My first secret to living a well life? Keep as many greens in your kitchen as you can on any given day. Round it out sweet and tart foods. And toss in a little ginger for fun when you can. Does my kitchen look like this every day? Hardly. Once a week. At least. It’s the small victories! I do always, always, always have lemons on hand. They are the most useful fruit ever, providing just the right touch to a meal or getting down to the gritty business of cleaning my house. Not to mention lemons provide great internal “clean up”, if you will. Three of my favorite ways (in addition to the ‘morning toddy linked in the previous sentence) to use this citrus wonder.
LEMON TONER
- 1/2 freshly squeezed lemon juice (~4-5 medium lemons)
- 2/3 cup Witch Hazel (can purchase at any drug store)
- 1 cup of water
- Plastic bottle or jar
Combine and mix all of the above, storing in your favorite jar. These 8-oz.
French Square bottles are perfect for DIY beauty and juices on-the-go that are already portioned. Not to mention you can make one for you and give one to a friend. This toner is good at room temperature for 2 weeks. I use it on my face, chest and neck to wipe away grime as necessary. L.A. feels like a dirty city at times – a good toner that’s not too harsh is a necessity.
LEMON MICRODERMABRASION
- 2/3 cup baking soda
- 3-4 tablespoons water
- juice of one freshly squeezed lemon
Mix together into a THICK paste and apply generously to face. The trick is to massage gently in slow circles. The slower the better. Be nice to your lovely face! The fine consistency of the baking soda gently buffs away dead skin. Let it sit for a few minutes after you massage your face and wash away with warm water. Gently pat your face dry! (and glow baby, glow!)
Bonus: I use the same recipe to scrub the tile in my shower and on my countertops. Lemons, baking soda and a few other items comprise the full list of all-natural cleaning ingredients.
Recipes? Oh yes! Grab a copy of
Clean: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing.
The green lemonade juice is of my favorite recipes from
Raw Food Detox Diet. It’s simple, straightforward and you don’t need to run out and buy food stuffs that are foreign in most kitchens, like chlorophyll or micro-nutrient seaweeds (
okay, I made that one up, but you get me, right?). If you don’t have a juicer, no problem. Check out my friend
Sophie’s recipe that explains how to make juice without the fancy-schmancy juicer. Also – if you can’t find kale, baby spinach is a great substitute.
GREEN LEMONADE
- 1 bunch of kale
- 1 head of romaine
- 1 cucumber
- 1 lemon
- 1 apple
- 1″ piece of ginger
SO I HAVE TO KNOW…
… am I the only one who is crazy about lemons? Or are you out there hiding, waiting to share your love of these zesty little babes?
ABSOLUTELY crazy about lemons, too! I’ve actually been on a lime kick lately too, adding it to water, sprinkling on fruit salad and last night on our talapia! sooo refreshing. I use witch hazel on my face now as a toner but never thought to add lemons! I’M DOING IT :)it will turn into superhero toner! yay, thanks, Erin!
Lemons + link love! It’s a win-win! I feel like they offer a great chance to “clean up” and change – perfect shift for the fall season.
I buy TWO large bags every week at the store. I start most mornings with hot water and one lemon, followed by tea with lemon and of course salad dressing, in my juices and in just about every dish I make. (kind of a lemon freak) Love and Shine CourtStar
I use rose water as a toner, i have been doing for years! I love lemons too! Do you think adding it to rose water for a toner would be strange??
Hmmmm – I really don’t know! I would say stick with one or the other and allow each individual ingredient to “shine” on their own for what they can do for your skin, respectively. My friend Monique at Goddess Huntress may have more answers for you in her post on creating a rose toner. Thanks for the great question, Franziska!
lemons are def a stranded island food. makes me feel amazing inside. Also tried apple cider vinegar recently and felt great too- been incorporating in juices! xx