A Tribute to Fresh Lemons- Inspired by the Lady at the Checkout

Inspired By You No6

If your first thought as you wake in the morning is a happy thought, you are more likely to have a pleasant day. This morning my first thought was about lemons because my morning wake up drink is usually herbal tea with lemon. This morning I chose rooibos tea with lemon. I love lemons.

At the local supermarket, the lady at the checkout asked what do I make with lemons. She said she noticed how I always buy fresh lemons. I reeled off just a few things I do with the lemons and she smiled when I mentioned cleaning my teeth.

While the kettle was boiling, I had a moment to be thankful for having plenty of fresh lemons. I decided to start off the day with a tribute to fresh lemons.

Lemons are full of goodness and have more than 12 micro-nutrients, therefore having excellent feel-good qualities and antioxidant properties. Although lemons are a well-known source of Vitamin C, there is more than double the amount of Potassium in a lemon than there is Vitamin C.

Potassium is a mineral found in the body mainly in your cells, predominantly in your muscle cells and small traces in your liver, bones and red blood cells.

Potassium is the third most abundant mineral in the body and is the highest nutrient value in lemons. It helps the body regulate fluid, send nerve signals and regulate muscle contractions.

It’s no wonder that my early morning tea with fresh lemon starts me off with positive energy. I notice that when I chose Green tea with lemon I get an extra boost of energy and I can do a more rigorous morning workout.

This morning the positive energy was directed towards the cleaning properties of lemons. For the morning workout, I wiped down the inside and outside of the kitchen cupboards with a mixture of equal parts water lemon juice and vinegar. This mix is a natural disinfectant that cleans well and smells fresh.

Lemons juice is a degreasing agent and can be used to clean all sort of things

  • Kettles and coffee-makers can be de-scaled using boiling water and lemon juice
  • Lemon juice can remove stains from clothing, including those nasty little rust stains that pop up in pure cotton garments and bed linen
  • Boil water and lemon juice in the microwave to create steam, leave it for 5 minutes to act as a degreaser then wipe it down with a warm cloth
  • Lemon juice removes grime and stains from plastic containers
  • You can refresh the entire house if you simmer lemon juice and water on the stove for an hour or two. The smell and the vapour creep through the house.

Lemon essential oil is one of my favourites. In my office, I mix lemon oil and sweet orange oil in a diffuser, the aroma helps me to concentrate.

For a quick pick me up, you can mix one drop of lemon oil and one drop of peppermint oil in the palm of the hand, rub them together until the warmth sets off the invigorating aroma. Without touching the face take a few deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth.

Finally, I need to mention food;

The acid taste in lemon is one of the four essential flavours used in cooking to balance the dish and create a dish of well defined flavours. The other three tastes being salt, fat and sweet.

Lemon can be used to balance out a dish that tastes, bland or flat, too salty or too sweet and can also help to balance out a bitter taste.

If the taste is too acid because you may have used too much lemon, try maple syrup and salt to rebalance. This is the joy of cooking and hereby completes this tribute to fresh lemons.

6 Comments

  1. Mari

    Good day, Sandy. Love your crisp pictures; I can almost smell the lemons… Thank you for all the tips; especially the pick-me-upper…

  2. ME Martin

    Hello Sandy! A comprehensive site with varied articles and food (literally and figuratively!) for thought. Easy to navigate with clear categories and tidbits of interesting information. Thanks for all the effort in putting this together! Marina

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