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Friday, 22 December 2017

Calming Galaxy Bathbombs




With a calming blend of frankincense, lavender, chamomile & ylang ylang these fun looking bath bombs make a fun and thoughtful gift for anyone on your list!  We made these as teacher gifts this year! But I've started making bath bombs for both the kids and myself as well because we have all grown to love having a bath bomb in the tub with us, but man can they be pricey!  

I have really taken to making Muscle Relaxing Bath Bombs with Epsom Salts and essential oils like Eucalyptus, lavender and peppermint.  These really help after a tough workout. 



I found a recipe on pinterest that I've been tweaking to find the perfect consistency and order of ingredients so that they turn out just right.  I think I've finally got it figured out so I'm sharing it with you in case you want to try it out for yourself or have a last minute gift to give!  

A note on where I found ingredients since that was my biggest hurtle in getting started.... Citric Acid can be found at Bulk Barn or Amazon. It's far cheaper on amazon especially if you get the 2 pound bag which I suggest as you will use it up experimenting. Bulk barn has it in a small bottle or you can get a 1 pound bag but it's a bit more pricey.  Amazon seemed to take longer to ship Citric Acid then the usual 2 day Prime shipping time, so if you are in a rush to get started I'd suggest picking some up at the store. 




You can also create more variety and fun in your Bath Bombs by finding some Liquid Soap Colours on Amazon.  The grocery store only has a few options for food colours where as purchasing Liquid soap colourings online gives you far more options and it mixes in better too. 





Calming Galaxy Bath Bombs

Ingredients



1 cup baking soda
½ cup cornstarch
½ cup melted coconut oil
8-10 drops of essential oil(s) - I used a blend of frankincense, lavender, chamomile & ylang ylang for this one

Bathbomb molds or Silicone molds




Directions


  1. In a BIG bowl, mix together all of your dry ingredients (citric acid, baking soda, and cornstarch) and set aside.
  2. In a separate bowl, combine your oils. While stirring, gradually add these to the bowl of dry ingredients. If you pour too quickly, the liquid will create a reaction with the citric acid. If that happens quickly mix it in and cover the oils with the dry mixture.
  3. Use your hands to knead everything together inside of the bowl until your ingredients start to clump together. The result should feel almost like damp sand while building a sandcastle.
  4. Separate your mixture into smaller bowls depending on how many colours you will be using. For the Galaxy Bath Bombs I had 4 colours, Black, Peach, Purple and Aqua, but if you are using just one colour it is easier to mix the colour into the oil and add it in at the same time.
  5. Mix the colour into bath bomb mixture well. We found that using a fork worked best but you can use your hands too if you don't mind getting colouring on your hands.
  6. Scoop the prepared mixture into whichever mold you’re using, and pack it down tight. The back of a spoon works perfectly to press your mixture in place. Make sure to mound it up so that when you place the two halves of the bath bomb together it binds.
  7. For multi coloured Bath Bombs like the Galaxy ones you will want to alternate colours to get the desired effect. It's fun to play with the techniques here, so have fun with it!
  8. Let your bath bombs dry for at least 24 hours, and they’ll be ready to go!
  9. I packaged mine into small baggies with zip tops to keep them fresh until use.

Note: There are so many options for molds you can use, from muffin tins to the bath bomb molds. I found mine on Amazon and I love how easy they are and how perfectly they turn out. The ones I got came with 6 Molds which is nice because having only 2 or 3 wouldn't be enough when making a big batch. I like to let them sit in the mold for a little bit before taking them out so having several allows me to do that without needing them to make another bath bomb.

Thursday, 7 December 2017

Sweet Potato Hamburger One Pot Dinner

Sweet Potato Cheeseburger Casserole




This grain free casserole fuses your favorite cheeseburger fixings with fresh veggies for a lighter, healthier meal. I add a sprinkle of cheese to the top and the whole family LOVES it!

We have made this dinner 3 times now and everyone really enjoys it. It gives you that hearty home cooked casserole feel yet it's healthy and full of veggies too! I like to add white cheddar to the top of it and allow it to melt before serving and if we have green onion and tomato to add to the top it's even better! You can easily take this cheeseburger casserole recipe up a notch and add your favorite burger toppings like bacon or avocado the options are endless!

The best part is that we always have enough left overs for lunch the next day and it heats up beautifully. I'll say it doesn't' look beautiful but it sure tastes great!

Sweet Potato Cheeseburger One Pot Dinner

Ingredients
  • 3 medium sweet potatoes, spiralized
  • 1 T extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 medium carrot, chopped
  • 1 lb grass-fed ground beef
  • 1 t dried oregano
  • ½ t garlic powder
  • 1 t smoked paprika
  • ½ t chili powder
  • 1 ½ cups chicken stock
  • 1 cup crushed tomatoes
  • Chopped tomatoes. grated white cheddar cheese and green onion to garnish
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
  • Heat extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add onion, carrot and celery. Cook for 3 minutes until onion is translucent and veggies are softened.
  • Increase heat to high and add ground beef.

  • Cook for 5 minutes, breaking meat up as it cooks, until beef has browned and is no longer pink. Add oregano, garlic powder, smoked paprika and chili powder. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

  • Stir in the chicken stock and the crushed tomatoes. Reduce heat to medium-low and bring to a simmer; add spiralized sweet potatoes and cook for another 10 minutes until sweet potatoes are slightly softened and sauce is reduced.

  • Remove from heat and top with grated cheese, chopped tomatoes and spring onions. Serve warm.

Recipe Modified from: Paleohacks

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