How to clean your dishwasher naturally

Lately we have been having an issue with our dishwasher not getting stuff clean, especially on the top rack. So I decided to try giving it an old fashion cleaning.  :) So simple and yet it does work. I ran our dishwasher totally empty on a heavy cycle and extra hot water, not sure if most dishwashers have these options or not. With this empty load I added about 2-3 cups of white vinegar, no dish washing detergent of any kind. In addition to this I also took apart the sprayer for the top rack and cleaned it very well with vinegar. The result in a perfectly running dishwasher that actually gets stuff clean! :) I was having to rewash almost everything from the top rack before. I just unloaded it and not one item needed rewashed!!

Shanda

Elderberry Cough Syrup

This stuff is not just for coughs, it helps boost your immune system. I give some to Micah if Dan or I get sick, in hopes he won't get sick. Although I only give it to Micah, adults can use it as well. I just usually take a tincture or capsule which Micah won't do just yet.

Recipe for Elderberry Cough Syrup:

1/2 cup dried elderberries (purchased from www.bulkherbstore.com)
1 cinnamon stick
5 cloves
1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger or powder
2 cups water
1 cup honey (raw organic is best)

Bring all but honey to a boil reduce heat and simmer until reduced by about half. Strain and add the honey, mix well. Keep in fridge for up to 2 weeks. I freeze any that is left.

I do highly recommend only using local raw organic honey (if you are looking to get some get a hold of me and I can get you some, I get it locally from a guy and usually buy several quart jars at a time), store bought honey is just really not good for you. Many reasons why, but mainly it has been pasteurized (heated) and this kills a lot if not all beneficial stuff in it.

Dosing -Shake before use.
Active cold/cough-1 tsp every hour or so for young children, 1 Tbsp every hour or so for adults.
Preventative-just take a couple doses for a couple days. I give Micah some in a medicine dropper and he sucks it right down, he loves it!

Disclaimer-I am NOT a Dr. this is just what I give my little man when he is sick, it really does seem to help him get better quicker. :)

Shanda

Amber Teething Necklaces

My baby is now 1 year old, thankfully he has never had to have Tylenol or Ibuprofen for anything. I credit some of this to his constantly wearing his amber teething necklace. He always wears this thing, and it's cute to boot :) I highly recommend them to anyone with a young one, or for themselves to help with headaches. The best place to get high quality amber necklaces is http://hyenacart.com/stores/inspiredbyfinn/. I would not recommend buying a cheaper version off ebay or something as you can't be sure it's real amber.


Shanda

Kale Chips

I know half of you just thought "kale, ick" but stick with me here. These are really yummy if you do it right. I don't have a recipe per say just kind of do the same thing with each batch. I clean a bunch of kale and cut it up ( I use scissors) into chip sized pieces. Place the kale in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil then sprinkle with garlic salt and I toss in some red pepper flakes. You can put whatever you and your family like on it, my family likes garlic salt and spicy foods. I put it all on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes, move it around on the cookie sheet at 15 minutes, then let it go for another 10-15 minutes. Then you have some yummy kale chips to enjoy :) Don't assume you won't like it until you try it!

Shanda

Honey Roasted Almonds~sooo yummy!

Awhile back I went on a short road trip with my mom and she had brought along a can of honey roasted almonds. They were so good, it was hard not to eat the whole can. Well, that gave me the idea to make my own. It becomes a very expensive snack if you buy them from the store in a can. Not to mention they have ingredients I am not fond of. If I can't pronounce it I don't want to eat it. So I found some recipes and did my own little tweaking and here is what you have-

~Honey Roasted Almonds~

2 cups of almonds with  skins on (mine were roasted whole almonds)
1/4 cup sugar (don't use less)
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp water
2 tsp olive oil

Place almonds on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven at 350 degrees for 25-30, to make them have a  nice crunch. While they roast, place the sugar and salt together in a separate bowl, set aside to toss it all in at the end. Combine the honey, water, and olive oil in a saucepan. Heat this mixture to boiling over medium heat just before your almonds are done in the oven. When it reaches a boil and your almonds are done add the almonds to the saucepan. Stir constantly until all the liquid is gone. Dump the honey coated almonds into the bowl with the sugar and salt and toss to coat. Place on a cool cookie sheet until dry. Store in a airtight container & try not to eat them all at once. :)

Shanda 

 

Toothpaste

This is one of those things I have been saying I wanted to make for a long time. Well finally about 6 weeks ago I made some that we actually like. My next attempt will be to make it just a powder, so no glycerin. Working the hubby into that one. So here is the recipe we are currently using, and we both like it.

1/4 cup & 2 Tbsp of Baking soda
1 1/2 Tbsp of xylitol-very good for your teeth I got mine off amazon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup glycerin
15-20 drops of peppermint essential oil

mix it all together and put in a covered container. We have ours in a little honey pot and we use the honey dipper thing to put it on our toothbrush.

You may be asking yourself "what is wrong with normal toothpaste?" Well lets just say there is a lot of chemicals in toothpaste that aren't so good to have in direct contact with a mucus membrane, your mouth for instance. Glycerin is the worst thing in this recipe for you teeth, thus why I want to try and eliminate it. But for us this was a good step down recipe so to speak. It more so looks like toothpaste, more so than tooth powder. So my next batch will be powder and we'll see how the hubby likes that.

Shanda

Whole Milk Yogurt

So when I was in labor one of the things I had on hand to eat was whole milk yogurt, which is only available at one grocery store that I know of, way on the west side of town, and costs over $1.50 for a 6oz carton! Yeah, needless to say, we only bought a couple to have on hand while I was in labor. They were so yummy! I love yogurt, but love it even more when it's whole milk. Most store bought yogurt is fat free or low fat, so skim milk. I was at a local thrift store about 3 weeks ago and stumbled upon a yogurt maker for $3. After debating with myself for 5-10 minutes about weather or not I should spend the money on it, I decided heck just go for it. So I walked out with my $3 yogurt maker. I was unable to open it before purchasing it, but thankfully I found once home that it worked and only lacked one jar. After doing a little research I discovered that I just happened to buy a yogurt maker (Salton brand) that fits half pint jars perfectly, so no need to buy a replacement jar. Yay! Then the experimenting began, I made several batches of yogurt, one as runny as water, another as solid as concrete. *smile*  Finally after lots of research and lots of failed batches of yogurt I have a perfect recipe. It's creamy and semi firm. Keep in mind it's just plain yogurt. It will be tart, if you want it flavored add fruit or jam.

4 cups whole milk
1/3 cup powdered whole milk (helps make it creamier)
1 teaspoon knox gelatin (helps make it more firm)

Mix together and heat to 180 degrees, turn off heat and let it drop to 110 degrees, add 1 Tablespoon of starter (plain yogurt, just buy it from the store the first time, after that you can use what you make). Pour into yogurt jars and place in yogurt maker and let it set over night. In the morning put it in the fridge for at least 3 hours before disturbing it. Then enjoy the smoothest creamiest yogurt ever.

yummy yogurt!

Shanda

Liquid Laundry Soap

 


















Laundry soap is expensive to buy, but beyond cheap to make :) I have been making my own laundry soap for a long time. Here is my recipe. A batch lasts me about 6 months, but I also do a load of cloth diapers every other day.

Liquid Laundry Soap

1 cup of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1/2 cup of Borax
1 bar of Fels-Naptha soap (I sometimes use homemade bar soap that I make just for this, not the same stuff I use in the shower though)

grate the bar of soap and put it in a pan with about 4 cups of water, put in over medium heat and dissolve the soap. Put this with the washing soda and borax in a 5 gallon bucket. Fill within a couple inches of the top with hot tap water. Stir until it's all dissovled. Place lid on bucket and let it sit overnight. It will gel up over night. They say to stir it with a spoon and break it up some, put some of it in a container (old laundry detergent bottles work) with half water and shake it every time before adding about 1/2 cup to every load of laundry.

Here is what I do after it gels up over night- put a stick blender (the same one I use to make bar soap) in it and turn it on high until it's nice and smooth. It's actually about the consistency of store bought laundry detergent at this point. Then since I have a super fancy washer that adds its own water*wink* I just add 1/4 of a cup of my detergent, throw the clothes in and close the lid. Simple as that. Mine stays in the 5 gallon bucket and just sits right by my washer, you however can do it however you like. A whole 5 gallon bucket of this stuff only costs me about $1.50. If that doesn't make you want to try it, there are also way fewer chemicals in it that store bought stuff.

Shanda