This is a perfect follow up to my find concerning the fermenting crock pots from Tuesday. Lea from Nourishing Treasures posted her month long experiment into finding the best jar for fermenting sauerkraut. I am VERY interested in fermenting cabbage but I’m terrified of yeast and mold growth. I’m so glad she did this experiment, it gives me hope!
–
Go on over and take a look at her findings. I will decide which method I will use some time this weekend.
–
This has been a CRAZY day with Yipi. I am very sorry for skimping on posting. I wanted to mention something here that has be very excited, the information was provided by Mommypotamus on Facebook… Fermenting Crockpots. I’ve never heard of this! Why has no one told me?! I’m always making ferments and running out of mason jars, pans, bowls, and counter space. These crock pots would fix all of that. I am undecided as to which brand I will purchase but I will be purchasing one (or more) very soon.
–
The Harsch is coated with a lead free glaze. I’ll need to look into that, hopefully it will be safe.
–
–?
–
–
–
–
Yipi and I need a good conditioner for our dry hair. After doing research and trying in vain to solely use the conditioner from GFSoap, I decided to get in the kitchen and whip something up. I turned to Youtube, of course, and found a few tutorials that were very interesting, but they did not work out for me. I can’t use the preservatives, emulsifiers, or activators that they require. Back to square one. I gave up for a while…until Saturday night. Eureka!
–
Please keep in mind, since I am not using a preservative I will need to use the conditioner within the week so that no bacterial growth occurs. Water containing personal care products are prone to grown bacteria rather quickly. Make sure you whip up an amount that you will be sure to use within a week. I did not use enough borax in this recipe, I’m experiencing slight separation of oils and butters. I’ve made changes and will include them below. The changes have not been tested as of yet.
–
If you do not have some of the ingredients, like camelina oil, jojoba oil, or calendula infused herbal oil, use what you have! Go to this site to learn about the different properties of oils. Corn allergic/intolerant individuals: Make sure which ever oils you decide to use are processed without the use of de-gummers, solvents, or any potential corn derivatives. I choose lavender and tea tree essential oils for this recipe but you can use whichever combination you like. Experiment, make mistakes, learn. This is not the first conditioner I’ve tried.
–
This conditioner is fantastic! Why? It feels silky and spreads through my hair very easily (I have thick, curly hair). It leaves my hair feeling soft and conditioned. It helps to make my curls more manageable though it is a bit heavy, definitely won’t need a leave-in. It is thicker than the watery GFSoap conditioner. It is 63% cheaper than the GFSoap conditioner (YAY!!!) and it would be even cheaper if I did not use the jojoba oil or camelina oil. It is VERY easy to make and took less than 45 minutes. A little goes a long way. Start with a small amount on your hair and work up to the desired amount. My next recipe will use a higher percentage of filtered water, possibly some calendula or honeysuckle hydrosol.
–
Here are a few suggestions for substitutions. I used the arrowroot starch as my thickener but you might be able to substitute this with a safe tapioca starch and even potato starch if you’re daring. As I mentioned before, if you do not have jojoba, camelina, or calendula infused oil, use more coconut and olive oil. You can use any essential oils (organic, steam distilled) you like and have around the house. If you do not have shea butter you can use cocoa/cacao, illipe, kokum, or mango butter. I think the cacao or mango butter would smell wonderful. If you decide to use cocoa or mango butter be careful with essential oils. They might not blend well with the two scents. Illipe, kokum and mango butters are harder than shea so you may have to adjust the amount of candelilla wax. You can use beeswax or carnauba wax instead of candelilla wax. Beeswax is softer than candelilla so you might have to use slightly more. Carnauba wax is harder so you might need slightly less. I would you give a more definite measurements but I can’t use these waxes.
–
Ingredients:
-
Equipment:
-
Procedure:
Amanda over at the LovinSoapBlog posted a FANTASTIC cold process soap recipe. My goal for this soap making session was to make an easier soap, use fewer ingredients, and I wanted to avoid using the crock pot…to be completely honest, I wanted to avoid cleaning the crock pot afterward.
–
The recipe is fantastic for a few different reasons:
–
I will definitely make these soaps again. I followed her instructions but changed the recipe a bit. The recipe yielded about four pounds, a little over 60 ounces, of soap.
–
Simple Soap
–
Simple Soap Recipe:
–
Simple Soap – A few of the more interesting bars
–
How did we achieve the (not really but pictures are deceiving) uniform shape? The hubby purchased pre-cut 2 ft, 2″ PVC pipe, threaded adapter and glued it onto the end, a flat end cap, and threaded end cap. He drilled a hole in the threaded end cap and screwed in the air compressor fitting. He ozoned the molds for two weeks, washed them out really well and gave them to me to make the soap.
–
PVC Mold
MizCastle over at MySoCornedLife shared a new deodorant recipe with me. It looks really awesome! We will need to substitute the beeswax with candelilla wax and I think I will change the essentials oils to have a more earthy smell. I decided to use organic Patchouli, Cedarwood, and Lavender to give the product a more woodsy scent. We’ll see what the hubby thinks.
–
Most, if not all, commercial deodorants use corn derivatives in their ingredients. This poses a problem for my family and other corn allergic/intolerant individuals. We make do and then we make our own.
–
Homemade Deodorant
–
Make sure your ingredients are processed and company confirmed corn derivative free.
–
Ingredients:
–
Procedure:
–
About the name: I gave the hubby a few days to come up with the name and he was no help. The deodorant was for him. I finally gave up and titled the deodorant “It Smells…” which it does. It smells nice but I can’t think of a name. Maybe one day inspiration will strike and I’ll re-title this blog post. Until that happens, please enjoy the “It Smells” corn-free deodorant recipe.
We are in the midst of Tornado season, here in Alabama, and I am not prepared. I was going to post about the use of Corn Gluten as Weed control and another homemade personal care product recipe but I decided to post about what I’m actually doing…freaking out.
–
Well, not exactly freaking out, but trying to prepare just in case another round of awful tornadoes come through the area and we’re without power for 5+ days. I’ve made a few checklists, however I always feel as if I’m missing something. We have a few things on order that should arrive this week including more canned beans, 1/2 gallon mason jars for filtered water storage, and more mung bean noodles. The GWLW (guy we live with, you know…the hubby) is planning to obtain gas for the generators to keep the freezer and fridge running (in the event that the house is still standing, sans power) and I’m making muffins for the freezer also. Our diet is so limited, I really cannot think of anything else to have on hand. If the gardens manage to survive the storms then we will have fresh produce to eat. I’m also gently encouraging the GWLW to build an outdoor fire pit. He was slightly opposed to the idea but after some discussion I think he agrees that it would not be a bad thing to have.
–
So, here’s my list:
–
What am I missing? What are some items on your emergency preparedness checklists?
Mosquitoes. I hate those little bugs but oh how they love me. They either view me as their queen and have to be near me or they view me as a very yummy, irresistible snack. I also have a knack of attracting spiders, gnats, flies, really, any bug outside (or inside) will make it’s way to me for a quick snack or to just say hi. In the hopes of becoming slightly less visible to my insect friends, I decided to make a bug repellent. I was hoping to find a good, allergen free bug repellent this year, as I was unable to find one last year; alas, this was not the case. The closest thing I found was the Beat It product! This product may work very well for some of you with less sensitive contact reactions; we unfortunately cannot tolerate some of the essential oils used in the product. Unplugged Sunday posted a great recipe for DIY bug repellent and that is the recipe I will be using. Making toiletry/personal care items is usually the safest way to protect my family from unnecessary allergen exposures.
–
Figuring out essential oils (EOs) is always the most difficult part of a recipes for me. I have many essential oils in my cabinet. Occasionally I ask myself this question: Which of my essential oils go well together? Mountain Rose Herbs does a great job of listing complementary essential oils on the “Learn More” tab for each individual essential oil. I decided to compile a list from the information on their site and wanted to include it here. All of the EOs listed below can be used as insecticides:
–
–
Homemade Bug Repellent
–
Equipment:
–
Ingredients:
–
–
Procedure:
–
Frugally Sustainable posted a great recipe for homemade sunscreen and I think I’m going to borrow it and make a few adjustments. We are not able to use beeswax or vitamin E oil and I am not 100% certain of the candelilla wax. Instead of trialing that much candelilla wax without more of a buffer of oils and butter I think I will instead substitute the wax with extra shea butter. I was going to use kokum butter, as it is harder than the shea, but time only permitted the use of shea butter. I will substitute the vitamin E oil with…nothing. I did locate a Vitamin E oil, supposedly sourced from sunflower seeds; however I think additional questions pertaining to processing and refinement need to be answered before trying the product. Please ensure that your ingredients are unrefined and corn free (processing and manufacturing).
–
Homemade Sunscreen
–
Ingredients:
–
Procedure:
–
*If you have kokum butter, then use .75 oz of kokum and 1.00 oz shea.
I’m not blaming anyone but myself and my own lack of research, but how did I just discover that arnica is a flower?
–
Arnica ointment was my go-to homeopathic cream for aches and pain. I had no idea it was a flower, I don’t mind claiming my ignorance. It’s time to remedy this. Mountain Rose Herbs sells arnica flower, or course. It is exceptionally more expensive than anything else I purchase but I think I’m going to order a small amount with my April/May order. Based on past experience, it would really help with reducing the effects of swelling and subsequent pain that I experience from my allergic reactions. I plan to make it into a balm/salve for rubbing onto my affected areas.
-
–
Typical Preparations
Used as an oil (1 part dried herb in 5 parts plant oil) or ointment (1 part arnica oil to 4 or 5 parts base).
-
Summary
Arnica oils and creams are used topically to treat sprains, bruises, and muscle pain. Diluted tinctures of arnica are used in foot baths (1 teaspoon of tincture to a pan of warm water) to soothe sore feet. Grieve’s Herbal reported that nineteenth century American physicians recommended arnica tincture as a hair growth tonic. Homeopathic arnica is traditionally used to treat seasickness. Research published in June 2005 in the journal Complementary Therapies in Medicine found that homeopathic arnica can reduce post-partum bleeding.
Mountain Rose Herbs posted a great herbal infusion using calendula flowers and olive oil. I’m happy I made this, recently Yipi developed an awful upper body rash after being exposed to fumes from non-safe “corn free” meat. She was itchy, the bumps were red and swollen and she actually looked miserable. Into the kitchen I go… This was fairly easy to make. I started it one evening, turned it off at bedtime, and restarted it the next morning. Within one day of multiple applications the swelling and redness has subsided. Within two days the majority of the itchiness had gone away. Now we’re just waiting for the remainder of the bumps/hives to vanish.
–
Homemade Calendula Salve for Rashes
–
I apologize for some of the blurry pictures, she moves rather quickly and she wanted the camera. It was much easier to get her right side than the left, she lost her desire to cooperate after the first 3 minutes. These pictures are from the first day that I noticed the rash. I only used the oil once and it only slightly improved by day two. Day two I lathered her up every two-three hours. It has been one week today. The swelling is gone, the redness is gone, and only a few of the bumps are lingering (she managed to get a few bug bites on her little legs). I would have uploaded additional pictures showing the reduction in allergic reaction, but she was not interested in cooperating.
–
–
Ingredients:
Procedure
–
I plan to use a similar procedure (with additional ingredients and steps) to make our homemade bug repellent.
–
–
This medicinal oil is simple to prepare and has so many uses. The gentle, soothing, and healing oil is perfect for cradle cap, diaper rash, chapped or chafed skin, bruises, and sore or inflamed muscles. The oil can be used alone, or incorporated into salves, massage oils, lip balms, ointments, creams, and lotions.
–
Organic Olive oil
Organic Calendula flowers1. Place Calendula flowers in a clean, dry glass jar. If using fresh Calendula, wilt for 12 hours to remove most of the moisture (too much moisture will cause the oil to go rancid) before adding to the jar. Pour olive oil into the jar, making sure to cover the flowers by at least 1” of oil so they will have space to expand. Stir well and cap the jar tightly.
–
Heat Method: … heat can be applied if you need the oil quickly. To prepare, follow step 1 from above, but place the Olive oil and Calendula flowers in an uncovered container. Warm over low heat at approximately 100 degrees F for at least 3-5 hours, the longer the better. A yogurt maker, double boiler, or inside the oven with a pilot light on are all effective ways to heat the oil, just make sure to check the temperature occasionally to ensure that the oil isn’t getting too warm. Once the oil has infused, strain out the herbs using cheesecloth and package the infused oil into glass bottles.
