How To Make REAL BUTTER in a KitchenAid Mixer

Laundry Essentials: DIY Natural Alternative to Fabric Softener and Dryer Sheets

Posted by dōTERRA

Advertisers would have you believe that each dryer sheet or bottle of fabric softener you purchase will lead to such pleasant experiences as frolicking through a field of flowers with a cuddly teddy bear, or falling blissfully backwards onto a soft (and surprisingly springy) pile of blankets. If only the dream world of advertising did not conflict with the sober realities of ordinary life. Sigh.

100 Yummy Healthy Snack Ideas

Essential Planet Blog Spot

I keep this list handy when needing ideas for healthy, low calorie snacks.

You know those times when you will grab the first piece of chocolate you can find! LOL

We've all been there and felt bad or wished we hadn't when we stepped on the scale. I don't do it often, but we all have at some time or another...

Well, here are 100 healthy snacks shopping and put together for a healthy snack at that 4 Oclock~ish hunger time or a sweet desert that won't break the scales!

DIY Microdermabrasion Treatment

 

Awesome DIY At Home Microdermabrasion Treatment!

Brighten your complexion with an easy at home microdermabrasion treatment!

It's that time of year my blog lovin' friends, when you start shedding those layers of clothes and notice it is time to work on polishing and neutering our skin! Winter play a number on our skin and we come into spring feeling dry, scaly and just in need of some TLC!

A Complete Guide to Fats & Oils ~

What to Cook With (or not)

 What to Avoid and Why?

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Choosing the right fats and oils in your food preparation has a dramatic impact on your health. There is much information and misinformation on what constitutes healthy fats. This Guide to Fats and Oils chart simplifies the best choices of fats for cooking, fats that should not be heated, and which to avoid altogether. 

 

It took our health community decades to recognize the dangers of trans fats in margarine and other butter replacements.

And only recently are the anti-inflammatory and immune enhancing benefits of coconut oil, a saturated fat, being publicized.

 

How long do we need to wait until  “heart-healthy” vegetable oils are recognized for its inflammatory effects and as a major contributor to modern disease!

 

Great information to read, learn, keep and share!

Let's all work on a healthy diet and lifestyle for yourselves and our families!

 

Peggy L.

 

How to Make Easy 3-Ingredient Energy Bars

 

How to Make Easy 3-Ingredient Energy Bars

 

Store the bars in the fridge for several weeks or in the freezer for up to three months.

 

 

Prepare for your minds to be blown. Ready?

 

Homemade energy bars.

 

Three ingredients.

 

No cooking.

 

No tricks.

 

No kidding.

 

 

                      

Homemade Fabric Softener Crystals Recipe! Two Simple Ingredients

Homemade Fabric Softener Crystals Recipe

{2 Simple Ingredients!}

Did you know you can make your own Homemade Fabric Softener Crystals like the ones Purex makes? All you need is 2 ingredients too – Epsom salts and your favorite essential oils.

 

If you have ever used those fabric softener crystals in the store you will know one little container of these will cost you upwards of $5.00-$6.00 depending on the size. My own homemade laundry recipe costs around $20 for a year of detergent and one of the ingredients I use is the Purex crytals.  The Purex Crystals in the recipe is the most expensive ingredient, so I attempted to make my own fabric softener crystals recipe to save money. And I was able to save $4.12 off the recipe.

How to make Homemade Fabric Softener Crystals

Ultrasonic Diffuser Purifies the Air and More!

Ultrasonic Diffuser
Purifies the Air and More!

An ultrasonic diffuser is a type of essential oil diffuser that disperses essential oils into the air. There are several different types of diffusers but they are all fairly easy to use.

And if you are an essential oil lover, then you definitely want to own one!

 

How do Diffusers Work?

Diffusers work by breaking down the essential oil into micro molecules then projecting them into the air to fill a room or work space.

As the oils break down they release natural ozone and, freshen and improve the quality of the air! The particles remain in the air for several hours depending on how long the diffuser was on and how much oil was used.

What are the different Types of Diffusers?

There are several different types of diffusers and they are listed below with a simple description of each one.

• Ultrasonic Diffuser – This diffuser uses electronic frequencies to create vibrations that are carried to the surface where oils are floating. The vibrations vaporize the oil and disperse it into the air without using any kind of heat.

Natural Ginger Ale

Katie WellnessMama

 

It turns out that soda hasn’t always been the high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavor concoction in an aluminum can that we know today.

For hundreds of years (and probably much longer) cultures around the world have made various forms of naturally fermented “sodas” from sweetened herbal teas or fruit juice mixes. These natural fermented drinks contained beneficial enzymes and probiotics to boost health and were a far cry from the unhealthy versions we have today.

This version uses a fermented ginger culture to create a naturally fizzy soda! Ginger is and delicious herb that has been used in many cultures for its health-boosting properties. From my herb profile of ginger:

“Ginger has been used in Chinese Medicine for thousands of years and is said to help:

• Soothe digestive disturbances
• Alleviate nausea (great in early pregnancy)
• Reduce fever
• Calm coughing and respiratory troubles
• Stimulates the circulatory system
• Helps relieve muscle aches and pain
• Can help get rid of dandruff
• Emerging evidence shows it helps lower cholesterol
• Japanese research has found Ginger is effective in lowering blood pressure and cancer risk”

Great deal & the perfect time of year to use flamless tealights everywhere around the house! I'm thinking pumpkins, Halloween display, walkway for parties, outdoors, patios, boating, camping and not to mention all the Christmas uses! Hurry, these won't last!!! CLICK THE PICTURE FOR LINK! 12-Pack Tealight Candle LED White, Yellow Flickering Flame Price: $4.60 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Homemade Coffee Creamer – Over 2 Dozen Flavor Varieties!

~ Homemade Coffee Creamer ~ 

I like a good cup of light, sweet coffee. I simply cannot drink “cowboy coffee.”.  I don’t like my coffee black. I prefer a smooth breakfast blend made with my Keurig, with honey and an array of coffee creamers.

Found this on Mrs Happy Homemaker while looking for alternatives to store bought creamer and just had to share! 

The whole point really is that coffee creamer is luxurious, and expensive. I’m lucky if I can find it on sale for $2.59 for the bigger bottles of the store brand. Anyway, for me to enjoy a good cup ‘o joe in the morning, it needs to be at least 10% French Vanilla coffee creamer. So that all adds up. Oh, and have you ever actually read the ingredients of the back of that store-bought creamer?  It shouldn’t even be called creamer. I don’t think there is actually any cream in there at all.

Lets look…

Nope, nothing that says “cream.” here! 

There is a whole boatload of other stuff in there that shouldn’t be though. Like partially hydrogenated soybean oil, sodium casinate and dipotassium phosphate. What the heck is all that STUFF? And look at that one in parenthesis: Titanium Dioxide. That is added to make it more white. Go check your toothpaste. Unless you buy the blue or green gel toothpaste, your tube might have titanium dioxide in it. Go ahead, go check. I’ll wait….

Isn’t that gross? And possibly cancerous to boot!

So, I’ve been thinking about the psuedo-creamer for a while now and I recently read on Facebook that one of my friends successfully made her own coffee creamer. So I did a little research and a little tweaking and came up with a long list, flavors and many pretty darn good DIY creamers.  With actual dairy products! Imagine that!!

Up-cycle Broken Clay Pots

by Kathy @ http://raisinghomemakers.com/2013/up-cycle-broken-clay-pots/

 

As we are getting ready for the gardening season, here is an easy way to make plant markers with pieces from broken clay pots.

 

 

I try to find new and creative things to use for plant markers each year. I've done chop sticks and wine corks! If you came to my pool last year all the potted flowers and herbs had chop sticks with wine corks identifying the contents of the pots, LOL They were a fun conversation starter.

 

I found Kathy's Blog, Raising Home Makers, and thought I'd share her creative idea. So much for buying all those expensive plant markers, just up cycle your broken clay pots or use anything around your house that will be attractive and creative like rocks.

 

  These will also help with plant identification for your children, they could even write the scientific name on the back.

The Bitter Truth About Splenda

I am so surprised when I see the number of people that still use SPLENDA! Maybe they haven't read that Splenda is a biologically alien chemical and whose structure is only a few atoms away from the deadly pesticide DDT!

I personally use honey or agave in most drinks I consume. I purchase local honey from honey growers listed by state; http://www.honey.com/
(More on Honey below)
 

Now, let's talk about Spenda and Aspertame! After you read this let me know it you want to continue to consume it. If you are still not sure, just google and read the 100's of pages of negative studies and the harmful effects of these chemicals!

 

Written By: Sayer Ji, Founder

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/bitter-truth-about-splenda

 

If you were told to ingest a biologically alien synthetic chemical whose presence on this planet did not predate 1976, and whose structure is only a few atoms away from the deadly pesticide DDT, and you knew that not only were there no long term human safety studies performed on it, but that it had been already proven in tests to have following adverse health effects:

· Shrunken thymus glands (up to 40% shrinkage) 
· Enlarged liver and kidneys.
· Abnormal histopathological changes in spleen and thymus
· Increased cecal weight 
· Reduced growth rate
· DNA Damage
· Adverse changes to gastrointestinal bacteria
· Abnormal Pelvic Mineralization
· Decreased red blood cell count 
· Hyperplasia of the pelvis
· Aborted pregnancy (Maternal & Fetal Toxicity)
· Decreased fetal body weights and placental weights 
· Bowel inflammation/Crohn's Disease
· Triggering migraine
· Increase glycosylation of hemoglobin (HbA1c) for diabetics

...would you still consume it? Of course not! And yet, millions of Americans (including our precious children!) are doing exactly that by consuming Splenda.

The Medical Benefits and Uses of Turmeric | Patient Talk

The Medical Benefits and Uses of Turmeric | Patient Talk
Primary Component of Turmeric Kicks Off Cancer-Killing Mechanisms in Human Saliva

 

Faculty: Eri Srivatsan, Ph.D., Marilene B. Wang, M.D.

Marilene Wang, M.D.	Eri Srivatsan, Ph.D.

Curcumin, the main component in the spice turmeric, suppresses a cell signaling pathway that drives the growth of head and neck cancer, according to a pilot study using human saliva by researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The inhibition of the cell signaling pathway also correlated with reduced expression of a number of pro-inflammatory cytokines, or signaling molecules, in the saliva that promote cancer growth, said Dr. Marilene Wang, a professor of head and neck surgery, Jonsson Cancer Center researcher and senior author of the study.
“This study shows that curcumin can work in the mouths of patients with head and neck malignancies and reduce activities that promote cancer growth,” Wang said. “And it not only affected the cancer by inhibiting a critical cell signaling pathway, it also affected the saliva itself by reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines within the saliva.”
The study appears Sept. 15 in Clinical Cancer Research, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Turmeric is a naturally occurring spice widely used in South Asian and Middle Eastern cooking and has long been known to have medicinal properties, attributed to its anti-inflammatory effects. Previous studies have shown it can suppress the growth of certain cancers. In India, women for years have been using turmeric as an anti-aging agent rubbed into their skin, to treat cramps during menstruation and as a poultice on the skin to promote wound healing.