Cucumber Eye Cream

Didn't get enough sleep last night? Eyes all puffy with dark bags underneath? Tired of using store bought creams that promise fresh looking eyes, yet never deliver results? (I'm not even going to get into the fact that the last one is probably due to chemicals instead of using the beautiful earth God gave us!! Okay, I will step down from my soap box now)

Have I got the recipe for you!!! It works and it feels great, especially first thing in the morning when your eyes are all crusty and hot from sleep!

Cucumber Eye Cream
1 Tablespoon Aloe Vera Gel
1 teaspoon Cucumber juice (best when fresh, if you have a juicer)
1/4 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 Tablespoon witch hazel

Directions: 

1. In a double boiler (I do not have a double boiler so I just used a pan on very super low heat... no "very super low" is not a heat setting on my stove, but you get the idea) combine the aloe gel, cucumber juice, and cornstarch and warm carefully. Do not overheat or bring to a boil. 

2. When ingredients are mixed together (it should be a light pastel greenish color) remove from stove, transfer to a bowl and mix in the witch hazel (the recipe in the book called for 1 tablespoon but I found that to be to watery so I cut it back to 1/2 tablespoon). 

3. Allow to cool completely before transferring the mixture to a sterile container, and store in the fridge. This gel will last about a week. 

To Use:

Apply under the eye in an upward, dotting motion, be careful not to pull on the skin.

The Home Apothecary 1

I think this is my favorite recipe so far. It smells great, was fairly simple to make, and the coolness of the refrigerated gel feels great under the eyes!

Don't be intimidated by the use of a stove, this really is easy. Please give it a try and let me know what you think!

Aloe Face Toner

Aloe Face Toner Recipe
1/2 cup distilled water
1/4 cup witch hazel
1 teaspoon aloe vera gel*
10 drops tea tree essential oil
10 drops frankincense essential oil

 or 

* I have an Aloe Vera plant so sometimes I will choose to use fresh leaves (click here for a how to), however I don't want to kill my plant by taking too much from it at once, so I bought 99% pure Aloe Vera Gel from the a whole food store.

Directions are simple:

1. Mix all the ingredients together. 

2. Pour the mixture into a sterile container.

To Use: 

After cleansing your face, moisten a cotton facial pad with toner. Wipe face gently, avoiding eyes. Follow with moisturizer.

I got this recipe from The Home Apothecary 1 but added my own variations. 

First: The recipe called for 3/4 teaspoon aloe vera gel. I used 1 teaspoon simply because I have a problem with acne and wanted more healing agents in my toner.

Second: the recipe called for 5 drops black willow essential oil and 5 drops thyme essential oil, I used 10 drops Frankincense essential oil because I have had great experience using frankincense as a healing agent, specifically for acne.

Smoothie Sunday: Chocolate Chimp

Smoothie Sunday is here, and today's featured drink is a mixture of fruit, veggie, and a little bit of guilt. The recipe was taken from the Big Book of Juices & Green Smoothies 3 but I altered it a little.

Chocolate Chimp Recipe

1 frozen banana

1 Tablespoon cocoa powder

2 Tablespoons peanut butter

1/2 cup loosely packed baby spinach

1/2 cup vanilla almond milk

If you are not used to green smoothies you are probably thinking, "spinach? Ewwww" but I promise you, you can't even taste the spinach once you blend it all together. At least try it once and if you don't like it, just exclude the spinach next time, but the vitamins and health benefits are well worth it! 

First alteration: the recipe called for 1 Tablespoon peanut butter, but my husband and I are peanut butter junkies so we think it tastes much better with two. 

Second: the recipe also called for 1 Tablespoon Cocoa powder and 1/2 cup Almond milk (I used vanilla) but you could also use Dark Chocolate Almond milk and exclude the cocoa powder. 

Thirdly: the recipe calls for stevia in almost all of the smoothies, (in this case it was 1-2 drops) but I just used sweetened almond milk and I found the taste was plenty sweet without the stevia. 

Lastly: the recipe called for 6 ice cubes, but I used a frozen banana instead. If you peel and slice the banana into chunks, you can store it in the freezer until you are ready to make your smoothie. Doing this eliminates the need for ice.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Acne Spot Treatment

Are you an adult still struggling with acne? I thought this problem would go away when I entered adulthood?!? Well, it didn't... and for a long time I was struggling with awful breakouts and nothing seemed to work. Until, I took matters into my own hands and started to make my own products. Here is a simple and great smelling recipe for acne breakouts:

Acne Spot Treatment

1 tablespoon (20g) organic honey

1 teaspoon neem oil

5 drops tea tree essential oil

5 drops *frankincense essential oil

Blend all the ingredients together well and store in a sterile container, preferably in the refrigerator. To use, dab a small amount on the affected area.

I got this recipe from The Home Apothecary 1

* They called for goldenseal leaf essential oil. I substituted with Frankinsense essential oil which also works well for acne.

If you have any questions about essential oils, because I have not yet posted about the importance in choosing the right oils, please feel free to contact me. I am also a distributor of Young Living Oils, which are the oils I will be using in all my recipes. I would be happy to order oils for anyone who is interested. Just sent me an email with your questions or requests, or post a comment with your questions and your email address.

SMOOTHIE SUNDAY: Oats & Honey

Also known as the best recipe I have ever created, this smoothie is not only delicious but it's also easy to make!

Oat and Honey Smoothie Recipe: 

1/4 cup oats
2 Tablespoons raw organic honey (best if locally made)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 frozen banana
1 cup vanilla almond milk

OR 

You can use dark chocolate almond milk (which my husband prefers)

Seriously, it tastes so great! If you drank too much last night, and are suffering the next day from an alcohol induced headache/stomach ache, this smoothie will actually help calm down a hangover.

My #1 tip for making smoothies: freeze your bananas so you don't have to use ice and therefore water down the flavor.

Please let me know how you like this recipe! Have a great Sunday.

Give Away!!!

If you are new to my blog, welcome and thanks for stopping by! I wanted to create this blog, not only to share my experiments with making my own natural products and dabbling with homeopathic remedies, but also to meet other people with the same interests.

I would love to hear your story! How long have you been living this lifestyle and what was it that turned you on to it? Or maybe you are just starting to develop an interest, what made you want to give it a try? I would love to hear alternative ideas and suggestions, recipes you love or hate, and topics you would like to see me post about in the future! (Any comments on this post answering those questions will also get you an entry in the contest mentioned below!!!)

Some post topics to look forward to: 
essential oils
reusing items around the house that you would normally throw away
food recipes
herbal remedies
juicing recipes
and of course home made, all natural beauty and hygienic products

If you aren't already aware, Wall-to-Wall Books (aka my mom) is doing a give away on her blog to win this book:

To Enter to Win:

- Comment on two different posts from my blog

- Sign up to be a follower

- Sign up for email alerts

Doing one of the above will get you one entry!

Doing two will get you two entries

Doing all three will get you three entries!

When you have made your entry, make sure you go to 

Wall-to-Wall Books 

and fill out the form in order to make your entry valid! 

Thanks for coming and I'm looking forward to meeting/getting to know you all!

Aloe Face Cream

You've probably heard of Aloe Vera gel, most likely while looking for a sunburn remedy, but did you know Aloe Vera can also be used as an acne fighting moisturizer? The gel inside the leaves of the Aloe plant has natural healing properties and regenerates damaged tissues without harming sensitive skin.

Aloe Face Cream Recipe:

3 - 4 medium sized Aloe leaves

1 Tablespoon Base Oil* 

1 Tablespoon of distilled water

1/2 Tablespoon of Witch Hazel

2-4 drops Vitamin E oil

2-4 drops Tea Tree oil

*see list below of which oil to use for your skin type

 

Step 1

Remove the gel from the leaf. If you don't know how to do that, click here for a great (and slightly adorable) tutorial. Of course our leaves are much, much smaller than his, but same technique is applied.

Step 2

Rinse the sticky, yellow, gooey stuff (also known as aloin) from your gel. This goop is not harmful but has a gross smell and can be irritating to the skin. (It actually can be used as a laxative.)

Step 3

Put the Aloe gel in a blender (I used a bullet), add the rest of your ingredients and blend! Pour mixture in a jar and VOILA: face cream. Store jar in refrigerator. In theory this mixture should stay good for 6 - 8 months but you will most likely use it up before that point.

*Base Oils for your skin type
Acne Prone : Hazelnut or Sunflower oil

Oily Skin: Sunflower, Grapeseed, or Almond Oil
Normal Skin: Jojoba, Grapeseed or Apricot Kernel Oil
Dry Skin:  Apricot Kernel or Avocado Oil

If you are planing on using an oil based face cream for the first time, you might find that you have an oily film on your skin. I added the witch hazel for this reason, but you can also let the cream soak into your skin for a few minutes and then wipe off any excess oils with a clean towel. If you find the excess oil is causing you to break out (the very thing we are trying to remedy) then just play around with using different oils, different combinations, and different amounts. If the oils are truly bothering your skin but you still want the healing effects of Aloe Vera, just blend the gel into a paste and use that as an acne fighting agent without adding any moisturizing ingredients.