Olive oil spread
There are loads of olive oil spreads available in the shops, all promoting health benefits.
And they are generally better for you than butter or margarine.
But making your own is even better – it’s purer, cheaper and only takes 30 seconds (and then leave it overnight to set).
All you do is pour some olive oil into a tub, then put it in the freezer to set. In the morning it’ll have gone solid and you can use it just like you would use a bought spread.
You need to keep it in the fridge – left out it will melt. But kept in the fridge it’ll stay solid but nice and soft, easy to spread. If your fridge is not very cold, you might find that over time it begins to melt – but don’t worry, just pop it back in the freezer and it’ll go hard again.
If you use virgin olive oil it’ll have a strong flavour, great for savoury sandwiches. If you want it for sweet things, maybe on toast with jam, get some “light” or “refined” olive oil, which has the flavour taken out. You use it the same way, but it doesn’t have the strong olive taste.
Go on – try it!
Avoid “garlic finger”
When you’re chopping garlic, you can get smelly hands. The standard “trick” is to wipe them on a bar of metal afterwards to take the smell off. Which is fine if you’ve bought one of those metal bars you see advertised. But if you don’t have one, just put a little tiny bit of olive oil on your finger tips before you start. Then cut the garlic and afterwards wash your hands with normal soap. And like magic the smell is gone!
Moisturiser for smooth skin
You can spend pounds and pounds to get fancy moisturisers full of chemicals (and probably tested on animals in all kinds of nasty ways)… or you can just reach for the bottle you already have in your kitchen.
Now, I have to admit that olive oil isn’t as, well, gloopy as commercial moisturisers. The make-up companies blend various chemicals with their products to make sure they are easy to put on. But it’s up to you: buy something expensive that has who knows what added to make it go on easily… or use something that’s a little bit messier because it’s pure.
The easiest way to use olive oil to moisturise is to first wash your face as you normally would. Then put a few drops of olive oil on the tips of your fingers. Then rub it into your face, making sure you spread it around well. You don’t need much on any one bit of skin, so don’t leave yourself with great slicks of it! You don’t need to rub for long – it soaks in naturally.
Then you have a choice. If your skin is really dry, you can leave it like that, but the bit of oil that hasn’t soaked in can make your skin shiny. To avoid that, wait a minute or two for as much as possible to soak in. Then take a flannel, drench it in hot water (but no soap!) and wipe your face with that. The hot water will take off any excess oil, leaving your skin smooth, but not shiny.
By Alexander Newton.
Alexander is the author of “Nuggets and Scribblings”, a free series of emails with tips about natural healthy foods and household tips. He’s also the author of a book about Olive oil.
http://www.helpfulbooks.co.uk/nuggets.htm
