Just DIY it :)

Long time no see everyone, I've been absent from the blogging world for quite some time now, as you know I'm in school and don't have much time to focus on my blog these days! However, it is spring break and I thought I could share some DIY recipes with you this weekend. I haven't been cooking as much anymore either which totally bums me out!! I also miss all my bloggy friends that I visit. Sorry for the lack of visitation on my part.
I've decided to start making my own deodorant, toothpaste and lotion. I've decided to do this not only because it's frugal-but also because it cuts down on the chemicals I put into/on my body. So if you're looking to do the same I'm about to share some great recipes! I'm all about making your own beauty/cleaning products.

All Purpose Cleaner:
1 old all purpose cleaning bottle-or spray bottle of your choice (make sure you wash this out with hot water and soap as much as possible to rid the chemicals)
3 Cups hot water
4 Tblsp vinegar
1 tsp washing soda-can be found in most stores in the dishwasher/laundry detergent aisle.
1 tsp liquid castile soap
5 drops Tea tree oil
5 drops Young Living Thieves oil-if you don't have any young living oils you can omit this. I just received my oils and wanted to add Thieves into the mix for its antibacterial properties. You can play around with which oils you'd like to add!

Add all these ingredients to your bottle, shake up and it's ready for use! I've been using this stuff for awhile and it always works great.

Deodorant: This recipe is from a friend and I used this method: Homemade Deodorant
4 Tblsp baking soda
4 Tbslp corn starch
1/2 C coconut oil
2 Tblsp beeswax
10 drops essential oils of your choice
OR
1/4 C coconut oil
2 1/2 Tblsp beeswax
1oz shea butter
1/4 C baking soda
1/4 C arrowroot powder
20-40 drops essential oils ( I used lavender, peace and calming and tea tree)

Melt coconut oil, beeswax and shea butter (if using)  over medium heat, once melted, turn of heat and add dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Add in the essential oils of your choice and let cool. Once it gets to a pudding-like consistency you can scrape it into an old deodorant container. Refrigerate until cool and hardened, after this you can leave it on the counter at room temperature.

I started making my own deodorant because it's cheaper, and to avoid the harsh chemicals they add.
Aluminum is a heavy metal and has been linked to Alzheimer's..no thank you! You'll also see propylene glycol on many deodorants which is a toxin. (I've also read a link between propylene glycol and antifreeze)

Toothpaste: Revised from :Nourishing Joy and Delicious Obsessions
4 Tblsp coconut oil
4 Tblsp bentonite clay
2 Tblsp baking soda
3/4 tsp stevia powder
1/2 tsp ground sea salt
30-40 drops peppermint oil
water as needed

Mix dry ingredients in a glass container. Add in coconut oil and mix with a fork until combined, add the peppermint oil and mix, if your mix is still clumpy/dry feel free to add as much water as needed. Add the water slowly. You can then transfer to a container of your choice. I used a shallow mason jar. I   immediately had to test this out, it might take a few brushings for me to get used to, but my teeth feel clean! It is a little weird to spit out brown-green toothpaste but I think I can get used to it. I was also worried as I have a strong disliking for coconut oil, but you can't even taste it which is even better! You do have to rinse your mouth out a little more, but it's worth it for me. Feel free to play around with different flavors and different oils.

The coconut oil will give your mouth a nice satin feel..also have any of you ever tried oil pulling? It's great for getting rid of toxins in your mouth/teeth. I tried this with coconut oil and about gagged! However, you can do it with olive oil instead. In this recipe you can't taste the coconut oil so it works out perfectly.
I like using fluoride-free toothpaste as I've read many negative blogs on fluoride. Global Healing Center
Folks, please do your own research, as I have done my own. I choose to believe what I want and what I put into my own body.

The bentonite clay is also a great toxin remover. If you'd like to learn more you can here: Health and Beauty benefits of clay. You can use this for several things and it can be ordered on Amazon.

Baking Soda is seen in many toothpastes and sometimes people use this alone to brush their teeth. This is used to clean and whiten your teeth!

Stevia powder is just added as a little bit of a sweetener and is optional, I've also seen recipes using xylitol.

Oils are used for flavor and their antibacterial purposes

Salt is for the abrasive and neutralizing the acid in your mouth.

**As always I use unrefined/organic where I can. I'm always looking for the best of ingredients. I bought all my ingredients on Amazon. Some of these ingredients can be found in stores as well.**

I'm all for being frugal and making my own chemical/toxin free products.

I will be adding the lotion recipe when I run out of my current Burt's Bee's lotion!

Caprese Roll Ups

You know what I can never turn down? Caprese. It's fresh, simple and delicious. I had some caprese with a friend recently and was craving more so I decided to incorporate it into lasagna roll ups that I have made before. These are super easy to make as well :)

slightly adapted from: Cooking Classy
Caprese Lasagna Roll Ups
8 lasagna noodles
14 oz low-moisture mozzarella cheese
3/4 c ricotta
1 egg white
4 roma tomatoes
1/4 c shredded parmesean
salt and pepper
basil
oil

Marinara Sauce
28 oz crushed tomatoes
2 tblsp oil
1/4 onion, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper

Cook lasagna noodles until al dente or according to package. Mine only took 4 minutes! :) While the noodles are cooking mix ricotta, egg white and salt and pepper. Slice the mozzarella cheese into thin pieces. I think the next time I make this recipe I will use fresher mozzarella. (I didn't this time because it wasn't recommended, but I think I can make it work!) Once the noodles are cooked drain and set on parchment paper. Once cooled, spread ricotta/egg mixture on noodles. Then line noodles with sliced mozzarella and tomatoes (like caprese!) Add some sliced basil, oil, salt and pepper and roll them up! After you've done this you can set them aside while making the marinara. Just combine all ingredients and voila! Layer casserole dish with marinara sauce and add lasagna roll ups. Cover the lasagna rolls with some more sauce and add some shredded parmesean and top with more basil! Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

When I took this out of the oven my house was filled with an amazing garlic smell! I absolutely love garlic. This dish tastes light and fresh! I will be making this again. I hope you enjoy!

 Cheese, Freshly sliced tomatoes, Fresh cracked pepper, Chiffonade basil

Gotta love fresh tomatoes and cheese!

So I decided to use Picasa to edit my photos this time. I like it more than my old editing system, but seriously a huge pain. I've been trying to edit and save the photos forever and then they either don't save or I can't find them. I should maybe find something else to use! Or maybe I should just figure out how to use it! ;)

Linking up to:Sunday Show Off
Sundae Scoop Link Party
Not baaad Sundays 

Happy New Years!

Happy New Years everyone! Did you do anything fun? Zac and I didn't. We decided to stay in this year just because I never seem to have fun, and honestly I think it's over rated. We didn't even stay up for the countdown. I was so tired I passed out but the neighbors lit fireworks so technically I was up at midnight. :) This morning I ran with my mom and her running group for 1:01:13, you know for New Years!
Some of my New Years resolutions are:
1) Eat healthier
2) Eat less sugar
3) Keep up with running and working out
4) Practice yoga and meditation
5) Stay positive/calm/free/and at peace

I know kind of a lot right? Most of these things I already do I just want to do them BETTER. I have changed a lot this past year and I'm really liking the changes I've made and now I just need to make them stronger. :)
Do you have any New Years resolutions? I think this year has a lot of positive amazing things in store for me!

Hello again!

I don't have a recipe to share, just giving an update from the last time we spoke. I just finished up my first semester of school and I'm so excited! I did well, not as good as I wanted but I'll get that 4.0GPA sooner than later. I'm looking forward to having some relax time. No worries about class, no worries about homework or studying. I can enjoy my holidays and time to cook and blog. I will hopefully have some yummy looking recipes and sweets coming up soon. Let's face it, once the holidays come around I'm eating like a pig. I need to cut down on the sweets I consume once Christmas is over. Here are some pictures to hold you over in the mean time.

 these humans got me these silly antlers (Louie we're sorry they were free and we had to try them out)

 My most recent half marathon. The first one I wanted to die, this one went well and I really enjoy running with my Mom over at Town and Country Living. Have you seen her recent posts? All about Christmas and her house looks amazing.

 This is my new winter coat that I don't enjoy but it's cold and I should wear it :) Not to mention how cute I look in it!

One of my favorite ornaments of all times :) I have a very specific way I like to decorate my tree. My inspiration comes from my Mom. I've always loved her tree, the ornaments the bows the beads, all of it. I have grown up with a certain decorated tree so that's what I'm used to! I'll have to take more photos of my tree and update later! Thanks for coming around! Excited to get back into blogging for a few weeks until school starts up again! Merry Christmas everyone!

Warm Rice Salad with Green Sauce

Doesn't sound too appetizing does it? Oh, but it is!!! I haven't had a lot of time to cook lately with school and homework and all, but I need to get back into eating healthy again. I need my veggies daily! So I browsed through my Pinterest board again for something tasty. I figured I'd give this recipe a go. I didn't have all the ingredients so I revised it myself. Now you have my version and the original version. While I was making this I thought to myself, "There's no way this is going to be good." My mind changed after that first bite hit my tongue. "Wow! This was good." I said to myself. I should've made Zac try it. I feel like I have to start getting him to eat better and taking care of his body better. Anyways, go get off your couch and make this. It's truly delicious and packed with flavor! I would have loved to use quinoa, accept I couldn't find mine, so I used my rice instead.

Adapted from: Oh She Glows
Warm Rice Salad with Green Sauce

Salad:
1/2C  brown rice
1tsp evoo (extra virgin olive oil)
1/2C cherry tomatoes halved
1/4C to 1/2C frozen corn
1/4C frozen edamame
1tsp ground cumin
1tstp chili pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Green Sauce:
3 cloves garlic
1/2 C basil
1/4 C cilantro
1/4 C yellow tomato
3 tblsp evoo
2 limes juiced
2tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste


For the Salad:
Cook rice according to package or directions. Heat saute pan and olive oil over medium heat. Once heated add, frozen corn and edamame. Once the frozen items have cooked for a couple minutes add the halved cherry tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes. Season to taste.

For the Green Sauce:
Mince garlic in blender or food processor. Add basil and process again. Add the liquids and continue to process. Drizzle in the oil. Add the lime juice and seasonings to taste. You will have to scrape the sides several times. You want to have a liquid sauce so if you need to add more oil or lime juice go ahead. Honestly I just threw mine all together in no particular order! I was happy to find I had a yellow tomato from my garden that I could use. Oh She Glows recommends the yellow tomato because it adds liquid with out adding a ton of oil. She also says it keeps the sauce green! I hope you all enjoy this as much as I did!

 Does that not look delicious and fresh? Soooo good!!!

Linking up to: The Girl Creative
Made by you Monday
What's in the Gunny Sack?
Keeping it Simple
Healthy 2Day Wednesdays 

Monday Ramblings

This weekend was a really good one. I did a lot, but I also relaxed, which was much needed! I had my first day of clinicals as a CNA student. :) I went to breakfast with the hubby, although it wasn't very good and also not good for my 8 mile run that day. The run was amazing though even though I wasn't feeling the greatest and my legs were just very tired. My Mom and I always do our long runs on Sunday. We meet at a trail, the trail was so pretty yesterday, even though it was cold, rainy and windy. The trees were full of fall leaves. Yellow, green, red, and orange. I can't even describe it. Their were leaves all over the trail, and on the way back it was windy enough that it was snowing leaves. I love fall, and this was such a cool thing to see/experience. Next week we'll be running ten miles! :) My favorite thing to do after a long run is drink my chocolate soy milk and take a nice relaxing bubble bath. Zac and I hung our Halloween lights, now that we are renting a house we can be more festive. We spent some time at Home Depot, we didn't buy anything too fun..but it's nice to run errands on the weekend. I don't know what it is about it, but I enjoy it. Now it's a new start to the week, full of school and homework, and of course work. I'm looking forward to the holidays. I hope you all had a good weekend too!

 Yes this pic is super blurry, but my Mom was taking photos of the awesome trail..this picture doesn't do it justice

Louie watching Mom and Dad put up the lights, do you love his new sweater?

New Feelings

I just recently read a post on my Mom's blog The Early Face of Fall, which led me to want to talk about it too. I'm talking about my grandma. She is suffering from Alzheimer's, which is a memory disease. She has good days and bad, but last week was different. Grandma wasn't her usual sweet little self. She was very confused, and even angry. I remember getting in the car with my sister and just crying because I didn't know how it got like that so fast. I was sad for her and my Grandpa. I have many memories of her, and she is such an important person to me. So many of my child hood memories come from her. My mom was a single mother and worked full time, so I remember many days hanging out with Grandma. Especially when I was sick. I'd lay on her couch, watch cartoons all day and she would make me my favorite chicken noodle soup. I remember playing outside in her big backyard with my brother, fielding through pine cones and crunchy fall leaves. I remember the best bubble baths, and so much more. Every time I make toast with cinnamon sugar it always reminds me of her. I am so thankful for all the memories we created and that I can remember forever. Even if she isn't the same grandma I used to remember, she is still hanging around. She is a tough little lady.  Not many people are as lucky as I am to have their grandparents in their lives still, so I have to remember to be thankful for all the amazing memories I have of her. Seeing her joy erases any bad day or pain anyone could have. Even if she isn't so joyous anymore, I have to love her for who she has become. I will always love you Grandma, and you will always have a special place in my heart. I will always remember her being at my wedding, even if she doesn't remember it.

Love you Grandma and Grandpa