Clean Eating No-Bake Brownie Bits

January 25, 2013 in Amazing!, Eating Clean, Featured, Recipes

So it’s been at least 2 weeks of no refined sugar.  I honestly thought I would be feeling it a lot more than I have been. I have used to have a terrible sweet tooth but lately it’s been a lot better.  One night however, I really wanted some chocolate.   I found this recipe for no-bake brownies then headed off to the store for some prunes.

After a trip to the store, 10 minutes with my food processor, I had this ooey gooey chocolate paste. I also added chopped walnuts, a little bit more vanilla than the recipe called for, some extra oats (not ground), and some oat bran. I was supposed to put it in a cake pan but decided to roll it into balls instead.

clean brownies copy

No baking required. Just let them sit on the counter for 30 minutes and they are ready. (They just need to firm up a bit, you don’t really need to wait.) I loved them, Dan not so much and the kids didn’t really like them either. Oh well, all the more for me! :) If you try them, I would love to know what you think.  What is your favorite clean chocolate recipe?

 

Thanks for stopping by

~Sarah

 

 

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It’s So Very Cheri

Homemade Laundry Soap

February 25, 2012 in Amazing!, Cleaning, Featured, Tutorial

 

I found this recipe for Homemade Laundry Detergent on Pinterest. I must tell you that I have made about 3 batches of this since August and I have no complaints at all. I truly believe that this recipe works better than anything you will buy in the store. It is very inexpensive, fast and easy to make.

After reading all the comments after the tutorial I went down to Superstore and picked up a box of Borax and a box of Washing Soda….seriously I have never heard of Washing Soda before but yeah it’s there in the laundry aisle.

 

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Borax and Washing Soda

 

To make this Homemade Laundry Soap you’ll need the following:

  • 1 Bar of Soap (I’ve used Ivory & Sunlight and find they both work great)
  • 1 Cup Borax (It’s in the Laundry Aisle)
  • 1 cup Washing Soda (It’s in the Laundry Aisle too!)
  •  4 Litres Hot water
  • 4 Litres Cold Water
  • Large Pot
  • Wooden Spoon
  • Large Bucket with a Lid
This is how I made it:

1. Put 4 litres of hot water into the large pot on stove, set on high

2. Grate bar of soap and add it to your pot of hot water

 

 

Homemade Laundry Soap

Grate Soap

 

laundrysoap copy

Melt grated hand soap in water until it is dissolved

3. Once the soap has melted, add 1 cup Borax and 1 cup Washing Soda and bring to a boil. (This took about 5 minutes or so)

4. After it’s come to a boil, carefully pour it into a bigger container and add 4 litres of cold water and stir.


Homemade Laundry Soap

 

5. Once this cools it will coagulate!! It gets thick like gelatin. For my first batch I poured the liquid soap into old laundry soap containers. I do not recommend you do this. I suggest you keep your laundry soap in a bucket with a lid.

6. Once the laundry soap thickens I like to take my hand blender and mix it all up. You could then pour it into pourable containers if you’d like. I still prefer to keep it in the bucket with a lid.

When using it in your washing machine you only need 1/2 cup. I have a front load washer…which takes “special” detergent. Apparently because it does not bubble it is safe for front load washing machines. I’ve been using this for over 6 months and haven’t had a problem in my washing machine.

This is going to end up saving us a ton of money.  The laundry soap we usually buy is $8.99 for 64 loads. 

The Borax cost $5.99 and the Washing Soda was $5.69 and the bar of soap…lets say $1.00. That’s it. I’ll round up the numbers, so $13.00 for I don’t even know how many loads of laundry…over 600 for sure. Wahoo!!  I would love to hear your comments on this.

 

Thanks again to Erin @ Why Not Sew for posting this great tutorial!!

If you’d like to make your own Dishwasher Detergent you can find my tutorial here.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

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Homemade Dishwasher Detergent (that actually works!!)

February 20, 2012 in Cleaning, Recipes, Tutorial

A while back I had tried to make Homemade Dishwasher Detergent. It didn’t work all that well. My dishes came out cloudy and still dirty.  I actually only used it once it was that bad. After some more searching I found this recipe from Jill at One Good Thing that does work and I’m excited to share.

These are all of the ingredients you will need.

Ingredients for Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent.

1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing (NOT baking) Soda
1/4 cup citric acid
1/2 cup salt
1/4 tsp dish soap
1/2 cup Vinegar

Citric Acid

Simply put the powdered ingredients in a jar and shake well to mix. I use about 2 tablespoons in my dishwasher. Now I know you’re not supposed to use dish soap in your dishwasher because it bubbles and will overflow into your kitchen. However…if you only use a little bit you shouldn’t have any problems. (But please if it does overflow, I take no responsibility ;) . I pour about 1/4 tsp of dish soap into the dishwasher along with 1/2 cup of vinegar. It’s the vinegar that will make your dishes sparkle,  feel free to use more if your dishes are still cloudy.
I did have a bit of a problem finding the citric acid.  It said in the post I read that it can be found in the canning section at a grocery store, but I couldn’t find it there. And then a lady at customer service said they keep it behind the counter at the pharmacy, but the pharmacy was closed.  I ended up finding it at my local Bulk Barn for $4.59. So you don’t have to wander around the store aimlessly like I did, this is what it looks like.

Citric Acid

I am so glad that I was able to find a recipe for this that actually works.  If you try this, I’d love to know what you think.
Thanks for stopping by :)
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