Brendita's Blog

Whenever there’s time, I really enjoy a good soak in the tub, but my schedule is pretty tight, so I have to plan ahead. When I do find the time for a full-on spa day, including a luxurious hour in the tub, I like to add some of my Bath Time Dead Sea Salts or Cleopatra’s Bath Water.

I’m planning for a good old fashioned spa day this upcoming weekend, so I decided to make some lime scented bath bombs for the much anticipated occasion. They add a wonderful scent to your bath water and they’re fun to watch! When you drop one into your bath tub, the water bubbles and fizzes like a giant glass of champagne! The essential oil will make the entire bathroom and your skin smell wonderful.

The fizzing occurs because of the carbon dioxide gas that is released when the combination of citric acid and baking soda come in contact with water. The recipe I use has just three basic ingredients: Baking soda, citric acid and water. You can add any essential oil you’d like and even some food dye to make them extra cute. They’re really easy to make! Here’s the recipe:

Brendita’s E-Z Bath Bombs

Hardware:
Medium to large aluminum/glass bowl (clean and sterilized with alcohol)
Medium aluminum/glass bowl (clean and sterilized with alcohol)
Large strainer (clean and sterilized with alcohol)
Spatula or large spoon (clean and sterilized with alcohol)
Bomb Mold of choice
Dust mask
Latex gloves
Baking sheet covered with waxed paper.

Ingredients
2 Parts Baking Soda
1 Part Citric Acid
Very small amount of distilled water (easier if you put it in a spray bottle)
Essential oil of your choice

Measure out all of your ingredients before you begin. Put on your dust mask, place strainer over bowl and sift citric acid and baking soda together using your spatula or spoon to break up any lumps. Spoon out about 15% of this mixture into your smaller bowl. This is your "reserve" mix, in case you add too much water and need to dry your mixture out.

Put on your latex gloves and then sprinkle in the essential oil of your choice at a rate of about 5 drops per cup of mixture*. Mix well with your hands, rubbing the mixture together to break up any clumps. Slowly add your water and mix well until it holds together when squeezed in your hand. If the mixture is too wet, add some of your reserved soda/acid.

Press the mixture into the mold of your choice. Pack it as firmly as you can and then immediately unmold it. It should hold together on its own. If not, repack and try again.

Place your finished bath bombs on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper and allow them to air dry completely (about 3 days) before storing them in an air tight container.

If you didn’t use your reserve mix, save it in a glass, air tight jar, clearly marked as “Bath Bomb Mixture” and keep it with your bath bomb making equipment.

*Different essential oils have different potencies, so start with less and add more, if needed. If you’re using 2 cups of baking soda and 1 cup of citric acid, you’ll have 3 cups of mix, so you’ll be adding about 15 drops of essential oil (5 drops x 3 cups)





If you’ll be making bath bombs on a regular or semi regular basis, you should have equipment (bowls, spatulas, spoons, etc) that are used exclusively for bath bomb making. If you just want to try it one time, sterilize your bowl, spatula and baking pan in the dishwasher and wipe it down with alcohol before you begin.

When you’re making your bath bombs, be sure NOT to use too much water. In the video, I added the water from a small bowl. You can do this, too, but you can also try misting the mixture with water from a spray bottle. That will almost guarantee that you won’t overly wet your bath bomb mixture.

If you’re using food dye to add a little pop of color, you most likely won’t need any additional water. Add it slowly and mix it well. Don't add too much dye, because it will discolor your bath tub and might even stain your skin.

You must let the bombs dry out completely before you store them. To be on the safe side, allow them to air dry for at least three days. After that, you can put them in any air tight container to preserve their fragrance and color.

I like round bath bombs, but you can make them into any shape you’d like. You may want to try using cookie cutters, ice cube trays or muffin tins as molds. The possibilities are endless!

Once you get the hang of making basic bath bombs, you can begin to experiment with other skin soothing ingredients. Be sure to note the amount(s) you use, so that when you get it right, you’ll be able to recreate your recipe!

• Epsom salts: to soothe sore and tired muscles
  
• Clay: to help treat body acne or oily skin
  
• Powdered Milk/Aloe Vera: to soothe and relieve dry skin
  
• Powdered Oats (Oat Flour): to relieve the symptoms of eczema or chicken pox
  
• Vegetable Oils (olive, grape seed, jojoba) and/or Nut Butters (shea, cocoa)

Happy Bath Time and, please share your bath bomb recipes with me!

I’ve heard a lot about no-carb and low carb diets, but I never thought a lot about it because I’ve never really had to lose weight. Up until about a year and a half ago, my weight stayed pretty much the same. As I wrote of previously, medication and my slacking off on aerobic exercise has left me with quite a few extra pounds, so I have put myself “on a diet”.

I have pretty good eating habits, so I’m not worried about regaining weight once I’ve lost it, but I would like to change a few habits to ensure a healthy future for me and my family. This is why I’ve been researching low carb lifestyles.

Carbohydrates, once digested, form glucose, which the bloodstream transports throughout the body. This glucose is then burned and used for energy. Of course, any glucose that is not used for energy will be stored in the body as fat.

The most noticeable benefit of a low carb diet is weight loss because in the absence of this glucose from carbohydrates, your body begins to burn its excess fat stores. This is great, in theory, but a diet that is too low in carbohydrates and too high in protein can cause kidney problems, so you must take care not to reduce your carbohydrate intake too drastically.

Part of my low carb approach to cooking and eating includes the use of shirataki noodles. I really recommend them to anyone who is looking for a low carb alternative to pasta. They have absolutely no flavor but they absorb the flavor of whatever you add them to.

I’ve read that they’re available in dried form, but I haven’t been able to find any. The kind that I buy is packed in liquid and must be refrigerated. I bought my first few bags at the local health food store. I’ve also seen them for a great price on Amazon.com. I haven’t yet checked my local supermarket, but if they don’t carry them there, I’ll definitely be getting them from Amazon.

To use them, I put them in a strainer and rinse them really well, for about 2 minutes and then allow them to drain completely. They’re really easy to cook with if you’re adding them to a sauce. All you have to do is add them to the sauce when it’s done and allow them to heat up (about 3 or 4 minutes).

You can also serve them with sautéed or grilled vegetables, chicken or fish, just add them to pan after you’ve removed what ever you’ve cooked and “swoosh” them around and they'll absorb the flavors of whatever is left over in the pan. If there’s not enough left in the pan to swoosh, I add a little bit of port wine mixed with coffee to de-glaze the pan and make a small amount of sauce. I know the wine/coffee thing sounds weird, but it really intensifies the flavor of whatever you’re cooking without altering it. In other words, you won’t taste wine or coffee.

When you’re cooking with shirataki noodles, be sure that you don’t overcook them or they’ll get really rubbery. I’d also advise that you prepare only what you’re going to eat at any one meal because, again, they can get very rubbery if they’re reheated for too long.

I’ll be sure to share some recipes as I learn them and I hope that you’ll do the same!

The stores and markets in our neighborhood hire people to give out (throw) plastic bags filled with fliers and "clippable" coupons. Ever since I decided to start clipping coupons a few weeks ago, I always find these bags on our stairs soaked with rain. It's a conspiracy against my attempts to save money.

I've been to our local supermarkets online store where they have a few coupons to choose from, but I believe that the coupons that come in the hardcopy fliers are more valuable. I tried to find a few online sites where I can get many different manufacturers coupons, but they all redirect you to different websites. For example, if I see a coupon for Rice Dream, I click on it and I'm redirected to the Rice Dream website, where I have to enter y email address. I have an email address that I use for potential SPAM sites, but, still, I don't want to have to enter multiple websites just to get coupons.

Does anyone know of a legitimate website where I can get major grocers/manufacturers coupons?

Chemical free house cleaning is as easy as 123!

Brendita's Scouring Powder

2 cups baking soda
1/4 cup of borax
15 drops of the essential oil of your choice*

Place a clean, dry strainer over a large stainless steel bowl. Sift all ingredients through the strainer using a clean, dry spoon. After everything has been sifted through the strainer, stir once more. Spoon your scouring pwder into a clean, dry bottle with a sifter top. Old spice jars work GREAT for this purpose. Be sure to label your scouring powder and keep out of reach of children.

HAPPY CLEANING!

* To give your scouring powder antibacterial power, use 10 drops of tea tree oil and 5 drops of peppermint oil. Orange, lemon, lime and grapefruit essential oils also have antibacterial properties.

Cranberry Orange Scones
3 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp grated orange peel
3/4 cup chilled unsalted butter
1 cup dried orange-flavored cranberries + 1 tbsp dried orange peel
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup orange juice - high pulp
3 tsp orange cream yogurt

Heat the oven to 400°. Cut the butter into cubes, place cubes on plate, cover with plastic warp and place in freezer. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Mix in orange peel.


Cut the butter into 1/2 inch pieces, and mix into the flour using your fingers. Rub and mix and mash with your fingertips or use a pastry blender until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Add the dried cranberries and orange peel.

Combine the wet ingredients in a small bowl - orange juice, buttermilk, and yogurt. (Note: the orange cream yogurt was a new item at my grocery store. If you can't find something like it, mix a few drops orange extract into plain yogurt.) Slowly add the liquid to the flour/butter, mixing with a fork until you get moist clumpy dough.


Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Knead about 4-6 times, just enough to bind the dough together, then roll/shape it for cutting.

Lay the cut scones, about 2 inches apart, on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. OPTIONAL: Brush the tops of each scone with buttermilk or a beaten egg and then sprinkle each with granulated sugar. Place the baking sheet with scones in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes and bake for 15-20 minutes at 400°.

The scones are ready when the tops are golden brown, and an inserted toothpick comes out dry.

ENJOY!!!!!

Cranberry and Orange Scones



I purchased my dried orange peels from Mountain Rose Herbs

This recipe was adopted from a site called Morning Coffee

UPDATE!!!! I made another batch the next day (the first batch disappeared rather quickly). I LOVED the second batch!!! I made them thicker (1 and 1/2 inches). They ROCKED! If you like a fluffy, "cakey" scone, roll them out thicker. I also mixed all the dry ingredients in my food processor for about 2 minutes. I added the butter and pulsed it on high speed, off and on for about 2 minutes.

My hairdresser’s mother gave me my first taste of avena caliente (hot oatmeal), when I had an early morning appointment for a hair cut. It tastes SO GOOD! I always love to see my hair dresser, but now I REALLY look forward to my early morning hair appointments because her mom always serves me this delicious beverage.I found a recipe for it and made a few changes, as we (my family and I) don’t drink cow’s milk.Avena Caliente (Hot Oatmeal Beverage)

• 3 level tablespoons sugar (1/4 cup in original recipe)
  
• 1 cup water
  
• 1/2 cup old fashioned style oatmeal
  
• 2 cups of soy milk (2 cups evaporated milk in original recipe)
  
• 1 whole cinnamon stick
  
• 1/4 teaspoon of powdered cloves
  

Preparation:

• Soak the oatmeal in the water for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
  
• Put the soaked oatmeal and water in a blender and blend for about 1 full minute, on high.
  
• The original recipe instructs to strain the oatmeal/water and discard the solids. I prefer it a little thicker, so I skip that step.
  
• Bring everything (oatmeal, milk, cinnamon stick, powdered cloves, sugar) to a boil over medium heat. Stir well and then lower the flame until the oatmeal is just bubbling. Keep it at this low boil for 3 minutes. Pour into coffee mugs and enjoy. This makes two pretty hefty servings.