What started as a simple conviction several years ago has slowly grown over time. Now, however, I have to laugh as it seem we are entering a new phase altogether: Hippie-ville! With only one child at home during the school days and feeling the healthiest and most energetic I have felt in years, I have been able to pursue this conviction a bit further… and it has taken some interesting roads so far!
This week’s ventures: Chap stick and energy bars.
Energy Bars: This was a super quick (total time involved, including a few interruptions, 15 min) and easy recipe. It calls for uncooked old fashioned oats, which I don’t have. I used cooked steal cut oats and uncooked 7 grain cereal (the kind that needs cooking) in it’s place. The kids are raving about them. Personally, though, I still feel like they need some tweaking. However, the “no bake” method won me over!!
Chap Stick: This is truly amazing!! So easy to make, and somewhat simplistic to attain ingredients for. The things I didn’t have laying around my house were Beeswax, cocoa butter and essential oils. The things I do have readily on hand were olive and coconut oils, vitamine E and mason jars. (This recipe will make 7 tubes – the kind you can buy in the store, but I don’t happen to have empty tube laying around either…)
Everything went into my 1 cup pirex measuring up, into the microwave for 30, 20, and 10 second intervals as the beeswax was melting. I added vitamine E & essental oils after the wax was melted with the olive and coconut oils. Poured it into this jar and was able to use it almost immediately. And again, my kids LOVE it. Primarily my son who has trouble with dry, chapped skin especially around his mouth. (I used tea-tree essential oil for my son’s issues with his lips, and peppermint essential oil.) It really does have the same texture and consistency as the chap stick you’d buy at the store. And, when my empty tubes arrive in the mail, I will be able to make 7 tubes of chap stick for less than $3.50, instead of buying an 8-pack in the store for $12.
Links you may enjoy :
Where I find my odd ingredients
proverbs3512 