1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.
2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.
3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.
4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.
5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!
6. Want to avoid a terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding a headache!!
7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.
8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don’t have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.
9. Out of WD 40 (I hope you are ALWAYS out of WD 40 and that you use just oil -Unprocessed Mama) and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!
10. Stressed out and don’t have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber will react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown to reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.
11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don’t have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemicals will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.
12. Looking for a ‘green’ way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won’t leave streaks and won’t harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean.
13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!
I have to put a note here. I have changed the recipe from the one I found on the internet, so the link goes to the original recipe, but I am posting my version here. I tend to use the frozen garlic and basil cubes, and I add, what can be labelled as a “shit ton”, of oregano (actually finished a bottle of oregano last night!). It was possibly the best version of the sauce I have ever had!
Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt 3 medium cloves of garlic, finely chopped 1 28-ounce can crushed red tomatoes basil to taste oregano to taste
Steps:
Combine the olive oil, red pepper flakes, sea salt, oregano, basil, and garlic in a cold saucepan. Stir while you heat the saucepan over medium-high heat, saute just 45 seconds or so until everything is fragrant - you don’t want the garlic to brown. Stir in the tomatoes and heat to a gentle simmer, this takes just a couple minutes. Remove from heat and carefully take a taste (you don’t want to burn your tongue)…If the sauce needs more salt add it now.
Make your own bread instead of buying it. You have more control over what you put in it and how healthy you make it. You can find ways to substitute ingredients (such as honey for sugar, or a portion of the flour as whole wheat, etc). It is up to you how healthy or hearty you make your bread and what kind you want. If you have the time, I hope you try it.
Me personally, I make my own olive bread because it’s hard to find healthy olive bread in stores. I used whole wheat for all the flour in the recipe and honey instead of sugar. The bread comes out denser than store olive bread, which fills me up more and keeps me full longer. I hope to use whole grain flour soon to make it healthier someday.
1/3 cup (35 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder (I use the Hershey’s Dark Chocolate)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup (60 ml) light sour cream***
* I like to use either Smart Balance®or Earth Balance® **I use brown sugar, or turbinado…mostly because there’s no white sugar in my house *** I use Vanilla Greek Yogurt because it add to the vanilla flavor while adding what the sour cream would add
Steps:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place the rack in the center of the oven. Spray an 8 inch (20 cm) square pan with a nonstick vegetable cooking spray.
In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the sugar and buttery spread until smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract and egg.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder. Fold this flour mixture into the sugar and buttery spread mixture. Stir in the sour cream.
Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 15 -20 minutes, or until the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan and the center of the brownies is still slightly soft. (Do not over bake or the brownies will be too dry.)
Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. These brownies can be frozen for a month or two.
Makes 16 brownies.
Each brownie is about 90 calories and 4 grams of fat, depending on ingredients.
I’m so self conscious about going to gyms or going places where people can watch me work out, at that point, I’m more than ashamed and humiliated that my body is the way that it is…it’s just easier for me to work out at home even through all the distractions and inconsistent work outs.
