Over the past few weeks several clients have emailed me this link. After taking a peek I think everyone who eats fruits and vegetables should watch these videos. You are what you eat, and if you forget to wash and inspect your produce you risk eating several species of insects.

Of particular interest was the tutorial about strawberries, one of my favorite fruits. The video is absolutely shocking.  I will never think about strawberries in the same way again.

Another honorable mention goes to green leafy vegetables, in particular lettuce.  As a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and advocate of eating whole live natural foods, I encourage everyone to eat more greens.  The site recommends you soak greens in a soapy solution for at least ½ hour. Rinse well.  It’s important to choose greens wisely through inspection.

Make sure you:

1. Make a complete, leaf by leaf inspection, checking both sides of the leaf.
2. Wash off any insects prior to use.
3. Chop/cut lettuce, eat and enjoy.

When I studied ecology at The Canadian School of Natural Nutrition, my instructor taught us that if bugs were found on produce it was usually more nutritious and most likely organic.  Insects hate pesticides; therefore organic produce tends to yield more bugs.  By practicing proper inspection and washing methods you can make sure your produce (organic or non-organic) is pest free.

I’ve often wondered if pre-packaged pre-cut produce we purchase at the grocery store is washed prior to packaging? Bags of salad greens often say “triple washed”, yet in small print on the back of the bags suggest washing prior to consumption.  This leaves me confused. Is it safe to eat prepackaged vegetables without washing? Perhaps you should be the judge. I think I’ll be safe and take the precaution to wash it anyway.

I would love to hear your thoughts about this post. If you can answer my question I’d love to hear from you too. Just email me.