Lemon Hair and Body Wash DIY Homemade

A guide to the no “poo” method using Lemons.  This wash is great for the hair and body, a great homemade natural cleaner, that leaves your hair and body clean and soft.

15 years ago I let go of all chemicals and un-natural products in my house.  My journey began to find the best ways of replacing those products with something natural.  For many years I used organic shampoos, considered to be more natural.  Looking at the list of ingredients it was better than anything I used before, but I knew I could figure out a way to use something simple from nature to clean my hair.

12 years ago I decided to stop using shampoo and conditioner all together.  It took about 2-3 weeks for my body to stop over-producing oil on my scalp.  When we use shampoo the dirt and oils get stripped out of our hair.  Then we have to use conditioner to add some oil back in.  This is why for many, hair has to be styled after washing, or we need to add some type of product to it, as it tends to get frizzy.

I have a good friend, living in Florida, with dread locks that used aloe on his hair, it was always so soft.  This got me thinking, nature is perfect, something in nature could work on my hair too.  I was living in California and aloe was very expensive, but lemons I could pick off a neighbors tree.  What’s better than free?!  So I gave it a try.  And the results amazed me.  My hair became more healthy than it had ever before.  I no longer had to style it after every washing.  I also greatly reduced how much I washed my hair, as I used to wash it daily. With the lemon method I would wash only when needed, which in the beginning was about every other day.  Today I was once a week, and some times only once a month.  Yes I know that sounds gross, but my hair looks amazing.  On a few rare occasions I have used shampoo.  I instantly regret the shampooing because my hair becomes very frizzy, so I put coconut  oil in it to tame it down and then wash it with lemon or conditioner (when I’m too lazy to make the lemon – hey I’m a mom with 2 young kids now, I don’t always have the time to eat breakfast, let alone pamper myself with my lemon wash).  Lol

The lemon wash method:

1 lemon – cut into wedges (or small enough that it will blend easy in your blender)  For a vitamix you can leave it whole.

2 cups of water

Blend until smooth.

Take a flour sack towel, nut milk bag, kitchen towel, cloth hankie or any towel that is thin enough to strain the liquid but thick enough to hold in the pulp.

Ball up the pulp in the middle of the towel, and tie it tight with a rubber band just above the ball.

Bring the container of liquid and the towel with the pulp to the shower or sink.

Dip your hair in the liquid, using the ball end of the towel, dip it into the liquid and then apply it to your hair and body.  Add more water if needed before running out.  Whatever is left over just pour over your scalp.  Brush your hair with a shower comb (optional), while rinsing.  Towel or air dry.

That’s it!

When I was drinking kombucha I would but some scoby and liquid into this mix.  It didn’t change the results, but I had so many scobys that I needed to do something with them.

As mentioned above, it can take a few weeks for your hair to not be oily, especially if your eating oil, high fat foods (including all animal products).

Let me know what you think of this method, if you’ve tried it, and if it works for you.

Also check out my post on using lemon for deodorant.  

Cucumber Summer Rolls

Raw vegan, lite refreshing summer rolls.

When we moved to California the famous Roxanne’s raw food restaurant had just closed. We heard stories of the amazing unique food served. So when I came across the book “Raw” by Charlie Trotter & Roxanne Klein, I knew I had to get it and see what the buzz was all about.

The pages of this beautiful book are filled with pictures of the mouth watering gourmet creations and freshly picked produce that make me want to be a farmer! After reading through the recipes I knew I had to make some adjustments for my family, and so here is my version. I also added another simple kids version on the bottom of this post.

Adapted from “Raw” by Charlie Trotter & Roxanne Klein.

Marinade
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (or shoyu)
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon ginger, peeled and minced (or 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder)
1 teaspoon maple syrup
Black pepper to taste
2 Tablespoon dried coconut flakes, soaked in 2 Tablespoons coconut water
1/2 clove garlic, minced (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder)

Mix ingredients and set aside

Cucumber Wrappers
1 large cucumber, English preferred, peeled

Cut the cucumber in minimum 4 inch pieces, crosswise (or close to that length, depending on the size of your cucumber)
Thinly cut the cucumber long ways with a mandolin, as thin as you can get. Once you get to the seeds turn it over and cut the other side, put these slices to the side.
Julienne the part with the seeds, and add to the filling (below).

Filling
1/4 avocado, julienned
1 small carrot, shredded or julienned
1 small bell pepper, julienned
1/4 cup mung bean sprout, or thin sprout of choice
1/4 cup romaine lettuce, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ginger, peeled and julienned
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Place the filling in a bowl, pour 3/4 of the marinade over it.

Take a slice of cucumber wrapper, put some filling across the bottom of it short ways. Roll it up. Place it on a plate and drizzle a little marinade on top. Repeat until you have finished all the cucumber.

If you have any filling left over put it on a bed of lettuce and pour the remaining marinade over it to make a refreshing summer salad.

Tips:
The thinner the cucumber wrapper the easier it will stay rolled up

The original recipe has red Thai chile, cilantro and some other ingredients that I didn’t have, but would have been excellent in this recipe.

Starting with the basic cucumber wrapper you can fill it with anything.

Kids Version
My boys got so excited to try this, but they aren’t fans of ginger, so I made them a separate plate of cucumber avocado roll up sushi. Wish I would have taken a picture. I took a cucumber wrapper, placed a piece of avocado on the end, sprinkled on very thin pieces of nori and rolled them up. They ate them as fast as I could make them. Adding some carrots or pea sprouts would have been perfect, but I was all out.

Shawn’s Black bean salad

This beautiful delicious salad is always a crowd pleaser. My sister Shawn makes it a lot. It’s probably one of my husbands favorite bean salads.

In honor of my amazing sister, here is the recipe:

2 cans (or 4 cups) cooked black beans, drained
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
2 mangos, cut into chunks
2 large tomatoes, cut into chunks
Juice of one lemon
Sea salt to taste (Omit for McDougall Plan)
Black pepper to taste
Lemon Zest
Handful of cilantro or parsley, finely chopped.

Mix all ingredients in a sealable bowl.
Serve chilled.
Store in the fridge.

Stays fresh approx 7 days, although we’ve never been able to resist eating all of it when served.

Half the recipe if your serving only one person.

Note: yellow, white or green onion will replace just fine in the recipe.

Summer Delight Smoothie

Perfect smoothie or summer fruits for a hot summer day

We decided to end our master cleanse today but had some left over lemons and maple syrup so we added it to our mango orange juice and this is the fantastic result! Chris says its like an orange Julius.

1 mango, peeled and put removed
2 oranges, juiced
1 lemon, juiced
1 Tbsp Pure Maple Syrup
1/4 C Coconut Milk
1 Cup Ice (omit if using frozen mangos)

Blend on high until smooth. Serve immediately.

Sabbich sandwich, Iraqi-Israeli Eggplant Sandwich

Eggplant, Chinese or India
Lemon
Tomato
Cucumber
Aquafaba (water from cooking garbanzo or white beans)
Onion, optional, any type of choice
Parsley
Tahini
Hummus
Pita bread or baguette
Pepper
Optional:
Zatar seasoning
Pickled mango relish
Pickled spicy relish
Grilled or fried potatoes

Preheat oven at 375 degrees F

Slice the eggplant into 1/4 inch thick pieces.
mix aquafaba, seasoning, salt, pepper and lemon in a bowl. Brush the mixture onto each piece of eggplant, on both sides. Lay the pieces on to Parchment paper on a baking sheet.

Cook for 20-30 min, or until golden brown.

Cut the tomato, onion and cucumber into small cubes, mix w lemon to make a salad. Alternate: slice the tomato and cucumber.

Put some hummus and tahini on the inside of the bread, stuff with remaining ingredients.

Notes:
Traditionally this Iraqi-Israeli sandwich has boiled egg, pickled mango and hot pickle relish on it. Without egg makes it vegan, the pickle spices aren’t necessary as this sandwich is delicious as is, feel free to add those ingredients if u like.

The eggplant can be served hot or cold on the sandwich. We usually make a big batch and refrigerate the left overs, so we can make this sandwich very easily without having to cook.

Another ingredient we love to put on this sandwich is baked fries. We cook the potatoes the same way as the eggplant.

Lemon as deodorant

You read that right! I’ve been using lemon for many years as a deodorant. I cut a fresh slice and rub it on, it’s that simple.
I joke that just about the only reason u will see me in a bar is to freshen up w a rub of lemon under my arm.

This will not work as an anti-perspirant-it won’t stop sweat, just the smell.

Being a mom I’ve had my fair share of time where I couldn’t take a shower for a day or more, and I never needed to reapply the lemon, only every time I shower or go to the pool. It also works best when applied right after I washed. There have been days I’ve forgotten and applied later, it still works, but not as well.

I have noticed that when I eat Indian food or pungent strong spices a few days in a row I sometimes get a slight smell, even if I wash daily and apply lemon. Some smells are just that strong. But it’s not as bad as if I used a regular deodorant or nothing at all.

I also wear natural fabrics which help with keeping me dry. Another gross sharing- back in my corporate days I used to wear a lot of rayon, polyester, etc shirts, and I would have to stuff paper towels on the side of my bra so it sat under my arm to collect all the sweat- and this was when I used regular anti-perspirant. Finally I decided to switch to natural fabrics and I’m sure glad I did. Yes I perspire, but not nearly as much as w those fabrics. And now thanks to the lemon when I do sweat I don’t smell! Recently someone gave me a rayon shirt, and I wasn’t thinking, so I wore it for a few hours and started to notice a slight smell, my husband didn’t smell anything, but I have a strong sense of smell. That evening I took a shower and used every soap I could find. Then lemon, in the morning I still smelled it, so another shower, this time I took a super hot shower to sweat it out. Finally that evening I took yet another shower and the smell was finally gone.

Happy underarm no-smell to you!

Next post will be the many other uses for lemon, no just for food.

Internal cleansing

Written aug 21, 2011

Most religious traditions have some sort of fasting ritual. It’s talked about in ancient text, like the Vedas, and is a common practice for those in the natural hygiene-raw food world. After many years of doing different cleanses I know the importance of this practice, not just to stay healthy, but to heal the body and illness, and to clear the mind too. Cleansing went from a physical practice to a spiritual one for me. I often wonder why this isn’t commonly used by most people, really so much sickness and disease could be avoided by regular internal cleansing. When we have a cold, or fever, or disease, what is happening is our body is going through a healing crisis. And when one cleanses, even without the illness symptoms, it gives the body a chance to use the energy used most of the day for digesting, that energy then is use or healing.

About a year and a half ago I learned about the master cleanse and I was intrigued. I’ve tried many different types of cleanses, water-only fasts, raw foods, enemas, Ayurvedic pancha-karma, 24-hr religious fasts-no food or water. The list goes on. Everyone was a great experience and taught me so much, mostly about my relationship w food and how that connects with my emotions.

I have to admit I remember hearing about people drinking this lemonade drink and though what a crock, but all that changed when I read The Master Cleanse by Stanley Burroughs. In all my experience w natural hygiene, raw foods and alternative healing this one slipped by me until that fateful moment. Soon after I found his full book, Healing and The Age of Enlightenment, the Master Cleanse being just one section of the full book. If Stanley Burroughs was alive today I would def go learn from him, this man was surely on to something, thank you Mr. Burroughs for this great contribution to the world.

My first experience was about 30 days, and it was amazing. When I was a raw foodist I came to a point that I had clarity of mind and peace in my heart, there was nothing to weigh me down, it took weeks to get to that point, and I have had a hard time sustaining the lifestyle long term. But on the Master Cleanse I hit that point in just a few days. Yes I had detox symptoms, and made sure to get lots of rest on those days, but then I felt estatic, alive, free! I have done this cleanse many times already, sometimes for a few weeks and sometimes only for a day when I feel run down.

Now that I am pregnant I won’t do a full cleanse, I’ve changed my diet to eat foods that are easier to digest, but once in a while I need a boast. Here is what I do:

Mini cleanse:

Night before bed: yogi tea get regular 1 cup. Or traditional medicinals smooth move
Morning: salt water flush- 32 oz water mixed w 2 tsp of salt.
I drink the flush and wait near a bathroom, be warned this will make u go to the bathroom a lot. Wait at least an hour until u leave the house, may need longer. I wait until it has been 15 min since I’ve last gone.
Morning meal: 2 Tbsp lemon juice fresh, 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup, 8 oz water, pinch of cayenne. This is one serving of the mater cleanse lemonade. I generally have about 3 for breakfast. this can be taken after the first bowel elimination.
Lunch: 3 servings of the lemonade or light fruit
Dinner: salad greens w fruit
Next day- eat light foods.

This one day of cleansing has been a savior on many occasions, it’s amazing to experience how much is stored in the colon and what a relief it is to let it go.

I have friends who have done colonics and the salt water flush, they tell me the flush is much better, not only is it cheaper, but it’s gentle on the body, and feels more thorough. Also it is something one can do any time.

The tea is pretty important to do the night before, in my opinion, the lemonade is great but I don’t always do it, sometimes I just have lots of citrus and fruit all day. So I’ve found the key is the flush.

I have also done this mini cleanse for preparation for parties, when I do I have an easier time choosing the foods that are right for me and tend to eat less.

Marinated raw Kale

6 kale leaves
1/2 lemon, juiced
Dash salt
1 tsp agave nectar
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Wash kale, removed leaf from stems and cut into small strips of rip by hand, place in large bowl w remaining ingredients. Mix by hand massaging the liquid into the kale. Cover and refrigerate for an hour, serve.

Can be eaten right away but the longer it marinates the softer the kale is.

Raw Tacos

Kale leaves, large, stem removed
-or-
Romain Lettuce leaves
-or-
green leaf of choice
Mexican Sauce
chopped tomatoes
cubed avocado (optional: leave off for low-fat recipe)
fresh cilantro, finely chopped
lemon or lime juice

take the leaf, spoon on some sauce, chopped tomatoes, avocado, sprinkle on cilantro and lemon-lime juice.  Serve

Apple, Fennel, Carrot Slaw

Every other week I get a box of fresh organic fruits and veggies, from Palm Beach Organics.  Recently they started adding a recipe with the order that includes some of the food in the box, how great!  Here is this weeks:

1/4 Cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon Pernod (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 apple, peeled, cored, and Julienned
1 bulb fennel, cored and Julienned
1 carrot, julienned
1/4 cup golden raisins

In a non-reactive bowl, whisk together lemon juice and Pernod to make a vinaigrette.  Season with tarragon, salt and pepper to taste.  Add remaining ingredients and toss to coat evenly.  Chill for at least 1/2 hour.  Toss again before serving.

Makes 4-6 servings