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Food Uses You Never Knew Existed

There are many articles out there about what foods you should eat or avoid and what they can do for your body nutrition-wise. However, there are some other ways to use food that can be beneficial, but may not involve actually eating the food. For instance, there are many uses for banana peels, coffee grounds, tea leaves, Coca-Cola, peanut butter, lemons and eggs.
 
Banana peels can be used to alleviate bug bites, bruises, scrapes, polish shoes and brass, whiten teeth, remove warts and help remove splinters, acne, headaches and wrinkles, according to Buy Nothing Project blog. Just apply the banana peel to any of these things and you will witness its many uses.
 
Coffee grounds can be used as an exfoliator to tighten skin if rubbed into areas with cellulite or wrinkles. Its low levels of nutrients also make it a good alternative for fertilizer because these nutrients are released slowly, making it more available to plants.
 
Tea leaves can be used to relieve sunburns by pressing damp leaves directly on the skin. They can be used to clean mirrors and windows by wiping the wet leaves on the surface and then buffing out with a cloth. You can also add some to your bath to help clean your skin, or you can use them as baby wipes to clean your baby’s bottom. Tea leaves can also be used to prevent rust on materials by rubbing your pans with the used leaves to form a protective film.
 
The use of Coca-Cola can be a little scary. Since it is so acidic, it can be used to remove grease and blood from clothes, clean burnt pans, defrost windshields or relieve jellyfish stings and upset stomachs. It can also be used to clean your engine or car battery, clean tile grout, remove stains from china, clean your toilet and get paint off of metal furniture.
 
Peanut butter can be used to get off sticky labels that leave residue, get gum out of your hair, clean leather and as hair moisturizer and shaving cream. It can also minimize a scratch from a CD or DVD by just applying some peanut butter and then wiping it away with a soft cloth.

Lemons have so many uses. They can help treat infections, repel insects around the home, rejuvenate soggy lettuce by adding it to some cold water with freshly squeezed lemon juice for an hour, lighten age spots by adding lemon juice directly to the area, create blonde highlights, clean your face and whiten your nails by soaking them in one cup of warm water with freshly squeezed lemon juice from half of a lemon for about five minutes.
 
Eggs can be used to tighten the skin by using the yolks and a little water as a facial cleanser. The egg shells can be used as a metal sponge to get food off a pan. You can combine the yolk of an egg with olive oil and water to make a nice hair moisturizer. Just lather it in damp hair and rinse. Lastly, egg whites can also be used to clean leather.
 
Before buying expensive products for a particular use, see what you have lying around the house that may also have the ingredients necessary to help you complete a task in need of tackling.

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Stephanie Siemek is a freelance writer whose work can be found on Examiner.com.

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