To minimize the risk of foodborne illness, you should properly clean your produce, which is sometimes easier said than done. Leafy greens can be one of the most challenging vegetables to wash, and while filling your sink with water and soaking the greens is certainly easy, it could make you sick instead of protecting you.

Kitchen sinks are often riddled with bacteria, especially if you thaw meat in the sink and or use it to clean contaminated cutting boards and other tools that may carry harmful contaminants like E. coli and salmonella. The kitchen sink is one of the most germ-infested spots in your home, and you don't want that all over your greens.

The best and safest way to wash greens is simply by rinsing them with clean hands. Remove the outer layers on tightly-packed greens like lettuce, along with any wilted or discolored leaves, then rinse the leaves under a steady stream of cold water, which will be both safer and quicker than the standard kitchen sink soak.