ORANGE LEAVES MAKE AWESOME WINE, TEA; SOFT DRINK, SEASONING

Some months ago I decided to plant orange seed in a basin.  I have  a very mini-garden with almost all plants cultivated in any available containers- sacks, buckets, drums, basins, pots.

I had intended to search and read about any possible benefit of orange leaves and other citrus leaves.

Then on Social Media  I saw a post by a woman on use of citrus leaves as tea and not long after another post by a man on how orange leaves make nice tangy tea.

So few days ago  since I have a seedling of orange plant in my mini-garden I decided to try the leaves  in making drinks.

WITH AVOCADO SEED

Incidentally that day I was also grating Avocado peat (seed). I usually process the avocado seeds  as one of the ingredients  for my home-made  body care products.

The seed can also be used in making drinks.  But hardly can one find avocados that have not been messed up with some chemical elements  these days because it is so highly commercialised. So much toxicity has been introduced into our midern food systems  in bid to boost yields. The question begging answer now is 'Is making food available enough justification to supply food damaging the health of people?

Fortunately last Wednesday I saw  a vendor with some few Avocado  fruits that I perceived were organic-grown and not been ripened with carbide.  I decided I would use  the seeds  as  drink.

DETOXING
I had been experiencing body distress signals- acute inflammatory  effects from cooking and eating beans and days later, eating rice bought in the market. So I decided to boil freshly  grated avocado seeds with some orange leaves plucked from the garden to start detoxing.

THE MIXED DRINK
Aaahh! See the colour in the initial photos  - the combo looks like an exotic red wine! 

The taste even without sweetening is not bad at all. You can sweeten with  honey or sweet fruit juice like lemon, grape. With or without sweetening, you can drink as wine, soft drink or tea. To preserve, add turmeric.

GROW TREE SEEDLINGS
So even if as an urban dweller, you cannot grow trees to fruiting stages, to enjoy fresh drinks that have loads  of health benefits, do plant seeds of fruit crops  e.g pawpaw, orange, lemon, lime, mango, almond etc- you will be glad you did.

USES
Even before I read of its calming effects, I noticed that drinking the fluid of the orange leaves has a calming effect on the body, mind and emotions so it should  be a healthier alternative to tranquilizer pills with all the side effects.

Apart from making great drinks, citrus leaves generally can be used as seasoning in cooking just like you would use bay leaves.

You can use in roasting or grilling  chicken, turkey, fish.  You can crush the leaves and squeeze out some fluid from them to add or just dice them and put on the food to be cooked. You may want to remove the remnants of the leaves after cooking before eating.

BENEFITS
The health benefits include  calming the nerves thereby reducing or alienating anxiety Since  the leaves are rich in anti-oxidant, they can be used as natural detoxification for the body, they  will help regulate blood sugar, help in weight loss management , they curb inflammatory effects of inorganic materials in food, drink , drugs we take. They also help the body combat intestinsl parasites,  prevented limit  common illnesses like headaches, common colds . After helping to detox the body, appetite will be boosted.

The orange leaves guard against palpitations, hypertension, reduce asthma and coughs.  But if having any of these conditions, consult with your health care practitioner.

ANTI-AGING
While studying on it, I read that  it is good for anti-aging . Many people especially females spend so much money on snti-aging products- well, if they are safe, okay. You can in addition plant these leaves that God the Creator has so  thoughtfully  blessed  us with.  That way there'll be safe, natural beauty therapies within  reach.

WITH PAWPAW LEAVES
I also mixed  the orange leaves with pawpaw leaves in making drinks- looks like green tea

I can't say for sure now which of the fruit tree leaves is more powerful. 

What I just like about the orange leaves is that the taste is not bitter.

 So when I mix with pawpaw leaves or any other bitter tasting leaf or seed,  the mixture may not need sweetening to drink.

#orangeleaves
#citrusleaves
#orangeleavesuses
#orangeleavesbenefits
#pureagriculture 
#agricutureversusgoodhealth
#minigardenresearch
#growingcornindryseason
#growingcornallyearround
#throughbredseeds
#purebredseeds
#agriculturalmedicine
#gardeningindryseason
#growingcropsindryseason
#growingcropsinsacks
#growingmaizeinsacks
#spaceconstrainedgarden
#gardeningincementedpremises
#gardeninginsacks
#growingplantsinsacks
#minigarden #urbangarden #urbangardening
#minigardening  #integratedgardening #gardening #gardeninginsmallspaces #integratedgardeninginsmallspaces  #spaceconstrainedurbangardening
#intercroppinginsoilsack.