Simple Recipes: Mayonnaise

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Mayonnaise is more than food for your body- use it topically to nourish your skin.  Use a homemade mayonnaise (eggs, vegetable oil, and vinegar) and massage into the skin at night.  Avoid mayonnaise made with salt.

Mayonnaise makes a great conditioner for your hair and conditions your scalp.  Apply this one ingredient to your just-clean and still wet hair and scalp.  Leave your mayonnaise hair mask in place for up to 30 minutes and then rinse out well.

Health and Wellness- De-stress

The content of this post originally appeared on my miscellaneous blog.  

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Feeling stressed?  Take a tea break with a warming cup of this easy herbal infusion.  Add 1/2 tsp of dried basil, 1/2 tsp of dried lemon balm, and 1/4 tsp of dried chamomile to almost boiling water and let steep 15 minutes.

Basil is a mild sedative and is said to help relieve anxiety and nervousness.  Lemon balm is commonly used to treat heartache and depression.  Chamomile has long been used for aches and pains and as a sleeping aid.  Together, these herbs will help you relax and will soothe you.

Be sure to sip your drink while taking a few minutes to breathe and concentrate on relaxing your muscles.

Simple Recipes: Take a Milk Bath

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You likely have heard the slogan, "Milk does a body good!"  Milk was used in early civilizations for beauty purposes.  Even Cleopatra is rumored to have used milk baths as a beauty treatments.  

For an easy milk bath, pour powdered milk in a tub of warm water and soak up to 20 minutes.  Powdered milk can be found in the grocery store baking aisle and is inexpensive.  Best of all, you will get all the same benefits milk gives your skin! 

Health and Wellness Series- Garlic

The content of this post originally appeared on my miscellaneous blog.

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One of my favorite ingredients in cooking, garlic is also great for treating colds and sore throats, or even the flu.  Use of garlic is said to boost the immune system through the production of white blood cells.  It has antibacterial, antimicrobial, and antiseptic properties, so it is good for infections.  Studies also show garlic may help lower blood sugar levels.

The next time you start to feel under the weather, add some sliced or chopped garlic to your favorite tea or infusion.  Add some garlic to your favorite dish.  If nothing else, garlic tablets are available in the vitamin aisle.  Better yet, consume some garlic as a preventative measure and try to ward off the illnesses going around before you start feeling bad!

Simple Recipes: Peaches and Creams

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Looking for soft, creamy complexion?  Blend together one ripe peach with heavy cream to create a cream that can be massaged into the skin every day.  The result?  Soft, moisturized skin where you use it.  Be sure to keep this in the refrigerator between uses.

New Series- Health and Wellness

If you follow this blog regularly, you are aware that we started a Simple Recipes series earlier this week.  I am trying another new series involving recipes that go beyond natural beauty products and address health and wellness concerns.  Let me know how you enjoy this content and I will keep it going if there is enough interest.

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First up- Spring is almost here and with it comes yard work, leading to sore muscles.  Ease these sore muscles by massaging them with a mix of 1 part rubbing alcohol mixed with 4 parts witch hazel.  Be gentle, but apply firm pressure as you massage.

Other uses for witch hazel?  The following originally appeared on my miscellaneous blog.

Witch hazel has nothing to do with witches, but is a popular, long used remedy for bruises, hemorrhoids, and muscle aches.  Witch hazel can be made at home using the leaves or twigs from the flexible witch hazel tree.  Boiling the leaves or twigs in water makes an infusion or decoction which can be used for numerous home remedies.

Witch hazel may be consumed to help with diarrhea, colds,or fevers.  It is said to possibly help with prevent or to treat cancer.  It can be applied topically for insect bites, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, bruises, minor skin irritations, or pain and swelling.  This brew is also used as an astringent used to tighten the pores of the skin.

To make your own infusion or decoctions, add a few teaspoons of witch hazel leaves or twigs to boiling water and let steep 20-30 minutes.

Simple Recipe Series- Teeth and Mouth Care

Some of the recipes featured here require the use of a variety of ingredients, some easier to obtain than others.  However, do not let those recipes scare you away from using natural products.  Over the next few weeks, I am going to attempt some easy recipes that you can prepare at home without a lot of ingredients or products.

Let me know if you like this series.  If there is enough interest, I will make this a regular feature on the blog.

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Let's start this series off with some simple tooth scrubs and whiteners.  Yes, you can make your own scrub to clean and whiten teeth with items you may already have at home!

Lemons- Rub a lemon rind on your teeth from remove stains.  Make sure you rinse well after using the rind to remove the acids from your teeth.

Blend together 2 parts baking soda with 1 part salt with enough water to make a paste.  Use with your toothbrush to cleanse your teeth and enjoy the freshly polished smoothness.

Concerned about mouth odors?  Rinse your mouth with rose water.  When dining out, do not ignore that sprig of parsley on your plate.  Chew it to help remove unpleasant odors.

Be sure to check back for more simple recipes and do not forget to share with your friends!