. (In situations when this isn’t possible, removing a waxy or damaged skin from your produce is probably the better bet.) A sustainable cleaning process ensures your fruits and veggies are ready to eat and last longer. Getting in the habit of washing your produce as soon as you get home from the store or market makes it super easy to use it later throughout the week.
Baking soda is an awesome low cost, low impact alternative for clean eats! It’s way better to wash this down the drain than most other commercial dish detergents that are usually dyed, scented, and in a plastic bottle. I buy baking soda in a cute lil cardboard box and it lasts for a few months.
How-to:
Gather all fruits and veggies (it’s helpful to do everything at once to make it easier to pull out of the fridge for later use) and a large bowl.
Fill bowl with cool water about halfway.
Add 2 tablespoons of baking soda to bowl and mix to combine.
Add in produce, make sure all pieces are fully submerged, and let sit for 12 – 15 minutes.
Using a dedicated produce scrub or clean dish towel, scrub and rinse off produce and repeat steps 4 and 5 as needed. (I use the same solution for all of my produce at one time to do a batch wash.)
It’s that easy!
How do you clean your produce?? #closedloopcooking
