DIY Healthy Beauty Products! All homemade!

This Christmas, my family and I agreed to make things for each other. I went through old recipes, thinking Pumpkin bread, flavored vodkas, or spice combinations. Last year I made fresh bread with  blueberry, red wine compote, and jalapeno jelly honey butter. They were yummy! 

I wanted to do something new this year. Something I hadn't tried before. I figured worst case scenario, I could fall back on flavored vodkas and olive oils. 

So I decided on skin products and lip balm. I use organic ingredients so they are high quality products. I made a lip balm, antibacterial hand cream, and soothing skin salve. 

 The lip balm was included shea butter, sunflower oil, cocoa butter, peppermint extract, raw honey, and a little bees wax. The raw honey doesn't mix well with the oils so I might omit it next time. If you want to include the honey, add just a little. I have to admit that it does make the lip balm taste really good. And this stuff stays on your lips for hours! That is, if you don't lick off the honey. Click here for the recipe.



The natural antibacterial moisturizing lotion was a bit of a cheat in that it started with lotion. I added in vitamin E, coconut oil, eucalyptus essential oil--which is the natural antibacterial, and almond oil. This one needs a mixer so you can whip it together. At first I didn't whip it and the coconut oil didn't mix well with the lotion. 

I scooped the product back out of the containers and whipped the ingredients and it came out looking like it does in the picture...fabulous!

The final healing salve is made of olive oil, coconut oil, vitamin E oil, bees wax, lemon essential oil, orange essential oil, tea tree oil, and a little lavender essential oil.

This one is my favorite. It is fabulous for dry skin. It stays on the skin and is absorbed slowly so don't touch anything for a while until it soaks in. But it also works better than pure shea butter to soften and soothe skin. 

You can find many recipes for these items on Pinterest but I will post my recipes here soon. I plan to continue to work on them to pack in as many healthy and healing ingredients as possible into future versions. 

To a Healthy, Happy New Year! 
Laureen

Rum Cake Donut Muffins... YUM!

I have been trying to think of things to make this Christmas. I like to play with recipes and make things yummier and healthier. 

Someone I used to work with made Rum Balls every year. They were so good and made everyone at work so happy. 

But I also love muffins. Especially muffins that taste like donuts. Donut Muffins. Mmmmmm

And then there is eggnog. You have to have eggnog this time of year. But I am not a huge fan of drinking it. I love the idea of eggnog and the flavor but I don't like drinking thick cream, even if it is the yummy goodness of eggnog. 

So I mixed them all together and made a really yummy, really moist, Donut Muffin Rum Ball. Rum Ball Muffin? Mini Rum Cake? 

Whatever you want to call them, they are fabulous! Use a mini muffin pan. I recommend the Wilton one.  Use a little coconut spray to oil the pan and the muffins fall right out.

Rum Cake Doughnut Muffins (makes 32)
1 cup organic unbleached white flour
¾ cup oat flour
1-½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¾ teaspoon cinnamon

⅓ cup coconut oil
¾ cup organic evaporated cane juice (organic sugar)
1 egg
½ cup eggnog (or coconut, almond, cow milk)
1/4 cup rum

Preheat the oven to 350º. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

In a separate bowl, add coconut oil, sugar, egg, and eggnog. Mix to combine. Add the rum and mix again until thoroughly blended.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir only to combine.

Coat your muffin pan with a little coconut oil cooking spray and scoop the batter evenly among the cups. I filled a 24 muffin tin and had enough for another 8.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes. Tops should be lightly browned and muffin should spring back when you lightly touch the top.

Let the muffins cool for about 10 minutes in the pan. Remove from pan and allow them to cool another half hour or so. 

Turn the Doughnut Muffin into a Rum Cake Ball

Ingredients:
1/2 cup light rum
3 cups powdered sugar

Pour the rum into a bowl and the powdered sugar into a bag. Quickly roll the muffins in the rum and then drop into the bag of sugar. You can do about 5 at a time in the sugar. Seal the bag and shake or roll the muffins and sugar around in the bag to coat. 

Tap off the excess powdered sugar and you are ready to eat! 

Tip and warning: These muffins can soak up a LOT of rum! They are like little sponges. I recommend you coat one muffin and taste it. I know, it's a tough task but someone has to do it! The first ones I made were really strong. Too strong. Even my husband said so. So I rolled them in the rum much faster for the remaining muffins so they wouldn't soak up so much rum.

I put some in cute little holiday ramekins for gifts for my co-workers and I left the remaining in the bag of powdered sugar for us at home.

These are the best, yummy, rum-cake-ball-donut-muffins! I dare you to try to eat just one! 

Another warning: Writing blog entries while eating powdered sugar covered Rum Cake Donut Muffins will make your keyboard a sweet, sticky, mess. 

Enjoy!
Laureen 

Eggnog Yogurt Breakfast - Incredibly yummy, healthy, and easy!

I love the idea of eggnog. That sweet creamy texture, the addition of spices. It is so darn yummy. Yet it goes bad so fast if you get the good stuff! I am not a big milk drinker so that is why I say I love the idea of eggnog.

I found a way to have my eggnog and eat healthy too. On a day when I wanted something different for breakfast, I mixed it into my vanilla yogurt and OH MY GOODNESS!  

I like to add some granola and my husband bought me a new flavor he found: Salted Chocolate Granola! WHAT? REALLY?! Oh yum. When I first made this concoction, I used a cranberry nut granola and it was good, but the Salted Chocolate? HOLY COW! 

So here is what you will need: 

• 3/4 to 1 Cup of a good organic vanilla yogurt. I usually have coconut yogurt but they were out so I got a cows' milk yogurt. 
• 1/4 Cup of a really good eggnog. I prefer Straus Family Creamery but if you have a local creamery, try them! 
• 1/8 - 1/4 Cup granola. Homemade is best but I don't always have time and I love Cocomo Joes. And the Salty Chocolate flavor can't be beat. 
• Cinnamon to taste.
• Nutmeg to taste.

Put all ingredients into a nice bowl and stir. I like to let mine sit for about 5 minutes so the granola softens a little but if you like yours really crunchy, enjoy immediately. 

Deck those halls!

Today only: Special discount code for One Kings Lane. 

Offer: 20% Off at One Kings Lane

Sometimes things like this come around so rarely that when they do, you have to share.