Cooling Aloe Plantain Cubes
Only two simple ingredients are required to make these natural skin soothing aloe plantain cubes.
Stash them in your freezer and pull out as needed for sunburn, minor scrapes, rashes and other skin irritations.
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Ingredients Needed
- 1/2 cup (approximately 3 g) fresh plantain* leaves, roughly chopped or torn
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) aloe vera gel
Mountain Rose Herbs has a lovely aloe vera gel that does well in this recipe, but you may be able to find some in your local grocery or drug store.
Read labels carefully to try to get a brand with as few additives as possible.
If you have a good supply, you can also harvest and use aloe gel from your own homegrown plants.
* Plantain is a common leafy weed found all over the world and should not be confused with the other plantain, a fruit that resembles a banana. Here’s an article that explains the differences: Plantain (herb) vs. Plantain (fruit) – The Differences
I’ve also written an article about Foraging Plantain Leaf & Its Uses at my family’s site, Unruly Gardening.
Directions to Make Aloe Plantain Cubes
Place the plantain leaves and aloe vera gel in a mini food processor (like THIS ONE) and blend together thoroughly. It’s normal for the mixture to sometimes get frothy in the process.
Strain the now green-colored aloe through a fine mesh strainer. If you used an extra thick type of aloe gel, you might need to mix in a little bit of water so it’s thin enough to strain.
Use your fingers to squeeze and press out all of the remaining aloe from the leaves. This part will get a little messy!
Spoon or pour the infused aloe into ice trays and freeze until solid. Remove the cubes from the ice trays and store them in freezer safe containers or bags for around 6 to 9 months.
As needed, remove one cube from the freezer at a time to rub on bug bites, sunburn, minor scrapes, rashes or chafed skin in need of soothing.
Update – If Using Dried Plantain
In the comments below, Kathy wondered if you could use dried plantain instead. I was curious myself so did a quick test batch.
It worked in a similar way when I made the recipe using 1 tablespoon of finely ground dried plantain leaves instead of fresh.
However, even after straining I noticed it still left a few plantain speckles on my skin. (See a photo of that HERE.) If you don’t have a problem rinsing them off later, you can use dried plantain in this recipe.
Another idea that might work (I’ll test it out when I restock my aloe supply) is to hydrate the dried plantain leaves in a bit of water first before blending with the aloe.
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Such a simple recipe, but very helpful. Thank you!
Hi Clara! Happy you like the recipe!
what an awesome recipe thanks-would this work with dried plantain too
Hi Kathy! I’m glad you like the recipe!
I wasn’t sure if dried plantain would work, so did a quick little experiment to see. I updated the post above with my results & a photo, but basically it will work, it just might leave some plantain speckles on your skin.
Thanks for asking – that was a great question! :)