Baking Soda Scrub

Baking Soda Scrub

Recently, I’ve been on a big natural, healthy living kick and one of the things I’ve discovered along the way, is the incredible – almost miraculous – abilities of Baking Soda. There are tons of uses for Baking soda around the home, but my favorite, by far, is a simple baking soda scrub.

There are two ingredients:

Baking Soda….  And Water.

I don’t really measure these out, usually I just fill a tiny Tupperware container about ½ full with baking soda and slowly add small amounts of water, stirring it in before adding more, until it is a thick, paste-like consistency.

I use this scrub for almost everything in my house. I clean my microwave with it, I scrub my stove-top, and wash pots with stuck-on-gunk. Once I scrubbed the scum off my shower doors – it worked for that, but it did smear the doors quite a bit and required extra cleaning, so I wouldn't recommend it on GLASS. At least not glass you want to see out of. ;)

It is completely natural with zero harmful side effects or fumes. 

You can also make the same recipe and use it as a exfoliating, moisturizing body scrub – it’s great!

I also use plain Baking Soda and sprinkle it on my carpets before vacuuming to deodorize and clean.

(Tip: You can buy a 13lb bag of baking soda at Costco!)

-Emilyanne

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Hi there! How is everyone doing? I was thinking recently and decided it would be fun to do a series of blog posts about Natural living, cooking, Do-it-yourself health and home products, and other fun things like that. So here we go!

Homemade Vanilla Extract

One of the projects on my upcoming Holiday “to do” lists is making my own, homemade Vanilla Extract.  It is one of the easiest DIY foodie projects out there, and a huge money saver compared to store-bought Pure Vanilla Extract. Not to mention, YOU get to control the quality of what you put in your extract.

What you need:

• 3 good quality Vanilla Beans (per 1 cup of extract you want to make)
• Minimum 80-proof Alcohol, of your choice (Vodka, Rum, Bourbon, etc)
• A Glass Bottle or Jar with an Air-tight lid, such as a Mason Jar.
• A sharp paring knife

Start off by Getting the Vanilla Beans.  I get mine from eBay (seriously), through the seller VanillaProducts. Their beans are great quality and, best of all, inexpensive, I purchased 2 pounds of Organic Madagascar Vanilla Beans last year to extract as Holiday gifts. The left-over beans are still doing great in a dark cabinet, a year later! You can also find vanilla beans in stores with bulk-food sections, or bulk spice stores.  There are many different kinds of Vanilla Beans (Madagascar, Tongan, Mexican, Tahiti, etc.) beans from each region have different flavors. The Madagascan beans have the most robust flavor and are the best for extracting, whereas the Tahitian beans have a lighter flavor and are better for using the actual beans, such as in desserts. Have fun experimenting with different kinds and combinations!

Next, Choose your Alcohol.  Vodka is a great go-to for this project and it's what I have always used. However, I have heard that Rum or Bourbon add incredible flavor to the extract! As long as the alcohol is 80-proof or over, you will have great success with your extract.

Prepare the Extract

First, sterilize your jar, by boiling it for about 10 minutes.

With your paring knife, slice the vanilla beans down the middle, lengthwise. Leave an inch or so uncut at one end of the bean.

Put the vanilla beans in the jar and cover completely with alcohol.

Put the lid on the jar. Shake it. 

Put it in a cool, dark cabinet.  

Now here is the hard part. The extract has to – well, extract, for 2 MONTHS before it’s ready to use!  You should shake it up every week or so and check on its progress.

When 2 months have passed, you can use your Vanilla Extract!  Some people choose to leave the beans in the jar, others prefer to strain them out at the end of the extraction period.  If you leave the beans in the bottle, it will continue to extract and intensify the vanilla flavor of the extraction – It is up to personal taste, experiment with it!

It is easy to make extracts as gifts, even on short notice. Just print up a little tag that says how to store the vanilla and when it will be ready and attach it to the bottle.

The extract will keep indefinitely in a cool, dry, dark cabinet.

Have fun! 

-Emilyanne Andrews

P.S. I’ll add pictures of my experience soon! 

From Chaos to Calm in 2012

Winter is a time of rest. I watch the natural world around me and see the trees are restoring themselves and preparing for the spring bloom. The flowers condense their resources in their bulbs deep in the earth, resting and incubating in this darker colder season. The animals are hibernating and some venture out just long enough to take in sustenance and then go back to their warm dens and settle in. The sun’s trajectory is low in the sky. The days can be frigid. The humans cover their skin with fleece and inhibit what precious Vitamin D making sunshine to which they may have been exposed. Fresh locally grown vegetables are not available and we crave warmer denser root vegetables and soups. Our Circadian Bio-Rhythms nudge us to store our energy too, much like the rest of nature. In leaner times past, humans didn’t have access to the bounty of Whole Foods Markets all winter long. We were in tune with the Earth’s rhythms and followed her lead. We would rest more and prepare food storage for the season much like squirrels and bears. Squirrels stash away their nuts and seeds. Bears put on extra layers of brown fat which can be metabolized all winter long while they sleep. Some birds fly south to warmer climes.

I find it fascinating how humans then try to swim upstream against the flow of the seasons. We don’t slow down and rest. In fact, the Christmas season fosters behavior that is anything but restful. And then we wonder why we get sick on December 26th? It is literally an epidemic this year, more than any other in recent memory. Large numbers of people developed Influenza, colds and general malaise literally as soon as mid-Christmas day. When the push, the mad dash was over, they slowed down, their adrenal glands got a stress break and then, IT hit. This is not an accident. It is a symptom of imbalance, not actually a disease itself. The Flu and colds are literally the culmination of chaos in our bodies. This is a sign of too much “stuff” and not enough restful balance. The best way to prevent colds and Flu, is to slow down and plan rest in to your schedule. Whatever we make the priority will get the most attention. If we want to be more energetic, less fatigued, get better sleep and have greater peace of mind, we will want to consider resting more, unplugging from chaos and give ourselves permission to say “NO” to whatever drains our life force. Set boundaries and journal. Connect with our Higher Power. Allow our spirit to be nurtured. I write this as I prepare to step into my first week of 2012 with a TO DO list that is quite long. And my body says, “Oh not just yet, perhaps some hot tea and warm fuzzy slippers are required for just a bit longer”. I’m guessing you know the feeling?

I am going to honor that natural rhythm and pace myself. After all, life is a journey, not a destination. I plan to enjoy each moment of 2012, savoring it. And I will prevent any of those precious moments from slipping unconsciously into chaos. It is my desire for my year, to nurture balance while continuing to grown and learn. And now it’s time to step outside with my hot beverage to fill my lungs with the fresh air and greet the day.

Dr. Kat Halloran, ND

p.s. Humorously, I am enjoying immediate manifestation of my intention to nurture balance. I started working on my 2012 TO DO list, and my slow internet connection was hindering progress so I took this sign from God as a message to go get a
mani / pedi. It has actually been on the top of my list for way too long, and subsequently, I am actually feeling rather accomplished today! I also wanted to remind you good people that the Flu Shot doesn’t prevent the Flu, in fact it can weaken your immune system. So consider saying “no” to them this year. If you already got one, no worries, you can use Homeopathic Thuja as a post-vaccine therapy to limit Flu Shot side effects and nurture your immune system back to balance. For more Flu and Cold Season remedies or a consult for general health, thyroid, adrenal, hormones and stress reduction therapies, visit our website at www.QuantumLightHealthcare.com.