Make Your Own Body Wash Using 2 Ingredients

This 2 ingredient body wash is easy to make, for yourself or give as a gift. While many body washes can be expensive, this do it yourself body wash can be considerably quite cost effective. Choose your favorite full bar of soap, grate and dissolve in 2 cups of boiling water. When finished, place liquid body wash in a decorative container and you have yourself a body wash made by your own two hands.

Supplies needed for this project:

• Full bar of soap of your choice (I used Goat Milk Soap in Tea Tree Oil)
• A course grater
• 2 cups of water
• A container (use a decorative container to give as a gift or upcycle one of your own)

Instructions:

Choose your bar of soap

Use a grater and grate your bar into a container. I grated half of the bar of soap and saved the rest for later. 

Bring 2 cups of water to a rolling boil.

Add in your grated soap.

Stir until the grated soap has dissolved. 

Allow body wash to cool. If the water has boiled away more water than necessary, add more water and heat through. I did need to add more water. Approximately, 1 cup.  I reheated the liquid body wash and added the 1 cup of water.

When the body wash has cooled, use a funnel and place your diy body wash in the container of your choice.

"If you want a thing done well, do it yourself."  Napoleon

You can add essential oils to your own body wash if you so desire. Add in your favorite essential oil scent. Or add a teaspoon of coconut oil to add moisturizer to your body wash.


Now you tell me-

What would you add to make this body wash your own?

6 Benefits Of Walnuts Added To Your Diet

Recently, I shared my Gluten Free Puppy Chow,in which, I added walnuts to the recipe. While everyone boasts the power of almonds, I want to share with you the 6 benefits of walnuts.

Why are walnuts considered a super food?

Perhaps the most effective super foods, walnuts, can play a remarkable role in improving one's health.

Walnuts are rich in Omega 3 fatty acid and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Omega 3 are considered absolutely essential, and can only be only be obtained by consumption of certain kinds of foods.

Walnuts are a good source of protein and dietary fiber.

Walnuts are loaded with folate, vitamin B6, vitamin E, and thiamine.

6 reasons why walnuts are beneficial

Helps you sleep

Walnuts contain the hormone melatonin. Melatonin helps induce and regulate sleep. This makes for a great evening snack.

Beneficial for pregnancy

Mothers-to-be who eat a diet rich in fatty aids, such as those found in walnuts, can reduce the baby's chances of developing food allergies, researchers claim. The research found that if a mother's diet contains a certain group of polyunsaturated fatty acids, the baby's gut develops differently. The polyunsaturated fatty acids are thought to improve how the gut immune cells respond to bacteria and foreign substances, making the baby less likely to suffer from allergies.

Great for your hair

These nuts are a great "good hair" food. This is because walnuts contain biotin (vitaminB7) which helps to strengthen hair, reduce hair fall out, and improve hair growth.

Helps with weight control

Adding healthful amounts of walnuts to your diet can help you to maintain your ideal weight over time. Those whose diets included extra nuts, lost about 1.4 extra pounds and half an inch from their waists. Eating walnuts is also associated with increased satiety after just three days.

Good for your heart health

Walnuts contain the amino acid I-arginine, which offers multiple vascular benefits to people with heart disease, or those who have increased risk for heart disease due to multiple cardiac risk factors.
Omega-3 fatty acids, help in combating bad cholesterol and encourages the production of good cholesterol making it a good snack to keep your heart in good health.

Makes your skin glow

Walnuts are rich in B-vitamins and anti-oxidants which prevents your skin from free radicals and prevents wrinkles and the signs of ageing.

Recipes that include walnuts

• Honey Walnut Shrimp
• Walnut Brownies
• Walnut Pie Crust
• Banana Walnut Bread
• Basil-Walnut Pesto

In conclusion

Walnuts are a rich source of energy and contain health benefiting nutrients, minerals, anti-oxidants and vitamins that are essential for optimum health.

Please leave us with some of your healthy walnut recipes in the comments below. 

One Pan Mexican Rice Cheese Casserole Recipe

A quick, throw ingredients in one pan, casserole. Chop a few ingredients, mix together in one pan, and cook. Easy for a busy night. 

Ingredients used for this dish:

• 1 Tbls olive oil
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 diced onion
• 1 diced red bell pepper
• 1 diced zucchini
• 1 cup corn kernels, frozen canned or roasted
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup white or brown rice
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 green onions added for garnish (optional)

Instructions:

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add garlic, onion, red bell pepper, and cook, stirring frequently.  

Stir in zucchini and corn until tender and heated through. Approximately 2 minutes.

Stir in diced tomatoes, rice, chili powder, cumin, 1 cup of water.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Bring to a boil; cover. Reduce heat and simmer until rice is cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir in cheese until melted through.

Garnish with green onions and serve immediately.

"I don't like food that is too carefully arranged; it makes me think that the chef is spending too much time arranging and not enough time cooking. If I wanted a picture I'd buy a painting." Andy Rooney

This recipe can be easily adjusted to meet your families needs. Swap out vegetables for your favorite vegetables. Add more vegetables or substitute in season vegetables. The ideas for this recipe is endless.

Smile for no reason: One Pan Mexican Rice Cheese Casserole Recipe http://t.co/zkMOrJz5If
— Kathy (@Smile4N0Reason) September 19, 2014

Serve immediately straight from the pan or use as a dip with tortilla chips. Place ingredients in a slow cooker and take to a pot luck. 

The leftovers are even better the next day. 

What are a few of your favorite casseroles?

Love With Food Monthly Sample Box & Giveaway (Closed)

*Disclaimer: I am NOT compensated for this post*

Love with food is a monthly subscription box of unique, hard-to-find tasty snacks which varies based on seasonal themes.

The Tuesday Inquiry

Last week, my friend +Mark Esser, asked the question, What is your favorite sound? The number one answer was...wind through the trees. Mark is asking us another question this week. Thank you Mark for your input with questions. The response to your question was remarkable. I am excited to see how people answer this week's question. 

Tour Through Blogland

I was contacted by +Michelle Furlong to participate in the Tour Through Blogland.

Here is how the Tour Through Blogland works. 

A new group of bloggers are nominated. 

These bloggers answer 4 questions about themselves, and then pass the torch on to 3 of their favorite bloggers. 

Those nominated answer the same 4 questions the following Monday. 

How to Fold A Gift Card Holder

With a few simple folds you can create your own gift card holder. Just use any 6 x 6 inch square of any paper, and you can create a hand made card holder. Use this for special occasions, birthdays, and holiday gift giving. Choosing which paper to use is the most difficult step in this do it yourself card holder.     


The supplies you will need:

• 6 x 6 paper of your choice
• ruler
• scissors
• glue dot (optional)       

Use the ruler to measure a 6 x 6 square. Then cut out the square with the scissors.

Fold the square in half, lengthwise. Make your crease.

Open your square and fold one tip up to the folded crease. Make your crease.

With the tip touching the fold, bring the fold above the creased line. Make a crease.

This resembles a pyramid. Fold pointed edges to meet and overlap in the middle of the card. Make your creases.

Fold the top tip back. This is the beginning step to create the flap to keep the card closed.

I placed a glue dot just under this step to keep the folds together.

Bring the small flap up and press down on the center creating a triangle. This resembles a baby bird mouth waiting for food.

Fold down the triangle. Insert the tip of the triangle in to the folded flap. Crease the top flap down.

Insert the gift card and you have a perfectly folded gift card holder.

"Step by step and the thing is done." Charles Atlas

With a scrap piece of paper and a few folds, you can gift a loved one with a special home made gift card holder. (card enclosed, of course)

What would be a favorite gift card for you to receive?

The Tuesday Inquiry

Good Morning! It is a beautiful, rainy day here. We are enjoying these last few days of summer. Our summer gardens are providing us with wonderful vegetables. And the birds are singing. This week on the Tuesday Inquiry, we have +Mark Esser  asking us the question today. Next week he will have another question for us too!

Make Hard Boiled Eggs in Your Oven

A quick, easy recipe, I discovered, to make hard boiled eggs in your oven.

This recipe is quite simple:

• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees
• Place your eggs in a muffin tin (I did read to just place your eggs on the slats on the oven baking racks, even less clean up!)
• Bake for 30 minutes
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool

"The table is a gathering place, a gathering ground, the source for sustenance and nourishment, festivity, safety, and satisfaction. A person cooking is a person giving, Even the simplest of food is a gift." Laurie Colwin

Once you remove the eggs from the oven, allow the eggs to cool to the touch and place in your refrigerator.

The brown spots on the cooked eggs are because of condensation, water drops on the eggs when I placed them in the oven. This does put brown marks on the finished egg. Wipe the egg dry before placing in the oven if you want eggs without spots.

Because I was creating this post, I needed a quick way to cool the eggs.

I filled a bowl with ice cubes. When the eggs were removed from the oven, I instantly put the eggs on the ice. The eggs will take about 10 minutes to cool. (For best results, place the eggs in the bowl and then fill with ice.)

I did have trouble removing the shell from the egg. But, as you can tell from the picture, the yolks are cooked through.

Another plus, my house did not have the smell of cooking eggs. 

With this recipe hard boiled eggs are quick and easy. Perfect eggs every time!