Whipped Coconut oil

Here is a great link to a recipe for whipped coconut oil.

Homemade Whipped Coconut Oil Body Butter Recipe

(thanks to livingthenourishedlife.com for their post about this. This one is all over pinterest, if you are ever on there.)

photo from livingthenourishedlife.com

Doing it yourself is so much more cost effective and you maintain the integrity of the Coconut oil’s nourishing properties. You could do the same with Shea butter (which may be a bit harder to find unless you go to somewhere like brambleberry.com or thesage.com or snowdriftfarm.com – I am not a paid sponsor I just have used these site a lot and have done price comparison with them).

Here is one that combines both shea butter and coconut oil.

I plan on making some this weekend. Fill up some down time.

Cocos nucifera… Have you heard… the latest CRAZE!

Cocos nucifera —- What?! Oh, COCONUT OIL…..

I got another, yes another, email update from one of my other favorite blogs, How Does She, regarding coconut oil.

I know only a little bit about it because I use it often in my soap recipes.

photo from silvieandmaryl.comOnce I began to look around the internet I saw all the praise given to this special little "monkey-faced, hairy, nut-bearing" nut.This is a superfood. Good fats. Good Water inside. Tasty "meat". I do love coconut, not too many people I know do. (Do you think it is still healthy in the form of icing for German chocolate cake with pecans? I didn't think so either, shoot!)The benefits list of this little super nut is pretty long. Anyone can research it and make their own informed decision.I read an article by Joseph Mercola in which he wrote (read the article here):"Coconut oil has actually been shown to help optimize body weight, which can dramatically reduce your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes (8). Besides weight loss, boosting your metabolic rate will improve your energy, accelerate healing and improve your overall immune function." he also wrote:"The first, extra-virgin olive oil is the best monounsaturated fat and works great as a salad dressing. However, olive oil should not be used for cooking. Due to its chemical structure, heat makes olive oil susceptible to oxidative damage. So for cooking, I use coconut oil exclusively.And polyunsaturated fats, which include common vegetable oils such as corn, soy, safflower, sunflower and canola, are absolutely the worst oils to cook with."photo from nutiva.com

I may have to explore this a little further and test it out by cooking with it more often. I have heard this brand is one of the better out there.

photo from livingthenourishedlife.com

I think I will keep a small plastic jar of it in my bathroom, possibly whip it first to make it more creamy and add some essential oil to it, to slather on myself after a shower. I hear it keeps wrinkles at bay! Oh yeah!!

 Does anyone out there use coconut oil regularly in their and does it alter the way the food tastes? Or do you use it as a part of your daily care regimen? (fess up guys 😉 )

Bombs Away……

I got my package from Brambleberry on Thursday. I was super excited! I was finally able to finish my sister-in-law’s gifts and make bath bombs.

Friday I got all the supplies I needed to make the bombs:

What you need:

1. Citric Acid – can be purchased online or at a local brewery/wine making supply store. At the stores it can cost $9.95+ for a pound. On Brambleberry.com I got 10# for $24.50.
2. Baking soda – 2# costs me $0.79 at my local King Soopers. Brand does not matter.
3. Witch Hazel – better than water when some moisture needs to be added to the dry mixture. It doesn’t activate it like water. This can be found in the medicinal aisles at the grocery store. It may cost around $3.50 for 16 oz, I cannot remember for sure. I got 10# (the large bottle) for $14 on Brambleberry.com
4.  A spray bottle for the witch hazel.
5. Coloring if you would like something other than white. I got LaBomb colors from Brambleberry. I believe they are not water based coloring, it is not on my mind what the base is right now. You only need a 4 drops for the recipe below. (You will see how “concentrated mine turned out per the request of my lil’ guy). Using too much will turn the water the same color as the bomb. I got 20 mL of Cornflower Blue and Irish Moss for $7.10 and $8.55, respectfully. Oh and don’t forget a dropper or pipettes to transfer colors and fragrances.
6. You will also need a mold of some kind. The one pictured we used to make one GIGANTIC bomb and then in subsequent photos we used small molds from Joann’s from Wilton – their bite size treat molds work really well and come in fun shapes depending on the season – or use a candy mold, whatever, get creative.
7. Lastly, you need a scent either a fragrance oil or essential oil. Adjust to your “scent sensititivty”. The recipe below calls for 18 mL or 6 pipettes.

Here we go:

The Basic Recipe: (if you want to make a larger or smaller recipe remember the 2 for 1 rule – 2 parts baking soda with 1 part citric acid)

• 2 cups of Baking Soda
• 1 cup of Citric Acid
• 18 mL of fragrance
• Witch Hazel – ready to go in a spray bottle. Use amounts depending on how humid it is in your area it needs to be a “dry” mix that will hold it’s shape if squished in your hand.
• Coloring – 4 drops

For my bombs I cut the recipe way down –

I used only 1/2 cup of citric acid I used 1 cup of baking soda.

Be sure to thoroughly mix your dry ingredients. Make sure there are no clumps.

Just to be sure you do not have clumps – use a sifter to really break up any chunks of baking soda or citric acid. If you do have clumps you will get “warts” on the bombs (you will see them in the giant bomb in a minute).

Next add your fragrance. We used Vanilla because my son does NOT like any other scents I have. This is from thesage.com. They have reasonable prices and a HUGE selection of fragrances.

The next step is to mix these ingredients really well so your fragrance is mixed in well. This amount of oil also helps with the binding of the dry ingredients.

Add your coloring. You will be mixing for AT LEAST five minutes to really incorporate and bring out the color.

This is about 1 minute of mixing. It has a bluish tint to it at this point.

This is after 3-4 minutes of mixing. It is definitely turning blue. Just wait until you see the finished product.

This slightly darker than above; however, my son wanted it really blue so I added two more drops of color.

Get your mold out and be sure it is clean and DRY before you begin to put the mixture in. Prior to putting the mixture in, grab a handful of it and squeeze it. If it holds its form then that is great. If it falls apart spritz with some witch hazel and squeeze again. Repeat as necessary to get a good hold. Remember the more liquid you add, the LONGER the drying time an the finish product will expand and distort as it dries (trust me I KNOW this!)

Be sure to pack the mix in well and up to the top of your molds. Let it sit for five minutes and then gently flip it over and tap lightly on your mold to pop out the bomb.

Once you have the bombs out set them aside to dry for at least 4-8 hours. They fizz up really well and have a great scent!

 For fun we made this big bomb (at least a 2.5 inch tall/wide cube), which began to take on a life/shape of its own. It is all in good fun and for practice. I have a second recipe I will post that I like much better than this one.

You can see “warts” on it. That means some of our materials began to clump in the process. I don’t mind it so much, it is going to be thrown in the water anyway, however, you may not so mix well and be sure you still have a fine power after adding the oils and witch hazel.

I don’t take baths and I use these in the shower. Place it on the tub floor and when water hits it, it will activate and you will get a lovely scent in the steam.

If you have a recipe that you use that you really like, feel free to share, otherwise use this one (as it is pretty universal) and let me know how it turns out. Kids love these. They add 3-5 minutes of good giggling/fun to bath time.

Enjoy!

Related articles

• 5 Easy Steps to a DIY Bath Bomb (self.com)