Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Syrup, our favorite morning sugar

We go through a lot of syrup around here.  I have two kids, and a husband who all eat syrup almost every morning.  I hate feeding them all of those chemicals and spending all that money.  My mom found a recipe for homemade syrup, so yes, I too made some homemade syrup.  Super easy and surprisingly tasty.

This only took me a few minutes and made about 16 oz (I doubled the recipe).  Water, sugar, corn syrup and Imitation Maple flavoring.  I didn't do the exact math but this recipe only costs cents to make.  Now I am excited to mess with the recipe and try to cut or substitute some of the sugar. Any suggestions? 

2 Cups Sugar
1 Cup Water
1 teaspoon Maple Extract

Bring water and sugar to a slow boil Over low heat, stirring constantly.  Don't let it come to a rolling boil as that would cause crystals.  Remove.from heat.  As it cools, add the flavoring.  Transfer to a storage container.  Store in the refrigerator.  For thicker syrup replacenhalf.of the water with corn syrup.

I hate washing my face

I am very good about washing my face in the shower in the morning, with a great cleanser, and taking care of my face.  When I am not showering, I hate washing my face.  I hate washcloths, I hate splashing water on my face, I hate the whole process.  But, as a woman, I know how important it is to wash off the day before going to bed.  I was delighted many years ago to find those pre moistened face wipes.  They have been my go to item for some time now.  I have tried many brands, and have my favorites, but it has always bothered me how much they cost.  I have tried to make myself use a wash cloth and cleanser, and I just don't do it.  I was excited many months ago to see a post come across Pinterest about making your own face wipes at home.  Again, it has taken me too long to actually create them, but I am out of the store bought kind and refused to buy more until I tried making my own. 

The post I read had instructions on using a full roll of paper towel and cutting it in half.  That just seemed too messy to me, and would really bother me to have uneven edges.  I thought of using these nice and soft hand towels instead.  I found them on sale for $2.50.  I will keep my eye out for the right container to hold them, but for now, my upcycled coffee container fit them just fine. 


Most of the store bought pre moistened wipes only come in 30 packs.  There are 60 of these towels so I am already at a savings. 

Two cups room temperature water that has been previously boiled.  Dissolve 1 - 2 tablespoons coconut oil in the water.  I decided to use a few drops of some essential oil, Serenity anyone? 

To get the towels wet enough I had to more than double the amount of liquid I made.  I used 5 cups of water and 5 tablespoons of coconut oil to get them properly moistened.  I think next time I will half the amount of coconut oil.  After testing my concoction I am pleased, but do feel that it is a tad bit oily.  They smell heavenly and I will see how they fair moistness wise throughout the next month or two. 
A link to the original post.
http://www.homemademamas.net/2012/09/makeup-removing-cloths.html

Homemade Laundry Soap...I am my mother's daughter

I grew up hearing stories of my mom making all kinds of homemade things, as all good Montana wives and mothers did.  As convenience has won out over the past generation, many of us have lost touch with those recipes and processes.  Well, tonight I decided that wasn't going to be me any more.
Several months ago a few of us at work got to talking about homemade items.  A fellow nurse, a recent transplant from Michigan, told us that she made her own laundry soap.  We were all aghast!  What?  How?  How much?  She had received her recipe as a wedding gift from her aunt, and she assured us that it was easy, cheap and ended with a great product.  I am embarrassed to say how long it has been that I have had both the recipe and the ingredients, but have lacked the time to dedicate to this.  Well, we have been out of laundry soap around here for, hmm, about two weeks and so necessity is the mother of invention.  I had a few minutes tonight to myself, and so I went for it.  I am pleased to report it was fun, easy and very rewarding! 
The recipe follows in its entirety is at the bottom of this post.


I started by cutting up a bar of Fels Naptha soap.  I found this bar at Walmart and it was only $1!  Heidi (my coworker) said she didn't grate it but just cut it up into small pieces.  I think next time I will grate it, as I couldn't get some of the bigger pieces to melt completely, so my laundry soap has some chunks.
 

  After adding the Borax and washing soda.  This stuff smelled heavenly...I wanted to take a bath in it!

 The brew!  We used the empty laundry detergent bottle to store it.  This recipe made almost a whole 6 Liters.  This bottle of all natural laundry detergent usually costs me $15 at Sams. 

This brew only cost me $1.50 and 45 minutes of my time.  Now I am so excited to do laundry!