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Make Your Own Homemade Produce Cleaner {Green in 365: The Kitchen}

February 20, 2013 By Hilary Kimes Bernstein
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Green in 365 series

This is Day 51 of the Green in 365 series!

By Hilary from Accidentally Green

I really wish my family could afford to buy all organic, all the time – especially because I would love to avoid exposure to pesticides and genetically modified organisms. But unfortunately, our current grocery budget just doesn’t allow it.

Even with a limited budget I try to buy as much organic food as possible, lots of fresh produce – and I avoid buying produce listed on the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen Plus.

Regardless of organic or non-organic produce, I make sure I thoroughly clean it before serving it.

Instead of buying pricey commercial cleaners, you can make your own produce cleaner with just a few all-natural ingredients: white vinegar, baking soda, and lemon juice.

Make Your Own Homemade Produce Cleaner

Ingredients

  • ½ cup white vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 cup filtered or distilled water

Directions

If you choose to make a spray, pour the vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice and water into a clean, empty spray bottle. Shake gently to mix before using. Spray on fruits and vegetable, and let the sprayed produce sit for ten minutes. Rinse with cold water. Serve or store in a refrigerator.

Post by Live Renewed.

Or, if you’d rather soak your fruits and vegetables, simply double the recipe and mix the ingredients in a large bowl. Place an empty colander inside the bowl, and fill the colander with fruit and vegetables. Gently agitate the produce and soak for ten minutes. Lift the colander and rinse the soaked produce with cold water. Serve or store in a refrigerator. (Note: Do not soak mushrooms, because they’ll absorb extra water.)

*Don’t forget to clean the outside of citrus fruits and melons before cutting them – you’ll prevent contamination from bacteria and pesticides.

It’s easy to make your own produce cleaner at home to be sure you’re serving your family the cleanest fruits and veggies that you can!

Have you tried using produce cleaner for your fresh fruits and vegetables?

More Green-Cleaning Kitchen Ideas:

Cleaning the Oven

Clean a White Kitchen Sink Without Harsh Chemicals

Using Cloth in the Kitchen

Deep Clean Your Kitchen

Green Clean the Microwave

10 Green Cleaners for the Kitchen

Using Cloth Napkins and Towels

Green Spring Cleaning in the Kitchen

5 Simple Castile Soap Cleaning Recipes

10 Ways to Clean with Salt

Hilary Kimes BernsteinHilary Kimes Bernstein from Accidentally Green is a Christ follower, wife, mama, and writer who blogs about making healthy decisions that honor God and happen to help the environment at Accidentally Green. She’s recently released her first eBook, First Bites: How To Instill Healthy Eating Habits During Your Baby’s First Year.

Find all the Green in 365 posts.


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9 CommentsFiled Under: Green in 365 Tagged With: green in 365, homemade, kitchen, real food, reducing toxins

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Comments

  1. Heather says

    February 20, 2013 at 1:37 pm

    Thank you for posting this! I have been wanting to make my own produce spray, but wasn’t quite sure where to start. This will definitely be on my to-do list for the weekend! Do you use this on all of your veggies and fruit? Or are there some that you wouldn’t use it on (besides the mushrooms).

    Reply
    • Hilary says

      February 21, 2013 at 12:56 am

      I hope you’ll enjoy this spray, Heather! I do use it on all my veggies and fruit (except mushrooms). If you choose to soak your produce, you’ll be surprised at how filthy the water looks after you’ve cleaned everything.

      Reply
  2. Jennifer says

    May 29, 2013 at 9:17 am

    Does the produce wash keep – so I can use it for a while or does it have to be up fresh every time?

    Reply
    • Hilary Kimes Bernstein says

      May 30, 2013 at 7:22 am

      As long as it hasn’t be used to soak produce, the wash does keep. I’d gently shake your spray bottle before using the spray.

      Reply
  3. Yohoho says

    June 28, 2013 at 11:34 am

    An actual produce wash that will kill bacteria such as e.coli is:

    1. Fill a clean bottle with full strength vinegar (white or apple cider).
    2. Fill another clean bottle with full strength 3% hydrogen peroxide, which you can get at any grocery or drug store.
    3. Spray produce with one, then the other. It doesn’t really matter which you spray with first.
    4. Rinse with water.
    Taken from: http://www.sciencenews.org/sn_arch/9_28_96/food.htm

    Reply

Trackbacks

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