Hey friends!
I have a quick, useful little tip for you today - how to properly wash your produce with baking soda.
I usually like to get fresh produce at a local little organic farm near me, and I cannot recommend finding one in your own area enough. So many towns have these tucked away and people have no idea they’re even there!
The one I go to isn’t any more expensive than the organic produce at the grocery store - sometimes it’s actually cheaper - and the quality is amazing. It’s worth a google search to see what’s hiding near you!
Now, because this produce is organic and is picked straight from the farm, I don’t technically have to wash it the way you would conventional produce.. but it still comes with dirt on it (which I kind of love), so I always give it a good wash anyway. And my favorite way to do that is baking soda.
Baking soda is one of the best ways to clean pesticides off your fruits and veggies. It’s safe, cheap, non-toxic, and takes little effort.
There’s a 2017 study out of the University of Massachusetts that found soaking produce for about 15 minutes in a baking soda solution (roughly 2 teaspoons of baking soda per liter of water) removed the pesticide residues on the surface - better than plain tap water AND better than a bleach wash.
It works so well because baking soda is alkaline (most pesticides don’t hold up well in an alkaline environment).
It basically breaks them down so they rinse off.
I see lots of people add vinegar AND baking soda together to wash their produce.
Please don’t do this one!
Vinegar is acidic and baking soda is alkaline, so when you mix them they basically cancel each other out. You want it to stay alkaline so it can break the pesticides down - so it’s just baking soda and water, no vinegar.
I will say no wash is getting rid of the pesticides that have soaked down inside the fruit. But everything sitting on the surface will come off with this easy little trick.
Quick reference on the measurements, so you have them…
Use about 2 teaspoons of baking soda per 1 liter (about 4 cups) of water.
Soak your produce for 15 minutes, then give it a good rinse. It’s easy to scale up in a big bowl or a clean sink if you’re washing a lot at once.
Oh - and the baking soda I use is linked here → my favorite baking soda. A little goes a long way, so one bag lasts forever!
Try it this week - and go find yourself a little produce farm while you’re at it!
🤍
Melissa
The Balance Routine
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