Food is one of our favourite things in the whole world because, besides being necessary, it’s completely delicious. We’ve always been fascinated by cooking because the options for treating yourself with a great meal are just so endless. Believe it or not, however, food is actually also useful for all kinds of things that don’t involve eating at all! We learned this recently and we’ve been kind of fixated on learning more methods and techniques for using food in different ways ever since.
Just in case you’re as interested in what else different foods can do as we were, here are here are 15 of the best tips and tricks we’ve found so far for using food for things besides eating around your home!
1. Clean your microwave using a lemon
Have you ever cleaned something with a nice, natural product and realized at the end that everything smelled a little bit like lovely refreshing lemons? Well, part of the reason cleaning products smell that way is that lemons have antibacterial properties which means them great smell removers, and the juice is also good for removing stains. That’s why Good Housekeeping suggests cleaning your microwave with a halved lemon!
2. Remove food stains from containers with lemon juice
Speaking of removing stains using lemons, your microwave certainly isn’t the only place you can do that! Have you ever reached for a food tub that you’ve had for a few years and realized it’s got a stained ring near the top edge from storing and warming up so many different dishes in the microwave? Well, Real Simple is here to show you how a halved lemon can be used to remove that.
3. Clean pots and household wares with baking soda
Baking soda might not sound like a very impressive option because you might not think about how much you eat it but, in fact, baking soda goes into some of our very favourite foods! We have no idea how useful it was for cleaning until we saw this fantastic tutorial from Tidy mom that shows you how to clean pots and pans with it.
4. Remove water rings from wooden furniture using mayonnaise
Have you ever walked into the room to find that a guest has accidentally put a condensation laden glass down on your favourite wooden side table, leaving a seemingly permanent ring behind on the table’s surface? Well, we’re pleased to tell you that those rings are not actually permanent, and also that Food 52 is here to show you how to remove them… using mayonnaise!
5. Get spotless glassware using rice
We often put our glassware in the dishwasher because we work multiple jobs and have kids, so sometimes we’re in too much of a hurry to hand wash them ourselves. We find, however, that this occasionally marks out glasses and leaves them slightly stained or foggy looking. That’s why we were so pleased to discover this tutorial from The Daily Meal that shows you how to get them sparkling clear and clean again using rice!
6. Eat more salmon for extra shiny hair
Not every food that will help you achieve something beyond just a good meal is used for cleaning, or even used externally. By that, we mean that sometimes upping the content of a particular thing in your diet does more for you than just feed you! Web MD, for example, recommends eating more salmon in order to get strong, shiny hair that has a healthy gloss to it.
7. Get strong hair with a DIY avocado hair mask
Are you very interested indeed in benefitting your hair in natural ways but you’re a lot more concerned with its strength than its shine because you’ve been experiencing a lot of breakage recently? In that case, we’d definitely suggest taking a look at how Mamtha Nair used mashed avocados to make a hair mask that fortifies your hair a little better, especially in the winter!
8. Ease excessive sweating with green tea
Just in case you’re really interested in the way certain foods can benefit your body externally, here’s a tutorial that will help you get through your day in more comfort if you experience issues with excessive sweating! DIY Health Remedy guides you step by step through the process of making a natural mixture from green tea leaves and massaging it into your kids after you bathe, almost like an anti-perspirant.
9. Paint with blueberries
In contrast to all the cleaning and other practical suggestions we’ve shown you so far, here’s an idea that helps you create art instead! Check out how Kix Cereal made this fantastic abstract colour wash painting using blueberries, letting their kids have a blast with food and creativity. If you’d rather a red or pink piece instead of this blue and purple, try the technique out with raspberries instead!
10. Dye your hair naturally using coffee
We’re always been huge fans of dying our hair but sometimes we wish we could give it a simply colour boost without being so harsh on it or causing damage, the way so many dyes do. that’s why we were so excited to come across this fantastic natural hair dye outlined step by step on Life With Styles that’s made from coffee!
11. Dye your hair with food colouring
Are you very intrigued indeed by the idea of using food to make your very own hair dye but you’re also intent on giving your locks a more interesting huge than just brown, since your hair is already a natural colour? In that case, we think you’ll get a real kick out of the way One How To added brightly coloured streaks and sections to their hair using food colouring!
12. Do paint stamping art with vegetables
Now that we’ve shown you that food can be used for painting art are you kind of obsessed with the idea and looking for more options to try out with your kids? Then we have a feeling this adorable vegetable stamping tutorial will be right up your alley! Live Laugh Rowe shows you how to make flowers with the bottom section of celery and also how to carve shapes into a potato to make a stamp.
13. Use peanut butter as a smooth shaving cream
Have you ever read a home tactic or remedy for something and thought to yourself that it sounds a little crazy, but realized you’re not totally opposed to trying it out anyways? Well, that’s exactly how we felt about this idea from Women Daily Magazine for using smooth peanut butter as a shaving cream! They tell you how effective it actually is for getting a smooth, close shave (so long as you don’t have any nut allergies).
14. Remove marks from walls using cucumber slices
Just about every parent we know is familiar with the homeowner’s horror of walking into a room and realizing your kids have drawn on the walls. Instead of panicking, however, you can refer to this guide from Handy Home Tips next time! They show you how surprisingly easily slices of cucumber can be used to get marks of all kinds off of your walls.
15. Use milk as a caulking cleaner
The caulking in our house is a source of frustrating for us sometimes because we find it so tedious to get into those cracks and really clean them out without leaving unpleasant residue behind. That’s why we were so intrigued when we stumbled across this natural home techniques guide from Nutrition Wonderland that shows you how to give your caulking an extra thorough clean using- yes, you read that right- milk!
