Munchy Monday: When Life Hands You...

Please join me every Monday for discussions on/about food...

"When life hands you lemons..."  What's the finale for that one?  Surely almost all of us have heard it?



"When life hands you lemons...MAKE LEMONAID"

But there's wayyyy more to make than just juice when given some of those lusciously tart orbs of lemony flesh...

When I started this getting fitter journey my sis forwarded me info on an eating programme she has been following: first thing in the morning involves a glass of warm water with a chunk of fresh. slightly squeezed lemon.

"Why?" I asked my mom as we headed down the citrus aisle in the Florida grocery store, seeking to buy a handful to share.  "Cleansing," she responded.

But, wait: there's more.  More than just cleansing our gut and liver expurgation (don't you just love that word?  Roll it over your tongue a few times...expurgation...and I mean expurging toxins not our liver...)  According to health-tipz.blogspot.ca here are just a few benefits of lemons

• give a healthy glow to the skin
• lower blood pressure
• fight infection
• "deactivates free radicals" and therefore prevents diseases such as cardiovascular, cancers, and strokes
• kills bacteria in seafood
• relieves asthma
• removes wrinkles [I always wonder why our society is so obsessed with ridding us of the signs of experience and memories and wisdom and maturity???]
• hydrates the lymph system

Those sour, seedy fruits sure pack a punch...

Ashley Pitman asks, "if you're already a lemon water junkie, what specific benefits have you noticed?"

I could list a dozen things I am hoping to notice...but first I am curious: where do lemons even come from?  (Perhaps that sounds a stupid question but one I have nonetheless.)

Here's what I found on http://wherefoodcomesfrom.com/article/5812/Where-Lemons-Come-From
Guess it's not exactly part of the 100 Mile Diet.  Oops.  Well, enjoy albeit...  And don't be surprised when I remark upon your radiant skin and sudden immunity to colds!?

Production Of Lemons & Limes By Country
	Country	Metric Tons	% Of World
1	India	3,098,900	22.34%
2	Mexico	1,891,400	13.63%
3	Argentina	1,113,380	8.03%
4	China	1,058,105	7.63%
5	Brazil	1,020,350	7.36%
6	United States	800,140	5.77%
7	Turkey	787,063	5.67%
8	Iran	706,800	5.10%
9	Spain	578,200	4.17%
10	Italy	522,377	3.77%
11	Egypt	318,111	2.29%
12	Peru	233,032	1.68%
13	South Africa	215,980	1.56%
14	Thailand	171,074	1.23%
15	Chile	155,000	1.12%
16	Syrian Arab Republic	142,200	1.03%
17	Lebanon	113,100	0.82%
18	Guatemala	110,600	0.80%
19	Pakistan	88,120	0.64%
20	Colombia	87,474	0.63%
World		13,871,976