DIY Moisturizing Rose Body Cream

Photo and website here

I’m not into perfume, but I like the clean smell of botanicals in soap, lotions, and creams, therefore it’s what I buy. Sometimes it’s also fun to make your own. If we know how, unlike one trick ponies, we can buy, or make our own cream and lotions. As you likely already know the difference between cream and lotion is the water content. I leave mine as cream. Add a bit of water, a little at a time until you get a thinner consistency if you wish. I don’t add water since the DIY cream melts right into my skin.

Essential oils are beneficial to the skin but are too strong without mixing them with a carrier oil (like almond oil, coconut oil, grapeseed oil, jojoba oil, or rosehip oil among others). 

Here’s an easy homemade moisturizing lotion/cream to make. Right now I’m hooked on the smell of roses but your favorite essential oil (such as the ever popular lavender or jasmine or freesia) could be substituted:

DIY Rose Moisturizing Lotion/Cream🌹

Ingredients:

8 oz Shea Butter

4 oz Coconut Oil (I only buy the food grade one.)

2 oz Sweet Almond Oil

10 drops of Rose Essential Oil

1 teaspoon Vitamin E (It gives the cream a longer shelf life.)

Directions:

1) Melt the shea butter and coconut oil in a microwave slowly for 20 seconds at a time to liquify the solids. I bought a glass jar (the one on the left from Home Goods) to use in the microwave uncovered, but you can use any microwave safe container if you don’t have a suitable jar. You could also use a double boiler on a stovetop.

2) After the shea butter and coconut oil melts, remove and let it cool slightly.

3) Stir in the almond oil and rose (or your favorite) essential oil and the vitamin E.

4) My cream/lotion is already in its jar. If you use a separate container, pour the mixture into a sealable container and let the liquid solidify. Screw on the top to seal. Yes, you can put it in your refrigerator for 20 - 30 minutes to speed up the process, but set a timer so you don’t leave it in there.

I bought high quality essential oils from T.J. Maxx, and I bought rose, peppermint and tea tree essential oils from a brand that Amazon and Walmart sells called HIQILI that seems to be of good quality. HIQILI’s website is very transparent and lists from where its essential oils are sourced (The rose oil from Bulgaria, the peppermint oil from India and the tea tree oil from Australia). From time to time, T.J. Maxx also carries shea butter and carrier oils for less than elsewhere. If you’re willing to make the initial investment you can make a lot of rich moisturizing lotion or cream without much effort for the buck!🌹

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Joy Bauer's Healthy Brownies and Rice Crispy Treats

Joy Bauer is a nutritionist who formally worked with New York City Ballet dancers and then became a TV personality. Two of her many keeper recipes are lighter, healthy versions of Brownie Bits and Rice Crispy Treats. Normally I pass on both sweets since usually they are made with a ton of butter and sugar. But Joy replaces these high and empty calories with healthy ingredients. In her recipes, she substitutes ingredients to boost the amounts of protein, vitamins, or fiber. Here are 2 of her sweet treats:

Brownie Bits - Go here for the recipe on Joy's website.

Ingredients:

¾ cup whole wheat flour, or all-purpose
½ cup cocoa powder
½ teaspoon instant coffee powder, optional
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
¾ cup maple syrup
1 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Liberally mist your mini-muffin tin(s) with nonstick oil spray and set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, instant coffee, salt and baking powder, and whisk until well combined.

2) Add the eggs, maple syrup and applesauce to the dry ingredients. Stir to form a creamy batter, being thoughtful to not overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips.

3) Fill each muffin compartment with batter; you’ll have enough for approximately 35. Be sure to mix the batter as you go to distribute the chocolate chips—otherwise, the chips may settle at the bottom and the last bunch will have a ton.

4) Garnish with a sprinkling of preferred toppings; you can mix and match various combos such as strawberries and coconut, granola, and seeds.

5) Bake in the oven on the middle rack for about 14 minutes, until the tops are firmed

🍫🥜🍪🥚🍫🥜🍪🥚🍫🥜🍪🥚🍫🥜🍪🥚🍫🥜🍪🥚🍫🥜🍪🥚🍫🥜🍪🥚

Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats - Go here for the recipe on Joy's website.

Ingredients:

¾ cup peanut butter
 ⅓ cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ½ cups crispy rice cereal

Directions:

Line an 8 x 8-inch pan with parchment paper and set aside.

1) In a large microwave-safe mixing bowl, add the peanut butter. Microwave for about 50 seconds to soften it, making it easier to mix.

2) Add the honey and vanilla extract to the softened peanut butter, and mix until well blended. Add the crispy rice cereal to the bowl. Gently stir to combine, being careful not to crush the cereal.

3) Transfer the mixture into the parchment-lined pan. Use a spatula or your hands to flatten it out evenly among the bottom perimeter.

4) Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (or freeze) to firm up. Remove
from the fridge, slice into 16 pieces (4 rows across and 4 rows down), and enjoy!

I want to make it clear again that these are nutritionist Joy Bauer's recipes, not mine. I'm posting them here for our convenience, as well as, linking them to their original source. 

Joy seems like an amazing cook and baker. I wish I could be her taster-tester and next-door neighbor, so she'd invite me to her house for delicious and healthy eating!

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Lume or Native vs Homemade Body Deodorant

Recent advertisements selling all-over body deodorants have us convinced we all stink. It seems like the main reason to buy them is they work on areas outside of armpits that might be too sensitive for regular deodorant.

Sweating is the body's way of cooling itself therefore it's not good to completely disrupt this essential function. Unlike anti-perspirants which eliminate wetness by clogging sweat glands, deodorants stop odor (not perspirantion) with bacteria-fighting ingredients.

Bacteria naturally live on your skin. Antiperspirant-deodorant combinations can alter your body's ecosystem and actually make you sweat and stink more! The reason is traditional antiperspirant-deodorants also kill good bacteria (named Corynebacterium, Staphylococcus, Propionibacterium, and Micrococcus) leaving the way for bad bacteria to grow and cause stronger odors, not to mention disrupting your immune system leaving the door open for infections.

Switching from a traditional antiperspirant to a natural deodorant requires a transitional period of 1 to 4 weeks when you may sweat more while your body rebalances itself. Stick it out and you'll sweat less soon enough.

The new body deodorants on the market are much more expensive than most armpit deodorants (including organic varieties), ranging from about $12 - $22. 

I bought Lume deodorant in Lavender Sage to pamper my senior mother. Frankly, I see no difference in its effectiveness compared to what I use daily, Crystal™ Mineral Body Deodorant Stick, which is cheaper and lasts and lasts forever! The Crystal™ stick sometimes lands in the beauty aisles of T.J. Maxx for even less.

You may wonder what makes a deodorant natural? According to Healthline, "3 ingredients are common:

• ingredients with disinfectant or antibacterial properties, such as coconut oil and tea tree oil
• essential oils like lavender, sandalwood, or bergamot to provide a pleasant scent
• naturally, absorbent ingredients like baking soda, arrowroot, or cornstarch to combat moisture"

There are several homemade deodorant recipes on the web. An easy one is:

Photo: Treehugger

Ingredients:

1/3 cup coconut oil (Shea butter can be substituted)

1/4 cup baking soda

1/4 cup arrowroot starch

10 drops of eucalyptus; lavender; or your favorite scented essential oils

Directions:

1) Spoon the coconut oil (or shea butter) in a cup to melt in a microwave or submerged in hot water.

2) Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until smooth and incorporated.

3) Pour into a cleaned recycled deodorant container or a recycled makeup pot container with a lid. Leave the lid off until the mixture solidifies. 

Although this alternative recipe is superb, I never buy beeswax, sunflower oil, or zinc oxide powder. I prefer simple!

Homemade natural deodorant, suitable for armpits and body is many times cheaper than 3 oz of Lume, Native, or their retail competitors. If you make your own deodorant (or buy, my brand, Crystal™, you can sit back and wait for Walmart, Target, or drugstore knockoffs to enter the market at lower prices. $12+ really adds up over time! BTW: My senior mom and I just treat our armpits. We don't need 72-hour entire body protection as we rely on bathing and after-shower baby powder with cornstarch to stay fresh. I suppose it exists if we ever were to need it.

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Surprisingly Effective Hair Tamers

I'm wearing my hair longer than usual. Penny, my longtime hairstylist retired, and I've been slow in finding a new hairstylist. Luckily the Rapunzel hair trend is on! You don't get the bounciness of should-length hair, yet longer hair is easy to care for requiring just a tad of extra conditioning to maintain its health. 

Years ago I stopped buying special hair smoothers to tame my hair. Often the additional products left an undesirable stickiness, stiffness, or residue without really improving my hair. You do need a good hair conditioner after shampooing ... and on days I style my hair with the hot air of a blow dryer, I also spray on Tresemme Thermal Heat Protectant which leaves strains clean.

So what do you use to slick down those flyaways?

Two surprisingly effective hair tamers are, in fact, skin moisturizers that are not marketed as hair treatments. But when used in moderation they do an excellent job of calming frizzies while leaving your locks of hair clean. I use them every morning after showering.

1) CeraVe Moisturizing Cream (with hyaluronic acid and ceramides). Why it works on hair: It's light, oil-free, and fragrance-free. By dabbing a dime-sized amount on the ends of my hair, the cream combats dryness. It also reverses the negative charge in your hair that causes flyaways and frizzies.

2) Body Oil - Try coconut oil, baby oil, or any light oil you use to lock moisture into your skin after showering. Why it works on hair: It's heavier than a strain of hair. I use just the residue left on my hands after putting it on my skin. A little goes a long way. Avoid your scalp and focus on the middle and ends of your hair. Don't use more than a tiny amount ... or you'll weigh down your hair for a greasy unwashed look.

If you think about it, the ingredients that go into moisturizing your skin are many of the same ingredients that go into products that tame your hair, namely water and conditioners. You can simplify your life by finding effective personal care products that multi-task for your skin, hair, and nails! Skin moisturizers are cheaper than hair moisturizers and come in larger sizes also.

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8 Skincare Products I Use Daily And Highly Recommend

Photo: Adobe

Through experience, you inevitably learn about skin care products like which ingredients really work, and which knockoffs, identical to their more costly name-brand counterparts, to buy.

Here's what I now use every day in my skincare routine, as well as, for my senior mother whose skin still feels baby soft. I like to pamper her with mild, good clean ingredients to keep her skin healthy and moisturized. I've reviewed the following beauty items in prior blogs, so if you wish to know why they're good for your skin click on their links for a description and list of ingredients. Today's blog will try to save you a few bucks when purchasing them:

8 Skincare Products I Use Daily And Highly Recommend:

 

1) SheaMoisture Soap(s) - to wash with during a shower. T.J. Maxx often carries the bars at $3.99/bar.

2) Noxema Cleansing Cream - to wash my face before bed. I also use it to soothe my mom's dry skin where she needs it, such as her arms. Alternatively, I love the face washes from CeraVe and Cetaphil, as well as, their Walmart Equate knockoffs. Walmart also has a Noxema dupe only for in-store pickup. However, Noxema, the name brand, usually selling at under $5, is cheap enough.

3) Coconut Oil - I buy food-grade coconut oil often from Puritan's Pride, to use as after-bath oil to lock in moisture. The reason for the food-grade coconut oil is to simplify my life and not have to buy 2 different coconut oils. {The same applies to white vinegar for cleaning my home. I buy food-grade, not cleaning-grade white vinegar which lies in the cleaning products aisle of supermarkets. When cheap enough, reduce to one multi-tasking product you have to stock. Saves time! Looks like Puritan's Pride no longer sells what I use, so here's another good online retailer. Costs: $6 - $10 for 16 oz.

If I need extra moisturizers in the fall and winter to slatter on dry skin, I add the following to my skincare routine --

4) Equate Moisturizing Cream (a dupe for CeraVe) - Cost: $10

5) Equate Beauty Gentle Skin Cream with Long-Lasting Moisture (the dupe for Cetaphil). - Cost: $6.40. Cetaphil is a tad thicker than CeraVe. Both knockoffs are excellent, plus they work wonders in moisturizing your face, so mild, light, and absorbent that you can skip buying a separate face moisturizer.

6) Target's Up and Up or Walmart's Equate Baby Powder - We use it after bathing and I often apply a sprinkle with a makeup brush to my face to prevent a shiny complexion. Real face powder has a finer texture, than the cornstarch ingredient in baby powder, but baby powder with cornstarch is still a super substitute. Talic (a finer grain) in body power has been removed in the USA. Price: $2.99 for 22 ounces.

7) Daytime: I use Equate Beauty All Day Moisturizing Sunscreen Lotion for Skin, Broad Spectrum SPF 15. (the dupe for Olay Complete Daily Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin, SPF 15). I'll use whatever I can get, for normal or sensitive skin. You'll pay about $4

8) Nighttime: I apply Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair - I use the cream formula but have also tried the serum. If only buying one of these, get the cream. Cost: $16 at T.J. Maxx or $13 - $16 on eBay. $25 regular retail price.

By learning what's in skincare products, and focusing on key effective ingredients supported by science, you can find knockoffs for less. Look in health food stores, small batch-start-up companies, and drugstores that offer both name brands that go on sale, as well as, drugstore dupes to lower the costs of your everyday skincare. Toss in Equate (from Walmart) and Up and Up (Target's store brand).

We're talking about effective, clean, high-caliber skincare for less. Skincare without compromise you can afford to use 365 days of the year without going broke! You are welcome.

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Crystelle Pereira's Pickle Chicken Curry

I love Indian food, the curry, the spice, but don't make it at home. That's about to change with an easy recipe Crystelle Pereira, the winner of the Great British Bake Off, brought to the Today Show recently. She said it was her grandmother's recipe, so I'll link you to the video here of her making the curry, as well as, post her ingredients and directions so that you and I have a written recipe to follow that won't disappear from the internet as time passes:

Crystelle Pereira's Pickle Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin coconut oil, for fry 
2 medium brown onions, finely sliced
1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander powder
5 teaspoons Kashmiri chili powder
4 cloves garlic, grated or minced
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1¼ pounds), diced 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
5 tablespoons ketchup
6 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into small cubes
white rice, to serve

 Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat and fry the
onions with a pinch of salt until browned. This can take 30 to 45 minutes, but patience is a virtue here.

2. Add the ground coriander, chili and garlic, and fry until fragrant, for about 2 minutes. Add the chicken, season with salt and pepper, and fry for about 5 minutes, until the chicken has browned.

3. Add the ketchup and apple cider vinegar and stir to ensure everything is well combined. Add the sweet potato and stir again. Cover with a lid and cook over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring now and again.

4. Remove the lid and cook down for another 5 to 10 minutes,
until the curry has thickened, the chicken has cooked through, and the potatoes are fully cooked and can be speared with a fork. Taste the curry and season to taste, if needed. Serve with white rice.

I hear many chefs say chicken tights are the most flavorful part of a chicken, but our family prefers breast meat, so I'll likely buy breasts for $1.99/pound, cut them into cubes (with my trusty meat sears), and roll the cubes into whole wheat flour for this recipe. Plus I'll make a side of broccoli or green beans and a salad and serve it with brown (not white) rice. For ambitious cooks, here's a recipe for Naan to complete your dinner. As a lazy cook, I'll simply warm mini flour tortillas (4" size) in the microwave although you could also grill tortillas in a cast iron skillet with a brush of oil and then heated to get them closer to Naan. Soft and warm from 30 seconds in a microwave is also fit to go down the pie hole!

Congratulations, Crystelle Periera, on winning a national cooking competition and publishing a cookbook! I hope some of my readers buy a copy of Flavor Kitchen, and I can't wait to make your spicy dish!!🎉🥳 

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Raspberry Cake With A Raspberry Filling

Photo: Bon Appetit 

Although inspired by a delicate raspberry chiffon cake from Bon Appetit, my recipe is tweaked into a different Raspberry Cake. Here's why: First of all, I never buy cake flour (I'm not against it, but I already buy all-purpose, whole wheat, and sometimes bread flour -- enough already😁); 2nd, I think the small amount of flour in the original recipe will produce a puny 2-layer cake; 3rd, whipped cream is delicious, but what a hassle to chill the ingredients twice as you make it. Plus, I've reduced the sugar and salt in the original recipe, and I bet you won't miss them! Enter raspberry oil and/or freeze-dried raspberries (that you grind into a powder). Either enhances the flavor of the cake, and a squeeze of lemon in the batter and frosting balances the sweetness. What I love about European pastries are their nuanced flavors in lieu of ultra-sweetness. Here's my recipe:

Raspberry Cake With a Raspberry Filling

Batter Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 eggs, room temperature, and separated

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar (to keep the egg whites stiff and foamy)

1 cup buttermilk (+ a little more if needed)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon raspberry oil (or 3/4 cup freeze-dried raspberries, ground)

a squeeze of lemon

Batter Directions:

1) In a mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ground freeze-dried raspberries if using, and salt.

2) In a 2nd bowl, use a mixer to beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff.

3) Next pour the wet ingredients into the dry and beat with the mixer: vegetable oil, egg yolks, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and raspberry oil if using.

4) Fold in the egg whites -- don't overbeat them. Fold them in.

5) Pour even portions of the batter into 2 - 9 inch buttered and floured baking pans.

6) Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree F oven for 30 minutes or until done in the center. After 5 -10 minutes of cooling, remove the cakes from the pans and let cool completely.

Filling Ingredients:

3 oz cream cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 oz seedless raspberry jam or preserves

6 oz fresh raspberries, smashed

Directions for the Filling:

6) Mix the ingredients together and spread in the middle between the 2 - 9 inch cakes. You could carefully slice each 9-inch cake in half to get not one center, but 3 cake centers - spreading the raspberry filling on each center layer. It takes a daring and talented baker to not let the cakes break up into a crumbly mess! A single center layer works fine too and is safer.

Ingredients for the Frosting

5 ounces of cream cheese (+ condensed milk if needed, a little at a time for the right not too thick or thin consistency)

3/4 cup freeze-dried raspberries, ground, (or 1 teaspoon of raspberry oil)

A squeeze of fresh lemon juice

2 cups of confectionary sugar (Add more if needed.)

Save a few whole raspberries for garnish.

Directions for the Frosting

7) Using a mixer incorporate all the ingredients, adding in order.

8) Frost the top and sides of the 2-layer cake.

I like the idea in the original recipe of crushing some of the freeze-dried raspberries to garnish the top of the cake. Also, toss a few fresh raspberries on top. It's pretty!🎂

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Noxema + Extra Virgin Olive Oil Moisturizer

Let me start by saying I'm sharing my personal experience, but I'm not a dermatologist. Recently away from home and in a pinch, I went against a 2012 study claiming olive oil is not a good moisturizer. The study focused on treating eczema, (which I don't have) and explored using plant oils as emollients to improve the skin barrier and thus, soften and improve the skin. 

The study noted that olive oil has low linoleic acid and high oleic acid ratios and concluded: oils with high linoleic acid and low oleic acid ratios moisturize and protect the skin. 

The research also said, olive oil has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits, plus promotes wound healing, but it could also "cause a reduction in the integrity of the outer layer of the skin, called the stratum corneum." For sure a vague part 2 of its findings! What I, a non-dermatologist, think it boils down to is ... olive oil lacks enough ceramides (a family of waxy lipids. Ceramide 1 contains linoleic acid) to sink into the outer layer of the skin -- which isn't a problem if your skin is already damp from a shower plus you add a thin cream like Noxema. (Noxema has linoleic acid.) Certainly, as a sealing layer, olive oil seems to work well by locking in moisture to keep the skin from drying.

To be clear: I find that after stepping out of the shower, slattering on Noxema skin cream (another making due concession) followed by one tablespoon of olive oil keeps my arms and legs conditioned. After removing my leggings at night the skin is like summer legs! No flaking!!

In fact (for me), extra virgin olive oil paired with Noxema is working much better to stop dry skin than the plant oils recommended by the study (that I normally use at home) including jojoba oil, coconut oil, almond oil, argan oil, and rosehip oil.

Olive oil is often an ingredient in moisturizers. Both olive oil and Noxema are cheap!

Scientifically I don't know why olive oil is working better, but one reason could be because it is slightly thicker (i.e., richer) than the other pricier cited plant oils. Now I'd love for scientists to find out why by researching the use of olive oil as an after-bath oil. As a consumer, I desire the most cost-effective after-bath oil that works when used properly, perhaps always pairing it with a lotion containing a high linoleic acid ratio we already stock. One-stop shopping is ideal! Is there any reason to buy more expensive plant oils? How about taking this up, Doctorly on YouTube?

Do you, lovely readers, have a go-to-after-bath oil to fight dry winter skin?

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