What Makes Lemons So Healthy?

In “DrWeil.com":

This tip is courtesy of Dr. Weil on Healthy Aging: Your Online Guide to the Anti-Inflammatory Diet.

Available year-round, lemons are at their peak in May - just in time for homemade lemonade.

A citrus fruit, lemons are a good source of vitamin C, a potent antioxidant that helps to keep the immune system strong.

Lemons come in both sour (Eureka and Lisbon) and relatively sweet (Meyer) varieties. Look for a lemon that is heavy for its size, which indicates less skin and more flesh. The peel should have a finely grained texture and be fully yellow.

You can use both the flesh and the peel (as a zest if the lemon is organic) in all types of dishes, so enjoy - we like them in the Lemon Olive Oil Cake recipe.

And don't limit the lemons to cooking - lemons make an effective, natural cleaning product for your home. To clean and polish wood furniture, add two tablespoons of lemon juice to 10 drops of (real) lemon oil and a few drops of jojoba oil.

 

How to Make Lemon Olive Oil Cake:

 

Lemon Olive Oil Cake:

Food as Medicine
Compounds known as limonins in the cells of citrus fruits have been shown to help reduce the risk of cancers of the mouth, skin, lung, breast, stomach and colon.

Ingredients

4 lemons, zested and juiced
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 eggs
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups evaporated cane sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder

Instructions

1. Combine zest, juice and olive oil in a small bowl.
2. In the mixer combine eggs & salt. Mix on medium for 2 minutes. Slowly add the sugar and continue to mix until pale and thickened.
3. Turn mixer to low and slowly sift in the flour and baking powder, followed by the olive oil mixture. Do not over mix at this point; just incorporate the ingredients.
4. Pour this mixture into a cake pan or muffin tin. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes for cupcakes and 35 minutes for large cakes. Poke with a toothpick to check for doneness.
5. Serve with Greek yogurt and fresh strawberries.