I have been seeing some lovely orange-colored oranges in the market lately. I have bought quite a few and I will be putting it to all sorts of use. For those of you that are wondering, in Nigeria we tend to get green/yellow oranges. Now, these appear to be all over the place.
You can eat oranges as part of your fruit servings per day. Apart from being low in calories, oranges are a great source of phytonutrients, dietary fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamin B potassium, folate and calcium.
It doesn’t end there. Even the part that we usually discard of – the peel can be very beneficial.
Orange Peel has several uses and this particular variety that I have been eyeballing has a sweeter odor than our normal green/yellow ones and I have been imagining all the lovely things I could do with them. Right now I am using orange peel powder to brighten up my complexion a bit and remove my “tan”. That actually is a necessity as my work now has me outdoors much more than I am used to. I am fair-skinned means that some maintenance is necessary. The recipe I use is below.
If you are inclined to some DIY, here is how you can make some Orange Peel Powder. Peel your oranges, dry the rind (might take a few days to air-dry properly) and then grind it to powder. It is that simple. A few tips are: Peel the oranges lightly so that you don’t take much of the bitter white part along. The peels can be dried in the sun or a dehydrator if you have one.
Orange peel powder can be used in several ways.
Hair
Orange Peel powder used in the hair leaves it soft and shiny. For naturals, don’t expect shiny. You’ll just get a sheen. It can be used by mixing it with a little conditioner and or water, applying to the hair for about half an hour and then washing it off. This can be done after a shampoo although there are some claims that orange peel powder can clean the hair too.
Skin
Orange Peel powder is anti-inflammatory, an anti-oxidant and a good source of Vitamin C which is wonderful for the skin.
- Using water, make a paste out of equal amounts of orange peel powder and milk. Apply to face and then wash off after about 15 -25 minutes. I have been doing this once a week for about 2 weeks now.
Health
- Make a drink of orange peel powder and water. Drink this as an extra source of Vitamin C as well as for lowering cholesterol levels. It is also said to help in the digestion of fatty foods.
- Orange Peel powder can also be used as a mosquito repellent: Mix a little powder with water and coat the skin thinly.
Home
- Boil a few peels of orange and the smell will leave a nice fragrance in your home.
- Make a spray with Orange Peel powder and water and use it for killing ants. Great for those parents that don’t want to use any toxic chemicals in pest control because of their crawling children.
You can do this with the green/yellow oranges as well. I just really like orange oranges. 🙂
References