I’m sure we’ve all heard about the benefits of adding a squirt of lemon juice to our cup of water in the mornings, and there’s nothing I like better than a warm lemon honey drink when I have a cold – but it turns out the best way of all to be using lemons is by putting them in your freezer and making frozen lemons.
Frozen lemons are now being hailed as a cancer preventative along with improving your immune system and cleansing your liver and kidneys. So why are frozen lemons supposedly so much better for you? The answer may lie within the rinds…
What makes frozen lemon rind so special?
Lemon juice itself is incredibly beneficial for our bodies however, the rind of a lemon has 10 times more vitamins than it’s juice. There’s a plethora of vitamins and nutrients within a lemon. While the juice itself contains vitamin C the peel contains the nutrients. People do often use cooked lemon rinds in cakes and muffins but the cooking process can cause the lemon to lose up to 40 per cent of its properties. Freezing the lemon ensures that that all of the goodness lemons have to offer is conserved, plus lemon ice cubes taste pretty good.
Cancer prevention
Whether or not lemons can help ward off cancer has been hotly debated by health professionals for years. One study found that limonoids, which are natural compounds found in fruit such as lemons, oranges and grapefruit, can prevent and stop the strong development of cancer cells especially breast cancer. These liminoids are what gives lemons their tartness and are powerful antioxidants. They help to fight off cancer in three separate ways:
They help to prevent cancer from developing.
They slow the growth of existing cancer.
They kill existing cancer cells.
At very high levels liminoids have been capable of slowing cancer cell growth and even inducing cell death.
While the idea of chowing down on a lemon whole, skin and all isn’t exactly the most appealing, by freezing lemons the bitter taste of the rind can be eliminated.
How to freeze them:
The first thing to do is disinfect and wash the lemons. So, soak the lemons for couple of minutes in some baking soda or apple cider vinegar.
Rinse them with water and put the lemons in the freezer.
When they are fully frozen grate them including everything: peel, pulp and even the seeds.
Put the grated lemons in ice cubes trays and freeze them.
You can use the cubes of grated lemons every time you need a citrus flavor for your meals. You can add them in salads, yogurt, ice cream, pasta sauces and soups. As well as adding some grated lemons into tea, juice or shakes. By creating these lemon ice cubes it also makes it a lot easier to just pop a few in your morning glass of water and sip away while enjoying all of the health benefits, easy peasy.
So throw a few lemons in the freezer and sit back and enjoy the health benefits.