10 lemon uses

By Stephanie Rogers

Lemons are so much more than a colorful garnish. These little yellow citrus fruits have hundreds of practical applications around the house, from polishing stainless steel appliances to brightening laundry. The citric acid in lemons gives them powerful natural cleaning abilities, and they're useful for natural health and beauty, too. These 10 uses for lemons will cut back on your house cleaning expenses, eliminate unnecessary chemical cleaners and give your home a fresh, invigorating scent.

 

Deodorize your home

From the refrigerator to the cat litter box, lemons can eliminate bad smells of all kinds throughout the house. Soak a sponge in lemon juice and place it inside the fridge to absorb odors. Simmer lemon peel in a pot of water for a fresh whole-house scent. Toss leftover lemon down your garbage disposal to banish bad smells from accumulated food gunk. Just a few slices of cut lemon placed near a litter box will help neutralize unpleasant odors.

 

Remove tarnish

Remove the tarnish that keeps brass, copper and stainless steel from sparkling by making a paste of lemon juice and salt and applying it to the affected surface. Let it sit for five minutes, then rinse with warm water and pat dry.

 

Polish metal surfaces

There's no need to purchase a special polish for stainless steel, aluminum and chrome. Just cut a lemon in half and rub it directly on the surface to remove fingerprints and grime. For extra cleaning power, mix lemon juice with either salt, baking soda or cream of tartar. The latter two options are gentle enough to polish metal surfaces without leaving any scratches behind.

 

Eliminate stains

Sweat, grass, wine, tomato and other stains can be lifted right out with a little lemon juice. Blot up as much of the offending substance as possible, and then saturate the stain with juice. Sprinkle with salt and then rub the salt in. Then, toss the garment into the wash.

 

Brighten laundry without bleach

You don't need bleach to brighten whites that have dulled or yellowed. Add a quarter-cup of lemon juice to the rinse cycle when washing white laundry, and then hang the items to dry on a clothesline in the sun. The combination of the lemons and sunlight will have your whites looking good as new.

 

Keep fruits and vegetables from turning brown

Apples, potatoes, avocados and other fruits and vegetable that tend to turn brown when sliced can be preserved with just a little bit of lemon juice. Add a teaspoon or so to the water when boiling potatoes, and sprinkle just a little bit on fruit salad or guacamole.

 

Relieve a sore throat

No matter how it's flavored, cough syrup never tastes good. The next time your throat is so sore you can barely breathe, try this trick instead: mix a tablespoon of lemon juice and a tablespoon of honey into a cup of water and either simmer on the stovetop or microwave until warm, but not too hot to drink. The lemon clears congestion, while the honey soothes inflamed tissue.

 

Clean greasy dishes

Lemon juice is extremely effective on grease. Squeeze it onto tough messes, including crusted, baked-on foods, and let it sit for a few minutes. Then, make a paste with some baking soda and a little more lemon juice and scrub away the gunk.

 

Repel insects without pesticides

Ants, fleas, moths, cockroaches and other insects are driven away by the strong scent and flavor of lemons. Hang a breathable cloth sachet of dried lemon peels in your closet instead of mothballs, and squeeze fresh lemon juice onto windowsills and doors where pests are likely to gain entrance to your home. You can also spray lemon juice into hard-to-reach areas, like the cracks between appliances and walls.

 

Whiten yellow fingernails

Give your nails a healthier, more youthful look with a lemon juice soak. Remove any nail polish, wash your hands and then soak your fingernails in full-strength lemon juice for a minute or two. Moisturize them afterward to prevent excessive dryness.

Rebuild your body

Plants update 6/2/13

 6/2/13 - Parsley all grown and ready to eat:)

6/2/13 - Parsley and my mystery plant, I'm sure it's lettuce

 6/2/13 - 2 of the cucumbers, growing nicely

6/2/13 - flowers ablooming...

Plant pruning 6/1/13

Decided to prune some of my tomatoes again this year, they're getting way too tall, and not warm enough outside this year yet

6/1/13 - tallest plant snipped

6/1/13 - then a few more tomatoes...the cherry tomatoes got the tallest

 6/1/13 -pruned one pepper plant too

6/1/13 - and another tomato plant

6/1/13 - this one already flowered! In desperate need of a bigger pot...and some water this morning to perk up!

6/1/13 -unfortunately I don't have the room to re-pot all my tomatoes!

Cilantro harvest & Soup

 5/31/13 - cilantro ready for harvest:)

  5/31/13 - just enough for my soup

 5/31/13 - made some veggie soup (my first day of 2nd liver flush cleanse) Soup made with organic veggie broth, zucchini, broccoli, cucumber, carrots and swiss chard steams...and organic spices and lots of cayenne pepper...topped off with freshly harvested cilantro^_^ Delicious!

Cocoa with date sugar

I've upgraded my cocoa yet again, a notch higher in the healthy category by substituting the coconut palm sugar with date sugar (which is basically dried ground up dates). It's delicious!

Ingredients

• 1 mug of unsweetened Almond milk
• 2 tsps date sugar
• 1 heap tsp raw cacao powder
• 1 tsp maca poweder
• 1/4 tsp betaine (from sugar beets)
• 3 drops Loving Energy
• 1/2 tsp Ho Shu Wu 
• 1/4 tsp Cordyceps (not included but usually add this) 

Recipe

Heat up the almond milk on the stove on high heat. After slightly warm, I sift in the cocoa powder, maca powder, ho shou wu, and add the date sugar. I then whisk it until optimally dissolved, not letting it reach a boil.  I turn off the stove, strain out whatever ho shou wu & cocoa doesn't dissolve. Strain it again back into the pan on high heat to warm it back up.  When it's hot enough, pour into mug, and add 3 drops of Loving Energy...which is an amazing tonic blend of herbs.  Delicious! Date sugar isn't as sweet as other alternatives, so add according to taste...2 tsps were enough for me, the maca and cocoa along with the ho shou wu add so much flavor for me that I don't need much to sweeten it up. 

Date Sugar

Date sugar is a wonderful sugar substitute that is healthy for kids and adults, and it tastes great. Date sugar  is not processed, or refined and it is loaded with  fiber, vitamins and minerals.  Date sugar is a light brown, pretty color and has a very wonderful taste.

Date sugar is just GROUND UP DATES!

Date sugar is a natural sugar made by grinding up dates. It is very healthy for you and tastes really good.

• 1 cup of refined processed sugar can be replaced by 2/3 cup of date sugar, to 1 cup of sugar depending on the taste you are going for.
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Health Benefits of Dates and Date Sugar

1. DATE SUGAR IS PACKED WITH VITAMINS AND MINERALS
Date sugar is loaded with vitamins and minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, iron, copper, manganese, and selenium; where white sugar does not.
What a wonderful thing to be able to make healthy muffins, healthy cookies, pancakes, waffles, bread and healthy desserts with a sugar substitute like date sugar that has vitamins and minerals it it.

2. DATES MAKE YOU FEEL FULL LONGER
Date sugar is packed with  fiber, protein and carbs which make you feel full much longer. This can help to curb hunger and help prevent weight gain.

3. HELP WITH CIRCULATION
Date sugar is loaded with Potassium and actually has more potassium per serving size than bananas do. Potassium has many health benefits including helping to prevent cramps in kids as they grow bigger.

4. DATE SUGAR IS LOW IN CALORIES
Date sugar is low in calories at 288 calories for a 1/2 of cup of date sugar; compared to white refined sugar which has 387 calories per 1/2 cup.

5. TIRED MOM’S CAN BOAST THEIR ENERGY WITH DATE SUGAR
Dates are considered to be one of the best energy boosting snacks as they are power-packed with 29 grams of natural sugars such as glucose, sucrose and fructose.

Within an hour of eating dates, you will notice an increase in energy.

6. DATES ARE KNOWN TO HELP PREVENT INTESTINAL PROBLEMS
Eating dates consistently helps to increase the good bacteria that is in the intestines.
What a fun way to eat dates by making living healthy desserts with date sugar.

7. FORTIFY YOUR HEART WITH DATE SUGAR
Eating dates even twice a week has been shown to help fortify the heart. Adding date sugar in your baked treats is a great way to add dates into your life.

8. DATES ARE WLL KNOWN IN HELPING TO PREVENT CONSTIPATION
Dates are known for being wonderful in helping to be regular and prevent constipation.

9. HIGH CONCENTRATION OF POLYPHENOLS-WHICH IS IN GREEN TEA
-According to researchers at the University of Scranton in Scranton Pennsylvania, dates have the highest concentration of poly-phenols among dried fruits. Poly-phenols is what is inside of wine and green tea that has gained so much attention for health practitioners.

By The Living Healthy Mom

Dates (Phoenix dactylifera), medjool,
Nutritive Value per 100 g
(Source: USDA National Nutrient data base)

Principle	Nutrient Value	Percentage of RDA
Energy	277 Kcal	14%
Carbohydrates	74.97 g	58%
Protein	1.81g	3%
Total Fat	0.15 g	<1%
Cholesterol	0 mg	0%
Dietary Fiber	6.7 g	18%
Vitamins
Folates	15 µg	4%
Niacin	1.610 mg	10%
Pantothenic acid	0.805 mg	16%
Pyridoxine	0.249 mg	19%
Riboflavin	0.060 mg	4.5%
Thiamin	0.050 mg	4%
Vitamin A	149 IU	5%
Vitamin C	0 mg	0%
Vitamin K	2.7 µg	2%
Electrolytes
Sodium	1 mg	0%
Potassium	696 mg	16%
Minerals
Calcium	64 mg	6.5%
Copper	0.362 mg	40%
Iron	0.90 mg	11%
Magnesium	54 mg	13%
Manganese	0.296 mg	13%
Phosphorus	62 mg	9%
Zinc	0.44 mg	4%
Phyto-nutrients
Carotene-ß	89 µg	--
Crypto-xanthin-ß	0 µg	--
Lutein-zeaxanthin	23 µg	--