I have been a naturalista for something like 26 years. In the beginning I tried so many products, some worked, some not. Only when I kinda became a “purist” (maybe) did I find out that some of the best things I cook with are also the best for my body & hair. No surprise there.
Most recently – like within the last 6 months or so – I have found 2 new “naturalista” best friends in my kitchen cabinets… Turmeric & Liquid Amino Acids.
Why Turmeric & Liquid Amino Acids Are My 2 New Kitchen Favorites
Turmeric kinda came easy.
I love food. And I love curry. So I keep turmeric on hand. Plus it’s supposed to be so great for you. My neighbors in our previous home are from India & talked about how much it helps digestive & skin problems, among other benefits. If you’re lucky enough to have a diverse group of friends & neighbors ask 1 of Indian descent – I find that if you’re genuine, they love to drop a little knowledge about their culture.
There’s loads of information about the benefits of turmeric online. To sum it up, have a look at this infographic:
As I was saying… I keep turmeric on hand because I love a good curry. But unless you read labels like crazy, here’s a few things I bet you might not know:
- That slightly yellow color of that canned {chicken noodle} soup you eat when you get a cold or flu – that’s turmeric. (Do I need to say that you shouldn’t be eating that canned stuff anyway? It’s too easy to make your own & it tastes how you want it to. IJS.)
- Most store bought pickles have color added. Nope, not FD & C # whatever. Turmeric. Again it’s easy to make your own, flavored how you like, AND still give it that “store bought” look/color.
- Yellow mustard anyone? Turmeric. Or leave it out & make spicy mustard, dijon mustard (add white wine), or honey mustard.
I could go on, but you get my point. You might think you don’t like turmeric, but I’m guessing you probably don’t even realize how much you eat it – the taste is so mild even though the color is bold.
Okay so I get how there would be digestive benefits of turmeric, but never would have thought about how a spice can help your skin. Why not though?
We use sugar & salt in scrubs right? People pay good money for sugar scrubs. So why not?
I like honey for everything from my hair to masks to tea. 😉 So 1 day I tried my honey mask with just turmeric added and Oh. My. God. The glow. Could be from the natural yellow pigment (that stains literally everything), but who cares. After it’s completely washed/rinsed off – meaning absolutely NO yellow left behind – there is still that glow.
LOVE. But it is messy, so I only use it every 1-2 weeks at most.
Here’s a few more ways you can use it the same honey & turmeric mixture added with other natural ingredients:
- Add fresh orange juice or milk for a healing anti-inflammatory drink. This can also be used topically – just use less liquid.
- Add hot water & lemon to make turmeric tea.
- Mix into yogurt with a little fresh citrus for a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack. Try this topically too – great as a mask.
Like I said, turmeric came easy. Liquid aminos, not so much.
Liquid Amino Acids were a happy accident.
Last May (2017) I tried this maximum hydration method on my hair that required me to use liquid amino acids. I’d heard of it before but never tried or purchased it. I may not do the MHM in full again, but thank goodness I tried it because I would never have been introduced to the liquid aminos. And I refuse to waste a whole bottle of ANYthing.
It says right on the bottle that it’s a soy sauce substitute. So naturally I tasted it. I haven’t bought soy since!
So what’s so great liquid amino acids?
- gluten free
- tastes like soy sauce so use it in all your Asian dishes (I mentioned that already)
- loaded with lots of nutrients you might not get just from eating right
- great alternative to salt in any dish (small doses works in anything, doesn’t have to be Asian style)
- I might not do the full MHM ever again in life, but I might do parts of it including a modified Cherry Lola treatment with the aminos
* NOTE: liquid aminos are still soy based, so if you’re allergic stay away! Sorry. 🙁
Conclusion: I love multi-taskers. Practically everything I use around here has to do double duty, at least. Now you know why turmeric & liquid amino acids are my 2 new kitchen favorites. They are so good for me that I didn’t even know whether to consider them “food” or “natural beauty”. So… they are both!
Would you ever consider using either of these in the kitchen or the bathroom/shower?
