6 Reasons to Save Your Produce Peels

If you’ve been throwing away the peel from your produce, you’ll want to check out these tips from one of America’s leading healthy lifestyle experts, Danette May.

Fruits and vegetables are an integral part of a healthy diet. But did you know when you throw away their peels you’re throwing out some of the value?

A lot of fresh produce store most of their best nutrients in their peels. Trust me, those peels have some amazing uses for your skin, home and health. Check it out, here are some of the benefits of using peels.

6 Reasons You Should Use the Peels

1. They’re a natural skin cleansing and nourishing agent.
2. Adds flavor to your recipes
3. Full of nutrition
4. Saves money, you can use some of these in place of expensive products.
5. Lowers exposure to harmful household chemicals/cleaning agents.
6. Natural air freshener for your home.

Here are a few peels and the best ways to use them

Lemon Peels

For skin

Lemon peels act like natural a cleanser. Use them on your face to decrease blemishes and help control oily skin. You can use it two ways on your face, rub the peels on your skin or use them as a face pack.

To use them as part of a face pack:

First, allow the peels to dry in the sun until they wrinkle then pulverize them in a blender. Place them on a  damp cloth and apply to help strengthen and tone your skin. The scent alone will refresh you!

At home

A combination of citrus peels and vinegar is an excellent anti-bacterial agent. Drop lemon or orange peels in a bottle of vinegar and leave them there for three days. Shake the container well before transferring into a squeeze bottle. Use in place of chemical cleaning agents in kitchen and countertops.

Onion Peels

For health

The onion peel and skin (the papery outer part) are high in antioxidants like quercetin, a well known flavonol with anti-inflammatory  properties when taken internally overtime.

Why toss out all those extra nutrients? The best way to get reap the benefits is to steep them. Just toss the whole onion in your stew, soup or broth. Once cooked, the nutrients will have steeped into the broth and you can remove the skin.

Be sure to avoid conventional onions. You’ll want to use organic or onions from your garden that contain the fewest pesticides.

Orange Peels

Eat Them Whole

Orange peels are rich in flavonoids, like hesperidin and other phytochemicals. These contribute to their health benefits. In some cases, the peels even contain higher amounts of certain nutrients than its flesh, for example 3.5 ounces of peel has 136 milligrams of vitamin C, while the flesh gives 71 mg.

The best way to enjoy orange peel is to use the orange zest in baked goods, soup, and wraps. To get the zest, cut or scrape the clean unwaxed skin of the orange fruit. For baking use a cup of grated zest with 2.5 cups of baking flour to make orange peel bread.

Things to Keep in Mind

• Be sure to wash your produce well.
• A gentle scrub on the surface of produce helps rid them of toxins.
• Buy organic whenever possible. This will keep you off pesticide residues.

These fruit peel uses are a sure game changer for your health. You’ll be dealing with fewer chemicals, preservatives, and mysterious ingredients while saving money and reducing waste. Try these ideas and let me know how you liked them.

Yours in health and happiness,

Danette

P.S. If you want more healthy lifestyle tips from Danette you should Click Here to subscribe to her YouTube channel. She’ll bring you new recipes, workouts and healthy hacks every single week!