Happy Healthy Families

Lemons. Good for your health and good for your budget. These yellow tarty fruits are inexpensive to buy at the grocery store, yet can be used in so many ways. Used in cooking, cleaning, beauty routines...lemons are one of the most versatile and cheap items to have in your kitchen.

I know everyone has found so many ways to use lemons, and I would love to hear some! Here are a few ways I know of that lemons can be incorporated in your daily life that benefit your health and your wallet.

Put lemon slices in a pitcher of ice water and drink that during the day instead of expensive sodas, juices and flavored waters from the store. Lemon is full of Vitamin C, so drinking the lemon water is healthy and will save you money when you skip the grocery store bought drinks! And I find that preparing the lemon water in a pitcher and having it easily available in my refrigerator motivates me to actually drink it. The more convenient the better.

An extra benefit of drinking lemon water besides saving money: Both lemon and water are important in eliminating toxins. And lemon acts as an alkalizing agent in your body, so it helps to neutralize the PH levels in your body. Lemons are full of Vitamin C thus god for your immune system. Good for your skin, body and budget!

Sipping on lemon juice with hot water has been known to help ease nausea, heartburn, constipation, hiccups. Less expensive than buying over-the-counter remedies.

Lemons are cheap, natural and healthy hair products. Lemons are an excellent way to rinse out sticky built-up residue in your hair. Also, try putting some lemon in your hair to get some highlights instead of spending money on expensive hair lightning products that have chemicals in them. Squeeze 1/2 lemon into wet hair and comb it through; and then sit out in the sun for an hour. Brunettes tend to see golden or red highlights, while blonds become lighter.

For chapped dry lips, don't spend money on expensive lip ointments at the store-try using a mixture of 1 teaspoon lemon juice and honey and then rub it onto your lips several times a day.

Use lemons to make a natural skin lotion for dry skin. Mix equal amounts of honey, vegetable oil and lemon juice and massage this into and areas that feel dry, especially your hands, face, elbows and feet. Leave the mixture on for 10 minutes and then rinse it off with warm water.

Use Lemons to help those wrinkles: Apply a mixture made from 1 teaspoon honey, ¼ teaspoon fresh lemon juice and a drop of sweet almond oil. Allow this to dry and leave on the face for 15 minutes before washing off with warm water.

Use lemons to make a hand lotion which you can use as often as you want to need to.Mix 2 parts fresh lemon juice with 3 parts honey and 4 parts almond oil. Massage the mixture into hands and leave it for 10 minutes before rinsing it off with vinegar and water. This completely natural & inexpensive hand lotion will leave your hands feeling silky smooth and can also be stored in a container for up to 3 weeks.

When washing dishes, put lemon juice in the rinse water to make glasses sparkle.

Mix together equal portions of lemon juice and vinegar to make an inexpensive brass and copper cleaner. Apply the mixture with a soft cloth, leave for a few minutes and then rub it off with a lint free cloth.

I know everyone has found so many ways to use lemons, and I would love to hear some more ideas on using lemons to save money (and help our environment.)