DIY Natural!

This is a post with links to all of my DIY natural products, just so you don't have to go searching through the entire blog for a certain recipe...I will keep adding to this post as I add new products.  Hope this is helpful to Natural, Healthy, Beautiful, You!

Cleaning:

1.  Household Cleaning Supplies

2.  DIY Liquid Laundry Detergent

Beauty:

3.  Eye Makeup Remover

4.  Soothing Lip Balm

5.  Sugar Scrub

6.  Homemade Deoderant

7.  Cuticle Softening Oil

Health

8.  Natural Vapor Rub

9.  Essential Oil Hand Sanitizing Spray

10.  Foaming Moisturizing Hand Soap

From Scratch - Irish Shepherd's Pie

Are you ready for Saint Patrick's Day???  I love my Irish heritage so each year we do something special for the holiday.  In the past my mom made corned beef and cabbage, but since my hubby and kids don't really like the meal I wanted to come up with something that everyone would enjoy.  

I attended a Scottish-Irish festival awhile back and they had the yummiest Irish Shepherd's Pies.  I decided to try to replicate the deliciousness and here is the result!  It is a little bit time consuming so be sure to give yourself plenty of time to make it - probably an hour and a half.

Irish Shepherd’s Pie

You can make 4 individual pies using ramekins or 1 large pie using a 9” pie plate.

Crust

11/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup butter (I freeze my butter ahead of time and then grate it into the flour with a cheese grater)

4-6 tbs cold water
**Pie Crust original recipe from theprairiehomestead.com**

Filling & Topping

1 lb ground beef

Salt & Pepper to season beef to taste

¼ cup finely chopped onion

½ can beef broth

1 tbs cornstarch and ¼ cup cold water for thickening

½ cup frozen peas

½ cup frozen or fresh chopped carrots

4 – 5 large potatoes peeled and cut into 1” pieces

1 tbs butter

3-4 tbs milk

Paprika

Instructions

Heat oven to 475°. Combine flour and salt in large bowl; cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumb. Mix in enough cold water with fork until flour is moistened and forms a ball. Place ball in a lidded dish and refrigerate.

Take peeled, cut potatoes and place in pot of hot water to boil.  They will be done and ready to mash for the topping when the pierce through easily with a fork.

In a small pot add carrots and peas, cook on medium with a tiny bit of water until tender.

Begin browning beef.  Add salt and pepper and onions cook until meat is done.  Add beef broth and the water/cornstarch thickening mixture.  After the broth thickens, I add the peas and carrots and continue to cook on low until everything else is ready.

Roll out ball of dough on lightly floured surface into 11-inch circle. Fold into quarters. Place dough into lightly greased 9-inch pie plate; unfold dough, pressing firmly against bottom and sides. Trim crust to 1/2 inch from edge of pan; prick the bottom of the pie crust with a fork and place in the oven for 10 minutes.

Drain potatoes and mash with butter and milk until smooth.

Remove the crust from the oven and pour the beef mixture onto the bottom.  Top with mashed potatoes and sprinkle a tiny bit of paprika on top if you like.  I usually pop it back in the oven for about 10 more minutes.  

I hope your family enjoys this amazing Irish meal as much as we do!  

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!!

Natural Cold Care

During our excessively long cold season, I like to keep a few things on hand to keep the family comfortable when a virus strikes.  I prefer to start with rest and fluids, but when that doesn't prove to be enough I use a variety of products to help ease the symptoms.

We love to drink tea with raw, local honey.  Our favorite teas right now are by Traditional Medicinals. They have a Seasonal Sampler which includes Gypsy Cold Care, Echinacea Plus, Throat Coat, and Breathe Easy.  We have found each works wonders for it's specific purpose.

For sore throats we use Ricola Honey Lemon with Echinacea.  They have many other flavors, but this tends to be our favorite.  There is no stinging menthol and the drop leaves raw throats feeling soothed.

Finally, for our kids we like to use Hylands Cold n' Cough.  They have a day time and a night time formula.  Both are safe for children ages 2-12.  We have found the night time formula really does work on those persistent bedtime coughs.

If we are suffering with a chest cold or stuffy noses, I like to use my homemade vapor rub...check it out here:  Natural Vapor Rub

If we have fevers we use ibuprofen or acetaminophen.  And I am certainly not against a trip to the doctor's office when we need it.  However, we almost always start with these natural basics and are usually pleasantly surprised with the brevity and lack of severity in our colds!

Here's to your (natural) health!

***Disclaimer 1:  I am not a doctor, please confer with a doctor before taking any and all medications, natural or otherwise***

***Disclaimer 2:  I am not affiliated with these companies in any way.  These are products that we use in our home and have found them to be helpful***

Cuticle Softening Oil

If you live anywhere with harsh, dry weather, you may find your cuticles and the skin around your nails dry, peeling, cracking and splitting.  This is especially true in the winter or even in the summer if you tend to garden and have your hands in the dirt a lot.  I have blended a few oils together to come up with a cuticle softening oil which really seems to be working to keep the skin all the way around my nails nice and supple.

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp jajoba oil
8 drops tea tree essential oil
8 drops lavender essential oil

Directions:

Place in a glass bottle with a dropper.  Shake well before each use.  I can usually moisturize all of my fingers with about 5 drops of this oil.  A little bit goes a long ways!  I try to use it each night just before bed for maximum benefit.  It even worked on my daughter's persistent hangnails.  What a great little oil to help keep hands looking and feeling nice.

I hope that this cuticle softening oil will help heal your skin just as well as it did ours!

10 Terrific Uses for Tea Tree Oil

Tea tree oil or Melaleuca alternifolia is an essential oil derived from a plant native to Australia.  Tea tree oil has some pretty amazing properties, such as: antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, astringent and disinfectant.  Because of its many wonderful properties it is one of the most used essential oils in my medicine cabinet.  Please click on the links in red for recipes using tea tree oil.

Here are ten terrific uses of tea tree oil:

1.  Antiseptic:  use slightly diluted on a cotton ball with witch hazel to cleanse cuts and scrapes.

2.  Treat acne:  use a small drop on break outs to help clear skin up faster.  Some people find it irritating so it can be diluted with witch hazel.

3.  Treat dandruff:  add 25 drops of tea tree oil to your average sized shampoo bottle and shake well.  Tea tree oil will eliminate dandruff and dry scalp.

4.  Deodorant:  use tea tree oil in Homemade Deodorant because it is known to eliminate the bacteria that cause odor.  

5.  Relieve insect bites:  put a small drop directly on bites for itch relief.  Or mix with coconut oil for a double dose of itch relief. 

6.  Soothe sunburns:  use in combination with witch hazel, vinegar or aloe vera gel to ease the sting of sunburn.

7.  Hand Sanitizer:  use in combination with a few other essential oil for an effective Hand Sanitizing Spray.

8.  Heal toenail fungus:  use 1-2 drops of undiluted tea tree oil on toenails twice per day to treat fungus.

9.  Treat many skin conditions:  use tea tree oil that has been slightly diluted with witch hazel or a carrier oil like olive oil to treat psoriasis, ringworm, athlete's foot, cold sores and more.

10.  Control mold:  use a solution of 1/4 cup water and 25 drops tea tree oil and spray on shower walls to prevent mold from growing.  (This was extremely impressive to me as even bleach couldn't take care of the problem!)

I love and use several essential oils and tea tree oil is among my favorites.  If you are thinking about trying essential oils, this is where I would suggest starting.  Tea tree oil has so many fabulous uses! 

Natural, Healthy, Tea Tree Oil!

10 Wonderful Uses for Coconut Oil

Virgin Coconut Oil has hundreds of fabulous uses and should definitely be something that you keep on hand in your home all the time.  I actually have an enormous jar in my kitchen for cooking and a smaller jar in my bathroom cabinet for beauty needs.  I will share my top 10 favorite uses of coconut oil along with some recipes links (in red) for a few of my favorite health and beauty products that use coconut oil.

1.  Cooking:  especially at high heat, like frying chicken.

2.  Baking:  use in place of hydrogenated vegetable oils.

3.  Lotion:  just rub a small amount into dry skin for soft smoothness.

4.  Lip balm:  it can be used alone or check out this Soothing Lip Balm recipe.

5.  Deodorant:  coconut oil is the base of this Homemade Deodorant.

6.  Sugar Scrub:  coconut oil is the base of this skin smoothing Sugar Scrub.

7.  Natural Vapor Rub:  coconut oil and essential oils comprise this natural cough soothing Vapor Rub.

8.  Bug Bite Relief:  rub a little bit onto mosquito and other insect bites for itch relief (my eight year old insists that nothing works better!)

9.  Deep Conditioner:  work into washed hair and allow to absorb for at least a half an hour.  Wash and condition as usual.

10.  Anti-Frizz "Product":  rub a tiny amount of coconut oil into hands and then smooth into hair for excellent frizz control.

These are only a very few uses to get you started if you haven't used coconut oil before.  I hope you will try it and find the many amazing benefits of this natural wonder!

Natural, Healthy, Coconut Oil!

A Few Simple Food Changes

Here are a few quick changes you can make to improve you diet without too much stress or hassle. You might be surprised on some of them, but trust me I have done my homework.

1.  Get rid of margarine and vegetable oils.  Replace them with butter, coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil.

Why?  Because of the process used to make margarine and vegetable oils, known as hydrogenation, they tend to be higher in trans fats than other oils which can raise your bad cholesterol and lower your good cholesterol. Olive oil is monounsaturated fatty acids.  Which according to the Mayo Clinic are considered a healthy dietary fat.  Coconut oil is also free of trans fats and is great for use when cooking with high heat (fried chicken for example).  Butter does not have trans fat, but does have saturated fat, so it should be used sparingly.  Oils in general should not be used in excess, but choosing healthier oils is a good option.

 2. Say goodbye to iceberg lettuce. Replace it with green leaf or romaine lettuce.

Why?  Vitamin A.  Iceberg lettuce has 7% DV of Vitamin A, green leaf has 53% and romaine has a whopping 81%.  We usually eat salads to be healthy, right?  Then we should probably use a lettuce that actually has some vitamins in it!

3. Ditch the bleached white flour and white rice.  Replace them with whole wheat flour and brown rice.

Why?  Bleached flour goes through a chlorination process to make it whiter.  Wait...What?  Yep, bleached means bleached.  I don't know why this didn't dawn on me until just a few years ago, but when it did I decided never to buy bleached flour again.  Unbleached all purpose flour is barely any less white than bleached flour!  I really only use unbleached all purpose flour for pie crust.  Normally, I choose whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour.  Whole wheat contains the 100% of the whole kernel of wheat, making it a whole grain.

Brown rice is also a whole grain and can easily replace white rice.  To me it has a slightly nuttier flavor and is definitely hardier.  It also takes a lot longer to cook, so take that into consideration when preparing a meal with brown rice.
 
A few health benefits of whole grains include: possible reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, weight loss/descreased fat, and reduced risk of stroke.  These are just a few of the many, many benefits.  The nuttier flavor and courser texture take a bit of getting used to, but are completely worth it in my mind.

4.  Buy local when you can.  To include:  meat, eggs, produce and honey.  It helps the local economy and these products are often fresher and more nutritious.

5.  Grow your own garden and preserve your produce for the winter months. You know exactly what is on (or is not on) your veggies and gardening is amazingly gratifying.

6.  Make your own homemade food from scratch whenever you can.  It's easier than you think!
Here are some links of common prepacked foods that you can easily make from scratch.
Hot Cocoa and Whipped Cream
Granola Bars
Taco Seasoning
Salsa
Fresh Baked Bread
Delicious Whole Wheat Brownies


A few final thoughts on food.  If your great grandmother would not recognize it as food, you probably shouldn't eat it.  And if you are reading through the ingredients on prepackaged, processed food and you don't recognize an ingredient as food, you probably shouldn't consume it!

I hope that I have encouraged you to try these simple changes for increased health and well-being!