Gretchen Scalpi, RDN

Eating the right food is key to a healthy lifestyle but even more important is handling food the right way before you start to cook. Nearly 48 million people a year get sick from food contamination according to federal health officials. While most people know how to handle meat they might not know how to prepare fruits and vegetables properly. Following are some essential tips to keep healthy while eating your fruits and veggies!

• Wash your utensils, counters and dishes that you will use to prepare food.
• Wash your hands with soap before and after handling any food.
• Don’t use soap on your fruits and vegetables.
• Cut away any damaged areas on your fruit or vegetables.
• Wash and gently scrub your produce under running water before peeling.
• Leafy vegetables can be pulled apart with outer leaves discarded and soaked in water for a few minutes before being gently dried.
• If food is labeled as “washed” when you buy it you don’t need to rewash it before eating.
• If you don’t intend to cook your produce right away keep it in the refrigerator.

The benefits of eating more fruit and vegetables is widely known. Now you know how to handle and prepare produce you’ll have no excuse for not adding more of them to your daily diet.

Tags: cut calories, rice protein, whey protein