Cucumbers may be light in taste, but the benefits go above and beyond the humble appearance and mild flavor.  The cucumber is a nutrient-packed fruit (yes, fruit!) that not only makes you healthier, but may also make your life a whole lot easier. 

Highly nutritious, containing vitamin B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, folic acid, vitamin C, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and zinc, the cucumber is nearly entirely comprised of water (95 percent). But there is more to this fruit than nutrition alone. It has a variety of uses that you may never have imagined. The following 10 unusual uses for cucumbers will surprise you.

1. Ward off Pests

To prevent slugs and other pests from ruining your garden plants place a few cucumber slices in an aluminum pie tin. Place the tin in the garden. The cucumber’s chemicals will react with the aluminum and create a scent that pests can’t bear. Humans are unable to detect the scent, so it’s a win-win method!

2. Get Rid of Cellulite

Cut a few slices of cucumber and rub them on areas of your body where you have cellulite. The phyto-chemicals in the cucumber tightens collagen, which reduces the appearance of cellulite and keeps your thighs and bum beach ready!

3. Avoid a Hangover of Headache

After a boozy night, eat a few slices of cucumber before bed to avoid a hangover. Cucumbers contain sugar, B vitamins, and electrolytes, which replenish your body and prevent your from becoming dehydrate and thirsty for nutrients.

4. Kill Bad Breath

If you have no gum or mints to spare, no fear! Place a slice of cucumber and keep it pressed to the roof of your mouth for a minute. Chew and swish the cucumber around your mouth before swallowing. The phyto-chemicals kill the odor-causing bacteria and leave your mouth fresh.

5. Stave off Hunger

Hungry but don’t want to take in excess calories? Cucumber’s water content will fill you up and hydrate you, while also providing essential electrolytes. This helps you stay charged midday without a rumbling tummy. Better yet, one medium cucumber only contains about 50 calories.

6. Prevent Fogging

Rub a slice of cucumber on mirrors and windows to prevent fogging. After a hot shower, the steam hitting the mirror also incites the release of a delightful cucumber scent.

7. Shine Shoes

To give your shoes a durable shine, rub a slice of cucumber over and around all the edges. The cucumber will also help the shoe become water resistant.

8. Treat Tapeworms

Cucumber seeds are known to be a natural home remedy to treat tapeworms. Grind the seeds into a powder and consume regularly to clear the intestinal tract. Cucumber seeds contain a toxic alkaloids that can treat hipoxanti type worms.

9. Relieve Sunburn or Fever

Rub cool cucumber slices on sunburned areas of your skin or on your forehead and chest when you have a fever. The cucumber provides a cooling sensation and a relaxing aroma to guide you through the discomfort.

10. Strengthen Hair and Nails

Cucumber contains silica, which is important in the healthy formation of hair and nails. Eat cucumbers regularly and feel your connective tissues get stronger.

Image Credit: Karenandbrademerson

Related on EcoSalon:

Sunday Recipe: Marinated Cilantro Cucumbers

When the Mercury Rises: 3 Recipes with Cucumbers

The post 10 Uses for Cucumbers: The Cooling, Delicious and Surprisingly Useful Fruit appeared first on EcoSalon.

Something’s fishy about sushi.

Many people regard sushi as light fare – individual bites of effortless, diet-friendly goodness. However, the Japanese delight bears some danger zones that you should consider before making sushi a regular occasion.

Just like a salad, sushi can easily turn fattening if the add-ins begin to overwhelm the point of it all. One tuna roll has some 200 calories, but if you opt for the shrimp tempura roll, we’re talking upwards of 500 calories and 20 grams of fat. Many of us don’t even stop at one roll, either, so while each bite may feel light, the calories are adding up.

Other sneaky offenders include soy sauce, rice, and raw fish. Soy sauce may be low in calories, but it makes up for it with its high sodium content – one tablespoon of regular soy sauce contains up to 900 milligrams! White rice alone is adding both empty starches and extra calories to your diet while raw fish is putting you at risk of foodborne diseases by way of bacteria, viruses, parasites and mercury.

When eating out, avoid making tuna your go-to roll in order to reduce your risk of mercury exposure. If you can’t separate sushi from tempura, cream cheese, or any other fried or decadent add-ins, look at sushi as a rare indulgence rather than a daily pick-me-up. And if you want to keep things super safe, always order the veggie roll.

To keep the standards high and the mystery at bay, try making your own vegetable sushi. The following recipe is a homemade, frills-free way of doing just that. Packed with veggies, cauliflower rice, and the creaminess of the avocado, you can have your sushi and eat it too!

Homemade Cauliflower Sushi

Makes 6-8 rolls

Ingredients:

• 6-8 nori sheets
• 1 cup shredded cauliflower
• 1 carrot
• 1 cucumber
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 avocado
• 2 scallions
• Nama Shoyu for dipping
• Fresh ginger for a palette cleanse

Directions:

Place the pepper on a stove top on high heat, making sure to turn it occasionally until it is completely blackened. Immediately place into a paper bag, store, and set aside while you prepare the rest of the vegetables.

Julienne the cucumber, carrots and scallions. Slice, core, and remove the avocado meat – slice into thin pieces. All the vegetables should be the same size. When the red pepper has cooled, remove it from the bag and under warm water, use your hands to wipe off the blackened skin. It will come off easily. Remove the pepper’s stem and seeds and julienne it.

In a food processor, process cauliflower florets until rice-like in consistency. This will be the “rice”.

Lay out each nori sheet and on one end, parallel to the dotted lines on the sheet, layer the cauliflower rice, 2 slices each of cucumber, carrot, red pepper and avocado.

Roll tightly, folding the nori unto itself as you go.

Wet the edge with a bit of water to help it stick closed.

Slice into sushi-sized pieces and serve with Nama Shoyu, which is unpasteurized soy sauce, and fresh ginger. Enjoy!

Images: Avlxyz, Aylin Erman

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

The post Nutritional Breakdown: Veggie Sushi (Without a Speck of Rice) appeared first on EcoSalon.

Prep your mason jars. 

Pickling is in, but quite frankly, who has the time?

I grew up on a steady Swedish summer diet of marinated cucumbers, always kept on hand by my grandmother. They remind me of her kitchen, and unlike pickles, only have to sit for an hour for the flavor to absorb. The classic version uses dill, but for a slightly different taste that’s perfect for warm weather, cilantro hits the spot.

Light and refreshing, you’ll find that this recipe will soon be a staple.

Ingredients

• 1 English cucumber
• 2 tablespoons organic cane sugar
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup water
• pinch of ground pepper
• 2 pinches salt

Directions

Remove the ends of the cucumber, and thinly slice.

In a bowl combine vinegar and water and stir in sugar until dissolved. Add in pepper, salt and cilantro.

Place in sliced cucumber and let chill in refrigerator for one hour before eating.

Store in the refrigerator.

Every Sunday we bring you a new recipe, perfect for kicking off the new week. Check out the full series here. 

The post Sunday Recipe: Marinated Cilantro Cucumbers appeared first on EcoSalon.

I love that everyone I know is canning and pickling this summer. It’s such a great way to preserve the harvest for later and it’s so gratifying to put up your own food.

Pickles are great for beginners because they are high enough in acid that they don’t need to be pressure canned and may even be made in small batches and simply refrigerated.

Pickled vegetables are versatile as snacks, delicious on sandwiches and can be chopped up in summer salads. And if you have any left you can always put them out at Thanksgiving on a relish tray full of goodies you made yourself.

Here’s a sampling of tasty pickles from around the web.

A little sweet, a little tart, bread and butter pickles are great on sandwiches and served with creamy goat cheese. This version from Smitten Kitchen looks like a winner.

Pickled okra is a classic Southern table pickle. I turn to Martha for her version.

Dilly Beans are great for snacking and in Bloody Marys. Here’s a recipe from Food in Jars, which is, incidentally, one of my favorite canning resources on the web.

Image: The Bitten Word

The post In a Pickle: Cucumbers, Okra, and Green Beans appeared first on EcoSalon.

When the weather is hot and sultry, what’s better than a cucumber? They’re refreshing, crunchy, cooling and in season now. (If only the weather were hot and sultry in the San Francisco Bay Area, but that’s another story.)

There are so many different varieties available these days in farmers’ markets. From Armenian to lemon cucumbers, you could try a different one every day of the week in salads, soups, pickles, and more. Here’s a rundown of recipes from around the web that celebrate cucumbers!

From Shockingly Delicious we’ve got a simple and super classic cucumber salad that sounds, well, shockingly delicious.

Over at The Kitchn they’re using up their abundant cucumber harvest by making cucumber juice. I see some vodka in there somewhere.

And Cooking with Amy offers up a gorgeous, smooth green soup with avocados and cucumbers.

Image: Swanksalot

The post When the Mercury Rises: 3 Recipes with Cucumbers appeared first on EcoSalon.