I have a confession to make: I’m a giant sucker for a good bargain, especially in the food department. I’m the person that stops walking to inspect the sale, even at the cost of running late for my next appointment. Gimme your 2-for-1, your 50% off, your ‘anything that fits in this bag for $10’ and your ‘today only’.
This is how I have ended up with a bag of limes for $1.99.
Like, $1.99.
I should have bought 5 bags.
Ugh.
What a rookie mistake.
So anyway, focus: I have this bag of limes. Yes. Awesome. Then my sister, out of the blue, gifted me with five lemons from her lemon tree.
Now I have lemons AND limes.
Not even being fascicous when I say that this day could seriously not get any better.
In all of the citrus frenzy of the week, I have compiled my top ten favourite things to do with lemons and limes. If you’re a citrus lover like me, get on board!
Whether you’re a lemon and lime loving pro, or someone who just came here seeking the answer to the question “Are lemons and limes the same fruit?”, you should find at least one idea you’ll LOVE in the list below.
(Oh, and no. Lemons and limes are not the same fruit. Unripe lemons resemble limes, I’ll give you that, but they sure as heck don’t taste like them.)
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1. Simplicity at its finest: Citrus Grilled Chicken. Just add an orange to your citrus medley of lemons and limes for a delicious marinade. Eat with a salad. Throw into a wrap. Roast it on the BBQ, in a stand against the upcoming winter season. Dice it for skewers. Serve it with veggies or rice or potatoes or couscous or just plain ol’ love. Don’t overcomplicate an easy, healthy meal.
2. Okay, so I only found this recipe yesterday in my, “SO MANY LEMONS AND LIMES, SO LITTLE TIME” frenzy, and it has so much lemon and lime in it that I might just jump for joy with happiness: Betty Crocker’s Lemon Lime Icebox Pie. It. Looks. Delicious. Get in my belly.
3. One of my all-time favourite low-cal recipes (although you wouldn’t know it’s low-cal from the taste): Coconut Ice-cream with Lime Mango. Ugh. I’m salivating in memory of this dessert.
4. It’s flu season. Squeeze that lemon juice into some hot water with a dash of honey – bam, sore throat remedy! Limes do the same trick as lemon; they break down the mucus while the honey soothes the throat. So if you prefer a lime taste, you can enjoy it and still receive the same benefits as lemon!
5. Lime is a great ingredient when dressing up meat, but have you ever thought of dressing up your fruit salad? This Berry Salad is a treat with a fresh honey, lime & mint dressing. I know we’re heading into winter, but let’s put on the heater and pretend we’re in summer fruit season again…
6. I once made this Lemon Meringue Pie Dip for my husband as an anniversary dessert. Miraculously, we didn’t end up with diabetes. No regrets.
7. Ummm, margaritas anyone?!
8. Drinking a glass of lukewarm lemon water when you first wake up in the morning is a great kickstart to your day! Tahlia wrote a post about healthy morning routine ideas, and this was one of them. After reading the link to the beneficial facts on lemon water, I’m convinced it’s worth giving a go!
9. Used all of your freshly squeezed lemon juice and stuck with all of the leftover peel? I discovered this incredible list compiled over at One Good Thing by Jillee and I literally couldn’t pick my favourite! The Lemon Vinegar sounds genius, and I had no idea about the trick with the brown sugar!
10. None of these ideas take your fancy? Juice the lemons and/or limes you don’t need yet and freeze the juice into ice cube trays! (This juicing and ice tray set is the most ridiculously handy thing I have ever seen in my entire life, and I love that the ice freezes into wedge shapes!) Then, when you finally have that day of inspiration, pop them out of the tray as you need them! You can also freeze the rind – just grate the rind and pop it into a freezer bag/glass jar/whatever storage option you choose, to store right in the freezer for when you need it.
And because I’m super generous… A BONUS IDEA!
11. Check out Sweet and Tart: 70 Irresistible Recipes With Citrus (serious citrus lovers need only apply!) The recipes in this book all sound so wonderfully creative! Cream cheese muffins with spinach and lemon, anyone? (HECK YES).
What are your favourite uses for an abundance of lemons and limes?
Let us know below!
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Coconut icecream all the way!!
I have a tahitian lime tree in our yard so it’s not unusual to have a couple of hundred limes coming over a month or so. One great way to use them is making lime marmalade. All you need is sugar and I end up with about 8 to 10 jars at a minimal cost and so delicious. I tend to end up giving them away to neighbours and friends.
My mouth is watering! What a dream!
How do you make lime marmalade?
I haven’t made it myself but there are some great recipes on Pinterest!
Lime fruit roll 🙂
Yummy!!
How do you make it?
Hey Kelgan – how do you make what? Which one? 🙂
Very helpful article! I’ll definitely keep this in mind. Thanks a lot for sharing!
I think I messed up. I am trying to make a lemon peel, lime peel mixed together to make an extract. I cannot anyone, anywhere who has done this. Is it bad to combine different citrus peels together for an extract. It is my first attempt at even making an extract. I used Everclear as the alcohol. Thank you.