Homemade Almond Nut Milk - Simple, easy, inexpensive, healthy! :)

I've heard of people making nut milk before but I thought it would be a time consuming, tricky process that I couldn't be bothered with. Was I wrong! It was simple, it tastes great and it saves so much money! Next, I will use it to make yogurt in my crock pot. :) Another, easy, inexpensive, healthy treat! :) I'll post that recipe later.

Nut Milk:







Take a cup of your favourite nuts, soak them overnite.
Put those nuts in the blender with 4 and 1/2 cups of water (according to raw-food-living.com, “The soak water will contain the enzyme inhibitors which is very acidic to the body so make sure to rinse your nuts and seeds well.” ) and blend til smooth.

Run the nuts/milk combo thru a nut bag or cheesecloth into a container. I didn't have either so I used a coffee filter and a sieve, but got impatient with waiting so, dumped the filter and ran it thru the sieve.

I then returned the milk back to the blender, reserving the nuts to use in my latest dog food recipe, found on this site, and added to the blender 1tsp of vanilla and 2 tsp of agave syrup. Blended. Tastes great!!!

Will invest in a nut bag or cheesecloth though because it was kinda grainy at the bottom, but worth it! :) Going out to buy more nuts! :)

I would say this might have cost me a $1 to make. Awesome!

It worked great!!

Update on Homemade Dog food - New Recipe!!! :)

So, the food I made last week that cost me about $2 to make lasted me a week. This was giving Noah about half a cup twice per day. He is a 12 pound dog. He loved it!!!

The first day I mixed 1/2 cup of the new food with 1/4 cup of his dry dog food, he ate it all. Later that evening I gave him another 1/4 cup of his dry food with the new food and he pulled the little bits of dry food out as he ate the new food. After some stern, "eat your foods" he ate it. He did get a little more than a cup a day the first few days as we used up his dry food.

That didn't work so well the next day. So, I just didn't give him any new food til he ate the old food. He was so happy when all the dry food was gone, so was I because I wasn't going to force it down his throat and I really wanted him to consume both at the same time because his tummy doesn't handle it too well. Larger dogs don't seem to have this issue so much, at least in my experience.

In any case, the transition was fine! So, I made a new recipe today and of course, Noah loves it! I am not worried so much about transition because the basic ingredients are the same. Oatmeal, eggs and turnip greens. I just changed from carrot to lima beans (because that's what I had). And added a bit of almond meal, sunflower seeds, flax seeds and chicken, and switched up the spices a bit.

So here is the recipe (probably cost me about $2 also):

3c cooked oatmeal (not quick oats)
2 eggs scrambled in 1/2 tsp EVOO
1 c frozen lima beans (steamed)
2 c chicken soup broth
1/4 c carrots (from the soup)
1/4 c celery (from the soup)
1/4 c chicken (from the soup)
1 c almond pulp (left over from making almond milk - will add recipe here, turned out great!)
1 c oat bran
1/2 c flax seed (ground in coffee grinder or food processor)
1/2 c sunflower seed (ground in coffee grinder or food processor)
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp oregano

I put everything but the oatmeal in the blender or food processor because Noah apparently doesn't chew. He had to chew dry food, but anyway... I suspect this is because he's so excited about getting people food that he just wolfs it down, or he's afraid that it will get taken away in short order is what usually happens if people food falls within his reach.  I'm hoping this will change soon once he gets used to the idea because I think it's good for him to actually chew stuff!

So, will let you know how this week goes! Still a little nervous about all this as I'm not a dietitian, or a veterinarian, but I do understand about healthy eating and have researched a lot and combined that with intuition and just plain common sense.

Let me know your experiences and how you like it!

All purpose household cleaner - SAFE, Non-toxic

Buy a spray bottle and mark the ingredients on the bottle as you go so you know how much to use next time without looking up this recipe!

2 c HOT water

1/2 tsp Borax

1/2 tsp Washing Soda

Mix well to dissolve crystals then add 2 tblsp White Vinegar
When water cools; Add 20 drops of peppermint essential oil for scent if desired.

Add 20 drops of tea tree essential oil as a disinfectant.

Read below (searched to find something to support tea tree oil):

I just now found this site - looks great!

http://www.natural-healthy-home-cleaning-tips.com/natural_home_cleaning_tea_tree_oil.htm

Tea Tree oil is one of the most popular of the essential oils.  It is one of the strongest natural antiseptics, commonly referred to as the "Universal Antiseptic." This quality makes it one of the most worthwhile ingredients in homemade cleaning recipes.  Tea Tree oil is also well tolerated having no known allergic reactions.

The time has come for us to reject the chemical-laden, air-polluting, health destroying, hazardous, commercial household cleaning products.  There is something wrong when big corporations are using, "Trade Secrets," which means they are free to put harmful chemicals in the products that we use everyday in our homes.  Manufacturers are not required to list them on the label.  There are some companies that provide us with many excellent eco-friendly, nontoxic-cleaning products, but it is more economical and satisfying to make our own.  You may notice that once you start using natural, safe cleaning products, you will not want to go back to using chemicals.  The change is so pleasant to our bodies physiologically, and so soothing emotionally that we can't go back to harsh chemicals.

Clinical studies have documented the value of Tea Tree oil, which date back to the original work conducted in 1923 by Dr. A. R. Penfold, an Australian government chemist.  He found that Tea Tree leaves contained an essential oil, which showed antiseptic and bacterial properties 13 times stronger than carbolic acid, the accepted standard of the time.  In 1930, Mr. E. M. Humphrey published an article entitled "A New Australian Germicide." He identified that Tea Tree oil's disinfectant action on the typhoid bacilli was sixty times greater than that of ordinary hand soap.  So important was Tea Tree in the 1940's that it was standard issue in first aid kits for army and navy personnel.

Tea Tree oil turns out to be one of the most useful of all essential oils, especially as an antiseptic. The antiseptic, germicidal, antifungal, antibacterial immune-boosting qualities of Tea Tree oil make it applicable to a wide range of health conditions. In addition, the antiseptic benefits of the oil allow its use as a natural cleaner and disinfectant within the household environment.

Tea tree oil has many uses for housekeeping. You can prove to yourself how well it works to kill mold and mildew with this simple test: Put 2 teaspoons of Australian tea tree oil in a spray bottle with two cups of water.  Spray the mixture on something musty. Let the smell dissipate (it will take a few days). The smell of mold and must will be gone, too, never to return as long as the source of moisture has been

removed.

You can make your own cleaning supplies with antibacterial properties that nature provides.  You'll feel a whole lot brighter and energetic after a few hours with essential oils than you will after breathing the fumes of toxic chemicals.

***********

Happy Cleaning! :) 

Homemade SAFE dishwasher soap

1c borax
1c washing soda

Use vinegar in rinse if you have hard water

Pour borax and soda into mason jar, cover, shake, store.

Use 2tsp per load! :)

Keep in mind this costs only pennies to make! 20 Mule Team Borax comes in a 76oz box at $3.12 at Meijer in Michigan and Arm & Hammer Washing Soda was $2.79 for 55 oz at Meijer. Both were in the laundry detergent aisle.

I understand you can also get them at Hardware stores or have them shipped to you via Amazon.com links herein.

Homemade Laundry Soap :)

So, I finally did it. I studied, and researched and decided to finally, just do it! I made laundry soap.

The best part?  It cleaned my clothes - without using an additional bar of Ivory soap, Castile soap, or anything that contains or ever contained lye. I use cold water to wash my clothes and don't have to worry about the grated soap pieces with other recipes not dissolving in my laundry.

Here's the recipe:

1 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax (76oz $3.12)
1 cup of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (55oz $2.79)














20 drops of Essential Oil (I used Peppermint EO, $6) Great for a fresh, clean scent! (Might use less EO if I combined it with other EOs.)

I bought the Borax and Washing Soda at Meijer and had a 4oz bottle of Essential Peppermint Oil at home that I purchased at The Better Health Market. (I had a 1/2oz bottle of Tea Tree Oil that lasted me over a year...)

If I had Tea Tree Oil, I'd add 10-15 drops of that too, it is Anti-bacterial, Anti-fungal, Anti Microbial, Anti Septic, It's an Insecticide (wards off Mosquitos!)  and does many other beneficial things for your health and well being.















I would also add 10-15 drops of Lavender to round out the Peppermint and Tea Tree if I had it on hand! :) It also has anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties which will aid in eradicating rashes, scabies, etc.

Side Note: Essential Oils are great for many things, look it up! I'd much rather have them rubbing against my skin all day then the toxins that are normally present on clothing with regular laundry detergent. 


Another side Note: Think of how "The Patch" works for those quitting smoking and how virtually everything that touches your skin is eventually absorbed into your bloodstream...

I put the ingredients in a tall canning jar (consider getting with BPA Free Canning lids when canning food) and just shook it up! I use just 1-2 tsp per load. You may want to use 1 - 2 cups for heavily soiled loads, but my husband finishes drywall and 2 tsp was enough to get his clothes clean.















So, for  pennies you get well over 250 loads of laundry. Works great, smells great, no more big plastic jugs going to the landfill.

Try it out, let me know what you think! :)

Homemade Granola/Cereal

So, I've searched around on this for a few weeks and finally came up with my own recipe. It turned out pretty good, but don't cook it any longer than 45 minutes or it WILL burn, even if it doesn't look done yet.. :( not with standing, the extra toasty flavour didn't do too much to damage it. :)

Here is the recipe I made:

Dry Ingredients;
3c oats; 1/2 c bran;
1/2 c ground flax (I ground flax seeds in coffee grinder),
 1/2 c sunflower seeds,
1/2 c chopped almonds (don't use the coffee grinder - turns to a flour, try a food processor or blender and pulse, watching closely)
2 tsp cinnamon (I will use more next time)
1 tsp cloves (I will use more next time)
1 tsp ginger (I will use more next time)
1/2 tsp coffee (for mocha flavour)
1 tblsp cocoa powder (for antioxidants, and flavour if you like it)
1/4 c brown sugar (I almost didn't put this in, and I actually could have had more, trying to be careful of this kinda stuff in my diet tho...)

Wet ingredients
1/8 c honey
1/8 c agave
1 tblsp vanilla
1/3c EVOO
1/3c almond milk
1tsp salt (I know, it's not wet)
2 tblsp butter

Fruit suggestions (use about a cup total):
dried cranberries
dried cherries
raisins
dried blueberries
apricots
I only used about 1/2 c raisins  - sugar...

Simmer wet ingredients for a few minutes, then mix with dry until all coated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; Bake for about 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes til well toasted in a cookie sheet. I put a sheet of parchment paper on it and I was glad I did, it barely all fit and made it easier to stir.

Remove and cool, stir occasionally (I forgot, it survived)

Add fruit, store in air tight containers.

Let me know if you tried it and how you like it! I'm going to use some when I make my dog food  - for the first time - after I am positive the ingredients won't hurt him. I set some aside for him before I put the raisins in because I know they shouldn't have grapes. Will post when I make the dog food, with or without the granola...

Happy trails to you! :)