Creative and Practical Uses For Junk Food Leave a comment

After I made the swap to consuming complete meals over a decade in the past, I noticed I had a whole lot of meals I now not needed to eat lurking within the pantry. For those who’re making the swap or want to wash issues out, listed below are some inventive makes use of for junk meals!

I compiled a listing of how to make use of these for different family functions. I hate to waste as a lot as the subsequent particular person, however I lastly needed to understand that my physique shouldn’t be a rubbish can. And I refused to make use of issues simply to complete what’s in the home. 

Once we switched to an actual meals food plan, I donated the entire unopened non-perishables. That also left the entire opened packages of flour, sugar, oil, and so forth. to take care of. As a substitute of simply pitching it, we used it for some enjoyable initiatives and round the home.

The youngsters had a blast (and I received pampered) whereas we used up the remainder of our “junk meals.” I’ve divided them up by classes, however among the recipes expend a number of completely different components. These had been my options:

1. All-Function Enriched Flour

I’ve definitely modified my stance and outlook on issues through the years, particularly in terms of grains. I averted them utterly for a few years whereas I used to be therapeutic my autoimmune illness. Now I’ll eat sure grains, like white rice and natural flour (particularly sourdough) sparsely. 

One factor you’re not going to seek out in my pantry although (at the very least not anymore!) is bleached, enriched, white flour. Listed below are some methods to make use of it up.

Make Play Dough

A win-win scenario. You get to spend high quality time together with your youngsters and expend the leftover flour in your pantry. For those who don’t have youngsters, this may very well be enjoyable for grown-ups too… take into account it stress aid. And for those who want a gluten-free playdough model, I’ve one right here. 

This playdough makes use of up flour, vegetable oil, Koolaid or meals dye, and iodized desk salt. 

Have some extra meals dye you need to expend? Combine it with some yogurt for finger paint. Simply remember to take an image of your child’s artwork undertaking earlier than throwing it away! 

Paper Mache Paste With Flour

Combine equal components of white flour and water to make a glue-like paste. Let your youngsters use their palms and a few previous items of newspaper to make creations. As soon as it dries, it’s very like a sculpture. 

As youngsters, we used to explode balloons and put paper mache over them. After they dried, we popped the balloons, lower them in half and painted them to make masks.

Polish Stainless Metal

Oh the fingerprints! Stainless-steel reveals smudges… loads. After regular cleansing, pour or rub some all-purpose flour onto the stainless to make it shine and take away fingerprints or water spots. 

The oils and fiber within the flour buffs the tiny grooves within the metal. It additionally helps pull out grime and dirt {that a} common cleansing fabric can’t. 

2. Sugar

I’ve written loads about sugar through the years and why I ditched it. Whereas I’ll nonetheless have pure sweeteners sparsely, I stop bleached, white sugar. Sugar is a humectant that makes for an important pores and skin scrub although! Listed below are a number of completely different sugar scrub recipes to strive. 

You may even use a sugar syrup to wax physique hair. Listed below are directions for learn how to make and use a sugar wax.

Kill Undesirable Ants

For many people, hotter seasons can imply ants in the home. As a substitute of utilizing noxious pesticides, you possibly can simply sort out the issue with just a little sweetness. People and ants alike each love sugar.

To make a easy ant lure:

• Combine 2 components sugar with 1 half borax (which is nice to have readily available for cleansing).
• Put it in just a little container or jar that ants can crawl out and in of. Ensure that your youngsters can’t get to it.

Borax is toxic to ants, however they’ll’t resist sugar. It received’t kill them instantly, however they’ll take it again to their nest the place it would ultimately kill all of them. I’ve used this twice to do away with ants in our home. Killing ants=good use for sugar!

3. Vegetable Oil 

You might need seen extra conversations round seed oils and vegetable oils these days, even from mainstream sources. Vegetable oils are excessive in inflammatory omega-6 fat and are linked with a complete host of well being points. These embody corn, canola, and soy. 

Listed below are some methods to make use of up the remainder of the vegetable oil in your house. 

Clear Your Wooden Naturally

There are pure methods to wash any sort of ground, and that vegetable oil lurking in your pantry makes an superior hardwood ground cleaner.  Quite than letting it skew your Omega-3 and 6 ratios, use it to make your flooring shine. 

Combine 1 cup of vinegar OR lemon juice with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Use this combination to wash your flooring. Make sure to patch check an space first. You’ll have much less irritation, and your flooring can have a pleasant shine!

It’s also possible to combine vegetable oil with vinegar to make a DIY dusting spray for picket furnishings. 

Canola Oil within the Backyard

Some sources say canola oil can work nicely as an insecticide and fungicide within the backyard. It kills bugs by suffocating them and helps stop powdery mildew by offering a barrier between the plant and fungi.

To make use of it, add 1 tablespoon of canola oil and 1 tablespoon liquid cleaning soap to 1 gallon of water. Spray on crops to kill bugs and stop powdery mildew. Simply remember to attempt to keep away from the nice bugs!

4. Use Up Rice

Rice is without doubt one of the meals that I ditched for years that I’m now nice with from time to time. You may be shocked to listen to that I go for white rice as a substitute of brown rice although and right here’s why. You probably have non-organic enriched rice or are avoiding it for intestine therapeutic functions, listed below are some methods to make use of it up. 

Dry Out Moist Electronics

Electronics and water don’t combine, or at the very least they’re not purported to! My youngsters dropped 3 of our cell telephones in water by mistake (and one I dropped myself). Three out of the 4 had been saved by rice. 

Maintain a jar of rice readily available and when an digital will get moist, put it within the jar and shut the lid tightly. The rice will take in the moisture and pull it out of the gadget. Except there’s structural injury, this normally works. It might probably take a number of days or perhaps a couple weeks, so be affected person.

Rice Water For More healthy Hair

Asian cultures have used rice water for luxurious locks for a few years. Rice is stuffed with amino acids, antioxidants, nutritional vitamins, protein, and different vitamins which might be nice for hair well being. Right here’s learn how to make and use rice water for softer, stronger, and shinier hair. 

5. Oatmeal For Pores and skin Well being

Oatmeal could cause blood sugar spikes for a lot of, and it’s usually contaminated with glyphosate. Right here’s learn how to expend a few of that additional standard rolled oats in your pantry.

For a calming facial, powder oatmeal in a blender or meals processor and add heat milk to make a paste. Rub it in your face, let it dry, then wash off. It tightens pores, removes blackheads and moisturizes.

6. Coke For Critical Cleansing

I swapped out my coke and different sodas for more healthy (and tastier in my view) fermented drinks. You probably have some nonetheless sitting round, coke makes an important cleaner for powerful messes. It accommodates phosphoric acid that breaks down rust and laborious water and softens burnt meals. And the citric acid is nice for cleaning soap scum and grease. 

It might probably even take the rust off of a automobile bumper. Think about what it does to the intestines??

Clear Your Bathroom

Bathroom soiled? I’m positive yours isn’t, however mine typically is. Pour a can of coke in a bathroom and let it sit for an hour. Use a brush to take away the stains and flush for a shiny clear. 

I even tried this on a 30-40 12 months previous bathroom in a home I reworked. It labored (and that bathroom most likely hadn’t been cleaned in 30-40 years). Listed below are some extra methods to make use of coke for cleansing. 

• Take away gum from hair- Soak hair in it for 10 minutes and gum comes proper out. 
• Unclog drains –  simply pour within the coke and wait.
• Clear automobile batteries – Pour coke on a gunky automobile battery or use a fabric soaked in coke to wash it with. 
• Clear grout – soak a sponge in it and use to wash grout stains. 
• Take away grease stains – Soak grease-stained garments in coke, then wash as standard. 
• Oil stains on ground – Take away oil stains out of your storage ground or concrete driveways. 
• Clear pots and pans – Soak burnt pans in coke to dissolve caught on meals. 
• Shine steel jewellery – Soak steel jewellery briefly in coke to wash. Don’t do that for jewellery with treasured stones.  
• Banish rust – Coke removes rust from the whole lot from rest room fixtures to automobile components. 

7. Desk Salt

I’m truly an enormous fan of salt and eat a whole lot of it on a regular basis. I’m not an enormous fan of standard, iodized desk salt although for a number of causes. You probably have desk salt that wants used, listed below are some methods to try this. 

Weed Killer

Make a weed killer for driveways and sidewalk areas. For each 1 gallon of white vinegar add 1 cup of salt and 1 tablespoon of dish cleaning soap. Fill a sprig bottle or pump sprayer to make use of on weeds. Watch out to not spray in areas (like a backyard) the place you need some crops to develop. 

Salt Cleansing Hacks

Salt additionally makes an important pure cleansing scrub. 

• Use salt to wash forged iron skillets, pots, and pans (double test the producer cleansing directions for any non-stick pans)
• Add salt to a espresso stained mug to assist take away the darkish stains
• Therapeutic massage salt and lemon juice right into a picket slicing board to freshen it. Rinse and air dry.

And for a enjoyable undertaking with the youngsters, strive these 3 ingredient salt dough ornaments! The recipe is just like play-dough, however they dry laborious and you’ll paint the completed creations. 

Ultimate Ideas 

I hope this gave you some alternate concepts for that junk meals which may nonetheless be lurking in your pantry. For those who haven’t already, take into account swapping them out for complete meals. Substances like natural flour, grain-free flours (like almond and coconut), grass-fed butter, olive oil, uncooked honey, and pure maple syrup are some scrumptious alternate options.

Do you may have another concepts for components like these? Inform us about them under!