Hand Exfoliation and Moisturizer

Got Dry Hands? Gardener’s hands? Want soft hands?

I recently came home from a wonderful week in Cuba. Maybe it was the salt water and/or the chlorinated pool, and/or being in the water a bit too long (wrinkly-soggy hands) that made my hands super dry, peeling and not so nice to the touch.

No, no, I didn’t catch a weird fungus or anything! This odd occurrence usually happens to my hands once a year or so.

My super clever co-worker whose hands also occasionally do this gave me some advice to exfoliate and moisturize my hands, and, yes, I’m about to share… excited?

She suggested to take some hand lotion, spread it on your hands and then grab a tablespoon of sugar and vigorously rub your hands together.

Here’s what I did:

-1 teaspoon of coconut oil (only 1 tsp because I have small hands, if you’ve got big man hands, go ahead and use more)

-1 heaping teaspoon of brown sugar

-Roughly rub – rub – rub for 1-2 mins.

-Gently rinse your hands.

-Gently pat or let them air dry…

                I did this once and it fixed 95% of the problem, did it a second time and my hands are back to normal! If your hands need a buff and a little moisture, give it a whirl!

Hats off to my coworker - super clever!

Easy Homemade Popsicles

Here's another healthy summer snack idea. Make your own popsicles!

There's a couple ways you can go about it...

-Brew a fruity herbal tea (without "real" tea in it, i.e., no black or green tea as the tea base). Try hibiscus, rosehip, berries, citrus, etc. Brew a large batch of tea, however strong or weak you want. You can sweeten your tea (soon to be popsicles) with honey.

-If you really don't like tea you can try to find some low sugar juice instead, or juice your own fresh fruit and use that instead of buying bottled juice.

-Or for a "heartier" popsicle, blend some fruit and yogurt together (morning smoothie style), banana, strawberry, and berries work well.

Once you've chosen one of these options the next step is it into an ice cube tray or popsicle molds. If you don't have a mold which usually has sticks to hold your frozen popsicle then you're going to need some 'popsicle sticks'. I encourage you to steal these little wooden stir-sticks from your local Starbucks, or you can use your imagination and find something else that is suitable.


Pop them in the freezer and you're done... tasty, and high-fructose corn syrup free!
For a little info on high-fructose corn syrup check out http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-fructose-corn-syrup/AN01588
and http://www.mcvitamins.com/high-fructose-corn-syrup.htm.
Enjoy!

***If something needs sweetening try honey a local honey or raw sugar (no, we can't get that local in Canada).

Chive Blossom and White Wine Vinegar

Spice up your vinegar!!

A co-worker who is always sharing her homemade recipes with me told me about this easy white wine vinegar and chive recipe, and I thought to myself, “I've got tons of chive blossoms on my balcony! Why not put them to good use!?”

HOW TO:

-Pick enough chive blossoms (not wilting or fading blossoms) to fill 2/3 of your jar.

-Rinse them in cool water to making sure you get the little bugs that like to hide in them out – otherwise you're making Chive Blossom and Bug Vinegar! 

-Gently pat them dry.

-Put the blossoms in your jar.

-Fill 2/3 of the jar with white wine vinegar.

-With the remaining 1/3 of the space you have left, fill half of it with regular white vinegar and the other remaining half with white wine.

-Put a lid on your jar and let it sit for 2-3 weeks.

-DAY 1                                                                                      -DAY 2














I'll post again in 2 weeks to give an update on the results.

 

This also makes a nice decoration to have around the house to add some colour.