Home Remedies for Freckles !

FRECKLES

Freckles are seen as dark colored spots on the skin. These may be more apparent on the facial skin, especially on or around the nose. Generally, light or fair skinned people are more prone to freckled skin. Freckles get more emphasized on exposure to sunlight.

There are two basic types of freckles:

Ephelides - These are flat red or light-brown spots that typically appear during the summer months and fade away in the winter. These types of freckles could be hereditary.

Lentigines - Lentigines may be small tan, brown or black spot that is darker than an ephelide. This does not fade in winter. This is also a genetic condition.

How to remove them?

TIPS:

Apply sour cream on your face. Do not rinse this mask off completely; gently wipe off with a soft tissue and top it up with a moisturizer.

Lemon juice is a tried and tested remedy for treating freckles. Apply lemon juice with your fingers on the affected area; lemon juice bleaches the dark spots.

Regular use of fruit and vegetable masks such as those made with apricots, strawberries, cucumbers and red currant will help lighten freckles.

Wash your face with sour milk. Lactic acid promotes gentle peeling of skin minus the irritation or dryness.

Heat honey slightly and apply to face, tap face gently with your fingers. Wash honey off with warm water then rinse with cool water. Stir in a little quantity of wheat germ into the honey before applying.

Apply parsley juice mixed with equal amounts of lemon juice, orange juice, and red currant juice under your favorite cream will help you keep your freckles invisible.

Apply odorless castor oil or vitamin E at night before going to bed.

Dissolve some sugar in the juice of one lemon. Apply mixture to each freckle with a brush.

Grind yellow mustard in milk and apply to the face during the night. Wash your face the next morning.

Onions also can be used for removing freckles and age spots. Slice a red onion in half and rub on the spots twice daily. Continue until the spots fade.

Applying buttermilk on freckles is thought to help in lightening them.

Mix an equal quantity of turmeric and sesame seeds. Grind in water and apply to the face.

Take a watermelon, make a hole in its rind and introduce some grains of rice in it. Take out the rice after a week. Grind into a paste and apply on the face.

To lighten freckles, mash 1/4 cup of unripe currants and mix with 1 tbsp. of unpasteurized honey. Put on freckles and leave on for half an hour. Rinse off with warm water and dab on diluted fresh lemon juice.

TIP of the Day:

Take lemon juice, mixed with gram flour Add milk, rose water, carrot juice and cucumber juice,honey , to remove freckles. Leave on for 15 minutes and rinse off.

Recipe: Wild Mushroom Risotto with Griddled Asparagus

I'm loving the photo for this- Gert posh isn't it??? I would be very happy to serve people this at a dinner party, or even in a restaurant, because i think it looks very impressive- and lucky for everyone it tastes very impressive too! It does require a liiittle bit of multi-tasking, but us women are fairly good at all that! (Just kidding, I don't believe in all that "men can't multitask" nonsense. If that was true then there wouldn't be so many male chefs- cause you need to be very good at multitasking to be a chef. DEFINITELY). You will probably end up with some of the mushroom soaking liquid left- dont chuck it away! You could make a lush soup, sauce or gravy outta that! You can of course use vegetable stock instead of chicken to make it vegetarian- I just think the chicken stock makes it taste better!

This recipe won me "The Italian Table Cookbook" by Ron Suhanosky, through submitting it on "Take a Break's My Favourite Recipes" Facebook page.

Wild mushroom Risotto with Griddled Asparagus (serves 2 generously!)

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large knob butter
1 small white onion, very finely chopped
1 stalk of celery, very finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tsp fresh thyme
30g dried mixed wild mushrooms
160g Arborio rice
100ml white wine or rose
250ml chicken stock (made with 2 chicken Oxos)
2 bay leaf
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley (plus extra for garnish)
20g finely grated parmesan (plus extra for garnish)
Plenty of black pepper and salt
6 spears asparagus, woody ends trimmed

1. Soak the mixed wild mushrooms in a full pint of boiling water. Leave soaking for 30 minutes. Boil the asparagus for a couple of minutes, drain, and set aside.
2. Sautee the onion, garlic and celery in the olive oil and butter, on a low/medium heat for 10 minutes. Increase the heat and add the wine, and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the Arborio rice and thyme and cook for a couple of minutes.
3. Drain the wild mushrooms, reserving all of the soaking liquid, and add the mushrooms, parsley and bay leaves to the rice. Start to gradually add the stock, stirring and letting the risotto to gradually absorb the liquid.
4. Once it has soaked up all the stock, start using the mushroom soaking liquid, and continue gradually adding liquid whilst the rice soaks it up, for around 10-15 minutes (you probably won’t use all of the mushroom liquid). Check the texture of the rice every so often- when the risotto is ready, the rice should be “al dente” (still with a slight bite to it).
5. Whilst the risotto is cooking, heat a griddle pan onto high. Season the asparagus spears with salt and pepper, and a little oil, and chuck onto the griddle pan. Griddle for about 2 minutes each side.
6. Add parmesan to the risotto, stirring until it has melted, season to taste, and it should be ready! Serve the risotto, topped with the griddled asparagus spears, a few shavings of parmesan and a sprinkle of fresh parsley.

Get Beautiful Glowing skin in Summer :)

Secret Tips for BEAUTIFUL and YOUNG looking Skin .........

 Exfoliating your skin regularly to remove dead skin cells, toxins, and other deposits on your skin which could dull your complexion and lead to blemishes is a mandatory segment of a good skin care regiment. There are several ingredients you can use to make your own exfoliating mask.

Cleansing your skin twice a day wards off blemishes and keeps your skin healthy. Plain yogurt mixed with honey makes a great cleanser and moisturizer. Apply to your face and leave on for ten minutes. Wash off with warm water.

Mix equal quantities of cucumber juice, rose water and lime juice. Wash the face and apply it overnight. Rinse off in the morning. This clears the complexion and keeps it healthy.

Take 50 ml. of raw (not boiled) milk and mix a pinch of salt and two teaspoonful of lime juice in it. Use it as a cleansing lotion. It helps to clean the deep pores of skin.

Mix equal quantities of lime juice, glycerin and rose water. This lotion if applied to the face regularly at bed time is very useful in removing pimples, blackheads and other stains of the skin. It makes the skin soft, and can also be applied to other parts of the body (hands, feet etc.)

Take 50 ml. of tomato juice and mix with one teaspoon of lemon juice. Apply this mixture to the face. It helps to make the skin soft and glowing.

Take equal quantities of turmeric powder and wheat flour and make a paste with sesame oil. Apply it to the face to remove unwanted hair.

Apply orange juice to the face for smooth and soft skin.

Take 30 ml. of cabbage juice and mix one teaspoon of honey in it. This mixture, if applied regularly to the face, helps to keep the wrinkles away.

Make a paste of raw carrots and apply it to the face. Wash it after one hour. The skin will become glowing.

Regular application of mint juice to the face helps to remove stains. 

PS: Please comment and share your thoughts :)

Recipe: Meatloaf

Ah, good old Meatloaf- and no I don't mean the bat outta hell kind! I've never had a go at making this, but it seems to be rather an american dinner staple, so i thought i'd have a go. This is a recipe I have just slightly adapted from Good Food magazine. The changes I made were that I turned it into 1 big meatloaf (as their recipe was for "spicy mini meatloafs"), so had to adjust the amounts and timings a bit, I did not add any tabasco, and i added a couple extra cherry tomatoes. It was really delicious, me and my brother loved it! And it was not dry atall, which is a reputation that meatloaf has seemed to have gained in the past few decades.

Meatloaf (serves 3)

500g minced beef
50g white breadcrumbs
2 spring onions, finely sliced
1 garlic clove, very finely chopped
1 egg
1 tsp ground cumin
Small handful coriander, chopped (plus a little extra for garnish)
50g sweet chilli sauce
½ tsp salt
Black pepper
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
Vegetable oil (for greasing)

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Mix all the ingredients together (except the cherry tomatoes and vegetable oil) in a mixing bowl until well combined (but do not over-mix, otherwise the meatloaf will become tough).
2. Line a non-stick loaf tin with a little oil and greaseproof paper, and arrange the halved cherry tomatoes face down. Then add the meatloaf mix into the loaf tin, making sure it is nice and even and flat at the top.
3. Bake in the oven for 1 hour. Remove, and turn the oven up to 220C. Turn out the meatloaf onto an ovenproof plate/dish- be careful when you do this, as there will probably be plenty of juices that will come out with it.
4. Remove the greaseproof paper, drain away the juices (if you are making a gravy for the meatloaf, add these juices to it) and put in the oven for a further 5 minutes, just to brown a bit. Garnish with a little extra coriander, and serve!

How to remove Black Elbow Stains?

Not everyone develops black stains on their elbows.

Black stains on your elbows develop for a number of reasons, including years of exposure to UV rays, the development of callouses on your elbows and having hyperpigmented skin---a condition where certain areas of your skin become darker in color than other areas.

TREATMENT:

Lemon and Lime Remedy

• Lemon and lime juices are natural skin lighteners. Squeeze three to four lemons or limes into a small bowl, and apply the juice to your elbows daily after your bath or shower. Leave the juice on your elbows for 15 minutes. Soak a clean towel in hot water, and scrub your elbows. Your elbows will lighten with time. You can also make a cream by combining ½ tsp. of lemon juice and ½ tsp. of glycerin. Apply the cream to your elbows nightly.

Turmeric and Curry Remedy

• The herb turmeric can also remove black elbow stains. Mix a paste of 1 tbsp. of turmeric and three curry leaves in a small bowl. Apply the mixture to your elbows and let it sit for 15 minutes. Wash your elbows in warm water. If taking a bath, apply the mixture before you get in, let it sit for 15 minutes, and simply wash it off as you take your bath. You can also use Mehndi leaves in place of curry leaves. Mehndi and curry leaves are found in most international grocery stores and some health food stores.

TIP: Secret tip is to take half piece of lemon and mix few drops of MUSTARD OIL in it. Rub it on your elbows and you'll definitely see the results :)

Recipe: Lamb and Green Bean Curry

This is a delicious creamy curry! Cooking the lean lamb in the stock and coconut cream in this way makes it SO tender- melt in the mouth! A little too mild for my boyfriend I guess, but he's the kinda type that enjoys ordering a curry with a multitude of chillies, and then sweats his way through the meal! This is mild, but sometimes i want something mild. It's a curry that's not as sweet or as creamy as a korma or a passanda, and has a nice rich meaty flavour from the lamb. With stage three, where i reccomend to add some yoghurt if it has become too salty, i think that has only happened to me over the last couple of times because i've used Knorr stocks. I'm sorry, but they are all FAR too salty! From now on I am sticking to good old Oxo cubes (or Oxo's nice concentrated beef liquid one).

Lamb and green bean curry (serves 2)

2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp crushed ginger
3 spring onions, sliced
400g lamb (lean diced leg)
2 tbsp Pataks Mild curry paste
1 small tin coconut cream
250ml chicken stock
150g French beans, ends trimmed and then halved
Handful Fresh coriander (separated into stalks and leaves)
½ tsp sugar
2 tbsp natural yoghurt (optional)

1. Cook the red onion, garlic and ginger on a medium heat for about 4 minutes. Add spring onions and lamb, and cook for a further 3 minutes.
2. Add curry paste, stir to coat, and cook for 2 more minutes. Lower the heat a little, and add the stock and coconut cream and cook for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Finely chop the coriander stalks, and leave the coriander leaves for garnish. Add the coriander stalks, green beans and sugar, and cook for 15 more minutes. Taste, and if it is too salty (which can happen depending on what chicken stock you use) add the natural yoghurt and stir in.
4. Garnish with the coriander leaves, and serve over some basmati rice!

Shhhh, you heard it here first

Well, bang goes my life as a random and loose cannon housewife in Suffolk.

I suppose it was a matter of time really.

Yes, I bring you the news that having wandered off the streets of London into yesterday's AGM for the Zero Waste Alliance UK, I found myself wandering back out again as a newly appointed member of the charity's board of directors.

Yes I know.  I'm still in a position of shock too.  There's one thing being random, but give the woman a strategy and goodness knows what'll happen.

However, I'm proud to be joining a board that has such a strong pedigree in the zero waste sector, whose membership includes individuals for whom I've had great respect and admiration since I first discovered their work and achievements several years ago.  My sincere thanks go to the members who invited me to join as well as to the rest of the board who supported the motion.

For those who aren't aware of the Zero Waste Alliance UK (ZWAUK), the organisation is an educational charity that actively promotes innovative resource management to help UK industries, societies and governments achieve realistic objectives for zero waste.   Established in 2002, it has a history of successes as well as key challenges under its belt and it is really exciting to have the chance to contribute towards new opportunities for the alliance to make its mark in drastically reducing the UK's waste output and how residual resources are managed.

I will of course keep you up-to-date with the work of the alliance during the months that follow, but for the moment I am just coming to terms with how I can contain my levels of randomness in light of such new responsibilities.

How exciting is that!

I look forward to sharing further news with you soon.  However, in the meantime, for more information about the work of the charity, please visit www.zwallianceuk.org.

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