All-Natural Fruit and Veggie Wash (3 Recipes!)

If you are not buying organic produce it means that delicious looking apple is tainted with pesticides or herbicides, or both. Even if you buy organic produce, think about all the possible hands it may have come in contact with, from the moment it was harvested to the moment it got to your hands (and even then, who knows where your hands have been!).   Another reason is the wax coating that is in most fruits.

There is conflicting information whether or not the wax is safe for consumption, according to the FDA it is; then again the FDA says raw milk isn’t safe so they don’t exactly trustworthy in my book. Some grocery stores use “food grade” wax which only makes you wonder what the other kind is!

You will learn [hide]

• What you’ll need
• Recipe #1Good for fruits and veggies with a hard peel
• Recipe #2 Good for removing wax off of apples and grapes
• Recipe #3 Good for fruits without a peel or soft peel such as berries
• Notes and tips

What you’ll need

• Fresh lemon juice
• White vinegar (Get at Amazon.com)
• Baking soda
• Grapefruit seed extractor GSE (Get at Amazon.com)
• Brush
• Water
• Large bowl
• BPA-free spray bottle (Get at Amazon.com)

Recipe #1Good for fruits and veggies with a hard peel

• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 10 drops of GSE
• 4 cups of cool water
• Large bowl
• Mix all the ingredients together, submerge fruits or veggies in bowl and let them soak for at least 5 minutes.
• Discard mixture and give fruits and veggies a final rinse with cool water.

Quick alternative  This is the mixture I use the most but I cut all measurements by half and add them into a BPA-free spray bottle that I keep always filled by the sink. Whenever I need to wash anything (especially if it’s just one piece of produce) I spray it with mixture and give it a quick scrub with a veggie brush.

Recipe #2 Good for removing wax off of apples and grapes

• 4 tbs of lemon juice
• 1/4 cup baking soda
• 4 cups of cool water
• Large bowl
• Add water to bowl first, next lemon, lastly add the baking soda.
• Mix until well combined, add fruit or veggies and let them soak for at least 5 minutes.
• Discard mixture and give fruit a final rinse with cool water.

Recipe #3 Good for fruits without a peel or soft peel such as berries

• 1 cup white vinegar
• 4 cups cool water
• Large bowl
• Mix water and vinegar in a large bowl, add fruits or veggies and let them soak for at least 5 minutes.
• Discard water and give them a final rinse with cool water.

Quick alternativeThis is the most basic recipe for a fruit and veggie wash which can be used for any fruits or veggies but a longer soak is required (especially for fruit coated with wax). A quick alternative is to have a stronger vinegar and water ratio, a 1:1 ratio, ready in a BPA-free spray bottle and give spray the product rather than soak, just be sure to either give it a quick scrub with a brush or by hand depending on the type of product.

Notes and tips

Notes and tips There is conflicting information regarding GSE. Many believe it may not be as natural due to the process in which it is extracted, and that some contain parabens, triclosan, and belzalkonium chloride. My personal research on the subject, which included contacting a couple of companies (yeah, I am that crazy) I only feel comfortable recommending one brand which is NutriBiotic. Never soak onions, they absorb the water and you won’t be able to use it.

Please avoid commercial fruit and veggie washes. If using a plastic spray bottle please be sure it is PBA-free. Because it is hard to find those, I prefer glass bottles, my favourite frugal way is to reuse my Bragg’s apple cider vinegar bottles, I use a spray top for any other plastic spray bottle and voila!