Homemade Deodorant

Don't diss it till you try it!

I have to admit, the first time I heard about homemade deodorant, I thought it was a crazy idea. I figured I'd be smelly and sweaty in minutes. Boy was I wrong. This deodorant recipe is so good that I have promised myself that I will never go back to store bought, chemical filled, over-priced deodorant again.

What you'll need

1/4 cup coconut oil (found at most grocery and health food stores)
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup arrowroot powder or cornstarch (I use arrowroot powder)
10 drops of tea tree oil
10 - 15 drops of any essential oil (my favourites so far are lavender or lime)

Put it together

Mix the coconut oil, baking soda and arrowroot powder or cornstarch in a bowl. I prefer to use my hands to mix, as the heat from your hand helps the mixture to blend more smoothly. When the mixture is blended, add the tea tree oil and essential oils. Mix well. Transfer the deodorant into a container with a lid.

I tend to put 1/3 of the mixture into a small container and leave it in my bathroom. The remaining 2/3 of the mixture stays in a different container and is either stored in my basement or in the fridge until it is needed. This keeps the deodorant fresh for longer periods.

Let the mixture set overnight. It should be quite thick and may even crumble a little when scooped out of its container. If it is too runny, add more arrowroot powder or cornstarch. If it is too hard, add more coconut oil.

Use it

Once the deodorant has set, you are ready to use it. With your fingers, scoop out a small amount. Slowly rub the deodorant onto your underarms. That's it!!

It took me about a week to really get used to using this type of deodorant. It takes a while to figure out the consistency you like the best and how much to apply. In the end, you will thank yourself for choosing a healthier and more cost effective deodorant.

Banana Bread

Today is a snowy, lazy, Sunday afternoon. The perfect kind of day to make some banana bread. Luckily enough, I happen to have 6 browning bananas...excellent.

Here is the link to the recipe I used. I made a double batch and baked one loaf and 12 muffins. To add some variety (and to satisfy my sweet tooth) I added chocolate chips to the muffins.

http://www.joyofbaking.com/breakfast/BananaBread.html

Soap Nuts

Welcome to my newest obsession...soap nuts.

These "nuts" are actually fruits that are harvested from soapberry trees (Sapindus mukorrosi) that are mostly found in northern India and Nepal.

Soap nuts can be used for all sorts of cleaning, but are most commonly used for washing laundry. They are easy to use, are biodegradable and they work. Even better, using soap nuts cuts down on the amount of plastic detergent bottles that enter our landfills. It's really a win, win, win type of product.

Check out the following video. It will give you information on where the berries come from, how they are harvested and prepared and where you can buy them.

http://youtu.be/AxOorVe9L_4

I recently put an order in through this company and I am thrilled with the product.

Apple Cider Syrup

Looking for a different spin on your syrup? Well, look no further. This syrup is super tasty and one batch goes a long way.



What you'll need:

1 gallon of apple cider
1-2 tbsp of cinnamon
2 cups of sugar

Make it:

Put all of the syrup and cinnamon in a pot and set to boil. Once it is boiling rapidly, lower the temperature to simmer. Let it simmer for an hour to an hour and a half.  Add the sugar and stir periodically for the next 10 minutes. Remove from heat and pour the syrup into sterilized hot jars. Process the jars in a waterbath for 15 minutes.



Enjoy it:

I love adding a tsp or two into my morning tea. I have also used it on pancakes...mmmm. The consistency is a little thin, but it still tastes amazing.

Tie Dyed Shirt

This neat craft is super simple and requires little set up and materials.

What you'll need:

1 plain t-shirt
Sharpie markers - various colours
Rubbing alcohol
Cups and rubber elastics



Make it:

As shown in the above picture, drape sections of the t-shirt over cups and secure them with elastic bands.



Then, colour away. Make designs or pictures. The more colours the better.

Once the pictures are done, take the rubbing alcohol in a medicine dropper and drop small amounts on each picture/design. Watch as the marker runs with the alcohol.



Finally, take the elastics off and hang the shirt to dry.

Homemade Vick's Rub

Recently, my whole family came down with a bout of winter colds...yuck!
Instead of running out to the store for some Vick's Rub, I figured it would be easy enough to make some myself.

After a few attempts, here's what I came up with.

What You'll Need:

2 tsp. grated beeswax
1/4 cup olive oil
25-35 drops peppermint essential oil
15 drops eucalyptus essential oil
10-15 drops rosemary essential oil (This can be omit from the mixture if you don't have it on hand)


Simply put the beeswax and olive oil in a heat proof glass bowl and heat it up over simmering water (on the stove). Once he beeswax is melted, remove from heat and add the essential oils.



Once it is mixed, pour into resealable containers and allow to cool.



Use the mixture the same way you would use Vick's.

Split Pea and Ham Soup

This has to be my ultimate favourite winter soup (as I am writing this, I have a pot simmering away on the stove). It is a stick-to-your-ribs type of soup that goes a long way. One pot serves my family of 4, 3-4 times. Usually when I make this recipe, I freeze the leftovers in meal sized containers for future use. It freezes well and lasts up to 6 months in the freezer, though mine never quite makes it that long.

Let's make some soup.

What you'll need:



16 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
2 medium onions, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 tsp of dried oregano
6-8 medium carrots, diced
4 medium potatoes, diced
2 lbs of dried split peas (about 4 1/4 cups)
1-2 lbs of ham, diced (3-5 cups) - depends on how much you want. Remember, the more ham you use, the saltier the soup turns out.
Add pepper according to your preferences (I use 1-2 tsp)

Make it:

Pour all of your stock into a large stock pot and start to heat it up.
In another pan, saute the onions, garlic, oil and oregano until the onions are translucent.



Once the onions are ready, add them to the stock. Also add the carrots, potatoes and 3/4 of the peas.



Simmer, uncovered for 40 minutes.

Add the remaining peas and all of the ham. Continue simmering for 40 more minutes stirring often to make sure the peas don't stick to the bottom of the pan. Check to make sure the peas are fully cooked.

Viola, you're done. Enjoy.

*The soup will thicken up near the end of the cooking time. Sorry, I didn't take a picture of that step.

Liquid Hand Soap

Want to stretch your money? What would you say if I told you that it is possible to make approximately 3 litres of hand soap out of a single bar of soap? Well it is possible and when I made myself a batch last week,
I was very pleasantly surprised with the outcome.
Here is a link to the website I used for the recipe.

http://www.savvyhousekeeping.com/how-to-turn-a-bar-of-soap-into-liquid-hand-soap/

I did change the recipe just a little bit for myself.

Here's what I did:

I grate an entire bar of soap and used all of the shavings. I added the shavings to 10 cups of water and 1 Tbsp. of glycerin. I let the mixture heat up over medium to high heat until the soap shavings were completely dissolved and the liquid was steaming hot. I then took the pot off of the heat and let it sit over night. In the morning, the mixture had hardened to a jello-like consistency. I was completely surprised when I was able to stick a spatula into the mixture and it stood completely on it's own.



I then took my hand mixer and beat up the soap so it was nice and smooth. I used a fairly mild smelling bar of soap, so before storing the soap mixture, I added about 20 drops of essential oil and mixed it up well.

I funnelled some soap into an empty soap dispenser and put the rest of it into an emptied and washed out 4 litre milk jug. I now have about 6 months of liquid hand soap and all it cost me was $4.97for the bar of soap (I used Dr. Bronner's).

The Story of Cosmetics

Ever think about what you are putting on your body every day? Many of the products we use have harmful chemicals and we (being so trusting that our products are safe) slather our bodies with these lotions, body washes, lipsticks and perfumes.

Check out this video and start thinking.

What exactly are we eating?

Not convinced there is a difference between organic and non-organic products. Check out what this little girl discovered when she tried to sprout a sweet potato.

Glow In The Dark Bath

A couple of nights ago, my five year old asked if I could turn off the lights while she and her brother were in the tub. At the time I said no, but it got me thinking. Wouldn't it be fun to have a bath in the dark? But that seems pretty dangerous, not to mention, a little scary for my two year old. So, what could I do to make the "in the dark bath" not so dark and fun at the same time? The answer came to me in the form of little plastic sticks...GLOW STICKS!

So, last night, I asked my kids if they wanted to have a bath in the dark. My five year old shouted "yes" without even thinking, but my two year old was a little apprehensive. When I told them there would be colourful lights in the tub with them, my two year old, jumped into the tub and yelled, "lights off"!





When the lights went out and the glow sticks were shinning from the bottom of the tub, my kids were in "glow tub" heaven. They played in the bath tub for almost an hour. The water was cold and yet they didn't want the fun to be over. In order to get them out of the tub, I had to promise them another lights-off bath in the near future.



I guess it's time to stock up on glow sticks.

WARNING - If your child likes to put things in their mouth or bite things, I wouldn't recommend this activity.

Ginger Cookies

Mmmmmm, Ginger Cookies!



These cookies are easy peasy to make (especially when you have a 5 year old cookie roller working with you) and the aroma that fills your house while they are baking in the oven is just as wonderful as the flavourful taste you get when you bite into one of these golden brown pieces of heaven.

Seriously, they are pretty fantastic.

What you'll need:

3/4 cups shortening
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
4 tbsp molasses

Make it:

Combine all of the ingredients and mix well.
Take 1 tbsp of cookie dough at a time and roll into small balls.
Cover each ball completely with sugar.



Place the balls on a cookie sheet and press them down slightly in the middle.

Bake the cookies in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until brown.

Yum!

Peach Jam

What you'll need:

4 cups finely chopped peaches, about 9 medium (I have even used frozen peaches before)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 pkg Fruit Pectin or certo
4 1/2 cups sugar

Make it:

• Sterilize 6 250 ml mason jars in boiling water.
• Peel, pit and finely chop or crush peaches, one layer at a time.
• Measure sugar and set aside.
• In a large saucepan, stir together peaches, lemon juice, 1/2 tsp (2 ml) butter or margarine to reduce foaming, and pectin or certo.
• Over high heat, bring mixture to a full rolling boil. Add all of the sugar. Stirring constantly, return mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; skim off foam, if necessary.
• Pour hot jam into a hot jar to within 1/4 inch of top of jar.
• Cool upright, undisturbed 24 hours; DO NOT RETIGHTEN screw bands.
• For best quality, use home canned foods within one year.

Makes about 6 x 250 ml jars

Sugar Cookies

What you'll need:

3 cups all purpose flour  

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup salted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Make it:

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Mix the wet ingredients with a mixer and slowly add the dry ingredients.
Split the dough into two equal parts, wrap with plastic wrap and put into the fridge for either an hour or overnight.
When the dough is ready, roll it out and cut out shapes.
Bake the cookies for 8 - 10 minutes at 350 degrees.





Once the cookies are fully cooled, you can ice them.

Royal icing:

3 egg whites
3 tsp lemon juice
4 1/2 cups icing sugar

Make it:

Mix the ingredients until smooth, tint the icing with colour if you like and ice your cookies.





This recipe makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

Christmas Ornaments

This recipe is very basic and easy to do. Once the dough is made, it is easy to work with and sets nicely. If you need to take a break while making the ornaments, make sure you cover the dough with plastice wrap so it doesn't dry out and harden.

What you'll need
• 2 cups baking soda
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cups water

Put it Together 

1. Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it is too thick to stir with a spoon.

 



2. Cool for 15 minutes. Knead it for about 5 minutes on a surface sprinkled with baking soda. Keep dough wrapped in plastic when you're not using it.



Cut the dough into shapes (If you are making ornaments, use a straw to make the holes in the top for string or ribbon) and set on a drying rack to dry. Flip the ornaments a few times before they are completely dried to ensure that they dry flat.

Once you have molded it, it will take 1-2 days for the clay to dry depending on how thick your craft is. This clay can be painted with either Tempera or acrylic craft paints.

Elf on a Shelf

It seems as though every year there is a new trend right around Christmas. This year, I believe it is the “Elf on a Shelf” that we now have roaming throughout our home.

The elf comes with a Christmas story, which explains how Santa knows who is naughty and nice. Every night your elf will fly back to the North Pole to report to Santa and in the morning he/she will be somewhere in your house…usually doing something mischievous.

Here are some pictures of our elf “Wobbly” and some of the funny business he has gotten into. I will continue to update the pics until Christmas when Wobbly will go back to the North Pole until next year.