I made gingerbread scented body butter. It’s wonderful! Lightly scented, I really only smell the cinnamon but I think it’s awesome!!
Category: recipes
Ocean Swirl
I can’t believe I have been out of my mind and forgotten to write here.
I made more soap about a week after my first one, it was kinda a mess. I learned a valuable lesson, don’t buy my scents from the local stores, buy it online… but I also learned to look online about my scents because they are not all created equal.
I wanted to make an Ocean Swirl for the next soap. To which I sort of did. 
The scent or fragrance should I say, that I used accelerated the soaponification that it got so stiff so quickly that I couldn’t see that there were holes as I was trying to swirl and no matter how much tamping down I did. This fragrance was from an online source.
Then I made another soap, I call Kiwi Swirl, fragrance from a local store and it accelerated the soaping process even more that it was like oatmeal…. then while trying to smooth out the top it started to already gel.
Then after the next day, unmolded and cut, it was seeping oil. I thought I was going to lose my mind. After curing for awhile, it has a few more weeks, but its not oily anymore!
So, because my 1st 2 batches were alittle wonky, I made samples out of them.
I made soap!
I made soap! I am excitedly waiting for them to cure, 4-6 weeks seems like an eternity!
This is my oatmeal, milk & honey. It has colloidal oatmeal, goats milk and TX honey in it. It smells so good!
This is my Ocean Swirl. It smells so clean and refreshing!
I did learn something with both, so learning more as I go. Yay 😁 me!
Soap making
Well, I purchased everything to get atleast one batch if not two different batches of soap done. Unfortunately it is going take awhile to get the supplies to me tho, I thought it would take a few days not over a week.
😔, I guess I have to relearn patience…especially since the setting time for the soap is going to be a month as well.
Adding to my Skills
To start off, I make a variety of homemade skin items. What I have made in the past: lip balms (variety of flavors), lotion bars, neosporin (which my family swears by and says is better than the store bought stuff), body butter, eczema cream (which I had some say it saved their poor babies skin), sugar scrubs, sun screen, and more I can’t even think of at this time.
Now I am looking into making soap. I am in the midst of purchasing items to delve into the world of cold process soap making.
It is an interesting process, the first of it is pretty fast, then once in the mold to set is which is atleast 24-48 hours (since it heats up and then sets), this is all before it can be cut into bars. Then after un-molding the loaf is to be cut into bars and then they have to set for 4-6 weeks to harden to become the best lasting soap bars. My first batch is going to be oatmeal, milk & honey with oatmeal inside to feel even better. I am real excited, can hardly wait until I get my shipment in.
Clean Green
People have asked me in the past how I clean, what do I use…especially when my kids were crawling and moms would say something like, ‘ugh got to watch if they put their hands in their mouths because of the cleaners I use’. I’d just smile and say, ‘nope not in my house…I can eat or drink just about everything if not everything I use to clean with!’
I am always learning new things to clean with and make my house smell fresher and such.
Why Green Clean?
• Safe for you and your family
• Easy on the pocket
• Highly effective
• Environmentally friendly
Facts
• Many household cleaners contain toxic chemicals. These chemicals may cause short-term and long-term health problems when you use them.1
• Children are often more vulnerable to chemical exposure during developmental stages, and certain chemicals may interfere with the development of their neurological, endocrine, and immune systems.2 Main routes of exposure: eating, drinking, breathing, and touching.
• Younger children have higher respiratory rates than adults, therefore they absorb more air contaminants per unit of weight, meaning they experience a higher inhaled dose.2
• According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the air inside a typical home is 200–500 percent more polluted than the air outside mainly due to toxic household cleaning products.
Must-Have Basics
BAKING SODA
Absorbs and eliminates odor. Use to clean countertops, sinks, and tubs. Sprinkle some baking soda on your carpet and vacuum after 15 minutes for a fresher look and feel.
WHITE VINEGAR
Contains natural antifungal and antibacterial properties. Cuts grease and dissolves mineral deposits.
CASTILE SOAP
Lifts dirt, cuts grease, and eliminates tough stains. Pour a small amount over baking sheets and pans then scrub for a few minutes, and you’ll have clean, shiny results.
SALT
Salt is an effective scouring agent. Pour salt mixed with hot water down the kitchen sink regularly to deodorize and keep grease from building up. Mix salt with Lemon essential oil and use to remove stubborn coffee and tea cup stains.
doTERRA FRACTIONATED COCONUT OIL or OLIVE OIL
Great natural cleaner and polisher. Rub it into leather or polish wood surfaces. Flip to page 24 for more details.
BEST ESSENTIAL OILS FOR CLEANING
•Lime
• Purify Cleansing Blend
• doTERRA On Guard® Protective Blend
• doTERRA On Guard Cleaner Concentrate
• Tip: Replace toxic air fresheners with a diffuser.
Base Ingredients + Essential Oils
Make your own non-toxic cleaning products using these simple ingredients and doTERRA essential oils.
PINE FLOOR CLEANER
Ingredients
• 1 gallon warm water
• 2 tablespoon liquid castile
• 5 drops Douglas Fir essential oil
• 5 drops White Fir essential oil
• 5 drops Cypress essential oil
• 10 drops Lemon essential oil
Instructions
1 Add soap and essential oils to bucket of warm water.
2 Use mop or rag to clean floors.
3 Pour into a spray bottle for cleaning countertops.
Note: This solution does not need to be rinsed off.
ALL-PURPOSE CLEANING SPRAY
Ingredients
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 25 drops Wild Orange essential oil or other essential oil of choice
Instructions
1 In a spray bottle, combine water and vinegar.
2 Add essential oil(s) of choice. Shake well.
3 Use on counters, wood, glass, stainless steel, and porcelain.
4 Wipe with a microfiber cloth or paper towel.
“LIME” SCALE REMOVER
Ingredients
• ½ cup Baking Soda
• 3 tablespoons water
• 10 drops Lemon essential oil
• 10 drops Lime essential oil
Instructions
1 And water and essential oils to baking soda.
2 Mix into a paste.
3 Rub a small amount onto surface.
4 Let sit for 20 minutes.
5 Wipe off with wet cloth.
References
1. Household Cleaning Products: What Every Woman Should Know. womensvoices.org/safe-cleaning-products/basic/
2. ATSDR Case Studies in Environmental Medicine Principles of Pediatric Environmental Health. The Child as Susceptible Host: A Developmental Approach to Pediatric Environmental Medicine. atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/ped_env_health/docs/ped_env_health.pdf
Spring Cleaning with Lemon Essential Oils
If you’ve been feeling the itch to get some spring cleaning done, you may notice some areas of your home have been neglected for far too long. Luckily, doTERRA Lemon oil can help make cleaning those long-forgotten nooks and crannies easier. Here are 10 ways you can use Lemon to clean your home.
I personally love lemon essential oil, I use it every time I wash my clothes, because it not only freshens the clothes but the washer too. I love to diffuse it and add it to my water, takes the blah out of it and it makes it better for you!
1. Microwave—Microwaves are notorious for being tough to clean, especially after mishaps involving spaghetti sauce or tomato soup. To ease the pain of cleaning, simply microwave a cup filled with water and a few drops of Lemon, then wipe clean!
2. Dishwasher—Pour distilled vinegar into a dish and add 5–10 drops of Lemon oil. Place this dish in your empty dishwasher and run on high.
3. Stove Top—Lemon oil makes cleaning one of the dirtiest areas of the kitchen easy. Add vinegar and Lemon to a spray bottle, and watch the grime disappear!
4. Appliances—From dust to greasy food spills, appliances collect more dirt than you might think. A simple solution of Lemon oil, water, and vinegar will help you clean toasters, refrigerators, mixers, and more.
5. Garbage disposal—If you’ve been smelling something funky coming from your sink, it might be time to clean the garbage disposal. This DIY for Lemon disposal refreshers should help!
6. Ceiling Fan—Fan blades collect dust at turbo speeds and cling to them for as long as you let them. To avoid choking on dust bunnies while cleaning your ceiling fans, spray the inside of an old pillow case with a Lemon/water mixture and loop the fabric around each blade.
7. Washing Machine—Run a mixture of Lemon oil, baking soda, vinegar, and water through your empty machine on the hottest setting to break up dirt build-up and mildew. Scrub any excess with a sponge, then run the machine again with fresh water.
8. Trash Cans—Regularly cleaning out trash cans can eliminate odor. For indoor trash cans, spray the inside and outside of each can with a mixture of water, Lemon oil, and vinegar, then scrub with a sponge.
9. Windows and Windowsills—The same mixture of Lemon oil, water, and vinegar in a spray bottle that you’ve been using all around the house will do wonders for your windows and windowsills. Simply spray glass and wipe with a clean cloth or paper towel, then move onto ledges and sills with a toothbrush or damp sponge.
10. Air Vents—One of the most overlooked areas to keep clean in your home is the air you breathe! Clean vents with a sponge dipped in warm water, vinegar and Lemon oil to help eliminate allergens and dust from filling the air around you.
Lemon oil acts as a powerful cleaning agent and the possibilities are truly endless! Share this post and let us know how you like to clean with Lemon oil.
Carnitas…..Tortas and rice
Multipot and my rice-cooker to the rescue! Spanish rice and pork carnitas made in about an hour…and voila, tortas and rice!! It was so yummy! 😋
Rice was easy….in the rice cooker, add amount of rice (I used 2 cups and 3 1/2 cups water), pieces of an onion (I have to keep them big to fish them out of hubby’s and sons serving…they are so soft and yummy I eat them up!), a heaping tablespoonful of tomato bouillon with chicken flavor, and either some garlic powder or some crushed garlic
Making the carnitas, I used my multipot on sauté on high and browned the pork in oil, (1 1/2lbs of chunks of carnitas) adding spices as I go. I added many spices, cumin, garlic, salt & pepper, oregano, adobo seasoning…whatever you want. Follow the pots instructions…I add a cup of water and set on pressure cook on high for 55 minutes.
So soft it can just be mashed with a spoon to be shredded up.
Toasted bread (badillos) on the griddle, bottom has refried beans, meat, avocado, tomato, lettuce, traditionally mayo on the top part of the bread, I like sour cream.
Sooo yummy!! 😋
