COCONUT OIL DEODORANT

Hi everyone,

How are you all today? I'm doing fine. We were supposed to have some rain yesterday, but all we got were some sprinkles. Maybe it will come later this week. We could really use the rain, even here on the coast with the ocean nearby :) :)

In my effort to lead a healthier lifestyle, I am also learning how to make more beauty/healthcare products at home.  Why?  It saves money. I know exactly what goes into the product. It is less toxic for my skin and body. Also, since I'm still "in between" jobs, this really helps to stretch my dollar a long way.

So one of the things I've made in the past is deodorant with coconut oil. There are quite a few websites with excellent recipes on how to make this for yourself. I followed the recipe that Amy blogged about over at Homestead Revival. Click here to visit the post. She's a really nice lady who is really doing a lot to be more self-sufficient at home. Plus, her blog is a delight to visit and you'll be glad that you did. Oh, and if you're on  Facebook, you can visit her here. Either way, let her know that I sent you over :) :) :)

You will need the following three ingredients to make this homemade deodorant:

YOU WILL NEED THE FOLLOWING THREE INGREDIENTS: BAKING SODA, CORN STARCH AND COCONUT OIL.

What proportions of each of the three ingredients do you need to measure out:
Baking soda - 1/4 cup
Corn starch - 1/4 cup (you can also use arrowroot if you prefer)
Coconut oil - 5 to 6 Tablespoons ( or up to 8 Tablespoons. It depends on how thick you want to make this.  I also use unrefined virgin coconut oil. There's no reason for that, other than I really like it and it smells FABULOUS.)

First, I measured out 6 Tablespoons of coconut oil.  At room temperature it is a bit hard, so my measurements weren't totally exact, but for this project, it's okay.  I haven't noticed any issues with the quality of the deodorant when it's finished.  Now the last time I made this, it was really hard to mix the coconut oil and the other two ingredients together. So this time, I put the 6 Tablespoons of coconut oil in a glass measuring cup. Then I placed that measuring cup in a warm bowl of water. The gentle heat from the water will help to soften the coconut oil. That's okay, but when you're done it will solidify back to it's former state.

WHILE YOU ARE LETTING THE COCONUT OIL SOFTEN UP A BIT, I MIXED THE BAKING SODA AND CORN START TOGETHER.

While the coconut oil is getting softer (and easier to mix later), I mixed together 1/4 cup of baking soda and a 1/4 cup of corn starch together in a plastic container.  Now plastic is what I have on hand. However, when I find a good deal on a Mason jar or glass storage container at the thrift shop, then I'll buy that.  This is what it looks like when you mix the two powders together. Real exciting..not..but for being so simple, this work FABULOUS:

Now it's time to mix the coconut oil together with the corn starch and baking soda.  I use a fork to mix everything together really well.  Once it's all well-mixed together, it kind of has the consistency of vanilla frosting from a can. This is what mine looked like:

This makes up under a cup of homemade coconut oil deodorant. You can store it in a small glass Mason jar or other container of your choice. I did put the lid on mine and placed it in the refrigerator. That helps to firm it up again.  I took it out this morning and let it sit at room temperature. That's how I'll store it, too. It'll be easier to use that way.

This morning I took my shower. After I was finished, I applied some of the homemade coconut oil deodorant.  I take a very small amount and apply it with my hands. I let it sit against the skin for a few seconds to let it melt. It will start to melt with your body heat. Then I rub it around to cover my underarm area very well. That's it.. It works great. It smells fantastic and it's better than anything I've ever purchased in a store.

The baking soda cost me less than $1. The corn starch was just over $1. The coconut oil cost me about $9.99 at Whole Foods.  However, coconut oil has MANY uses, so it's worth the cost. You don't need much for this deodorant. It's also good as a moisturizer on the skin. It's also fantastic to use in cooking, as an alternative to butter.

If you make this, let me know how it turns out.  This stuff smells nice and does the job very well.

That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather

IT "MAKES CENTS TO ME" FRIDAY.

Hi everyone,
So I really struggled with what to call this post. I've been noticing on a few blogs, people are keeping track of their spending, some just on food, others on anything they spend money on. So that got me to thinking. Maybe I can keep track of what I spend my money on for the next three months...no strings attached...and then after that, I'll see where I can start saving money.
OH, and I had a hard time coming up with a catchy title...but I came up with "Makes Cents To Me".  My aunt (my dad's sister) helps pay most of the bills, since we're living in her house. She's been so good to us during this really tough time for my little family.  Once certain bills are paid, my father and I have a really limited budget to work with. This budget has to cover food, gas and maybe other incidentals for the entire month.  My "month" started today on February 3rd and will end around March 2nd. Although that might be subject to change. Also, my dad and I are both "in between" jobs, so that adds an element of excitement to the mix. Hey, being out of work is no fun, but it is vitally important not to lose our sense of humor :) :) :)

Here are a few of the items that I purchased this morning at Whole Foods market.  There was quite a bit MORE in today's purchase, but I'd put most of it away, before I realized that a photo would be needed for today's post:

.

My father and I are on a real food journey. We're committed to eating organic food, as much as possible and staying within budget.  We believe that you can't put a price tag on healthy eating/living, especially since the alternative (hospital bills) can be exhorbitant.  If you can't afford organic food, don't worry.  The primary goal is to shop the perimeter of your supermarket, buy fresh produce and meat. Make all of your meals at home.  It will automatically be healthier and save you money.

I know that I'm forgetting to write down some stuff here, because I'm really excited and really nervous about this post. Excited, because I know that it's possible to live healthy on a really limited budget.  Nervous because I am putting myself out there. However, I hope to encourage you because I'm just your everyday person trying to make it work in a recession.  That and I also want to prove that it's possible to live within your means and still be happy :) :) :)

Budget for the month of February: $Not sure if I want to reveal that just yet.  Once the bills are paid, there isn't much left over for food or other incidentals, like the phone ;) :) Maybe later...

Monday spent so far this week: $146.50 (for food and non-food items)

This is what my purchase included today:

--- 3 dozen organic brown eggs

---3, 8 oz packages of Kerrygold Irish butter (for making ghee, which is clarified butter)

---12 oz of organic, cherry tomatoes

---**Martha Stewart Living magazine (a want/not a need)

---**20 oz. organic drip coffee, French roast (a want/not a need)

---2, 32 oz bottles of ultra-purified drinking water with bottle desposits included

---1 jar of Himalayan pink salt

---1 container of Trail  Mix from the trail mix bar

---1 pound of organic, grass fed ground beef

---1 pound of bulk dry rub applewood smoked bacon

---2 Dagoba, organic dark chocolate bars

---1 botle of leave-in conditioner from 2Chic by Giovanni

---1 bottle of Aubrey Organics "rosa mosqueta" shampoo

---1 tube of natural whitening toothpaste

---1 small tub of organic cottage cheese

---organic, salted butter (Whole Foods brand) for Dad

---2 packages of frozen, organic blueberries (really overpriced, but I didn't have a chance to buy the 10 lb. organic bags of frozen blueberries at Costco)

---1.28 pounds of organic carrots

---1.54 pounds of organic broccoli crowns

---1 bottle of Earthworm family-safe drain cleaner (more on this stuff in another post...fantastic product, great price and safe around pets and children)

---2 cans of canned wild salmon

---2 cans of wild albacore tuna

---7.56 pounds of organic, navel oranges

---**2 fresh croissant breakfast sandwiches from the hot deli bar(a want/not a need...but so tasty good when you don't want to make breakfast in the morning)

---Organic silk, dental floss

THIS HIMALAYAN PINK SEA SALT IS REALLY NICE. I LOVE THAT IT IS PINK. HOWEVER, SEA SALT HAS A LOT OF HEALTHY MINERALS THAT ARE SOMETIMES REMOVED FROM TYPICAL TABLE SALT. FOR A LINK TO SOME OF THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF THIS TYPE OF SALT, CLICK HERE.

I bought the Himalayan pink salt for my father. It came recommended from our naturopath, as a healthy salt that my dad can consume.  Last month he was in the hospital because he had an arrythmia fibrillation of the heart. The hospital put him on a low-salt diet.  It's not so much about low-salt as it is about "healthy" sources of sodium. So we decided on this for my father.  It is really flavorful, and because of that you use much less of this type of sea salt, than you do with regular table salt. When I make my organic chicken/vegetable soup, I always add a teaspoon of Celtic sea salt. It's fabulous....and provides wonderful flavor.

What else? Well, let's see...the non-food items were a total of $38.34. That is $38 dollars and 34 cents...Blogger fonts make it hard to see the "dot" seperating the dollars from the cents :) :) :)

So I actually only spent $108.16 on food itself. So divided between my father and I for the week, that's $54.08...that's not too bad for the week.  Also keep in mind, that we still have a lot of food in our refrigerators and pantry, so that's going to help cut down on our food expenditures for the month.

Remember, I am new at this...so be kind to me, especially if you have advice/words of encouragement :) :)

These are some Whole Foods market freebies. They have a monthly health magazine, FREE to customers, whether you make a purchase or not. They also have a bi-monthly coupon booklet as well. So look for those two things, when you go to your local Whole Foods store (or any store, look for the store's sale ads).  Whole Foods also has a weekly sales sheet, that I grab as well.  Although today ,there weren't any available.

I am learning how to carefully study the sales ads. Even at stores like Whole Foods, it is possible to eat healthy and stay within a budget. So that's what I'm setting out to do.  Oh, Whole Foods also has a really cool booklet that comes out that includes a few meals/recipes. They each can feed four people for under $20.

Why am I shopping at Whole Foods today? Well, I'm studying to get my California driver's license. I'm in my 30s and never learned to drive...Shocking, I know...but I'm just a late bloomer and that's the simple, plain truth when it comes to my driving. My dad cannot drive for another three months. That is a mandated CAlifornia state law for people who experience a heart problem (like my father did)..so I'm relying on the generosity/loving kindness of my neighbors and church family. So I'm really careful to limit where I shop to save gas.  Whole Foods has everything I needed for this week, so I didn't need to go to the produce market in Pacific Grove, like I normally would. Does that make sense?

In any case, that's my "It Makes Cents to Me" post for this Friday.  I'd love to hear your thoughts and your ideas. I realize that eating organic is not for everyone, whether it be personal choice or because of finances. However, I know we all like to save money. So I'd welcome any thoughts and comments. Just keep it kind towards me and the others who comment here :) :) Also, I'm just a young lady trying to make it work in a recession. You can have "champagne" tastes and still live well-within a soda pop can budget :) :) :)

I'm participating in the following blog-hops this week:

Living Well Blog Hop over at Common Sense Homesteading.

Your Thriving Family. Click here to visit. Or check out the the blog button on my right sidebar :) :) :)

Raising Homemakers. Click here to visit or check out the blog button on my right sidebar :) :) :)

Thriving on Thursdays at Domesblissity. Click here to visit or check out the blog button on my right sidebar :) :) :)

Lil' Suburban Homestead. Click here to visit.

The Homestead Barn Hop over at The Prairie Homestead. Click here to visit. Or click on the blog button on my right sidebar.

There are lots of really cool blog posts. If you have some time, check out some of the other people participating in this link-up :)

That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather :)

SLOW-COOKER CHICKEN AND VEGETABLE SOUP

Hi everyone,

I've been doing really well on my journey into eating gluten free and eating real food.  The GAPS diet has been a really good, extremely healing diet for my ulcerative proctitis. Ulcerative proctitis is a minor form of colitis, which is an auto-immune condition.  I'm going to try and make Thursdays the day I talk about healthy eating, my weight-loss journey and anything else related to those two things :) So, pray for me, because this is something that I really believe in. It's been very healing for my body...and I hope, that in some small measure, sharing my story with all it's ups and downs, will encourage you all in some way :) :)

I'm now on Phase 4 of the Intro Diet for GAPS.  I'm feeling better all the time, although I do still struggle with coffee. It is an addiction for me...a happy one, but one that is not at all good for my body. So I'm still struggling with that, but let me tell you about something totally yummy and delicious. 

Homemade chicken broth/soup with vegetables is really easy to make.  Prior to starting the GAPS diet, I usually avoided the kitchen. Thanks to GAPS, I've had to spend more time in the kitchen, learning how to cook real food on my own. This is how I made my yummy soup:

THIS IS A PICTURE OF THE VEGGIES I USED IN MY CHICKEN SOUP.   THIS ISN'T THE BEGINNING OF THE RECIPE. I JUST LIKE THIS PHOTO BECAUSE IT IS FULL OF COLOR.

FIRST, YOU GET A SWEET, OLD DOG TO HELP SUPERVISE ALL THE MEAL PREPARATIONS. IN THIS CASE, ROSIE "HELPED" ME.  THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN AFTER THE CHICKEN WAS FINISHED IN THE SLOW-COOKER. EVEN ROSIE KNOWS REAL GOOD FOOD WHEN SHE SMELLS IT :)  SHE HAS ARTHRITIS, SO SHE SITS A LOT. ROSIE ALSO EATS A LOT,BUT THAT HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH HER DOGGIE ARTHRITIS.

FIRST, YOU NEED A WHOLE CHICKEN.  I USE A WHOLE, ORGANIC CHICKEN FROM TRADER JOE'S.  IT REALLY IS UP TO YOU WHAT KIND OF MEAT YOU CAN AFFORD, BUT FOR ME IT IS SIMPLE.  YOU ARE WHAT YOUR ANIMALS EAT, SO I CHOOSE TO SPEND A LITTLE EXTRA FOR A NICE, ORGANIC CHICKEN.  IT COMES WITH GIBLETS.

Now my chicken came wrapped in plastic. Inside, it has what looks like a chicken maxi pad covering the "butt" area to catch all the chicken juices.  The giblets will be inside the bird, in a closed paper bag.  Remove the giblets from inside the chicken. You will include the giblets when making your broth. The giblets have lots of good stuff for the body, plus it helps the broth to form a nice gelatin when  you put it in the refrigerator.

So once you've removed the chicken and giblets from their packaging, place all of it in your slow cooker.  Now add some water to the slow-cooker. You have some options here.  I added six cups of purified water to the chicken in the slow-cooker. It's up to you. You can adjust the water, more or less, according to your needs and what you like :) :) I add lots of water, because it helps stretch this out for many, many meals :)

Also, add one teaspoon of either Celtic seal salt or pink Himalayan salt.

Slow-cook the chicken on "low" for 7 - 8 hours.  I let my chicken slow-cook for a full 8 hours. About an hour before your chicken is finished, add some fresh, chopped garlic to taste. I add four cloves of fresh, chopped garlic. However, this time, I forgot, so I added the garlic after I had cooked the chicken and vegetables.

AFTER YOUR CHICKEN IS FINISHED COOKING IN THE SLOW-COOKER, IT SHOULD LOOK SOMETHING LIKE THIS.  OH, YEAH, YOU CAN'T TELL HERE, BUT IT SMELLS SO G-O-O-D IN HERE.

NEXT, PREPARE YOUR FAVORITE VEGETABLES TO ADD TO YOUR SOUP.

While my chicken is in the slow-cooker, I like to prepare my vegetables.  About 30 minutes to an hour before your chicken is done, gather your vegetables. For this particular batch of soup I used fresh, organic red onions, rainbow carrots and organic broccolo florets. Chop them up and put them in the steamer.  Steam your veggies until they are nice and soft.  With my steamer, I find that 35 minutes is a good amount of time. They veggies are nice and soft.

ONCE THE VEGGIES ARE DONE STEAMING, PLACE THEM IN A NICE STOCKPOT OR SOUP POT.

When the vegetables are done steaming, I put them in a nice, large pot perfect for soups or stews.  I also added four cloves of fresh, chopped organic garlic.  This should have been added when the chicken was in the slow-cooker...but I forgot.  You can add the garlic whenever you like. Garlic adds a nice aroma and flavor to your cooking.

FRESH CHICKEN STRAIGHT FROM THE SLOW-COOKER.

By the time your vegetables are fully cooked, your chicken should be ready.  I deboned the chicken and put all the good meat into the stock/soup pot.  I used a fork and knife to seperate the meat, because I wasn't interested in touching it with my hands :) :)  Rosie, the dog, made sure to catch anything that fell to the floor. Nothing fell to the floor, but I did give her two small pieces of chicken. She ate it up right away.

HERE I AM STRAINING THE BROTH BEFORE I ADD IT TO THE SOUP.

Once you have removed all the meat from the chicken, it is time to strain the broth.  I place a fine, mesh sieve over the soup/stock pot. Then I used a measuring cup and slowly strained the chicken broth. This allows you to get all that yummy, healthy chicken broth without all the extra gross bits like cartilage etc.  I also added the chicken liver to the soup as well. Just chop it up super fine. You don't taste it. The chicken liver is also really healthy and good for me, so in it goes.

HERE IS MY BOWL OF FRESH-MADE CHICKEN BROTH, WITH CHICKEN AND VEGETABLES. DOESN'T IT LOOK OH SO TASTY GOOD?


Now at this point, what you do, is up to you.  I placed some of that fresh made chicken/vegetable soup in a bowl. Sorry that my bowl is messy...but that's real life, folks. I don't have people to wipe it up neat for photos :)  You can heat everything through again if you want, too. However, it wasn't necessary, since the broth and the veggies were still hot.

What to do with the leftover soup? Well, that is also up to you. This is what I do and it works well for me.

I PUT THE LEFTOVER CHICKEN AND VEGETABLE SOUP IN CANNING JARS. THEN I PUT THOSE JARS IN THE REFRIGERATOR.


All I do is place the extra chicken/vegetable soup in canning jars.  Those jars I place in the refrigerator. I don't know how to can/put up stuff. Besides that, I eat a lot of this soup, so it doesn't last very long anyway. 

To make this soup even more tasty/healing for my body, I add two teaspoons of clarified butter (ghee) and a 1/3 of  a mashed avocado, and 1 tsp of sauerkraut. The avocado is something I'll usually add at dinnertime. I do the sauerkraut in every bowl of soup.


This soup is really easy to make. It's very healthy for you and it tastes super good :) :) 

Why do I add clarified butter to my soup?  It's a healthy fat that has all the casein elements removed.  My body doesn't tolerate regular dairy very well, so I make clarified butter, which give me the best parts of the butter without the casein bits that irritate my tummy.  I'll post on how to make clarified butter soon. It is really easy.


Why do I add avocado to my soup? It's another healthy fat :) :)  I use an organic avocado. 

Why do I add 1 tsp of sauerkraut to every bowl of soup?  It is a natural probiotic. 

I'm sure you all have some questions. I'm still on the learning process myself...but if you want to ask questions about why I decided to take this journey, feel free to leave questions here, as long as they're nice :)  I'm not a doctor, so I cannot give medical advice.  This is a choice that I made for myself, after much thought, education and discussion. It's a plan that really works for me.  I would highly suggest talking with a naturopath or other medical person of your choice before embarking on any kind of new eating plan.


That's the news from California today. Love and hugs from the ocean shores, Heather :)


P.S. I'm linking up with the following blogs this week.  See below for details... Also check my right side-bar for blog buttons to their sites.

Thriving On Thursdays at Domesblissity

A Wise Woman Builds Her Home

Our Simple Country Life

Homemaker's Cottage