Our journey to better health and better stewardship began with cloth diapers and baby food somewhere around three years ago, and has snowballed since then to include many different aspects of our lives. Along the way I have learned much about the excessive amounts of chemicals in everything from food to cleaning products and have been on a quest to eliminate as many of them as is possible and affordable. Today I thought I would share a couple of recipes that I thought might be useful to other people whether you are on the same journey or not.
When I started revamping how I clean and trying to make everything family (and therefore environmentally) friendly I made it my goal to use things that would be safe to have around the house for little ones and big ones alike. Many chemicals which might seem safe have hormone altering effects which may have been damaging to my thyroid and would certainly be unhealthy for growing children.
In this quest I have tried in vain to make my own dish washing detergent for a while now. I usually just end up going back to purchasing something that just gets the job done. Unfortunately a lot of the environmentally friendly versions don't really get the job done, but the other ones let off toxic fumes into our house.
Therefore, I was very excited when last month I discovered the recipe for dish washing detergent that works for me! It is non-toxic and inexpensive--all the better--so I thought I would share just in case someone else is interested in either of those two things!
Dishwasher Detergent
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda (While these are both natural and non-toxic to the earth, they still should be treated with care and not ingested)
1 Tablespoon Citric Acid (I just used a packet of unsweetened lemonade until I found the citric acid by itself)
5-10 drops of essential oil (optional--I like orange or peppermint)
Put them altogether in a container and shake it up. Use about 1 Tablespoon per compartment in the dishwasher and adjust as you see fit. I also use white vinegar in the rinse aid compartment which works great. I have found that if you use too much of the detergent mixture it makes the dishes cloudy. Also if you are wondering if this really works, you might want to know that we eat peanut butter pretty much daily and I almost never rinse my dishes before starting the dishwasher. I just scrape and load--saves water, time and energy.
The second (and third) recipe I wanted to share is for granola. I have been learning more and more about preparing our food in such a way as to get the most nutrients out of them--thus making them more healthy and more frugal! Store bought cereals are a far cry from nutritious under most circumstances (even the "healthy" ones). So I have been making my own.
However, my first motivation for doing this was so we would have something nutritious to carry in the car. At Christmas time we saw a sign that gave a suggestion for things to carry in your car to share with homeless people. Zak had found a great deal on blankets around that time so we bought about 10 of them and have been handing them out when we meet someone who needs it. We have found that sometimes people have an adequate supply of warm items but still need daily necessities like food. Granola is a perfect thing to pack a lot of nutrition in a small space and still be able to carry it for a long period of time (without needing a can opener!)
My two favorite recipes for granola can be found here and here. It takes a little while to make (especially if you do the first one which is soaked) but it's worth it and you can really be creative with the ingredients. I consider these recipes as more of a "guideline" and I use whatever I have on hand. In most instances that turns out to be a good thing...:)
Don't worry, this was just a slight diversion from the usual. I will be back to posting about much less practical things before you know it!
