Making Your Own... Yogurt!

I had heard of making your own yogurt, but I figured it was one of those lengthy, time-consuming, arduous tasks that only stay at home moms or Amish people took on. Well, I am neither, although I do respect both titles, very much so. Well, actually I am going to be a part-time stay at home mom now, since I am going to just be working 3 days a week now....
Anyway, back to the yogurt.
Yogurt is expensive. If you get the good kind. No, I am not talking about Yoplait, which is more like Jell-o than yogurt, since it has gelatin in it. It's just not right... I get the organic kind, I prefer Greek, but I like it either way. I get Caylen the organic whole milk yogurt, and boy it is expensive! I mean, it's not through the roof, but especially compared to what I can make it for, it is way too much!
So, I bet you are dying to know how I made it right?  Haha, just kidding, it's no secret!All you need, or what I used, is at least a quart of milk, 1/2 cup dry milk, a quart canning jar, a large saucepan, wooden spoon, yogurt starter, a heating pad and some kitchen towels and stock pot. Here goes:

I got my recipe from my handy dandy Tightwad Gazette. It recommends buying a container of store bought, active culture yogurt from the store. I used Dannon. This will be your starter yogurt, or starter culture. You will need the bacteria from this yogurt to get yours going. The tightwad gazette is always finding the most cost effective way of doing things, so it recommended taking the yogurt by 2 tablespoons each and freezing them in ice cube trays. So, you end up with about 16 2 tablespoon starters (?) I can't remember how many compartments there are in those ice cube trays. Anyway, in order to start the yogurt, you need to take one ice cube worth of starter, 2 tablespoons in other words, and let it melt. In the meantime, take your milk, whole milk, 2%, organic, whatever, and measure out a quart. The easiest way to do this is to pour it into a quart canning jar, which is what I used to store my yogurt in. Put the quart of milk in a large saucepan, and mix in the 1/2 cup of dry milk. Heat the quart of milk up to 180, I used my candy thermometer to track it, and then cool it down to 115. At this point, take a 1/2-1 cup of the warm milk, whisk it very vigorously into the starter. Then, take the starter/warm milk mixture and mix it into the large batch of warm milk. Whisk very vigorously. There has been no evidence that vigorous whisking can kill the cultures. However, it is pertinent to make sure the cultures are well distributed so all the milk will turn into yogurt instead of curdled milk. After it is well-whisked, pour it into your quart jar, fasten the lid, put it on a heating pad on low, wrap it in a kitchen towel, and put a stock pot over the jar so it is dark and warm. This is so the cultures will have opportunity to grow. Let it incubate for 8-12 hours. I did mine for 8, then put it in the fridge, but it just depends on how 'tart' you like your yogurt.
I call 'tart' 'sour.'
Anyway, after 8 hours it was firm and delicious! It lasts for about 5 days, give or take, mine lasted at least 6, but I am not sure how much longer after that it would last since we ate it all! I liked to serve it with a little raw honey-- soooo  good! Or, for Caylen, I mash up a little banana in it! Yummy!

My next yogurt venture? How to flavor it?! I'll let you know how it turns out!

New Way to Do... Well, Everything!

So my last post was about a new way to do my skincare. I know, it was like forever ago. Since then, I have found many other new ways to do many other new things! Like making your own dishwasher detergent. Or, washing your clothes.



Last night, I finished my 3rd load of laundry using soap nuts. I buy them from here. The results? They are great! No, the clothes don't smell, at all, but they are very clean, very soft, and may I mention, washed very cheaply....! Now that's my kind of 'detergent!' They are about half the price of Tide HE, and I can use about 5 nuts for about 5 fairly heavy loads! As a plus, there is no need for fabric softener! They are soft as can be, in fact softer than if I had used fabric softener, but without that chemical-y residue. Conclusion: I am extremely pleased and I can't wait to use my 10% off coupon I received with my order, on my next order!
Next: Dishwasher detergent. I found a way to make my own concoction of this as well, with an added bonus: a Jet Dry substitute! So I mixed a cup of washing soda (I found mine at Ace), a cup of Borax, and a half cup of salt and shook it together in a Mason jar. Ok, it was a Ball jar. Anyway, I made this Wednesday night, and I finally used it last night (Thursday). I was anxious to see how my dishes came out, since I had been buying the cheap, Eco-Friendly Palmolive for my dishwasher. It left white residue everywhere!!! So, I inspected my dishes after they ran a cycle, the Normal cycle as always with heated dry, and wow! They looked even better than when I used the good detergent! They were clean, no spots on the silverware, which is a common occurrence for us.... And, no water spots thanks to the 'rinse aid!' So I bet you are dying to know the secret rinse aid, huh? Well, just put plain, white distilled vinegar in the compartment you normally put the rinse aid. It lasts forever, so you rarely have to fill it back up, so of course you have really saved some $$! I of course never bother to buy jet dry, I don't care about some water spots, and that stuff is expensive for what it is, especially now that I know it can be cheaply replaced! My conclusion on the homemade dishwasher detergent: Excellent substitute! Only this: when I run out, I am going to try to simplify it by using Borax and baking soda and salt, to make it cheaper, and we'll see how it goes!!
To update on the last post, my facial cleansing routine is going great-- I will not go back to my old facewashes and lotions! They feel sticky, heavy, and thick to me now! I have had to use my old facewash once, and my lotion once as well, under dire circumstances, and I wasn't pleased at all. The only con is that it occasionally makes my bangs oily at the end of the day, or if I am not careful, they get oil on them before I even get dressed :( but I have been able to work around it, and hey, it is worth it to me if I can have clear skin! As for the homemade shampoo and conditioners, I have only used them on our guinea pig, Caylen, but they do great on her! I am just waiting to run out of our commercial ones first!
Oh, and one last thing. I am not sure if I mentioned this in the last post, but I have been using Virgin Coconut Oil as a body lotion for a few weeks now, and I LOVE  it! It is so rich and moisturizing, and Bath and Body Works ain't got nuthin' on that scent! AAAHHH! It smells so delicious and luscious! You have gotta try it!



One more thing, I promise, I am looking for a cheap, eco-alternative to my dish soap. I tried Dr. Bronners, but it is a little too watery and harsh for me. Smells good though (I got the Hemp Almond kind). So, if you have any suggestions, ppppplllllleeeeaaasssee let me know!!

New Way to do Skincare!

By the title of my post, you might think that I had an eventful trip to the cosmetic counter at the mall this weekend... Not so!! I actually just looked around at some 'natural living' blogs, looking for a superior, natural way to care for my skin, that would also eliminate the biweekly trips to the drugstore for new face wash, lotion, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, etc. Well, I did, and (shriek) it involves oil! I know, I practically shrieked at this at first glance too, but I was willing to try it out. So here goes, and just as a note, these are not my recipes, not that they are any secret, but I do not take credit for them. Here goes.

• For my face, I have began 'oil cleansing.' Sounds counter intuitive, right? That's what I thought, but I was willing to try. I blended half and half castor oil and grapeseed oil and I put a few drops of patchouli in as well. Cause I like the smell, and it's purifying, and gentle. Anyway, I take this oil, which I put into an old 'body splash' bottle and I squirt it out and then massage it into my face morning and night. I massage for about 2 minutes or so, then I wet a washcloth as hot as I can, put it on my face to steam my 'pores' then massage again. Then repeat hot washcloth, then wipe the oil off with a clean, hot washcloth. Make sure not to get it too hot-- you don't want to burn your face, it is just that my water heater is on low. If after I wipe off the oil my face still feels like it needs moisturizer, I use a pea sized amount of either coconut or grapeseed oil. Also, I want to add that I have problem skin, and for the 3rd full day of doing this, my face has never looked better! 
• Now, these are 2 I haven't tried yet because I have yet to run out of my current product. However, here are some more 'recipes' for shampoo, conditioner, and deodorant. Well, I haven't used them myself, but I did use them on Caylen, and the shampoo and conditioner worked great! I of course didn't try the deodorant. 
• For shampoo, mix a tablespoon of baking soda to 1 cup of water. For Caylen, I put hers into a squirt bottle-- she loved it! Massage into the scalp and let sit, then rinse. 
• For conditioner, mix 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar to 1 cup water. I also put this into a squirt bottle. Massage, then rinse.  And yes, they really did work on Caylen's hair, which of course lacked so much oil, but did have food in it :) However, it is also supposed to get rid of excess oil, hair products, etc. Your hair will, supposedly, have a period of where it gets 'adjusted' but this should last no more than a couple of weeks. Your scalp just has to get used to no having to produce as much oil, since it is not continuously being stripped. 
• For deodorant, and not antiperspirant, mix 1/4 cup baking soda and 1/4 cup arrowroot powder or cornstarch. Add coconut oil, 1 tablespoon at a time, to the mixture until it is well mixed (about 4-6 tablespoons). Then, if you like, you can add a few drops of essential oil. Although, it will already smell like fresh coconut :) Then, pack it into a used deodorant container and stick it in the fridge, if it is summertime. Use and enjoy! 

*I found these recipes on www.simplemom.net, but there are similar and other variations of these recipes all over the web. If you want to find them, you can usually just google and find them if these recipes don't suit you.