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Harvesting Aloe Vera & its many uses
Harvesting Aloe Vera is really easy and the benefits are great. I've seen Aloe Vera juice in the stores being sold at a very high price and yet people don't realize how cheap the fresh stuff is. The health benefits are better when you use it fresh. I've seen juice cost upwards of $20 or more. This one leaf that I bought is enough to last me all week and only cost me $1. Harvesting the Aloe Vera gel does not take long and you don't need any special tools to do it.
Take the aloe leaf and use a large kitchen knife to cut one of the sides. You'll see there are pointy serrated edges. Be careful. Cut off one of the serrated sides to open it up. Now take your knife and start cutting the top section of skin from the flesh. It'll easily peel away. Its gooey but the flesh itself is firm. Once you've gotten the skin off the top, you can start cutting the flesh away from the bottom. I like to take the flesh and cube it into tablespoon sized pieces.
You can keep Aloe Vera gel for up to a week in a container in the fridge. You can freeze aloe like ice cubes if you plan to use it only on your skin for sunburns or any other external use. You can further preserve your Aloe Vera gel by adding 500 mg of vitamin C and 400 IU of Vitamin E for every 1/4 cup of gel. This will lengthen your storage time for up to 6 months or more. You know Aloe has turned bad if it starts to stink.
I find that Aloe Vera gel is very bitter so its best to eat with other stuff. I tend to add it to smoothies, puddings, salsas, ceviche and more. I don't like eating it alone or in juice form. Some people will lightly poach or steam Aloe Vera but be careful if you do. Many of the health benefits disappear if you add heat to the gel. The gel makes a great thickener for salsas, puddings and smoothies. You can also use it in ceviche as an alternative to seafood.
As you can see, it's not hard to harvest and a lot cheaper than the expensive preservative filled juices that are on the market. At $1 a leaf, anyone can afford to add aloe vera into their diet. Try it at least once and see how you like it. In case your not sure where you can get some, I find that latino and asian markets are most like to carry fresh aloe. You might also have some growing in your own backyard, cut some up and try it out today.
Harvesting Aloe Vera is really easy and the benefits are great. I've seen Aloe Vera juice in the stores being sold at a very high price and yet people don't realize how cheap the fresh stuff is. The health benefits are better when you use it fresh. I've seen juice cost upwards of $20 or more. This one leaf that I bought is enough to last me all week and only cost me $1. Harvesting the Aloe Vera gel does not take long and you don't need any special tools to do it.
Take the aloe leaf and use a large kitchen knife to cut one of the sides. You'll see there are pointy serrated edges. Be careful. Cut off one of the serrated sides to open it up. Now take your knife and start cutting the top section of skin from the flesh. It'll easily peel away. Its gooey but the flesh itself is firm. Once you've gotten the skin off the top, you can start cutting the flesh away from the bottom. I like to take the flesh and cube it into tablespoon sized pieces.
You can keep Aloe Vera gel for up to a week in a container in the fridge. You can freeze aloe like ice cubes if you plan to use it only on your skin for sunburns or any other external use. You can further preserve your Aloe Vera gel by adding 500 mg of vitamin C and 400 IU of Vitamin E for every 1/4 cup of gel. This will lengthen your storage time for up to 6 months or more. You know Aloe has turned bad if it starts to stink.
I find that Aloe Vera gel is very bitter so its best to eat with other stuff. I tend to add it to smoothies, puddings, salsas, ceviche and more. I don't like eating it alone or in juice form. Some people will lightly poach or steam Aloe Vera but be careful if you do. Many of the health benefits disappear if you add heat to the gel. The gel makes a great thickener for salsas, puddings and smoothies. You can also use it in ceviche as an alternative to seafood.
As you can see, it's not hard to harvest and a lot cheaper than the expensive preservative filled juices that are on the market. At $1 a leaf, anyone can afford to add aloe vera into their diet. Try it at least once and see how you like it. In case your not sure where you can get some, I find that latino and asian markets are most like to carry fresh aloe. You might also have some growing in your own backyard, cut some up and try it out today.
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Here are some of the ways I use Aloe Vera:
GREEN ALOE VERA DETOX SMOOTHIE
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of Fresh Aloe Vera
1/2 Frozen Banana
1 Celery Rib
1 cup Liquid (i.e. Water, Coconut Water or Non-Dairy Milk)
1 small thumb of peeled Ginger
1 teaspoon Ground Flax
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
a few sprigs of Fresh Mint
a handful of Baby Kale (or any greens)
Directions:
Put all the ingredients into a blender and pulse until creamy smooth.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of Fresh Aloe Vera
1/2 Frozen Banana
1 Celery Rib
1 cup Liquid (i.e. Water, Coconut Water or Non-Dairy Milk)
1 small thumb of peeled Ginger
1 teaspoon Ground Flax
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
a few sprigs of Fresh Mint
a handful of Baby Kale (or any greens)
Directions:
Put all the ingredients into a blender and pulse until creamy smooth.
Coconut & Aloe Vera Pudding
(RAW & Vegan)
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of Fresh Aloe Vera
1 cup of Thai Young Coconut Meat
1/4 cup of fresh Coconut Water
1/2 Small Avocado (or 1/4 of Large Avocado)
2 tablespoons of Lime Juice
Sweetener of choice
a pinch of salt
Toppings:
a pinch of Dessicated Coconut
Raspberries
Directions:
You can find directions on how to open up a coconut here:
http://fatmanlive.weebly.com/musings/lupes-kitchen-corner-fresh-young-coconut-smoothie
Take all the ingredients and put them into a blender. Pulse til creamy smooth.
(RAW & Vegan)
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of Fresh Aloe Vera
1 cup of Thai Young Coconut Meat
1/4 cup of fresh Coconut Water
1/2 Small Avocado (or 1/4 of Large Avocado)
2 tablespoons of Lime Juice
Sweetener of choice
a pinch of salt
Toppings:
a pinch of Dessicated Coconut
Raspberries
Directions:
You can find directions on how to open up a coconut here:
http://fatmanlive.weebly.com/musings/lupes-kitchen-corner-fresh-young-coconut-smoothie
Take all the ingredients and put them into a blender. Pulse til creamy smooth.
Anti-Inflammatory
Sugar Scrub
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of Fresh Aloe Vera
1/2 teaspoon Vitamin E Oil
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric
2 teaspoons of Rose Water
1/2 cup of Coconut or Brown Sugar (more or less depending on how thick you like it)
2 tablespoons of Avocado Oil
Directions:
Put all the ingredients except for the sugar into a blender and pulse til its smooth. Add the sugar. Put in as much as you like, that will depend on how thick you like your scrub to be.
Sugar scrubs are especially good for exfoliating your skin especially on elbows and knees or wherever you have rough patches or red burning irritated spots. I have psoriasis and skin allergies, this helps my skin feel better and cools it down.
Sugar Scrub
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of Fresh Aloe Vera
1/2 teaspoon Vitamin E Oil
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric
2 teaspoons of Rose Water
1/2 cup of Coconut or Brown Sugar (more or less depending on how thick you like it)
2 tablespoons of Avocado Oil
Directions:
Put all the ingredients except for the sugar into a blender and pulse til its smooth. Add the sugar. Put in as much as you like, that will depend on how thick you like your scrub to be.
Sugar scrubs are especially good for exfoliating your skin especially on elbows and knees or wherever you have rough patches or red burning irritated spots. I have psoriasis and skin allergies, this helps my skin feel better and cools it down.
Aloe Vera Virgin Mojito Spritzer
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of Aloe Vera Gel
1 cup of Mineral Water
1 tablespoon of Key Lime Juice (about 3 key limes)
a few sprigs of Mint
Sweetener of choice
Ice Cubes
Directions:
Put everything into a blender and pulse til its well blended and slushy-like.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of Aloe Vera Gel
1 cup of Mineral Water
1 tablespoon of Key Lime Juice (about 3 key limes)
a few sprigs of Mint
Sweetener of choice
Ice Cubes
Directions:
Put everything into a blender and pulse til its well blended and slushy-like.
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