Homemade Toothpaste Because I'm Getting Cavities!

No, I don't think my store-bought toothpaste has given me cavities. I blame that completely on evening junk food binge eating. Which by the way, I shouldn't be doing anyway. York peppermint patties are definitely my favorite. Mmmmm... But moving on...

My dh told me that there's no way to get rid of cavities. He told me to make an appointment with the dentist. The dentist that doesn't have the proper equipment to take comfortable x-rays; the dentist that misreads the x-rays and wants to fill a tooth that doesn't have a cavity; the dentist that can't communicate with each other and gives an amalgam filling when a composite is requested- twice. No. I will not. Well, if I am to the point where I cannot fix it myself because the tooth is rotting away and stabbing shooting nerve pain is incapacitating me...well, then I'll consider it. 

My first step was cut out all sugar. ALL sugar- including honey. I don't eat foods that have sugar in the ingredients. I rarely eat processed foods anyway so I know what's in my food. I'm even considering cutting fruit since I don't eat it very much anyway. I do eat berries with cottage cheese (both have 'sugar') occasionally though so I'm still on the fence about my berries. And I'm working on getting some more calcium in my diet. I don't eat dairy very much {love cheese! but it doesn't love me} but I think I'll withstand a rumbly tummy in exchange for some tooth strengthening calcium. I'm also adding dolomite powder in my oatmeal. Next I made my own toothpaste.

I don't have anything against store-bought. We've used it for years, and we aren't picky. Perhaps that's part of the problem. I did have a toothpaste once that was to strengthen the enamel on my teeth {one dentist seemed to think I had overly acidic saliva- ew} but it caused my teeth to yellow. I'd heard about an at-home tooth whitening routine that just used peroxide and tried it for one whole week {uh, well, kind of sporadically that week}. I'm really not sure of its benefits. I've also done oil pulling...for maybe a week. I have commitment issues apparently. 

Next...homemade toothpaste. I've made it before and just ran out less than a month ago and have been using store-bought paste. {I'm sure it's coincidental that my cavities have shown up and I've been using store-bought toothpaste since I started eating those yummy York patties night after night, and a few during the day.} I don't recall where I found the original recipe but it can be Googled {or better yet, use Swagbucks and get bucks for searching} and there's many a recipe to be had. Here's mine {and I just have this nagging feeling that I'v shared it before but can't find it!}:

1/2 TBS coconut oil

1/2 TBS olive oil

1/2 tsp vitamin E

1 TBS baking soda

1 TBS calcium magnesium powder (dolomite) 

1/2 to 1 tsp salt

stevia to 'taste'

I just mix all ingredients together really well in a small container with a lid. Honestly, the measures here are for your benefit; I don't really measure. I guess. I would love to have some essential oils to put in it to make it taste better but I've not had any yet. The recipe I found also had added minerals, which some day I may add as well. 

When I go to brush my teeth, I do have to dip my brush in the paste. I'd prefer to be able to glop it on like a store-bought tube, but eh, it'll work!

And as for dh's comment that I can't get rid of cavities- I've already seen an improvement in one. It is ... less. Works for me! 

**Disclaimer: I have no idea if it is possible to reverse cavities or not. I am not afraid of the dentist but in general prefer to not go to doctors, especially since our family's personal doctors will prescribe man-made drugs before even considering alternatives. I am not advocating not going to the dentist. I'm just not going. And in case you didn't already know, I am not a doctor nor do I have adequate knowledge in the area of medicine or dentistry for you to take anything I say as medical advice. There, I feel better.**

Non-dairy Milks- Nut, Seed, Grain

***Disclaimer: This post does include affiliate links. See Disclosure/Policies.***

I’m not new to non-dairy milk. Prior to 2005 my family used to consume a lot of soymilk. At the time I’d never tried any other non-dairy milk. I can’t really do soymilk any longer but dairy milk makes me wish I hadn’t consumed it either. Reading through Trim Healthy Mama, they briefly mention making almond milk at home because some of their recipes call for it. They also mention coconut milk; that’s the next one I want. Anyway, I decided to make my own nut milk.

So far I’ve made brown rice milk, almond milk, almond/pecan/walnut milk (so far my favorite), oat/flax milk, and today quinoa milk. I have consumed dairy milk on possibly 2 instances this entire week and wouldn’t ya know, I’ve not had a ‘fat’ belly all week. Not to say I’ve lost weight but thankfully the discomfort from dairy hasn’t been present. {side note: I’ve also only had ‘wheat’ twice this week…hmmm}

I know there are many posts already online about making non-dairy milk at home but here comes another one. It will be long on words, short on photos. With just about all of these, the process is the same. There are variances of course but basically it’s all the same. I don’t know all the nutritional ins and outs of cooking versus not cooking grains and seeds so of course, what I say here, is just simply what I did. It doesn’t in any way constitute the best or healthiest way to do it.

Let’s start with the nut milks. In Trim Healthy Mama, they say it is best to soak the nuts before using them. I am guessing, since I don’t have the book right in front of me and don’t want to look it up online, you can of course if you want, that soaking releases either unwanted or wanted elements from the nuts. Many places say to soak then dump out the soak water and use clean water. Here’s my experience:

My first nut milk was a mix of almonds, pecans and walnuts. Some were chopped, some slivered and some whole. I grabbed a nice handful of the mix and put it in a quart jar, covered the nuts with water to about an inch above. Sealed the jar and put in the fridge. I actually forgot about the nuts for two days. By that time, the water had taken on a milky look. I decided to not strain out the water and blend it in. I also added enough water to make almost 2 quarts. I use an Oster blender that is many years old. It is one for making smoothies so I figured it would work well for this job. I mixed it until it looked like all was blended well.

Then I used a ‘tea towel’ (sorry, I’ve really no idea if that is what it is called; it is a tight weave hand towel) in a pasta strainer to strain the milk. To keep mess to minimum, I used a large mixing bowl to catch the milk. Every so often I would gather the edges of the towel and twist the milk out of the blended nuts. I squeezed until my hands hurt! I’m just not used to this kind of work lol. My milk was perfect looking!

The pulp I scraped off the towel and placed in a small glass bowl with a lid and put in the fridge. Honestly, I didn’t use it and threw it out but it could have been used in baking, I’m sure.

Unfortunately, I did not get a photo of my first milk. This has been by far my favorite milk. I wish I had more of it. It didn’t separate, was mild but tasty and worked wonderful in my coffee (with a touch of stevia, it reminded me of a very mild hazelnut creamer). The only thing I didn’t really like was the slight bitter taste that I attribute to the walnuts. It was very slight though.

Getting into this ‘milk’ making, I decided to venture out to rice milk. We have two huge bags of white rice and quite a few smaller bags of brown rice. Since white rice isn’t so healthy, I decided to make brown rice milk. Granted, I’m aware the glycemic index is rather high with brown rice (rice in general?). I still made it. I found this recipe and decided to follow it for the most part.

For this, I soaked the rice in the fridge in the same manner as the nuts. Instead of 1 cup like many recipes called for, I opted for 1/2 cup. I also left it for two days, since it worked so well with the nuts. In hindsight, I don’t think it really matters; the rice is cooked to a mush.

Some recipes don’t even call for straining it. I did, however, because my blender doesn’t break it down as much as I’d like it to be.

For 1/2 cup soaked brown rice, I cooked it in 4 cups of water for 3 hours. It was mush. I let it cool for awhile and then proceeded to blend much like for the nut milk. I strained it the same way. Here is my finished brown rice milk.

It is very bland tasting. It does separate a bit.

Since I liked the nut milk so much I decided to make more. But this time I could only get almonds so I made almond milk. They were whole (a good size handful) and soaked for two days in the fridge. I did it the same as before; didn’t drain the water. This wasn’t as good as my first nut milk. The taste is fine, if perhaps just a little too much like the skin of the almond. And it separates. It is quite easy to use, though; just give it a shake.

I really don’t like the taste of either the rice or the almond milk so I mixed a little of the two together. I won’t say I think it improves the taste at all but doesn’t make it any worse.

Back to ‘grain’ milks –next I went with oat…and flax. Now, neither of these did I follow a recipe. Honestly, I didn’t even think of looking up how others have done it. Yeah, that’s how confident I’ve become in my milk making. LOL not really; I just don’t follow recipes well anyway. And as I mentioned earlier, the process is basically the same. I don’t think it matters if you cook the oats beforehand. It might be a bit like the rice if you do –cook it to mush and then blend. If I were to cook it first, I’m not sure I’d strain it. It’d depend on how well it blended.

For the oat/flax mix, I had fully intended to just do oat but decided in the end to make them together. Partially because I had small amounts of both soaking. Kill two birds with one stone. Er, make two milks at once, more like. I realize that one is a grain and one a seed but they seem to fall under the ‘whole grain’ category so often. I had old fashioned oats from Aldi and Bob’s Red Mill ground flax (not golden; it’s quite dark). These were soaked, separately, for two days in the fridge. Both of them fairly absorbed the water they were soaked in so there wasn’t any to drain anyway. Altogether, there was about 3/4 cup oat/flax and enough water to make just under 2 quarts.

The same procedure as before: blend with water very well, strain through tight weave cloth. Here is what it looks like in the fridge.

It is thick and somewhat…slimy. It also has sediment at the bottom that is difficult to shake back in. It must be shaken vigorously. Taste-wise, other than the first nut milk, this may be my second favorite.

I did find this recipe after making my own –quite easy and close to what I did, minus of course the coconut, but wouldn’t that be yummy! And here is one for the flax milk; I love the pantyhose idea!

And the last milk I’ve made is quinoa milk. I used 1/2 cup. I first rinsed the seeds, then put in a small jar and covered with water to about an inch above. I let it soak two days (it just seems to work out that way), drained the soak water, then cooked them in 1.5 cups fresh water for 20 minutes. The germ had already spiraled out while soaking but the seeds were still white. When I measured the seeds before cooking, they’d swelled to about 3/4 cup.

While it was still somewhat warm, I blended it in two batches and added 1 cup water each time. I ended up not straining this –the only one I’ve not strained –because of how well it blended. I can see bits of the quinoa in the milk but when I taste it, I can’t feel them. It is a thick milk. I split it between two quart jars but it actually only made just over 1 quart. In one jar I added 1 cup water but none in the other. I want to see if it separates more after water is added. 

This doesn’t taste like I thought it would. If you make quinoa you might notice the smell it gives off. To me, it’s an odd and not entirely appetizing odor. The taste isn’t like the smell. Perhaps it is just such a much more mild taste than the cooked quinoa, that I can’t really tell.

No one in my family really wants to try any of my milks. That is okay but they will anyway. I will use the milks in baking when I can. Really the only time that I personally drink regular milk is in my coffee. If I can find a suitable replacement, and one that I can make at home, I’ll be quite happy. And it will mean buying cow’s milk less often, in general. The oat/flax milk worked really well in biscuits I made earlier this week. I’m eager to try others.

I would like to find out how to make non-dairy yogurt from the milks I make. I was given a link to this site, where I’ve purchased a non-dairy yogurt starter. I will most likely start with almond milk yogurt.

Granola Bars! Forgot the sugar…

I would like to give you a great recipe but… I just threw together some stuff I had on hand. I used:

• 3 cups old fashioned oats
• 3 cups quick oats
• 2 cups flour (1/2 white, 1/2 whole wheat)
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 cup almond/coconut milk (it’s a mix that I bought on a whim- unsweetened)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup marshmallow crème (yea, I was trying to keep it together)
• 1 can frozen apple juice, thawed
• 1 cup flax seeds
• 1 tsp vanilla

I didn’t write this down so am going by memory here. One cool thing about granola, it’s so easy to make and you can rarely mess it up. Of course, I forgot the sugar in this batch so it is a bit bland. The apple juice gives it a bit of …a sour taste? That’s how the kids described it. Also, I did drizzle honey on the top of it while it was baking to see if that’d help it stay together (and sweeten it).

I mixed all ‘dry’ ingredients together. Liquid and wet ingredients were mixed in a large glass measuring cup. Eventually, it was all just glopped together. I greased a cookie sheet (with coconut oil- that stuff can make anything non-stick!) and pressed down the ‘dough’. I cooked it at 275*F for 30 minute increments. I think after the second 30 minutes, I scored the bars. Just keep an eye on the color and also poke it every so often to feel how ‘done’ it’s getting.

Finally after 1 1/2 hours (or was it 2?) I was able to transfer the bars to a cooling rack. Here are two photos- one with flash, one without. Both are without “sugar”

I have another post on my blog with a better recipe –in my humble opinion –for granola, in case you’re interested.

Dress Into An Apron–With Photos!

The kids and I went searching for a Goodwill in our area (I know there is one- somewhere) but came across a Salvation Army store first. I found a pretty dress that there was no way I was going to wear. I felt it was too short for my liking and it gathers too much in the front, making my already somewhat pudgy middle look even more pudgy. I love the colors though and like the sash and bow on the front. Here’s a photo of the dress before I hacked it up cut it and ‘redesigned’ it.

I love the colors of this dress! I like pastels anyway but this reminds me of … Beatrix Potter lol. And the sash, although I’m thinking the color does not come through correctly on the screen- is a peach color. I bought this dress for $6.45 (with tax). And since I had no pattern to follow, just what I thought it should look like, it took me many hours to repurpose. I’m thinking that it takes more experienced sewers much less time to do these sorts of things. Eh, perhaps I’ll get there  
So first I cut up the side of the dress to separate the front and back. It had a zipper up one side, so now I have a zipper should I need one for something else. Apparently I took no photos of cutting it apart. I did leave some of the top of the back, so that the apron has a loop to put over the head and rest on the neck while wearing. It was a little low, though, so I shorted the shoulder straps.

The dress has two layers that are separate and I wanted to keep that for the apron but have wondered if I should sew them together after all.

I also had to tuck in the front where it went under the arms. I was trying to get it all straight and even. One side, though, had that zipper and I had to cut farther in than the other side. I’d forgotten that when I was trying to make it straight and trying to make sure to have the same amount on each side. Wasn’t happening. Figured it out eventually.

These pins were just to tuck the sides. Later I cut them closer to the edge and turned them under to sew (hem?). So then the pinning began. It took forever –it seemed. The fabric is thin but somewhat stretchy and apparently cut a certain way, when I tried to line it up and pin it, it kept looking ‘wrong’.

I also had to find cloth for the ties for the sides. I didn’t really have anything that went great with the colors in the fabric but decided on a creamy yellow –pastel and light; goes well enough. I pinned both strips and narrowed them at the end that connects to the apron.

I won’t show you the actual stitching for my apron because well…it’s sad. I used what I had for thread, which is a dark brown. The color isn’t a problem other than it is such a contrast to the fabric of the apron. What is the problem? My sewing is atrocious! Also as you’ll probably be able to see in the photos below, the fabric now has a scallop effect on the sides –probably because of the type of fabric, right? I’m tempted to sew the panels together to keep it from being quite so noticeable but really don’t know if it’ll help.

These photos are almost exactly the same. One is closer than the other. It is terribly staticy (which the computer says isn’t a word) and I am wearing fleece pajama pants. My lounge pants… If I had some little weights to sew in the bottom of at least the inside panel, I think it’d help keep it from sticking.

I did forget to get a photo of the tie in the back. The straps cold have been a tad bit longer. I can make a small bow with them and it works fine but I’d have preferred longer.

All in all, I’m happy with my apron. I still have the back portion of the dress so I could make a second apron –perhaps a half apron –if I wanted to. Lee says it’s so pretty it’s a shame to get it dirty, to use it like an apron. Not me! I want to bake something now!

Another Skirt & A Chili Recipe

I got up early – like usual 6:30am –and did all my online stuff. Then I just got the itch to make that second skirt I’d talked about in my post yesterday. This took me just as long as yesterday but I think I did somewhat better. I put the ‘panels’ in the front and back, not the sides.

Here’s the finished skirt –I love it!:

The back:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Front:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the side (only one photo lol):

I like that this one doesn’t make as much noise as my other. That’s simply owing to the different materials, nothing I did. I also like that this one isn’t quite as long as the other is. The only thing I do not like, is that there are no front pockets.

There is a line of stitching in the back that I have yet to remove. I ran out of the color I was using. Oops.

Of course I’ll need to wash it to get the fold wrinkles out still. For the bottom, I didn’t really hem it; I did a simple stitch all around the bottom, twice, then zig-zagged the denim. The navy cotton part was already stitched but I had to cut it because it was longer than the rest. I don’t mind if it frays a bit but not a lot.

I also zig-zagged any exposed edge cloth on the inside; I want this thing to last!

I’m a bit sad I don’t have any other pants to make skirts out of! I think I’ll bug Lee to see if she wants me to chop up any of her pants

Oh, and for the chili recipe part. I am going to be starting some beans for chili for tomorrow today. I didn’t buy any at the store since I still have dried ones in the cupboard. Figured I’d save some money at the store and make them at home. Here’s my super simple recipe (thanks to my wonderful mother-in-law; she gave this to me 15 years ago- I’ve only made it 3 times lol):

Oregon Chili (I can only assume that this is titled “Oregon” because she lived in that state when she made the recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground turkey (I will use chicken this time)
• 1 large can chopped tomatoes
• 2 pints tomato sauce
• 1 large can red beans, drained (this is where my dried beans will come in handy!)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tsp sage (boohoo, don’t have any! I’ll use oregano but it’s just not the same)
• 1 TBSP chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin seed
• 1/4 tsp red pepper (I use flakes)
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 small can green chilies, chopped (I don’t have this either but do have a small can of mixed tomatoes and chilies- hope it works- usually I have chilies)

Pretty much this is what I do:

Brown meat with onions. Add in spices. Cook for a bit (not long) to incorporate the flavors into the meat. In a large pot mix all ingredients and let simmer for hours. It’s better the longer it can absorb the flavors. But in a pinch, it can be eaten after it’s warmed up.

I also add salt because otherwise it tastes a bit bland despite the ‘heat’. I don’t mind bland but not if it’s just to be exchanged for spicy! I need that salt to …counter?

I might make some biscuits to go with the chili. Yum. Now I’m hungry and wishing it were done already!

Sewed a Skirt Using 2 Pair of Pants- sorry not a tutorial

I spent some time on Pinterest this morning (before I had planned to take a walk- bad idea) and found quite a few tutorials on how to make a skirt from pants. I have a few pair of pants that are too small, worn out or I simply do not like. But I’ve not gotten rid of them. I’ve been accused of being a pack-rat before.
Btw, that walk…it never happened.
I found two pair of pants- one that I wear when I don’t wish to put on ‘real pants’ that are extremely baggy because they’ve lost their elasticity. I think they have stretch in them. I have another pair of them, same size, different color and they kept their shape (wore those out- still have those, too, lol). I really like the material though of these pants so I’ve never gotten rid of them but rarely wear them. They make me look fat lol.
The other pair were a pair of velour (?) poop brown (lol!) that shrunk after washing –of course. They also have stretch in them and although thicker than the first pair I mentioned above, just a bit. I figured the cream color of the first and the brown (poop or otherwise) of the second would be complimentary.
And just so I’m clear –I don’t sew (well). I love the idea, but I’m not one to follow instructions well. Unfortunately. After just cutting, pinning, sewing and more of the same, here is what I made.

It’s got issues but it’s now my lounge skirt instead of pants I’m happy with it.
Now I’ve got 3 more pair of pants I want to cut up One is a dark blue heavy cotton that I want to pair with a light blue lightweight denim. I think the contrast, like the one above, will be nice. Oh, and here’s where I found my inspiration for this:
http://pinterest.com/pin/137359857356639130/ (or here if you don’t Pinterest)
http://pinterest.com/pin/137359857356639164/ (or here if you don’t Pinterest)
http://pinterest.com/pin/137359857356639155/ (or here…)
There’s lots of other sites with tutorials of course. Just google it.
And that is what I did today. I feel accomplished. Really I read on one of those posts (or a post somewhere) above that it was a quick 30 minutes –it took me hours.

Small sketchbook

I made a book! Well, I’ve made books before. They’re on this blog somewhere (I looked; can’t find them). For those, I simply printed a book using the ‘book’ setting (is that what it’s called?) and then cut the book in half. Next I stuck it in my book press and glued the spine. Glued on a cover and called it a book.

This time…I actually made signatures and sewed them, making a book. Made a cover, too. It’s got issues- it’s not exact and my measurements were obviously wonky somehow/where.

It is 6x4.5x~.25”. The paper is drawing paper, not high quality but not too shabby.

To the right of my new book is my Kindle Fire, so you can see, relatively, the size.

It’s such a small thing, literally and figuratively, but I’m super proud of the result. Of course, after my excitement wore off a little I could see my mistakes.

I used scrapbook paper for the cover and inside cover. I think it’s very pretty.

I’m not sure yet what I plan to use it for. It might make a nice little sketch book. It isn’t weather proof though; definitely not for taking out-of-doors.

It was fun and now I want to make another. My hubby even shared in my excitement. Next time though I will make sure of my measurements *wink*. I am waiting for a book press to get to me and then I will make more books (and post tutorials on LinderCroft). Perhaps I’ll wait until I get it. Maybe.

Make Your Own Note Cards and Envelopes, Part 4

We made the envelopes last time for the note cards. This time I will show you how to easily make the note cards to go with it. 

To start with, you will need: a cutter (or scissors), a ruler, pencil, scorer, and the paper you will be using for the cards. If you want to add embellishments to the cards, then you may want to have handy an emboss/punch such as the one I have (or a niftier one would work just as well )

Okay, let’s make some note cards! The way that I show in this post is for just one but if you want to try to make more than one at a time, I would suggest either using more sophisticated tools than what I show here or thinner paper. I am using the remains of the sheet of scrapbook paper I made the envelope from in order to have a matching set. Plain paper, lined or blank, would work just as good (but it would perhaps lack the special touch using coordinated papers gives?)

First measure the envelope’s length and height. Write these down.

 

The reason for measuring these two are so that the note cards fit well inside the envelope when completed. 

Next, using the measurements (which I hope you wrote down!), you will measure out the paper for the note cards.

 

I made the width of the note card smaller than the actual width of the envelope because I didn’t want it to be too snug. You can make it to almost the exact measurement, just leave a little room to make it easier to insert and remove the card. For the length, double the measurement from the length of the envelope. I also cut this a bit shorter than the doubled measurement to make sure the flap would close. But be careful! If it’s too small for your liking, you’ll need to start over with the note card! It’s often better to cut it too big than too small

This is my note card beside the envelope. I definitely could have made the length a bit more but it will work

Now you will take the note card and measure it’s half-way point. You may not be able to see it well but I’ve used my scorer (aka: hairstick lol) to mark the point that is halfway –and if you are really swell with your maths, please don’t mention that I’m off slightly  

Now, turn the note card over and score the card to make it ready for folding. You want the valley to be on the outside of the card and the mountain to be on the inside. (If you don’t know the difference between valley and mountain folds, here is a good site that explains)

Fold the card with the lighter color inside (or if it’s plain paper, with the mountain on the inside).

I haven’t made many cards with ‘embellishments’ but I think it is a good idea and add appeal to the set. Here is my finished embellished note card with envelope.

Now that the card is made, you can add stickers, glitter, feathers, doodads, or whatever you would like to your note card! 

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial series. Have fun making personalized note cards and envelopes to give to others for a quick ‘thinking of you’, ‘thank you’, ‘love you’ or just ‘hi’ card!

See Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3.