Homemade Milk Bath

I made this wonderful bath mixture over the xmas break and included small packets of it in my normal homemade xmas gifts I do ever year.  Instructions are pretty easy.  Run a hot bath and include a cup or so of the mixture allowing the water to dissolve the mixture.  Hop in, relax and enjoy!!

If you don't have the flowers, then simply leave them out.  You can also experiment with different essential oils.

Ingredients
2 cups of powdered milk
1/2 cup epsom salts
1/4 cup of baking soda
10-15 drops of essential oil - of your choice
1/4 cup of lavender flowers

Method
In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients together.  Add the essential oil and mix thoroughly.  Add the flowers and stir a couple of times.

Store in an airtight container.

Happy living peeps!

The Benefits of Coconut Water

With my husband Gig living the paleo lifestyle and embarking on marathon running, he was struggling to find natural products to replenish his energy levels.  Particularly when you are running 42 kilometres.  His first "paleo" marathon was in Rotorua and he found some natural boosters made with honey and molasses and unfortunately for him he cramped at the 26 km mark.  Fair to say, he was very disappointed he couldn't run the whole way, but he did end up finishing the marathon, even if he walked/limped the remaining 16 kms.

He then told me he wanted to run the very first ever marathon in Queenstown.  My immediate reaction was he needed to find a better supplement and suggested coconut water.  He wasn't too keen at first, but I had read a number of articles of how beneficial it was.

Rule #1  It's a natural isotonic beverage, with the same level of electrolytic balance as we have in our blood.  So basically, it's just as good as getting a blood transfusion.  In fact, I read that during the war, soldiers wounded in the pacific recieved emergency plasma transfusions using coconut water siphoned directly from the nut.

Rule #2  It has more potassium and less sodium than most sports and energy drinks and contains natural sugars as opposed to altered sugars found in sports drinks and energy drinks. It also has calcium, magnesium and phosphorous.

Rule #3  It regulates your body temperature, raises your metabolism, boosts your immune system, cleanses your digestive tract, helps regulate diabetes, improves poor circulation and helps treat kidney and urethral stones. 

Rule #4  It's got 0 cholesterol and is 99% fat free.  In saying this, I'm not a fan of fat free ratings, because in reality there are some essential fats that our body needs which has a result of raising the bodies cholesterol level in a good way.  But for those who love the fat free ratings and lower cholesterol levels, then this rule definitely fits in.

Rule #5 For those who struggle with dairy products, coconut water is a great substitute for milk and yoghurt in a smoothie.  PLUS it's a great substitute for liquid or powdered stock when cooking.  A can of coconut water can add huge benefits to a stew, curry and even a boil up. 

Rule #6 It's a great cure for a hangover!  Although getting a hangover isn't what I'm promoting here, if you do manage to consume a little too much than you should,  remember Rule #1?  Just like getting a blood transfusion.  

Rule #7 When consumed, it moisturises your skin from within and eliminates unnecessary oils.  It even has the ability to clear acne and tone the skin if applied to the skin.  That doesn't surprise me considering coconut oil has some tremendous benefits to our skin too.  I blogged about coconut oil in THE MAGIC OF COCONUT OIL.

Gig did find a coconut water that he liked and started filling his water bottles  on his training runs.  He noticed a tremendous difference in how his body reacted to exercise after that and he went on to run the Queenstown marathon.

From my own personal perspective, I've found myself cooking a lot more dishes using coconut water now.  I've even taken to making a smoothie prior to conquering the famous Hakarimata ranges.  I find my energy levels allow me to make it to the top with energy to burn to come back down, whereas before I struggled to get to half way.

If you find yourself wanting to incorporate coconut water into your lifestyle, I highly recommend it.  There are some expensive products on the market but you can pick up a tray at the asian market for less than $1 per can.  If you find you can't stomach drinking a can or bottle straight, then try smaller steps like I have suggested by using it in cooking. 

Happy living peeps!

 

Sugar Scrubs - Heaven

For the past few years my girls and I have presented home made xmas gifts to our friends and family.  I first blogged about it in JUST ADD ICE CREAM  then again in HOMEMADE XMAS PRESENTS.

One of my favourite things to include is homemade sugar scrubs.  I use two recipes.  They really are a wonderful gift to give, especially to someone who needs a little self pampering over the summer holidays.  Most importantly, it's VERY simple to make.  Both recipes need only three ingredients and realistically you can add whatever fragrance you like.  The choices are endless.

BUTTERSCOTCH SUGAR SCRUB
1 cup of brown sugar
1/3 to 1/2 cup of olive oil
20 drops of vanilla essential oil OR 1 tblspn of vanilla extract.

ORANGE SUGAR SCRUB
1 cup of castor sugar
1/2 cup of coconut oil (in a liquid form)
20 drops of orange essential oil (I replace orange with spearmint too)

The method for both recipes is simple.  Place the sugar into a bowl, add enough oil and mix so that the consistency is soft and sugar is not quite dissolved.  Add the essential oil and mix again.  The mixture should not be too dry.  Place into a jar, or container and apply as little or as much as you want to the body whilst showering.  Your skin will feel soft and wonderful I can assure you.

Orange Sugar Scrub

Butterscotch Sugar Scrub

  
Because I make bulk at xmas time, I find it easier to place them into individual plastic containers to make sure they fit into the gifts boxes I have.

Happy loving people!!

The Magic Of Coconut Oil

Last month I blogged about THE BEAUTY OF BAKING SODA.  This month my beauty tip is all about the magic of coconut oil.  Not only is it fabulous to cook with (in all kinds of ways I might add), it's also wonderful for your skin. 

Rule # 1 - Coconut oil is extracted directly from the coconut flesh or kernel, meaning it's natural and is an essential fatty acid.  Not like other oils such as vegetable oil which contains more chemicals than vegetables if at all which tends to have a chemical reaction to other foods that are digested.

Rule # 2 - Coconut oil is the best oil to cook with as its molecular structure remains the same when heated unlike other good oils like olive oil, which changes dramatically when heated resulting in it being less healthier.

Rule # 3 - Coconut oil has 0% preservatives which means when you digest the oil or apply it to your body, you are absorbing nothing but goodness.

Rule # 4 - It's an all in one skin care product, hair care product and food item, which means you'll save money by not buying all the other skin, conditioner,  make up or oil products that are on the market.

The best way I use my coconut oil (apart from cooking) is as a moisturiser.  I simply apply it as I would any other moisturiser after my bath or shower making sure not to use too much.  The oil should absorb into the skin as opposed to feeling oily and wet.

My daughter Jayden loves to use the oil as a conditioner.  She applies it's to her hair, leaves it in overnight, then washes her hairs as per normal.  It makes your hair feel wonderful.

Every christmas I also make a sugar scrub using coconut oil, sugar and essential oils and give them away to friends and family as gifts.  These are applied to the body in the shower and leaves your skin feeling wonderfully soft and smelling delicious.  This xmas a good friend Rewa decided to eat the sugar scrub thinking it was some new recipe.  Fair to say, it tasted a little funky because of the spearmint oil, but it did leave his mouth feeling minty fresh :-)

Maybe one day I'll blog about the goodness of coconuts as a whole, because it really is a power product.  It's just a pity the climate in NZ doesn't allow me to grow coconuts in my garden, or else I'd be having coconut oil, coconut water, coconut cream, coconut milk, coconut flesh all at my finger tips.  

Until then my biggest problem is ensuring the jar of coconut oil in the bathroom and the jar in the kitchen doesn't get mixed up.

Happy living people.

The Beauty of Baking Soda

Reflecting on my blog about my homemade face cream, I just had to share another find that keeps the bank balance happy and has so many different uses - baking soda!!!

I come from a long line of women who are obsessed, boardering freaky crazy with cleaning and if you ask what's the best product to clean a specific item, they will whip it out in less than 5 seconds and then proceed to waffle off for hours about how it came to be.

Imagine their surprise when I asked for a healthier, more natural way of cleaning products so that the expensive waste management system & tank that we have on the Ponderosa doesn't get ruined with the 100s of chemicals the products today are usually flushed down our drains today.- answer from my aunty in less than 2 seconds ... baking soda & white wine vinegar!!  I was impressed and knew one of them would know. 

So I tried it in our bathroom and I was really impressed at how white everything came up, but the smell ... it's pretty strong alright!!!  In fact, I went on the web and found a number of different ways these two ingredients can be used either together OR by themselves and I've got to using vinegar to disinfectant the chicken coop every 6-12 months to get rid of any bugs that might cause harm to them.

My favourite for baking soda has to be as an exfoliant on the body and my face.  I used to spend $100's of dollars buying expensive skin products to exfoliate and even found a couple of micro dermabrasion products.

Imagine my surprise when I tried out baking soda.  Yip, simply add a little water to a handful of baking soda to make a paste and exfoliate all over your body .. in the shower of course.  It leaves your skin feeling soft and smooth, but you do need to be careful not to apply too much pressure especially on your face and neck or else it will feel like you're using sand paper.

 

 

At about $2 for 500 grams, baking soda is a more natural, cost effective way to clean your home and your body.  I keep a huge glass jar in my bathroom at all times and choose to exfoliate twice a week, finishing off with my homemade face cream OR simply moisturising with some coconut oil .. my second best beauty product in the house.

 

Happy living people!!



Homemade Magic Face Cream

I am a avid supporter of Natural remedies - now.  I say now, because in the past it was only natural to go to your local GP or doctor when you weren't feeling well and trusted their advice and the medicine they would prescribe for you.  Of course, back then, you had a very intimate relationship with your local doctor - not in a sense that you were getting down and dirty with them, but more in a sense that you trusted them with your life, therefore needed to feel comfortable with them at all times.  

The other side of the coin at that time was the fact that the yucky bugs weren't as destructive as the ones nowadays therefore going to the doctors wasn't something that happened a lot.  In fact, natural remedies was something built firmly into family life because we descend from forefathers that didn't have the luxuries of a local GP readily accessible.

I have been enjoying reading the book "A Home Companion - My year of living like my grandmother" by Wendyl Nissen.  In essence it's purely about her life when she decides to be self-sufficent for a year.  I thought it interesting when she writes about her experience with the medical experts of the world regarding her breast infection and after over two years of trying everything and anything they diagnosed, their advise was simply "It's not life threatening, is difficult to treat, therefore you will just have to live with it".  Her answer was to resort to natural therapy, and after experimenting with turmeric root, the infection cleared up within a week and has not returned.

It instantly reminded me of my experience as a young mother with baby twins, one of which was struggling to settle and sleep more than 2 hours straight. After numerous visits to the doctors, being given many different medicines that didn't work then being told "your baby has colic, and you just have to live with it".  I too resorted to a naturopath.  Their diagnosis?  My baby's skull was not growing fast enough, therefore was having major regular headaches.  The cure?  6 x 5 minute cranials.  After the first cranial, my baby slept for 10 hours straight and after the 6th cranial, she was sleeping for 8 hours at night.  From that point onwards, I have been open about my skepticism of main stream medicine and have no issues recommending natural therapy.  

There is alot of money in medicine therefore the more the doctors prescribe, then more money the drug companies are making. There is also a lot of money in cosmetics and most businesses are about making money, I began to think what actually goes into my face cream, or moisturisers and whether they are actually good for me.

I performed the ole "Mcdonalds cheeseburger test".  I placed my face cream on the window sill without a lid for over 2 weeks.  If it contained more natural products than chemicals then it would start to grow it's own community of living organisms.  Result?  It looked just the same as it normally does, just like the McD's cheeseburger.

I was pleased to see Wendyl Nissen had a recipe within her book in which she called it "Magic Face Cream" so I decided to give it a go.  It's a little strange because it generally was like making a salad dressing with some essential oil (I used vanilla but you can use pretty much any fragrance you want), but in saying that it was fairly quick and easy to make.  After the first application I was pleasantly surprised at how soft my skin felt. My husband even gave it go, although he said he didn't notice any difference, but it smelt nice which is a bonus :-)

4 ingredients of 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil, 3 teaspoons of cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon of water and about 3 drops of essential oil.  That's it!!! Store it in the fridge and give it a good shake before applying it.

Have a great night!!!