Updated: 2/2/2022: As I continue to edit old posts that I did, I came across this post. As my family is currently doing a Food Budget/Pantry Challenge for the whole year of 2022, this post became even more relevant. This refers to fresh fruit and veggies. If you buy frozen or canned, organic if you can afford it is best. This does not apply to processed foods, or convenience foods, for obvious reasons. Those foods, shelf-stable, if I choose to purchase them I do try to afford the organic varieties.
If you are like me, you may be trying to go Organic. Organic foods are much more expensive than non-organic foods. But, since they are supposed to be healthier I do it. I won’t even go into the depressing article I read on how Organics were actually discovered to have pesticides. Not yet, deep breath! But, earlier this week, I read an article about how a new discovery of washing fruits, and veggies, is very effective in washing off pesticides. This is good news to me. We live on a budget, as a lot of Americans do, and buying Organic all the time is killing my grocery budget.
The report I read, which I can’t find now, was basically the same as the one I found on Consumer Reports. I will get right to the point, but you can read all the boring mumbo jumbo by clicking that link in the sentence above. They used bleach, regular water, and baking soda water. Yes, baking soda, is a very cheap product to purchase. I have stated previously that I take a 1/2 tsp of baking soda, in water twice a day, as prescribed by my doctor, and the results have been awesome for me in reversing my Metabolic Acidosis when I was first diagnosed with CKD. Now, I find another awesome way to use it. I don’t want to wash my food in bleach, sorry. I clean the house with it, but not to food washing. Plain water, well ok but you know it isn’t going to remove all the pesticides. According to the Consumer Report article, one tsp of baking soda in 2 cups of water for 2 minutes, removed some of the pesticides. The other article I read was a tbsp of baking soda in a liter of water for 12 minutes, and most pesticides were removed. Of course, you can’t account for pesticides already absorbed, but if you peel your fruits and vegetables that helps even more. Be sure to rinse anything you soak in the baking soda solution.
I can not tell you how awesome I think this is, especially for people who might not be able to afford the more expensive organic items. There are other very good reasons to buy organic foods other than they are healthier to eat. But, when you live on a budget and you need to feed your family, organic might just not be feasible. If you ever wanted a cause to join, pushing politicians to make organic foods more affordable and accessible is a good option.
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