Kitchen

[Desert Lily]

The past few years, there's been several recalls of bagged salad mixes that made me apprehensive about buying them. I stopped buying anything with Romaine. Baby spinach is a fave of mine, but I cut that back. I washed & rinsed whatever I bought.

I used to doctor a bagged salad with grape tomatoes, ripe olives, etc.

Once, I washed the grape tomatoes with dish soap water but didn't rinse them well enough, and had a nasty stomach ache after eating them.

Then came the pandemic. I didn't buy any fresh produce during the pandemic because I didn't want anyone directly touching my food, no matter how much I washed it.

I've been eating frozen & canned veggies and more processed foods that I know aren't always healthy.

A year ago, I started eating fresh bananas. Confession: I use a wipee to clean the peel first.

This week is the first week I've purchased bag salad in over 3 years. It has iceberg lettuce, carrots, & purple cabbage. I washed it with Ivory dish soap & rinsed in a strainer.

I feel like I'm taking a chance eating bagged salad, but I've missed fresh produce.

I also bought grape tomatoes. Yes, I washed & rinsed them well.

With past salad recalls (& tomatoes), I'm still not sure if I'm doing my health a favor.

Is it healthier to eat the salads, or is it healthier to eat frozen and canned veggies?

[RhondaRena]

If you can find s local farmer I would suggest so. My mom and I got wonderful things this morning at our Farmers Market without pesticides and no harmful Bioengineering.

[Sooner]

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@RhondaRena wrote:

If you can find s local farmer I would suggest so. My mom and I got wonderful things this morning at our Farmers Market without pesticides and no harmful Bioengineering.

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@RhondaRena I actually trust commercially grown vegetables more because they have a chance of being federally inspected.  Locally grown stuff is totally dependent on what the grower says.  And they are just people.  Some are good, some aren't. 

[Ladyrain]

I don't think any fresh produce is 100% foolproof - not even what's grown in our backyards.  (Who know what critter sauntered through the garden or took a nibble.)   Perhaps washing/ringsing with a product made specifically for that purpose is better than soap?    I don't know; I just rinse or wipe my fruits and vegetables and hope for the best.   So far so good.   -    I have read more than once that frozen produce is almost better than fresh, as it (most of it anyway) is frozen immediately, versus being on a truck and transported across the country like fresh produce is. 

[Desert Lily]

@RhondaRena  I think the recalls were due to bacteria like e-coli, but not for pesticides.

I'm more worried about the bacteria, but I care about both.

[4kitties]

I guess I just throw caution to the wind as I eat bananas and never wipe them. Just peel and eat.

I eat bagged salad several times a week.  No illness for me yet.

I eat frozen veggies and fresh fruits and veggies.  I rinse the fruits and veggies well and then eat or cook and eat.  I avoid canned as much as possible, as the veggies have too much sodium and are over cooked and mushy.  

When possible, I buy my produce from an organic farmer.  I know the family and trust them.  Their produce is beyond description in flavor! 

[Pezzie]

We eat a lot of salads, but I never buy prepackaged salads or kits, as they are the subject of most recalls. I buy romaine lettuce and wash each leaf and everything else I put in the salad.  Haven't had any issues.  

[RedTop]

My husband is really the only one who likes salad in this house.  I only buy heads of iceberg lettuce, along with romaine, never bagged salad mix.   

[CrazyKittyLvr2]

I must live on the edge.  I give greens a quick rinse under cold water.  Period.  I peel a banana and eat it.  I've made it to 72 without sterlizing my food and no one has ever gotten sick from eating my salads.

[781Florist]

@CrazyKittyLvr2 Same here.  I rinse lettuce and tomatoes briefly and never do anything to bananas except peel and eat.  I am near 70.