1st ever Friday Food tip....Very Clean Veggies

Don't panic...I realize I have never been a plethora of domestic tips but this one I couldn't pass up.

I am fanatical about washing produce. It completely "grosses me out" to think about all the yucky things it comes into contact with on the way to market, not to mention all the people handling it and sneezing on it, etc. (Yeah...I am a real fan of buffet type restaurants....NOT). So, I wash fruits and vegetables even if they are marked ready to eat and tend to buy FIT produce wash http://www.tryfit.com/ or some other fruit/veggie wash. Unfortunately, that is a bit pricey and sometimes I have a hard time finding the FIT but in the May 2007 issue of Southern Living magazine http://www.southernliving.com/ there was a great tip on a "cheaper" ***always a great thing!*** solution you can make at home:

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  Southern Living, May 2007, Page 194:
  
  "You may have noticed that our recipes utilizing bagged salad greens call for them to be "thoroughly washed." We added this phrase to our editing style after outbreaks of E. coli in spinach and salad. While rinsing under running water offers some protection against unsafe bacteria, Test Kitchens Food Scientist Kristi Michelle Crowe, PhD, offers some better suggestions.
  
  "Make a solution of 1-1/3 cups 3% hydrogen peroxide and 2-2/3 cups distilled water, and keep in a spray bottle in the kitchen," Kristi advises. "Spritz the greens with the solution, rinse with running water, then spin or pat them dry. Replace the solution once a week. It is an effective, budget-friendly solution to both expensive vegetable cleaners and to bleach, which the processors use."
  
  The peroxide solution works well on other vegetables, too, but Kristi says a good old-fashioned vegetable brush (used only for cleaning produce) and distilled water are good weapons against harmful bacteria.
  
  -- Donna Florio

In the words of the infamous "Martha"....It's a Good thing!