The past two weeks have been jam packed with making products and I have been pleasantly surprised by every. single. product. Every single one of the recipes below have outperformed store-bought products at a fraction of the cost. I sat down and added up the actual numbers for all of the products I have made - after shipping and handling costs. I was surprised at the numbers - they were less than I had anticipated originally. I also got to put my hours of research on essential oils this week, creating a blend that helped when my sweet fell ill last week and has helped in the pain management of arthritis in some friends and coworkers of mine. I learned about a new method of making soap, wrote a recipe and used the method to make it. The results - again, fabulous. It is my best batch so far. Speaking of batches of soap, I got to teach a friend how to make soap this past week and it turned out beautifully as well.
I must admit, it has been a difficult month for our family. We have been struggling financially with all of the health problems my husband has had and the work that he has missed because of them. We currently are unsure if he will still have a job soon because the specialist that we had been waiting to see refused to treat my husband because we don't have insurance and he wouldn't sign the medical leave paperwork because he was not going to be my husband's doctor. It is incredibly discouraging but I am thankful that his infusions are going to be covered for the next 6 months through the same charity that covered all of our hospital bills. We have also been blessed with gifts of money and food by family members, which has been quite humbling. My point of this is - we have become QUITE creative in what we do to save money! And you know what? It's working! Here are a few things we have been doing:
Keeping the house around 64 degrees - my parents did this growing up and I complained about it then... and I will complain about it now. I HATE BEING COLD! We walk around in layers of layers and to be honest, sometimes a girl wants to feel sexy. Oh well, our bill went down significantly from doing this and it is a nice treat to have evenings together by the fire.
Switching to a tankless water heater - my husband searched and searched last summer for a cheap tankless water heater for our home and after several weeks, he found one. This was when we much better off so we were able to pay the $450 then and bring it home. He has not had the time over the past several months to install it and as he has been taking it easy here at home, he was able to finally install it. It takes a minute for water to heat up but I am already in love with it! I can't wait for the money it will save us.
Using less light - if it is day time, our curtains are open and our lights are off (with exception to cloudy days). At night we only have on the lights that we are actively using. This has contributed to our electric bill dropping nearly $100 in the past month.
Driving only when totally necessary - I must admit that my darling is much better about this than me. I hate the cold! I don't like to walk when it is freezing out, I get too cold. However, with only driving when we have to, we are saving a bit on gas. Not a whole lot, but every little bit helps.
eBay-ing - my hubby took a couple days and went through a lot of things that we had around the house and put all of it - even down to the most mundane - on eBay. ALL of it has sold and he has made almost $1000 for us from this. It is kind of addicting. I am always looking for things that he could sell nowadays.
Eating cheap - if it isn't necessary, we don't eat it. We have made a pretty strict menu and it is quite healthy and pretty cheap. Now that we don't eat dairy, we save around $15 a week on groceries. I learned how to make almond milk which saves around $5 a week. I make our own bread which saves around $5 a week. We are no longer buying lunch meat which saves around $6 a week. That is just a portion of what we have changed and it already adds up to $31 a week... $31!!! For easy changes!!! I can hardly believe it.
Making our own products - ok, this is an old one but I have started making every basic health/beauty product that we use in the past couple weeks. I feel like it has made a difference but I don't think that my hubby agrees... it is hard to see the prices of buying things in bulk, but as I get to show him how far these products are going, I think he comes more to terms with it. He is incredibly supportive regardless of the cost, and has been doing little things (like the dishes!) to help with the time I have been dedicating to researching and making things.
Getting rid of our smart phones - I loved my smart phone and I definitely miss it - but not enough to want to go back to paying that $170/month bill. We lowered our plan to the bare minimum and sold our smartphones and bought used $20. It's really not so bad, but there are a lot of times that I miss it.
Cutting down on cable - we still have Dish, but I believe that it is a contract. (I may be mistaken but he takes care of all of that!) We have gone down to the lowest package that we can and have quit ordering our beloved UFC's. I do miss G4 and National Geographic, HBO, Showtime... but not enough to pay that bill again!
We have been dedicated to paying off debt, and in the future we are going to be buying an older car (with our taxes) and selling our Acura. We are planning some smaller improvements to our house to make it more marketable. I am glad to see us making some progress and I am certainly looking forward to being debt free and financially stable.
Over the past month we have made some drastic diet changes. Gone is almost all red meat and our occasional drink or two. We start the day with a glass of water and a superfood smoothie - a variety of fruit, banana, goji juice, orange juice, spirulina and superfood powder. For lunch we usually eat a salad and either a chicken breast or canned fish (I know, I know, BPA, but we are doing the best that we can...). For dinner, I like to make lean meat, vegetables and salad. We have made a couple variations of sprouted bread and they have been different, but tasty. I made a dehydrated savory version that is wonderful for dipping in salsa. I want to try it with hummus! I also made a sweet version that reminds us of a carrot cake. I made an almond milk/yogurt icing for it, it is reminiscent of carrot cake. Mmmm! I believe that I have finally bested the dairy monster, with the exception of a pound of butter that we are slowly working through. I want to research ghee and maybe try to make a batch of it. I definitely miss milk and cheese and ice cream, but I do not miss the stinky breath, bloat, acne, stuffy nose, stomachache, or headaches that I used to get from them.
I wanted to share a dinner that I made that has become a favorite for us. It is healthy (there are a few things I would like to tweak to make it healthier, but in time that will come), whole, filling and energizing. Just writing about it makes me want it! ;)
Garlic Orange Salmon
2 4 oz. salmon filets
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 orange, juiced
1 oz. orange marmalade
sprinkle of ginger or 1/2 tsp. grated ginger
broiler pan
Preheat broiler to high.
In a saucepan, saute garlic in olive oil over medium heat for a minute or two. Add the orange juice and stir it into the garlic and oil. Add marmalade and ginger and allow to thicken a little bit, stirring often.
Set thawed salmon on oiled broiler pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper and brush with half of marmalade mixture.
Broil for 6 minutes. Brush with remainder of "sauce" and broil for 2 more minutes. Enjoy!
Super Awesome Mashed Potatoes
1 large sweet potato, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
4 medium white potatoes, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups organic beef broth
water to cover potatoes
salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp. butter
1/8 cup greek yogurt or sour cream
Combine potatoes, broth, garlic, salt, pepper and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil on high for 20 - 25 minutes, or until potatoes can be pierced with ease.
Drain. Return to pot.
Add butter and yogurt or sour cream to potatoes. Mash together and serve.
Sauteed Vegetables
this is usually green beans with garlic and sliced almonds or bell peppers and onions with garlic. You can use whatever you want though!
If you are feeling especially adventurous -
Sprouted Sweet Cake
9 cups sprouted wheat berries
4 oz. water
4 oz. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 tsp. salt
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In a food processor, process all of the above ingredients together. You might want to start out with 6 cups of grain and then add the remaining 3 cups one cup at a time.
Pour batter into a greased large pan. You want to aim for a thin layer rather than a thick cake, which will take longer to bake.
Bake for 35 minutes with a oven safe bowl of water on the rack under it. It took about an hour to cook my batch but my pan ended up being smaller than I thought.
Once cool, put into a airtight container and store in the fridge.
Icing -
1/3 cup butter
1/8 cup greek yogurt or sour cream
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sucanat or sucanat with honey (or powdered sugar)
3-4 tbsp. almond milk, to be added 1 tbsp. at a time.
Melt butter and vanilla together in a saucepan over medium heat. Once butter is melted, turn heat down to low and add yogurt or sour cream. Whisk together until well combined.
Add 2 cups of powdered sweetener and continue to whisk. Once well combined, add almond milk 1 tbsp at a time until you reach your desired consistency. I went for a glaze consistency at 3 1/2 tbsp almond milk. Then I poured the hot mixture over the top of the cold bread cake and served it. It was amazing!
Now for the exciting stuff! I have made a couple new products and they are absolutely fabulous. I have been making my own for a little over 2 months now. It has been a gradual journey and so far, is not as time consuming or overwhelming as I originally anticipated it to be. It has also turned out to be significantly cheaper than I originally calculated. And... with the exception of shampoo and dish soap, every product has pleasantly surprised me and outperformed the more expensive store bought products. [note - the dish soap is a great recipe, but we have had a hard time adjusting to the lack of bubbles. I made a recipe earlier today with a little bit of castile soap and a few essential oils, I haven't gotten to try it yet but it seems more sud-sy than the last batch]
Also, over the past 2 weeks, I have begun taking orders! It has been so exciting to have people believe in these products enough to buy them. I have been sending out sample packs and there are some exciting things on the horizon for 23 and going green...er. I can't wait to share them all with you guys!
What follows are the recipes for the most recent products I have made -
Deodorant:
(my version of the recipe found here)
3 tbsp. coconut oil
2 tbsp. shea butter
3 tbsp. baking soda
2 tbsp. corn starch
1/4 tsp. vitamin e oil
5 drops each rosemary essential oil, tea tree essential oil, eucalyptus essential oil, frankincense essential oil, and geranium essential oil.
In a saucepan, melt together coconut oil, shea butter, vitamin e, baking soda and cornstarch over low heat. Once melted, add essential oils and stir well.
Pour into a sterilized jar, I used a Kerr half pint jar, boiled for 20 minutes.
Results: THIS PRODUCT IS AMAZING! I will never go back to store bought deodorant ever again. I am kept dry, I don't stink as much, and my sensitive underarms arm happy from the moisturizing shea butter. This is meant to be a deodorant, not an antiperspirant, but it makes me sweat less. Cost per batch - $3.02.
Skincare:
(my version of the recipes found here and here)
This is a completely different approach to taking care of your face. The thought of using oil on my super greasy skin was scary, but in the past week, my skin has gone from uneven and broken out to even and barely blemished.
Wash - for oily/acne prone skin (cost per batch - $2.81)
small salt shaker, filled with baking soda
amber or blue glass dropper bottle
3 tbsp. jojoba oil
7 drops tea tree essential oil
5 drops cypress essential oil
2 drops geranium essential oil
6 drops frankincense essential oil
Put 3 tbsp. jojoba oil into dropper bottle and add essential oils. Close and shake well.
To wash, wet face. Sprinkle a quarter-sized amount of baking soda into your hand, add 2-3 drops of oil mixture. Mix together and scrub face. Rinse well.
Spot treater - for oily, acne prone skin (cost per batch - $0.20)
small glass jar (1 oz)
20 drops tea tree essential oil
purified water to 1/4 inch from top of jar
Shake well, apply with a q tip.
Lotion - for oily/acne prone skin (cost per batch - $2.76)
amber or blue glass dropper bottle
3 tbsp. jojoba oil
10 drops eucalyptus essential oil
10 drops geranium essential oil
4 drops rosemary essential oil
Put 3 tbsp. jojoba into dropper bottle and add essential oils. Close and shake well.
To moisturize, apply 2 drops to face.
Variations:
These are some variations on old recipes I have made.
Dish soap:
2 cups water
1/4 cup soap shavings
1/4 cup castile soap
1 tsp. vinegar
1 mL tea tree essential oil
15 drops each rosemary essential oil, peppermint essential oil, and frankincense essential oil.
In a saucepan, over low heat, melt soap shavings into water, do not allow to boil.
Add castile soap and whisk. Set aside and allow to cool for a little bit.
Pour into old soap bottle and add 1 tsp. vinegar, shake well.
Add essential oils and shake well. Allow to sit overnight.
Toothpaste:
2 tbsp. coconut oil
3 tbsp. baking soda
20 drops peppermint essential oil
15 drops tea tree essential oil
8 drops myrrh essential oil
Mix all of the above ingredients together in a bowl with a fork. Use right away and enjoy your healthy gums and fresher breath! :)
Well, it has taken a couple of days to get this finished, I hope that everything has flowed well and I apologize if I have repeated myself at all. I am thankful for you guys and for all of you who continue to read this. Please keep it up and let me know your feedback!
Be well.
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