Ketchup is by far out nation’s favorite condiment. Most people couldn’t dream of eating a burger or fries without it. It contains far more high fructose corn syrup than we would like to admit, and no, it doesn’t count as a vegetable. But that doesn’t make us love it any less. There are quite a few uses for this loved condiment that have nothing to do with your dinner.
Let your toddler finger paint. Let your little one play in some ketchup. Use a brush or let them paint with their fingers on paper or even directly on the table (if you have a table that can be washed easily). Another great idea for that is to let your kids paint their food. If it’s a food they don’t necessarily enjoy they’ll be more likely to eat it if they can have some fun with it first.
Sooth kids boo-boos. Save all of those little ketchup packets you get from fast food restaurants and freeze them. They work as great little ice packs for toddler-sized boo-boos. Having a tiny ketchup ice pack also serves as a distraction from the pain.
Heal hair that has been damaged by chlorine. If you have light colored hair and you enjoy swimming during the summer you may notice that you get a green tint to your hair after so long. Take some ketchup and massage it through your hair. Let it set for 20 minutes, rinse it out and finish with your normal shampoo and conditioner. The ketchup will help restore your normal hair tint.
Take away a skunky smell. It’s been said that tomato juice can help get rid of the smell of skunk spray. Ketchup works just as well and you’re probably more likely to have a bottle of ketchup in your fridge than tomato juice.
Make tarnished metal shiny again. Ketchup helps dissolve tarnish from copper pots and pans, tarnished auto parts and silver jewelry. The acid in the mixture will dissolve the tarnish and make old metals look new(er).