Cucumber soaps are one of my all-time favorites! The soothing properties of the cucumber and the drawing power of the French green clay makes this soap recipe especially helpful for acne, bug bites, and other itchy, inflamed skin conditions. Never made soap before? Read through my Soap Making 101 post to find out how to get started. […]
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Not long after my children went on a gluten free diet, they came down with chicken pox. It sounds silly, but I couldn’t stop dwelling on the sad fact that I couldn’t use the traditional oatmeal baths and lotions and such that are so helpful for itchy skin afflictions. As soon as I learned how, […]
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A while back, I bought a copy of Rodale’s Naturally Delicious Desserts and Snacks by Faye Martin. It’s an out of print book, from 1978, but you can still pick up used copies from Amazon.com for only a couple of dollars plus shipping. I found the basis for this recipe in there, and once I […]
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Quite possibly my favorite part of the year is that time around May when all of my roses start blooming at once. When that happens, I gather together large amounts of rose petals and make all sorts of things from them, including this rosa rugosa soap. If you don’t have access to fresh rose petals, […]
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This is a follow-up to the post, Soap Making 101. Today, I’d like to show you how I took one simple, plain recipe and doctored it up to create a variety of custom soaps. The point I’d like for you to take away from this, is not that you have to follow my recipes exactly (though […]
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It never fails… this is the way the end of every year goes for us: November: feel great December 1 – 24: feel great December 25: go hang around a bunch of sick, coughing people in small, closed-in spaces December 26: feel great December 27: whole family wakes up at 3:00 a.m. with sore throats, […]
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My foray into homemade herbal shampoo began last summer. Up until that time, I just used whatever cheap shampoo I could get my hands on. Times were tight and my beloved salon shampoos were most certainly not in the budget. However, I was pretty uncomfortable with the thought of us being exposed to all of […]
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Today, I’m sharing my favorite family tradition! For a decade now, I’ve made it a habit to take a picture of my children on New Year’s Day. I then ask them a few questions about their favorite foods, colors, games, what they want to be when they grow up, what they think their sibling will […]
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Last Friday, I sat down at the computer, planning to spend a few hours working on a post. I did a quick Facebook check first and saw the news about the horrific shootings in Connecticut. I read for a short while, then turned off the computer and took my kids for a walk outside. One […]
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This is a fun lip balm that I originally made up to go with my Halloween costume (I was a honeybee!) The plan was to carry a little basket of them to hand out as “treats” at the Halloween party I was heading to. The reality is that I’m such a scatter-brain that I left […]
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I created this DIY natural rose face and body cream as a gift for my mom. She absolutely adores all things roses and the color pink, so I think she’ll love this! (Update: I never can wait to give gifts to people & already gave my mom some of this. She LOVES it. Success!) :) […]
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This is my family’s go-to healing salve recipe for soothing pretty much any scratch, cut, scrape, bug bite, dry skin patch, bee sting, hives, and so forth. I have a relative who even likes to use it instead of an eye cream! Think of this as an herbal alternative to something like your typical store-bought, […]
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The idea for these tasty little honey-based treats originally came from the wonderful cookbook: Grain-Free Gourmet by Jodi Bager and Jenny Lass. They are suitable for anyone on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet or those looking to reduce their intake of refined sugars. Nutty Caramels 1 cup honey 1 cup peanut, almond, cashew or allowed nut […]
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I’m not a lipstick-wearing type of lady. I think it tastes weird and I’m really hesitant about putting something with a giant list of unpronounceable chemicals directly on my lips. I do however, absolutely love this lightly tinted peppermint elderberry lip balm I make using all natural and organic ingredients. The rosy color is provided […]
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This lip balm is ideal for active people who spend a lot of time outdoors. Mango butter offers a small amount of protection from UV radiation while the jojoba and coconut oils moisturize dry, chapped lips. Calendula is famous for its skin-soothing properties and castor oil tops everything off, lending a soft glossy shine and […]
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I knew when I posted about making Herbal Jello as a great way to get therapeutic levels of herbs into a picky kid or too-sick-to-eat-much individual, that there would be some unable to use the recipe because of the sugar and artificial ingredients contained in regular Jello. While you can find Jello without artificial dyes […]
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You know when you’re a kid (or grownup) and you’re sick and you just don’t feel like eating, much less swallowing some horrid tasting mixture your mom gives you to help you feel better? Well, this is where herbal jellos come into play. They’re ideal vehicles to administer therapeutic doses of herbs to less than […]
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Medicinal vinegars (Vinegar Extracts) have been around since ancient times and were an excellent way to preserve and dispense herbs before distilled spirits were known about. While the advantages of using vodka or brandy to make your herbal tinctures are many – including greater potency and longer shelf life, there are those who wish to avoid […]
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When I was in junior high school, I took a candy making class with my mom and sisters. It was a lot of fun and I learned so much from that day! This week, I was browsing through some loose piles of various recipes I had printed off over the years, looking for new ideas, […]
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Everyone has their favorite way to prevent and treat colds and the flu; today, I’ll share mine with you! It’s a simple little cold and flu tincture that I grab whenever someone says they are feeling icky. I also dose it out when we’ve been around crowds or people that are coughing or showing other […]
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