The Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways Wednesday Blog Hop

Welcome to Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways Wednesday, this is a blog hop! If you are a blogger, please feel free to link-up and share as many posts as you would like pertaining to:

• Urban or Rural Homesteading
• Anything DIY
• Frugal Recipes
• Preparedness/Survival
• Repurposed Projects
• Upcycled Frugal Finds
• Animal Care
• Natural Gardening Tips
• Herbal Remedies
• Green Cleaners

The list could go on…

Basically, anything that you think will build and encourage our community.

This Week’s Featured Posts

I want to say a big, huge thank you to all of you who participated last week!

Here are the most clicked on posts, in order, from last week:

1. 9 Ways to Waste Less. By Kendra @ A Proverbs 31 Wife

2. Getting the Most Out of Your Probiotic? Learn How to Take Probiotics. By Lori @ Health Extremist

Congratulations!!! Please feel free to grab my “featured” button below and place it within your post or on your side bar.

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Contrary to popular belief…going natural doesn’t mean giving up on smelling good!

I love good smelling lotion, body spray, and perfume just as much as anyone…I just don’t love the ingredients found in many of the major brands.

Ultimately, my search for a natural, user-friendly solution led me to create a solid perfume.

And today — in the form of a photo tutorial — I’d like to share with you my recipe.

Solid Perfume Making

Supplies

-Small Kitchen Scale
-Small pot or double boiler
-15-20 lip balm tubes or tins

Ingredients
*Whenever possible use organic oils and essential oils.

• 2.5 ounces Sweet Almond Oil
• 1 ounce Jojoba Oil
• 0.5 ounce Castor Oil
• 1 ounce beeswax
• 1-2 teaspoons essential oils of choice, see “Notes” section below for more details

Method

1. Gather the ingredients. And using a scale, measure the oils in a small pot.

2. Add the beeswax.

3. Set over low heat. Stir frequently until beeswax is completely melted.

4. Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool slightly.

5. Add essential oils.

6. Pour the mixture into your tubes or tins.

7. Allow to cool on counter until hardened.

8. Cap and label.

9. Directions for use…apply the solid perfume directly to your wrists and neck. Don’t be shy…rub it behind your ears and on the back of your knees too. Keep it in your bag and use it throughout the day!

Notes

-A couple of my favorite essential oil blends include:

• Jasmine and Lavender
• Patchouli, Lemongrass, Cedarwood, Sweet Orange, Clary Sage, Lavender, and Pine

-Get creative! I am also enjoying the additions of different aroma oils and resins…read more here.

Where Can I Get This Stuff?

-Mountain Rose Herbs…they have everything you’ll need for this project! It’s your one-stop-shop!

-Find beeswax locally through this link or purchase online here…

I do have a few different perfumes available for purchase
in my Etsy Shop.
See the listings by clicking this link.

Photo Credit: All the credit goes to my dear friend — Tammy Zelez Photography — for the photos in this post!

Be sure not to miss a post, click this link to receive my free eBook and Frugally Sustainable tips by email.

The Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways Wednesday Blog Hop

Welcome to Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways Wednesday, this is a blog hop! If you are a blogger, please feel free to link-up and share as many posts as you would like pertaining to:

• Urban or Rural Homesteading
• Anything DIY
• Frugal Recipes
• Preparedness/Survival
• Repurposed Projects
• Upcycled Frugal Finds
• Animal Care
• Natural Gardening Tips
• Herbal Remedies
• Green Cleaners

The list could go on…

Basically, anything that you think will build and encourage our community.

This Week’s Featured Posts

I want to say a big, huge thank you to all of you who participated last week!

Here are the most clicked on posts, in order, from last week:

1. Easy Homemade Shaving Cream. By Merissa @ Little House Living

2. DIY Unpaper Towels Tutorial. By Amy @ A Blossoming Life

3. Natural Remedy For Drooping Eyelids. By Lori @ Health Extremist

Congratulations!!! Please feel free to grab my “featured” button below and place it within your post or on your side bar.

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I don’t know about you…

…but I LOVE working in the kitchen.

I may not be an awesome food blogger (many thanks to those of you who are), and I may not make the most excellent of meals, but gosh-darn I love to cook!

Cooking from scratch and fresh, local foods excite me.

So that usually means chopping and mincing lots of onion, garlic, and the like.

Not to mention, working in the garden, looking after the chickens, and tending to the house — all of which keeps my hands pretty dirty and in need of washing constantly.

But those soaps you buy in the store just dry my hands out and I hate using “anti-bacterial” hand washes. So, I set out to find a homemade solution…one for the kitchen sink.

Kitchen Coffee Spice Bar Soap was it!

Coffee soap is one of my favorites! For a couple of reasons:

1. It really works to deodorize my hands.
2. The grounds feel so good as they exfoliate and scrub all the dirty away. 

Soap-Making Basics

As I’ve shared with you all before, my journey into soap-making began years ago.

Thanks to the Internet and amazing people that are willing to share their wisdom so freely…I was able to learn the skill.

• Wardeh, who runs Gnowfglins, on her personal blog Such Treasures gives the clearest, most easy to follow directions ever! This is the exact post that got me started. She uses the hot processed method and I highly recommend that you read her recipe if you are even the slightest bit interested in making your own soap.
• Renee of Fimby was also very inspirational and such a great resource! Watch her awesome video that describes the cold processed method for making a simple soap by clicking here.

Yes, I had to overcome the fear of blowing up our house when working with the lye, but I finally decided that if generations and generations of women before me could do it, well then…so could I.

Nowadays, making soap has become second nature and very much a part of the routine here in my home.

If you are new to soap-making, I strongly suggest you read through these very informative articles and find what will work for you:

• Crock Pot Soap
• Beginner’s Guide To Soap Making
• 4 Steps To Making Homemade Soap

I would also recommend borrowing a few of these books from the library if you really find yourself wanting to know more:

• Handcrafted Soapby Dolores Boone
• The Soapmaker’s Companionby Susan Miller Cavitch
• The Natural Soap Book by Susan Miller Cavitch

Kitchen Coffee Spice Bar Soap

Base Oils

• 12 ounces Olive oil
• 10 ounces Coconut oil
• 6 ounces Sustainable Palm oil
• 2 ounces Castor oil
• 1/2 ounce Jojoba oil, optional

Lye Solution

• 4.30 ounces lye (6% excess fat)
• 10 ounces triple-strength coffee, cooled 

Exfoliant

• 2-3 tablespoons coffee grounds, wet or dry

Add-Ins

• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 ounces essential oils, your choice (Note: I like to use a combo of may chang, lemongrass, lemon, clove bud, ginger, cinnamon, and sweet orange)

Hot Process Method
*Remember…there are 2 different methods for soap-making — hot and cold process — this is the Hot Process Method.

1. Prepare the triple-strength coffee — using distilled water – with the help of your french press or coffee maker.

2. Cool the coffee in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. But whatever you do, do not use hot coffee.

3. Once cooled, measure both the lye and coffee – each in separate bowls — using a kitchen scale. Note: Always run your recipe through a lye calculator to be sure that you are using the proper amount of oils, lye, and liquid.

4. Carefully combine the lye and coffee by pouring the lye into the coffee (never pour liquid into the lye) and stir liquid until lye is completely dissolved. The liquid is caustic and not to be touched in anyway. The outside of the bowl will be extremely hot as well. Be careful when working with lye and follow all of the recommended precautions. Note: What I’m trying to say is, I can not be held responsible for any craziness, mishaps, explosions, etc. that may happen when making this recipe.

5. Allow the lye mixture to stay under a vent and cool down while you prepare the oils.

6. Measure the oils – by weight – and then place in a crock pot to melt on low heat. Please omit the Jojoba oil…we’ll be adding that later.

7. Once melted, add the lye/coffee mixture to the oils in the crock pot and stir. Note: Any equipment the lye touches needs to be neutralized in a mixture of white vinegar, soap, and water.

8. After a brief stir, grab your stick blender and get to work! Blend the oils and liquid in the crock pot for at least 1-2 minutes. We are working toward “trace.”

9. After 1-2 minutes, add the coffee grounds, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.

10. Continue blending for 2-3 minutes more – until the mixture becomes a thick, pudding like consistency.

11.. Once the mixture is pudding-like, cover the crock pot and “cook” the soap, on low heat, for approximately 1 hour.

12. Prepare your mold. Note: I just use a standard loaf pan lined with parchment paper and it’s always worked perfectly and this recipe is enough to fill one loaf pan.

13. Once the soap is done “cooking” remove from heat and quickly add the jojoba oil and essential oils.

14. Stir until well combined.

15. Spoon soap mixture into molds.

16. Allow soap to cool and harden for 24 hours.

17. Remove from mold on to cutting board and cut into bars.

18. Place bars on a tray with good airflow so that they can harden further. But go ahead and feel free use your first bar!!!

Where Can I Get This Stuff?

Looking for the raw materials mentioned in this post? The Soap Dish has some of the best prices on soap-making ingredients you can find — not to mention it’s a small family owned business.

I also highly recommend Mountain Rose Herbs for high-quality, organic herbs, oils, and essential oils!

Be sure not to miss a post, click this link to receive my free eBook and Frugally Sustainable tips by email.

This soap — and many other of my handmade goodies –
may be purchased in my little Etsy Shop by clicking this link.

Photo Credit: All the credit goes to my dear friend — Tammy Zelez Photography — for the photos in this post! Isn’t she awesome!

The Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways Wednesday Blog Hop

Welcome to Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways Wednesday, this is a blog hop! If you are a blogger, please feel free to link-up and share as many posts as you would like pertaining to:

• Urban or Rural Homesteading
• Anything DIY
• Frugal Recipes
• Preparedness/Survival
• Repurposed Projects
• Upcycled Frugal Finds
• Animal Care
• Natural Gardening Tips
• Herbal Remedies
• Green Cleaners

The list could go on…

Basically, anything that you think will build and encourage our community.

This Week’s Featured Posts

I want to say a big, huge thank you to all of you who participated last week!

Here are the most clicked on posts, in order, from last week:

1. 37 Easy Ways to Save Money. By Shannon @ GrowingSlower

2. Hardest Time Ever for Women. By Lori @ Always Learning

3. Beyond No ‘Poo: Washing Only With Water. By Courtney @ The Polivka Family

Congratulations!!! Please feel free to grab my “featured” button below and place it within your post or on your side bar.

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Previously we discussed a few things to help us focus on developing the habit of healthy living — click here to read that post.

Today, I’d love to talk specifics and share a few of my most favorite herbs for weight loss, detoxification, and over all well-being.

But first let me say…

…herbs should not be considered a magical solution to anyone’s weight-loss efforts! Nonetheless, I do believe that they play a huge role — most effectively in the role of appetite suppression and detoxification.

There are several different herbs that have improven to increase metabolism and/or suppress the appetite — naturally helping us achieve our weight loss goals.

Just be careful — please note…this statement is my disclaimer — with any information you read (yes, even this information that I am sharing with you today) regarding herbs with weight loss claims. Do your own research.

The Best Weight Loss Herbs

As mentioned above, there are countless herbs and remedies in the realm of weight loss.

These that I share with you are simply the ones that I have found to be most beneficial and useful in my efforts! Herbs such as:

•  Nettle Leaf – Highly nutritive, nettle leaf contains a great amount of chlorophyll, making this herb a significant source of antioxidant vitamins (such as C and A) and powerhouse minerals. Nettle leaf is also considered a blood purifier due to it’s ability to increase the proper function of the liver and the kidneys. 
• Eleuthero (Siberian Ginseng) Root — While it primarily works on the nervous system, in general eleuthero root is well known as a powerful adaptogen – that is an herb that helps the body properly respond to stress. Reducing anxiety and balancing the appetite. Read more here… 
• Senna leaf — Senna leaf is best known as a natural laxative.
• Dandelion leaf — Dandelion leaf neutralizes acid in the blood thereby making it one the best remedies for detoxification and blood purification available. And similar to Nettle leaf, it too contains high quantities of nourishing vitamins and minerals. I love dandelion leaf especially for it’s ability to cleanse the body and help with my skin’s complexion. 
• Marshmallow root — Is one of the most mucilaginous herbs. Highly nutritive…it also works to soothe the entire digestive system by reducing inflammation. Likewise, marshmallow root is a wonderful diuretic.
• Slippery elm bark – Slippery elm bark contains many of the mucilaginous properties as marshmallow root — and it helps bring to balance to the body by absorbing toxins in the bowel.
• Sweet cinnamon bark — A well-known for centuries due to it’s anti-biotic and anti-fungal properties, cinnamon is a wonderful remedy that supplies excellent flavor. Moreover, cinnamon is excellent for our digestive systems and works to warm the body.
• Ginger root — Ginger root, a trusted cold/flu fighter, assists the body in the removal of excess toxins. It too, cleanses the digestive tract and the kidneys as well as increases circulation by warming the body.
• Fennel seeds — Aid in digestion and help to regulate the appetite. They also positively effect kidney function and work to cleanse the liver.

And the best way I have found to consume the benefits of these herbs…tea.

Benefits of Drinking a Slimming Herbal Tea

While drinking an herbal tea concocted using the above herbs…one can expect to experience the following benefits:

- Slimmer waistline
- Mood stabilization
- Better sleep
- Increased libido
- Regular bowel movements
- Decrease in water retention
- Clearer more balanced skin complexion

The Recipe

Slimming Herbal Tea
*Measurements in parts are by volume not weight.

• 2 parts Nettle leaf
• 2 parts Eleuthero root
• 1 part Senna leaf
• 1 part Dandelion leaf
• 1 part Marshmallow root
• 1 part Slippery elm bark
• ½ part Sweet Cinnamon Bark, chips
• ½ part Orange peel
• ½ part Ginger root
• ¼ part Fennel seeds

Method

1. Measure the parts of each of the herbs listed and mix in a large bowl until well combined.
2. Grab your tea accessories, tea infusers, and/or tea pots…and brew a cup! (Note: I get all of my loose leaf tea-making supplies online from Mountain Rose Herbs.)
3. This herbal tea blend will keep stored in a cool, dark place for approximately 6 months. (Note: I like to store all of my teas in glass jars with tight-fitting lids.)
4. Everyday I brew approximately 16-20 fluid ounces of this tea and carry it with me, drinking it throughout the day. I find it mild enough for daily use and I couldn’t be happier with the results I’m seeing!  

Where Can I Get This Stuff?

-Mountain Rose Herbs…they have everything you’ll need for this remedy! It’s your one-stop-shop!

-The Bulk Herb Store also carries many of these ingredients if you’d like to price check.

I do have this herbal tea blend available for purchase
in my Etsy Shop.
See the listing by clicking this link.

Now it’s your turn! Please share with us your most favorite herbs and remedies for weight loss!

“If I’d known I was going to live so long,
I’d have taken better care of myself.”
~Leon Eldred

Our modern, popular culture is full of in-your-face health and weight loss advice!

Especially this time of year…wouldn’t you agree!?!

This advice is most often focused on short-term plans — a.k.a. fad diets — and usually promotes an endless cycle of “yo-yo” dieting. The emphasis always seems to be on calorie counting or some “magic supplement” that’s going to cure your weight loss woes.

Now, if I’m honest, I’d have to say that some of these diet plans aren’t all together bad. Yet they all seem to carry a flaw…

…drastic change.

Calling for a drastic change in lifestyle in order to achieve health is hard to sustain, and inevitably we see temptation give way to failure.

Today I’d like for us to review a few common-sense tips that will hopefully help us to rewire our perspective on diet and nutrition so that we can gain health and balance — and lose weight…naturally.

The Habit of Healthy Living

More often than not, humanity seems to perceive the body as a object…something that can be manipulated to meet certain criteria.

Criteria unfortunately set forth by mainstream advertisement.

Of the many dangers that lie in that type of comparison thinking…the most common revolve around:

• a style of dieting that more often than not, robs the body of proper nutrition.
• an exercise regime that leaves the body stressed and over-worked.

So instead of living in extremes, why not work on shifting our thinking — by making small changes — and the good habits will follow!

Baby Steps

What follows is just an example of a few things that have helped me. Take and use what you can, making whatever changes necessary for your unique needs.

1. Inside out. I hope you don’t mind if I ask, but…how do you view your body? Most people go through life very unaware of their physical body — i.e. muscles, organs, skin, bones. The exception comes, of course, when something goes wrong or starts to hurt.  But, what if we started to view our bodies from the inside out. What a difference that small shift would make! 

2. Every Meal. Think of every meal as an opportunity to improve your health.  Food is not the enemy nor is it a source of emotional comfort. Choose foods that benefit the body — ones that are nutritionally dense and life-giving. Learn more from online workshops and/or eBooks such as:

• Gnowfglins eCourse
• Whole Food Kitchen Online Workshop
• Good and Easy Eats
• Eat This: Meal Salads & Whole Foods Dressings

3. Replace commercially-prepared (bad) foods with whole, natural (healthy) foods. And be sure that they are ones you and your family enjoy! I get that frozen, overly-processed, and take-out dinners can at times seem like a real “calorie bargain” — with all of their promises to satisfy your hunger while still keeping everything under a set calorie limit — but trust me…they hold countless hidden dangers.

Why not baby step from:

• sugary cereal to whole grain cereal or better yet homemade instant oatmeal.
• ordering pizza to making it a home.
• drinking soda to drinking water or yummy herbal teas.

Here’s an excellent case for eating whole, natural foods (including plenty of raw) and examples of how they can work to restore health.

4. Buy in Bulk. Buying in bulk is a great way to stock up on healthy snacks…it also makes it easier to keep them handy for those times when the food cravings hit. I love buying and preparing little baggies of:

• nuts instead of chips.
• dried fruits and berries instead of candy.  

5. Set a goal. Set it in your mind, tell yourself daily, and make your it your goal to feel healthier, more at peace, energetic, stronger and more flexible. Let weight loss be a natural side-effect of gaining health!

6. Get sleep. Although reasonable calorie restriction and excerse are most often recommended (and required) for weight loss…there is significant evidence to show that inadequate sleep is huge contributing factor to obesity. In fact, lack of sleep increases the body’s desire to consume more food and seriously messes with the appetite-regulating hormones.

7. Start looking to plants and minerals. Plants, herbs, and natural earth minerals offer some of the most absorb-able forms of nutrients…one’s that our bodies just drink up with excitement! Instead of looking to synthetic supplements…shift your gaze toward the earth.

Final Thoughts

Now that we have established a few tips for shifting our thinking regarding weight loss and health…part 2 of this mini-series promises to be more “rubber meets the road.”

But before we get into all that — what about you!?! What tips can you share with us regarding healthy living and weight loss?