Kitchen

[ECBG]

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@Pezzie wrote:

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.  

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@Pezzie 

I have a salad spinner and find a types of lettuce keeps in a zip lock with a paper towel for over a week.

Pre packaged goes bad quickly and has an odor.

[jannabelle1]

You're sort of talking two different things IMO. A crisp, fresh salad really isn't comparable to frozen vegetables. If you're that uncomfortable eating fresh food though, I'd stay away from it and just eat frozen vegetables and not worry about it. Frozen vegetables are full of nutrition because of the process they use. Canned veggies are also nutritious (minus the salt - so buy low-sodium). Most grocers or Amazon sell a fresh veggie "wash"....that would certainly be better than washing your food in soap!

Washing a banana peel isn't necessary at all. The peel is the protection for what's inside.

[KatieB]

Wow, I've never heard of washing vegetables with SOAP and water.  SMH on that one..  

[CatsyCline]

we grow our leaf lettuce until the weather gets too hot and then i like the organic hydroponic butter lettuce that comes in a clamshell pckg. it's very tender and good. can be stetched with iceberg or the romaine triples. i like the canadian Romaine but they too have had issues with tainted produce.

don't care much for bagged lettuce mixes.

don't worry too much about tomatoes. we grow or i get the Campari in the pkg.

watermelons i wash the rind with soap and water and dry because you don't really know who has handled the melons! same for mangoes.

For fruits like blackberries, i soak 15 min in water w a dash of white or cider vinegar. rinse 2x and dry in seive.  cuts down on mold too.  grapes and strawberries i take my chances and just rinse. apples i wash if i'm going to eat the peel.

[scatcat]

What's getting thru a banana peel?

I've read that organic bananas are not worth the price bump due to the "protective covering"

[Zhills]

With such a small nutritional difference, I would eat the one I like the best!

[Zhills]

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@scatcat wrote:

What's getting thru a banana peel?

I've read that organic bananas are not worth the price bump due to the "protective covering"

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You don't know where the bananas have been or how they were handled.  

You handle the peel, then take the banana in your hand and you have all that ?? on your banana to eat!

[Sooner]

I worry a lot about cleanliness in produce.  Most of the contamination comes from runoff from animal or poultry farming, unclean conditions in fields where bathroom facilities are not available, animal contamination, etc.

Crops are raised in dirt, sometimes harvested in mud, put in dirty trucks, and processed where water for processing may be contaminated.  I worry about all this because I was raised with farming. But I worry more about local uninspected things, canned foods, baked goods at farm markets, etc. 

And yes, I actually worry more about bacteria than chemical contamination (although I always buy organic when I can) and have no worries about GMO.  It is at the bottom of any concern I have.  

So I try really hard to see that things are clean.  I can remember all the turnip greens from my cousin and the spinach WE grew and how careful we were to wash it well. 

[Desert Lily]

@Mindy D was kind enough to post yesterday's recall of Fresh Express and Publix Salad Kits under "Wellness."

I guess this is the crux of what I mean:

Is it better to eat fresh salad that may later have a recall for bacteria? (but very healthy if it's fine)

Or, is it better to eat frozen and canned veggies? (canned veggies can also be no/low sodium)

Fresh is normally more appetizing to me, but...

[drizzellla]

I continue to buy bags of Romaine Lettuce at Sam's Club. I have never known the lettuce to have been recalled. The same company also makes different bagged salads. I always buy them too.

I watched the show "Inside the Factory". They compared different fresh vegetables to frozen.vegetables. There were minor differences but as a rule they were the same. Freezing ensures that a majority of nutrients, including vitamins and minerals, are preserved. Because they were picked and frozen the same day.