50+ Lifestyles

Ella’s Kitchen

Summer is here. Sunburns are also here if you forget to lather on the sunscreen or cover up. Those pesky little insects are also here. Did you know that your kitchen can be the first aid kit for sunburns and bug repellents?

                                                                                            –Ella

[Ella can be contacted at publisher@50pluslife.com or Ella – 50+ Lifestyles, P. O. Box 2125, Davenport, IA 52809]

Take the burn out of your sunburn

1. Lettuce

Take a head of lettuce, boil it in water, discard the leaves and core. Let the juice cool and sit in the refrigerator. When chilled, take cotton balls and dab on the burned area. Reapply every few hours. The Vitamin C in the juice has great antioxidants and it fights free radicals.

2. Potatoes

Apply a poultice of smashed raw potato, skin and all, to the burned area. Or lay potato slices to the area. Either will work, it just depends on where the burn is as to whether a poultice or slice will work better. The potato reduces inflammation and has antibiotic properties healing burns and preventing infection.

3. Strawberries

Eat your strawberries. Strawberries are cooling and generate body fluids that are helpful after too much fun in the sun.

This tiny fruit is packed full of Vitamin C and silicon which are both essential for arterial and connective tissue repair.

4. Pickles

For centuries various sorts of pickles have been used to soothe the skin. It is the pH of the pickle that aids in skin restoration. To soothe the sunburn, apply thin slices of pickle (sweet gherkin or dill) on the affected area for about 15 minutes. Repeating every few hours.

5. Oatmeal baths

Oatmeal baths have been used to help soothe atopic dermatitis (eczema), poison ivy and sunburns. Aveeno makes an oatmeal packet just for this. Soak for about 15 minutes.

Repel Mosquitoes – Herbs you can grow on your patio or in your kitchen

1. Lemon Balm

A member of the mint family. Easy to grow, very hardy but can be aggressive or invasive so grow in a pot. You can dry the leaves and use them to make a delicious herbal tea.

2. Basil

A quick and easy mosquito repellent. There are many varieties and mosquitoes dislike them all.

3. Peppermint

Most bugs despise the smell of peppermint. Plant all around your patio or home. Pick some leaves off and rub the crushed leaf on your skin. A crushed leaf rubbed on a bite is a great after-bite remedy.

4. Pennyroyal

An excellent natural deterrent that you can plant right in your flowerbeds. It can make an great ground cover and added bonus, the plant attracts many butterflies.

5. Rosemary

The beautiful flowering plant that is used to enhance many meat dishes is also a mosquito repellent. Plant in pots around your patio or in the flower garden to repel many bugs. It, too, will attract butterflies.