Save your peels and the planet ;)

I love citrus! To be more correct, my body loves citrus! Lemon juice with warm water in the morning to detox my organs, and as much oranges, tangerines, cuties or clementines I can eat (eat not drink, at least until I get an awesome blender that can pulverize the fiber nicely, anyone got a vitamix or blendtech blender? I am having a hard time deciding on one.)

As I recently discovered from my last doctor visit, 1000 milligrams of vitamin C will give most people the runs. That is useful information for anyone who has suffered from constipation. A natural remedy...Anyway...

Citrus peels are packed with vitamin C, great in recipes, and super useful. Side note- you may have seen labeling on your citrus fruits that it is coated with lac resin or wax. These are toxic to our bodies. Also some citrus is dyed.

In a global marketplace, where the world eats what it wants when it wants, these coatings to protect the precious fruit have to take place. My recommendation, is just a personal opinion.

Store bought, even organic, will likely be coated with something. I wash (with an organic dish soap or veggie wash) these fruits before I even put them in my fridge. I save the peels for making outdoor insect repellents and cleaners, and more. I will probably be doing how to videos soon.

Citrus fruits from friends and family and local farmers (that you know with absolute certainty who can tell you that no chemicals touched their fruit) i just wash and eat them. I save the peels and use generously in recipes, and essential oils and anything else. Seriously, I may go on forever, you get the idea, super useful.

It will take a week or two to let your pretty orange peels dry out. I put them in pretty bowls and leave them out on the counter. Bugs don't like it and it adds a nice fresh clean scent to your living space.

As a wannabe awesome gardener ;)
I save the seeds of these local fruits and try try try to grow them. Send happy thoughts to my little seedlings and plants. I have maybe twenty or more little seeds of potential that could sprout at any moment.

My dream is to get them into the hands of friends and family that can grow them and help them spread. Let's go back to planting our own fruit trees and gardens in our back yards. Maybe we can lesson our carbon footprint and not have to buy fruit that travels around the world, when we can grow it ourselves.

Support your local organic farmers when you can.

Love and Aloha,
Maile

@mailemmm
@hilegacybuilder
http://foreveryoungandfithawaii.blogspot.com/
http://www.hawaiilegacybuilders.com/mailemitchellakita.html