Letter from the Editor:

I have to
thank Leane for her article, Holiday Sanity.
Holidays have become so commercial, I have been experiencing
"writers block" for the first time I can
recall.
As far as
the beautiful autumn goes, here is an oldie, but a goodie:
Pumpkin
Smoothie Recipe

I
love pumpkin anything. I was looking for a pumpkin cheesecake recipe I
once had, but now I cannot find it. Still, it is that time of year
again! There are endless things we can do with pumpkins, and one of
them is our decadent Pumpkin Smoothie. So, what do you do when you are
in the mood for Pumpkin Pie but squashed for time?
Ingredients:
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup maple syrup
Ground cloves for topping
Whipped cream for topping |
Directions:
Combine pumpkin, yogurt, milk and maple syrup in a blender until
smooth. Pour into glasses, top with a dollop of whipped cream and
a dusting of ground cloves.
Yields: 4
short glasses
|
Wishing
You the Best!

Chill Out Cocoa By Leane Ketcherside
Based on an ancient Ayurvedic recipe, this stuff works!
My family calls it Magic Cocoa and it's one of my first
lines of defense during stressful times, and is a definite help
for insomnia.
6 to 8 ounces of
milk or soy milk
1/4 Teaspoon each of
Cinnamon and Ground Cardamom
Your favorite Cocoa
mix, to taste
Add milk, Cinnamon and Cardamom to a saucepan and heat till
steaming, stirring constantly to dissolve spices and avoid
scorching the milk. Add Cocoa mix to taste and stir well until
dissolved. Sip and enjoy the calm.
My
Favorite Things
by D.R.
Dolen
Amidst all the neat things we sell, are a few great ones that not
enough people radar in on. These are those items I
constantly pursue and use. Let's start with the Natural
Wax Jelly made with 90% oil and 10% Candelilla wax. This
is so far beyond better than petroleum jelly, there is no
comparison. Our new and convenient stand up pouch bags also
make it much easier to store and access in the bathroom, for
example. It can be used straight up or for formulations that
can be made into lip balm, salves, what have you. My
favorite essential oils I may put a few drops in include Clary
Sage, Rose Geranium, Tea Tree and as always the Bulgarian
Lavender. I also use these essential oils in my bath
water, depending on my needs. Rosemary is just great for
head aches, for example. I use the largest stand up one
pound foil bags to store my Epsom Salts in. This deletes
the typically boring box they come in and is easy to navigate
around with in the bathroom.
I
feel our new Making Toiletries DVD video is critical to knowing
all of the ins and out's of making your own home made preparations.
I am often asked many questions that are in the video. I
discuss much about what you can just buy locally and what is hard
to find that would require a search on the net. Many items
can be purchased locally. So, the new DVD Video is truly one
of my favorite things and best accomplishments. Click
here for more on the Video.
As
far as which balm to use? Well, If the lips are already
chapped, I recommend the jelly as it helps make lips supple.
In the winter, if the lips are not cracked, I like the stronger All
Purpose Base that is supported with soy wax and beeswax.
Flavors? Everyone has very different taste, to be sure, but
I love Blueberry, Cool Berry, Tangerine, Lemon Drops, Vanilla,
Buttered Rum and Pumpkin Pie the most. At times I just
mix a few together.
The
biggest thing perhaps I have not gotten across is that you can flavor
coffee beans with these oils, by shaking them up in a zip lock bag
and keeping in the bag a few days, to give as gifts. After
the beans are taken out of the bag, they can be rolled into
vanilla powder, cinnamon, what have you and presented in a mason
jar. Click
here for that article.
In
the Fragrance Oil Department, good for making soy candles as well
as skin safe, my all time favorite is Cool Waters for Men Type,
Fresh Cut Grass, McIntosh Apple, Pear, Leather and Pumpkin
Pie. These seem to be the fragrances I am always making
use of.
Maid
Holistic is Ready!
Maid
Holistic is the title of
our newest, copyrighted work that has been high in demand and now
in print. It was inspired by a growing demand for more
natural cleaning methods by consumers to their cleaning ladies.
Having been a maid at the Hyatt Hotel in my early 20's, (a great
experience I wish all kids could have at least one week of!) I
think I am qualified. I can make a bed! In addition, I
recently facilitated a cleaning lady when I came home from the
hospital. I got to know her pretty well in five days.
She was explaining how she gets $15 an hour and that a few of her
upscale clients were starting to ask her to use all natural
products. She did not quite know what they meant. I
told her fine, but up your prices to $25 an hour and give them all
natural. She asked me to write a book about how that would
work, and I agreed. Beyond
dynamic and simple cleaning recipes, Maid Holistic also offers a glossary of natural ingredients
in the back section, as
well as a cleaning supply and room to room check list. We offer this in e-book version as well
as spiral bound. Click
here for spiral bound.
Click the BUY NOW to buy the e-book version.
"Imagination
is the only weapon in the war against reality."
-Jules de Gautier
A Note from Leane
We
must apologize to the many of you who have tried to purchase the
new items announced in our last newsletter. (The Ecztreme™
products, new
healing butters and carrier oils, Hydrosol & Rhassoul Clay
facial Packs and Shingles SOS™
products).
No, you aren't crazy, the items aren't there. Due to Murphy's
Law, the inability to get some of the special and unique
ingredients on time and manufacturing glitches, we're running
behind. We have been inundated with requests for the Ecztreme™
products, and
we know you're all anxious for relief. We will contact each of
you personally, via e mail, when these products are available.
We hope to have everything soon and will announce availability
in a newsletter to assure that everyone is notified. Again, we
sincerely apologize.
Vanilla
Oil Resin by Deborah R. Dolen
Vanilla
is just so universal I cannot think of one person who does not
love it. When a reader asked me about
Vanilla Oleoresin, I was not aware it even existed. After
looking into it, I found it to be very expensive and its purpose
not as beneficial as an antioxidant, as is Rosemary Oleoresin
Extract (ROE). Still, in love with the idea of a Vanilla
Oleoresin, we
came up with a mixture of our own that includes ROE, and Vanilla
Flavor oil. I use it at 5% find it gives great
depth to my soaps, lotions, and balms, even if I am using a different
scent such as Lavender or Spice. It still operates as an
anti-oxidant, but not as powerful as Rosemary Oleoresin Extract.
Use it as an excellent scent and to anchor other fragrances. Click
here to buy Vanilla Oil Resin.
"Until
you value yourself, you won't value your time.
Until
you value your time, you will not do anything with it."
-M
Scott Peck
Essential Holidays by Leane
Ketcherside
Here are some great ways to use Essential Oils to freshen, heal,
prevent and enjoy during the holiday season. Since these
blends are NOT intended for use on the skin, precise recipes
aren't necessary. Just blend with a few drops of each Essential
Oil until you like the scent and just let them work their magic!
-
Put a few drops
of Cedarwood on your fireplace logs before you burn them.
They won't smell when burned, but will definitely freshen
the room as they sit by the fireplace!
-
Make the
traditional holiday Clove-studded Orange to both scent and
purify the air. Simply mix the Essential Oils of Clove Bud
and Orange, Tangerine or Mandarin to suit your nose, and put
drops all over the house. I like to put it on used dryer
sheets placed inside heating vents. If you have radiators,
put a few drops in a pan of warm water and place on top. You
can also add a few drops to a humidifier.
-
Keep colds and
other nasties at bay by blending Eucalyptus, Bulgarian
Lavender, Tea Tree and Peppermint Essential Oils. Use as
above, and definitely in a humidifier.
-
A drop or two of
Cinnamon Leaf and any Citrus Essential Oil makes a great
winter pick-me-up blend to chase away the doldrums.
-
One drop of
Cassia Essential Oil on a used dryer sheet placed in a
heating vent will make the whole house smell like Red Hots
candy. (Don't use more than a drop in each room. Cassia is
STRONG and too much will make your eyes water!)
-
If you have an
indoor tabletop fountain, adding a few drops of your
favorite Essential Oil blend is a must!
-
Place a few
drops of your favorite Essential Oil or blend on a cotton
ball. Put the cotton ball and your table linens, stationery,
Christmas cards or wrapping paper in a plastic bag or other
container and seal. Allow to sit for a few days to absorb
the scent.
Making Lip Balm and Power
Lip Balm
by
Deborah R. Dolen
Basics
Updated February
4th, 2010
Yes,
I actually still find time to make products for my own
family. This last year I found I was more busy talking about
how to live a cooler life and making neat things, but not doing
much for myself. I decided to finally use the beeswax sent
to me from the Official Beekeeper of the Queen of England I was
sent after my trip to London.
This article has been updated for 2010 and moved
here. Please click here for link!
Our
"Get Real Diet" by Deborah R. Dolen
I am not a diet fanatic,
but after looking at my eating habits, I had to get real. I also
feel the need to drop ten pounds before filming any more "how
to" videos. A certain natural health food store had a
vegetable salad that I knew I could stand to eat all day long and any
time I was hungry. Like many people, I am not normally magnetized
to raw vegetables. Ya know, the ones we eat at parties to act like
we are health conscious? Yet this salad had such a great
dressing. Greg Engelhardt, our Chef, customized this recipe
just for me. We have to name it something cool, like South Beach,
Hollywood, so I guess we will name it "The Get Diet." To
download this one page PDF to share, please
click here.
So, I learned how to make
this salad, it is good for four days at a time, and the longer it marinades,
the better it gets anyway. I love it, and this is about all I do
eat. Occasionally I will throw crab meat, or steak in for
variety. It is along the low carb diet lines, yet high in
fiber. Ten pounds of this salad is not too much to make for a four
day period.
To Make:
For 10
Pounds of Salad make or buy chopped and diced produce such as Broccoli, Cauliflower,
Sweet Onions, Tomatoes, Carrots, Zucchini, Yellow Summer Squash and
anything else you feel will adapt. If I am pressed for time and do not
have time to slice and dice, I just buy already diced vegetables
in bags, as well as vegetables from the deli, mixing it all up, maybe
dicing a bit finer and throwing the dressing below on it to
marinade. Use salt and pepper to taste.
Salad
Dressing In a Blender:
2 Cups of
Soy Creamer, 1/2 Cup of Olive Oil, 1/2 Cup of Peppercorn Ranch, 1/4
Ounce Feta Cheese,
2 Ounces
of Parmesan, 1 Cup of Plain Crackers, 2 Teaspoons of lemon juice, Salt
and Pepper.
I also
bought Relacore, the newly advertised all natural stress fat
reducer. A lady at a health food store, who does not sell the
item, swears by it. I see it is working for me also so far, and I
have been using Relacore for two weeks. It is very high in Vitamin
B, C and contains many natural herbs. I bought it right from the
Relacore site. Click thumbnail for better view, and yes, that
product was ate five minutes after the photo! Good luck!
Tamper
Proof Made Easy
& Other Ramblings

Beyond
the idea this is a "gourmet tea" and can have
many other mixtures--I was fascinated that I could infuse
this healthful mixture into hot water and strain to make
my lotions and other skin care products. So, I will be
looking at this "tea" rage for reasons above and
beyond tea. |
Let's
start with the fact that the object to the left is known
as a "French Press." I fill it up
with tea, coffee, infusions, what have you-put the screen
in and then fill with hot water. I allow my infusion
to "steep" a bit and press down. For me,
it is coffee in seconds as time is short and I have a hot
water function on my water jug.
What
intrigued me the most, you cannot see, is that
manufacturers are now not into taping around the
object, but rather over and above it. They then
use the actual label to cover the front and back of where
the tape ends. This is classy way to tamper proof
and calls for use of less tape.
The third
outstanding element of this product is the idea that
"tea" can cover a broad spectrum and now look
almost like potpourris in a jar. That is very hard
to pass up. This particular tea contains:
Orange and lemon peel, small dry apple particles, diced
hibiscus and rose petals, tiny black currants as well as
green tea. They claim there are also lavender
buds--I just did not see them.
Click
here to see Sir Aubrey |
|