Home Made Body Butter/Help For Eczema

     My youngest daughter has suffered from eczema since she was just under a year old. As she has gotten older it has gotten worse. I tried everything from the steroid creams to any lotion sold at the store that made claims to help eczema. The steroid creams helped a little but it is one of those thing I have concerns about using regularly. The lotions really never helped much at all and many of them burn so badly when you put them on eczema irritated skin.
     I read labels all the time. I have this desire to know what is in everything and why. It is just one of my quirks. One thing I noticed was that many lotions (even those that claim to help with eczema) contain some type of alcohol. Now my understanding of alcohols are that they tend to DRY things. Why on this earth then would we put alcohol on dry and painfully irritated skin? To cause a continued need to use the product, or at least that is what I figured. I could be wrong but it makes a whole lot of sense to me.
     I started searching the web for a recipe for a lotion that I could make at home. I wanted simple food grade ingredients that I could obtain without having to purchase online. I was never able to find a recipe that I was satisfied with. After a little playing around with some recipes I didn't like, I was able to take ingredients I did like and create my very own recipe that can be made in less than 20 minutes. You can also use it as a lip balm, feels so good on chapped lips.

     I created a little tutorial, hopefully it will be easy to understand.

Ingredients: 2.5 ounces pure unrefined (or less refined)beeswax, 1 cup good quality coconut oil, 2 Tbsp. olive oil and essential oils of choice.

Supplies:  glass jar or microwave safe measuring cup that will hold 2 cups of liquid, fork, small grater, measuring spoon, and measuring cup, small jars to hold finished product.

First grate beeswax into the large glass jar. If you only have a regular cheese grater it will work but it will take longer to melt the wax.

Then measure out 1 cup of coconut oil and 2 Tbsp olive oil and add on top of the wax.

Melt in microwave for about 2 minutes or until the oil is melted, take out and stir with fork.

Return to microwave and melt completely.

This is when you add your essential oils if you want to use them.

The essential oils are really whatever you preference is. I have read that lavender is antibacterial and can be helpful with eczema to prevent (somewhat) the chance of developing an infection. Also I have read that sweet orange oil is also beneficial. I am not a fan of lavender but when orange is added it can be pretty tolerable. Sometimes you can find an oil that is already blended so you know what you will end up with.

Cool until the lotion is opaque and still somewhat pourable. (It can be cooled in the refrigerator but keep an eye on it so it doesn't get too hard. If it hardens you will have to re-melt it until it becomes pourable) Have your jars cleaned and ready.

One batch of this stuff will get us through the winter dryness. It keeps pretty well. If you live in a very warm climate this lotion may become liquid, not really a big deal, just pop it in the fridge before opening. Makes a great gift especially if you have a pretty jar to put it in.  

Gluten Free No Bake Pumpkin Pie

     As the season is turning to fall I find myself obsessing over pumpkin. I am pumpkin crazy.
 Really. Pumpkin shakes, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pancakes, the list keeps going.  It is beyond good....in my opinion. One of my all time favorites is a no bake pumpkin pie. I am not sure where I obtained the original recipe but I have made some tweaks and I figure it's good enough to call my own. You will need to find the recipe for my almond meal crust in order to make this pie. It is in one of my previous posts.
     Here is the recipe for my pie filling:
                                                               1 (.25 ounce) package unflavored gelatin
                                                               2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
                                                               1 teaspoon ground ginger
                                                               1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
                                                               1/2 teaspoon salt
                                                               1 can sweetened condensed milk
                                                               2 eggs, beaten
                                                               1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
    In sauce pan combine gelatin, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Stir in condensed milk and beaten eggs. Mix well. Let stand for about a minute. Place on burner over low heat. Stir constantly for 10 minutes until all gelatin is dissolved and the mixture is thick. Remove from heat. Stir in pumpkin. Pour into almond meal crust. (you can use a prepared graham cracker crust if you prefer if you are not Gluten free)Chill for 3 hours or until set.

That is all there is to it. My favorite pumpkin recipe! Hope you enjoy it, I always get compliments when I serve this pie.