Whip this up~Homemade Body Butter!

For a long time now I have been trying to make our own lotions, lip balms, herbal remedies, and natural cleaners.  I think I just may have a recipe for body butter that is close to AWESOME! I have been using this now for almost a year and I have to say it is wonderful. It goes on silky and it does take a bit to absorb into your skin, but what your left with is very nourished and hydrated skin. There are so many nasty ingredients in today's lotions and creams-give this a try for a much healthier alternative. Now I am not sure that making your own body butter or lotion was a happening thing in the 1950's or 1960's, but it is a smart gal of today that recognizes that we have gotten away from healthy ingredients in our cosmetics these days. So give it a whirl. Whip some up. I will stop now. 

This recipe uses raw organic shea butter which tends to have a greasier consistency in my opinion. With all that being said, I don't want to discourage you before we get out of the gate here, shea butter is extremely moisturizing. My teenage daughter suffers from very dry skin in the winter months, very dry. This one has answered my prayers in regards to a formula to help. Of course, I could resort to some over the counter brands which would heal faster, but the junk in them is really astonishing. I don't need to give my kids toxic ingredients, thank you very much!

Body butters have a light consistency and are really fun to mix up. You can use all kinds of essential oils in them, however check some reputable books to see which ones are beneficial together. Don't be scared to try this, super easy and I guarantee once your hooked you'll be making all your cremes.

Without further ado:

Gather all your supplies. I am including my choice of essential oils. The original recipe does not use the same combo and a couple of steps are a bit different.

• 1 cup organic raw shea butter (solid)
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (solid) 
• 1/2 cup almond oil (liquid)
• essential oils-tangerine, rosemary, peppermint

*all your supplies can be purchased from Amazon or Mountain Rose Herbs. The brands I have shown in the picture are very reputable and great quality for this project.

Using the double boiler method add your shea and coconut oil and melt. I have put a glass heatproof bowl inside simmering water. Don't fill the water too high, best to keep a kettle hot and add water as it evaporates. You don't want splashes of water in your oils. Stir with a spoon here and there to incorporate.

When the oils have melted remove from the heat bath and allow to sit for 30 minutes or so until cooled down.

When cooled down add your almond oil and give it a stir.  

Pop the mixture into your freezer.  Check at 15 minutes, in case your freezer runs super cold. Your not looking for solid. It needs to solidify like the picture below. One way to tell is to poke your clean finger into the middle. See my little indentation there? While it needs to be solidified, you should still be able to indent a finger into the mix quite easily. If it isn't cold enough it won't whip up. Yet, you don't want it frozen solid-no,no,no.

Now you will start whipping and whip it good! I had scored a portable beater at the thrift store, but alas, my thrift store find ones finally gave up the ghost, so I will hunt down another one--I like to save the Kitchen Aid for um....food, ya know.

Once the butter starts looking like frosting I add in my essential oils. Shea butter has a strong scent so I found I needed: 20 drops Rosemary, 20 drops Tangerine, and 10 drops Peppermint. Start slow and you can always add more. Just whip some in then take a little sample and rub it into the back of your hand. Not strong enough? Add more, usually in increments of 5 is my general rule. Whip after each addition.

There you go you talented gal--you just made body butter! And you made about 2.5 cups of it so store in glass mason jars. I like this size HERE. You can buy fancier jars of course, but this size works for little gifts and for leaving in a few rooms of the house. Pretty them up anyway you want!

 This recipe was adapted from Rawmazing. 

My husband is having a grand time slathering it on my feet and giving me a massage, just ask him! For my daughter's dry hands I have her put this on throughout the day and at night lay it on a bit heavier and sleep with gloves. You can do this with the feet too--just put socks on , not gloves, but you knew that , right?

Oh yes, and my lawyer wants me to go over the fine print--this recipe is not used in any way to treat an ailment and I am not handing out medical advice. If you have allergies use common sense and do a patch test before trying anything new.

ENJOY!!!

*This post linked up to The Scoop~

Coupons~The Real Cost of Food

This is one of my most popular posts over at my old blog Blueberry Cottage.  The Farmers Markets are opening in our little neck of the woods and early produce, fresh and organic is available! Please patronize the local agriculture if you don't garden and produce your own:-)

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I love coupons as much as the next person and I admit to trying to use them as often as possible, but I can honestly say that when I peruse the circulars of our local markets and hunt down the coups in the flyers, there aren't many I will use. Why? Well, there is not a whole lot of food I buy in stores, really. Now let me also say that we are feeling the lightening of our wallets just like the next guy. I am trying to figure out how to keep eating healthy, mostly organic food, reduce our carbon foot print and not go broke all at the same time. Yes, we do have to start growing more! 

Yesterday I wasn't feeling well and I put the tv on. There was a show on and two women were guests. Both were know as "crazy coupon mom", and "the coupon diva." My interest was piqued. The audience had to bring a grocery receipt to the show and the two women would shop for the same items and show how using coupons and going to different stores would save tons of money. The crazy coupon lady had a three inch, three ring binder full of coupons by category! Now, did they save money? You bet! I was amazed. One bill was around $175 and one of the coupon moms got the same items for $60. Then they emptied the shopping cart and Kraft mac n' cheese, grocery store brand hotdogs, bags of chips, candy, boxed cookies, Trix yogurt, bags of already peeled carrot stix, frozen grocery brand veggies, lunchables,  and all sorts of stuff I never buy was displayed. And I realized why I can't save money that way. I don't buy that kind of food.  In my opinion that is feeding my family junk. Now I do like the Pillsbury doughboy on occasion and I do buy what I call junk--heck, if Ben & Jerry's coffee health bar crunch is on sale, get out of my way 'cause I will knock you down to get the last couple of cartons!  But, as a rule we eat mostly whole foods that have had a mama and papa or are grown by us or a local farmer.  

So, I had to check out this couponing stuff they were talking about and I came across the website Money Saving Mom.  She is big in the coupon world and makes a living pushing coupons.  The link is to the post I am going to talk about.  She broke down her shopping trips to three different stores. Her haul at the health food store didn't look too bad. I could do about the same at Trader Joe's. Her trip to Aldi was impressive, but look at all the packaging! Plastic bagged tomatoes and corn. Wonder how far the tomatoes had to travel and the corn, well if it isn't organic then your eating corn treated with round up by  Monsanto,  a.k.a. evil empire. Also, bagged and already shaved carrots---those suckers are dipped in a bleach solution to keep them fresh for their journey from whenever.  Her third trip was to another store and again I am not impressed. Her two heads of lettuce were pricey and wrapped in plastic so we have the travel/health/environment factor there. The beef was $3.69 a pound and it was in the shrink wrap stuff I think...bad, bad, bad.  My friend has a beef farm so I know my burgers are from one big boy who had a great diet and had a lot of room to graze and move. That hamburger in the package may have been from 100's of cows and filled with ammonium and then injected to retain color.  So, I will pay $6.50 for a pound and know the beef I buy locally won't hurt us.  I can get an organic melon for $8.00, two heads of organic lettuce for $3.00 ea and my beef for $6.50 per pound. My cost for the same, organic, healthier items would be about $33.50.  Yes, that is $10 more, but the food is good for us, it isn't shipped from across the country costing more in fuel costs and I just helped support local growers. Now, I also grow my own lettuce and that can be done in a pot on the porch, so eliminate the $6.00 for lettuce and I only spent $27.50.

{photo credit Sarah, aka Farmama-her blog is now closed, sadly} 

Please tell me you would rather have the veggies in the above pic!!! These are from Farmama's blog. They are famers in CO and bring their produce to their local farmers market. Sara is also trying to reduce plastic and promote reusable bags--and it's catching on!

{photo credit Sara, a.k.a. Farmama}

Just look how fresh and REAL it all looks!  Your local farmers work hard! Patronize them. Learn about where your food comes from and what is in it before you clip a coupon. What is the answer to saving money and eating healthy at the same time? I am not sure, but I am going to start a series , hopefully, on how to eat healthy without breaking the bank.  I need help too so if you have tips send them in! Just consider the real cost of the food you buy. Who grew it? A local farmer or some guy in Australia or China. How far did it travel and what did the fuel cost to get it here, nevermind what had to be sprayed on it to keep it fresh looking. How much wrapping or plastic is around the item, plastic is nasty stuff for the most part and have you considered how it effects the environment. Some things to think about.

I am not against coupons and such and of course I want to get the best deal on what I need, but when I looked at some money saving websites they gave the impression that we must consume, consume, consume and get the best deal while doing it so we can afford to buy more. Well, that is another topic entirely now isn't it :-)

This post is linked up to Courtney, visit her at Women Living Well.

New food adventures!

I recently joined Heather's Spring Workshop 30 Day Vegan.  I am super excited about this! For the last 2.5 years I have suffered from a painful foot condition called neuritis.  It feels like someone is stabbing my toes and upper foot with sharp steak knives all day long! The podiatrist has been helpful, but after seeing him for over a year, I am still dealing with strong bouts of this. All the money on doctor visits, orthotics, and anti-inflammatories are adding up. Not sure I want to do the math there...sigh.   


Not too long ago I decided to do some research on this and found that chronic acidosis could be the mitigating factor in causing this.  I had just read Dr. Furhman's book Eat to Live, after seeing him on a PBS special this winter and became passionate about finding the root of the problem and perhaps curing this with a more natural and holistic approach. I questioned why in the world the doctor had never brought any of these root causes up---I always came back to the answer I have known-- most doctors embrace only Western minded medicine.  


After an appointment the other day with my podiatrist, he wanted me to take 800mg Motrin every 8 hours and start a drug called neurontin. My former profession was in neurological disorders so I am quite familiar with the drug. The side effects alone scared me half to death! Now, I will resort to a trial of this drug, with a lot of hesitation, after tackling this from the aforementioned angle and if , big if, this neuritis can't be cured or brought under control with a natural/holistic trial.  


So far I have tried reflexology and have purchased an impressive stash of nerve strengthening herbs to make herbal teas and tinctures to start taking.  A dear friend gave me a juicer I can use to make a carrot and spinach juice which is known to be beneficial for this ailment.  In my research I also found that deficiencies with the vitamin B group can often contribute to neuritis. Vitamins B2, B6, B12 and Alfalfa are now part of my daily regimen.


Heather has a lovely blog full of great advice on nutrition. Our family eats pretty healthy, but the baked goods,even those from scratch, may not be the best choices, ultimately.   I am looking forward to learning more about vegetarianism and cooking more tasty, simply whole foods this way.  


Off to clean the pantry and kitchen shelves of all the little processed food items that have made their way into my working space:-)  I know some of you may be saying "everything in moderation", but when your in this much pain...RADICAL is the way to go!