Tag Archives: homemade

Homemade DIY Sunscreen (chemical free)

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Homemade Sunscreen Lemons & Petals

In my efforts to free my household of all chemicals, I decided to make my own sunscreen as well.  I googled “homemade sunscreen” and saw lots of recipes.  One that caught my eye and seemed like exactly what I was looking for was from Scratch Mommy.  So I decided to try my hand at it as well.  And it is a wonderful recipe!  It works and my kids love it!  

What you will need:

Melt the coconut oil, carrier oil, beeswax and shea butter in a double boiler or microwave.  I use a glass bowl on top on a pot with water.  Once melted, take off the heat and wait 2 minutes.  Before you add the zinc oxide, you must use a mask or a tshirt to cover your mouth and nose.  You don’t want to inhale the zinc oxide!  So cover your mouth and nose and slowly add the zinc oxide.  Mix and then add the Vitamin E and essential oils.

Pour into your container of choice.

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It’s a nice thick smooth consistency that rubs into the skin completely.  And it moisturizes while protecting your skin from the sun.  You should definitely try this!  

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Thanks for reading 🙂

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Moisturizing Tinted Lip Balm DIY

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Moisturizing Lip Balm Lemons & Petals

What you will need:

  • 1 TBS coconut oil
  • 1 TBS beeswax
  • 1 TBS shea butter or cocoa butter
  • 15-20 drops of essential oils
  • Mica powder (use whichever color you want your lip balm to be-optional)

Melt the coconut oil, beeswax and butter in a double boiler or in the microwave.  Add in the essential oils and mica powder if using.  Quickly pour into empty lip balm containers and place in the fridge for 30 minutes until fully hardened.

Now they’re ready to be used as you would any lip balm or lipstick.

homemade lip balm

Rose Petal Body Scrub (moisturizing & homemade)

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Rose Petals Body Scrub Lemons & Petals

I’ve been thinking about using dried rose petals to make a body scrub for quite some time.  Something about it sounds so luxurious!

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I happen to receive these flowers at the perfect time!  After the petals started wilting, I pulled them off the stems and let them dry.

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Then I put them in my food processor and ground them down to small pieces.

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Then I was ready to make the body scrub.  So let’s get started.

What you will need:

  • 1 cup of epsom salt or sugar (whichever you prefer)
  • 1/2 cup of coconut oil (or any other oil you prefer…olive oil and avocado oil are good choices too)
  • 20 drops of essential oils (I used lavender and geranium)
  • 1/4 cup of lightly ground rose petals

Mix all the ingredients and place in a jar.  It’s that simple 🙂

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Hope you make this!  It will leave you with soft smooth skin.  Thanks for reading 🙂

Homemade Mayo (paleo, keto, healthy) with tutorial

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Homemade mayo lemons petals

Store bought mayonnaise is loaded with unhealthy oils such as canola or soybean oils. These oils are GMO derived and also nutritionally inferior. I’ve already written about why vegetable oils are not good for you.  And I’ve searched high and low for a 100% organic olive oil mayonnaise without any luck.  And even if you find one with olive oil, it is most likely made with “light tasting” olive oil which is usually mixed with lower quality oils. Using 100% extra virgin olive oil sounds like a great alternative but you will compromise on taste as your mayo will taste “heavy” like olive oil.  So what’s one to do?  Make your own!  This recipe takes me only 5 minutes to complete and the mayo tastes better than any store bought variety.  I have a little video tutorial so you can see how easy it is to make 🙂

What you will need:

  • 1 whole organic, cage free, omega 3 egg (pasteurized at home ~ directions below)
  • 1/4 tsp mustard (any variety will do)
  • juice of half a lemon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp white vinegar
  • 3/4 cup avocado oil (any light tasting oil will work but remember what healthy oils to use.  Another option would be to use extra virgin olive oil but your mayo will taste like that so I’ve found avocado oil to be the best choice)

I use a 16 oz mason jar to make and store the mayo. No extra dishes to wash!

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I also pasteurize the egg because I am paranoid about Salmonella poisoning plus it’s simple to do. Place the egg in a pot with water and heat the water to about 140-145 degrees and keep the egg in the water for about 3 minutes.  This is enough to kill the germs but won’t cook your egg.  Let the egg cool down for about 10 minutes before using in this recipe.  I cook multiple eggs at once and put the other eggs either back in the fridge to make mayo in the future or I use them right away for another recipe like egg salad.

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Directions:

  • Place all ingredients in the order listed in a 16 oz jar
  • You will need an immersion blender for best results.  Use the immersion blender, starting at the bottom of the jar, and blend.  Make sure to not move the blender until you start seeing emulsification.  Then slowly move the blender up and down until all the oil is emulsified.  There’s a video below to show you how quickly emulsification takes place. 

 

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There is no need to slowly add in the oil while vigorously mixing for the emulsification process to happen.  The immersion blender mimics this action because it slowly adds in the oil while blending.  It’s like magic!  It’s that easy. I promise you that you will love it!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Homemade Solid deodorant in a stick

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lavender deodorant lemons petals

I stopped using Secret 4 years ago after realizing how harmful it is to use.

Ingredients in Secret: Aluminum zirconium trichlorohydrex Gly 15% (anhydrous), cyclopentasiloxane, talc, stearyl alcohol, dimethicone, hydrogenated castor oil, fragrance, polyethylene, dipropylene glycol, silica, behenyl alcohol

There is nothing natural in that!

  • Aluminum – has been linked to Breast Cancer & Alzheimer’s Disease.  Ugh!
  • Propylene glycol – This is a petroleum based compound. In large quantities, this stuff can cause damage to the central nervous system, liver, and heart.
  • Cyclopentasiloxane – (cyclomethicone) is a silicon-based cyclic compound.  This stuff is a highly environmentally toxic compound.  It is also known to cause non-reproductive organ toxicity along with endocrine disruption and neurotoxicity
  • Dipropylene glycol – this stuff is used as a plasticizer, an intermediate in industrial chemical reactions and as a solvent.  Gross!

No thanks!  So then I thought I was being “natural” and started using Lavanila deodorants.

Ingredients in Lavanila: Aloe barbadensis leaf juice (Aloe juice, water/aqua), Propanediol (Corn derived), Zea mays (Corn) starch, Sodium stearate (Coconut derived), Silica, Carrageenan (Seaweed derived), Stearyl behenate (Coconut derived), Citrus medica limonum (Lemon peel oil), Inulin (Artichoke derived), Saccharomyces ferment, Alpha-Glucan oligosaccharide (Sugar derived), Yeast beta glucan, Lonicera caprifolium (Honeysuckle) flower extract, Usnea barbata (Lichen) extract, Valeriana officinalis root extract (Valerian), Hydrastis canadensis (Goldenseal) extract, Melaleuca alternifolia (Tea tree) flower/leaf/stem extract, Lycium barbarum fruit extract (Goji berry), Botanical fragrance blend.

At $14.00 for 2oz container, I was shocked to see some of these ingredients.

  • Carrageenan – it is controversial but this is thought to cause ulcerations and inflammation in the colon which can lead to colon cancer

  • Propanediol & Zea mays – These are both corn based compounds and 90% of the corn crops in the US are GMO

While these ingredients are not horrible, why pay so much money for controversially harmful products.  Plus, it didn’t even keep me dry or odor free!

So I ventured out and tried to make my own…..and I had GREAT success!  My very first attempt was a simple one but one that worked.  I simply add baking soda and arrowroot to coconut oil and made a paste that I stored in a 4oz masor jar and applied with my fingers.  While that worked really really well, I wanted something that I didn’t have to stick my fingers in and get both hands “dirty”.

I finally came up with a homemade solid deodorant that I can use in a deodorant stick!

What you will need:

  • 3 TBS coconut oil
  • 2 TBS beeswax
  • 2 TBS baking soda
  • 2 TBS arrowroot powder
  • 15-20 drops of essential oils (I like using lavender) – optional

Melt the beeswax and coconut oil in a double boiler.

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Once melted, add in the baking soda and arrowroot powder and then remove from the boiler.  Then add your essential oils and mix.

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Pour into your empty deodorant container and allow to harden for 12 hours. That’s it!  It’s extremely easy to make. But what really surprised me was how incredibly well it worked!  The baking soda helps absorb odors while the arrowroot powder helps absorb wetness.  Plus the coconut oil is antimicrobial so helps to ward off the bad bacteria that cause unpleasant odors.  The beeswax is mainly to help keep the deodorant in a solid state.  The essential oils are for pleasant aromas but they also help to ward off bad bacteria especially tee tree oil and lavender.

This deodorant kept me dry and odor free even after wearing this deodorant all day AND doing a one hour spinning class…..and I didn’t even apply right before my workout. Trust me….this works wonders AND it’s organic, natural and healthy!  Even my husband switched (minus the lavender of course ;)).  I added cedarwood and patchouli essential oils to his and he is delighted!

Hope you guys try it out.  Thanks for reading 🙂

Homemade Organic Coconut Milk

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Canned coconut milk is readily available.  Some brands contain only coconut and water, while others include preservatives, emulsifiers, or stabilizers.  To make matters worse, there are concerns about BPA lining in the aluminum cans.  And you also wonder if they use filtered coconut water.  So what’s a way around all that?  Make your own fresh coconut milk.  Believe me…it’s soooooo easy and quick!

So here’s what you will need:

  • 2 cups organic shredded unsweetened coconut (I use this brand )
  • 4 cups hot filtered water (don’t boil)

Heat up the water in a pot until hot.  Do not boil.  Then I add the shredded coconut and the hot water to a blender (Vitamix is what I use but any blender will do the trick).  Then let it sit for about half hour or so.  After that you just blend for a minute and then strain using either a nut milk bag (like this one) or just use a fine mesh sieve.

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This is the shredded coconut I use because it tastes amazing and is organic, unsweetened and sulfite free

 

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I strained through a nut milk bag

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That’s it!  Super easy and the coconut milk is soooo fresh and delicious 🙂

The mason jar cap I’m using makes it super easy to pour the milk without spills.