Lately I’ve been reading a lot about how “dirty” fruits and vegetables often are – and earlier this evening I read a post over at Natural Knowledge 24/7 about the 10 Dirtiest Fruits and Vegetables. Obviously we should opt for locally grown organic foods whenever possible, or even better – grow our own – but that is not always do-able. My husband and I do try to purchase locally grown food when we can, and I frequent the farmers’ market in my town when it runs during the spring, summer and fall. We live in small town, Alberta, Canada, where our growing season is something like 3 weeks*, however, so in order to have fresh fruits and vegetables year round, imported foods in the supermarket are a necessary evil for us.
Even if you have to buy fruits and vegetables that are not organic, you CAN do a few things to lessen the impact of pesticides and other contaminants. Fruit and vegetable washes have become much more popular in recent years, but it seems to me that most of those are really just additional chemicals that you put on your food to get off the dirt. Kind of counter-productive. Instead of the typical fruit and veggie washes you might find in your supermarket, my husband and I use an all natural fruit and vegetable wash that is made right here in Canada, just a few hours away in Saskatchewan. Natural Plantation makes a fabulous fruit and vegetable wash from Purslane (from the Portulaca plant), and it is so safe that you could drink it if you wanted to (though I’m not sure it would be the most satisfying beverage). This stuff is good, and I mean good. We use it for all of our produce, and simply put a pump or two into about 1/2 a sink of water, then let the food soak for a while. It takes off a LOT of dirt and grime; you should see how gross the water is when you take the fruit and veggies out of the sink. The nice thing is that you don’t even need to rinse your food! We also sometimes use the wash to clean off meat and seafood before cooking, and one bottle usually lasts us for a couple of months or longer.
Even if you buy organic food all the time, your fruits and vegetables probably still have dirt and other contaminants on them – including animal feces…yum! So no matter what type of produce you buy, you can benefit from Purslane Fruit & Veggie wash. You can buy this product in both Canada and the United States, and I really believe it is worth it. Check it out!
*Yeah, okay – I’m exaggerating, but not by a lot – I swear!
eat.laugh.love.sweat 