Amazing Uses for Lemon

The lemon is so much more amazing than I could have ever imagined.  Did you know that a lemon peel contains as much as 5 to 10 times more vitamins than the lemon juice itself?  And I’m guessing the peel is the part you’ve been waiting, right? Well, from now on you won’t have an excuse because I’ve got all sorts of neat ways to utilize the entire lemon.

Fighting Cancer: If you want the full benefits of the lemon, place it in your freezer and then grate a little onto your food every day.  It’ll not only make your food tastier, but help you live healthier and longer.  As a matter of fact, lemon (citrus) is a miraculous product to kill cancer cells. It is 10,000 times stronger than chemotherapy. Lemon juice is beneficial in preventing the disease. Its taste is pleasant and it does not produce the horrific effects of chemotherapy.

Cleaning a Greasy Mess: Greasy pans? Splattered stove tops? Messy counters? Try using lemon halves before bringing out possibly toxic chemical cleaners. Sprinkle some salt (for abrasion) on a juiced lemon half and rub on the greasy areas, wipe up with a towel. (Be careful using lemon on marble counter tops, or any other surface which may be sensitive to acid).

Clean Your Microwave: All it takes is one exploding bowl of food to gunk up your microwave.  You might be tempted to reach for a harsh chemical, but before you do that, try this: add lemon rinds to a microwave-safe bowl filled halfway with water. Cook on high for 5 minutes, allowing the water to boil and the steam to condense on the walls and tops of the oven. Carefully remove the hot bowl and wipe away the mess with a towel.

Clean Your Tea Kettle or Coffee Pot: For mineral deposit build up in your tea kettle, fill the kettle with water, add a handful of thin slices of lemon peel and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and let sit for an hour, drain, and rinse well. To clean your coffee pot add ice, salt and lemon rinds to the empty pot. Swish and swirl for a minute or two, dump, and rinse.

Deodorize the Garbage Disposal: Use lemon peels to deodorize the garbage disposal.

Keep Your Brown Sugar Soft: If your brown sugar turns into a brick, try adding some lemon peel with the pulp and pit removed to keep it moist.

Polish Chrome: Mineral deposits on chrome faucets and other chrome will wipe right off if you squeeze a little lemon on it, rinse and lightly buff with a soft cloth.

Keep Insects Out: Many bugs hate the acid in lemon and will stay away from it. You can chop of the peels and place them along window sills and near any cracks or holes where bugs might be entering.

Refresh Cutting Boards: Because of lemon’s low pH, it has antibacterial properties that make is a good choice for refreshing cutting boards. After disinfecting give the surface a rub with a halved lemon, let sit for a few minutes, and rinse.

Use on Your Skin: If you’re looking for a nice skin tonic, lemons are awesome.  Simply lightly rub the peel on your face and then rinse. But be careful about getting the peel too close to your eyes!