Homemade Healing Salve

My son and I were playing outside in the sprinkler the other day, eating fresh peaches and enjoying a beautiful summer day. When we came inside I noticed both of us had several bug bites and a few scrapes on our legs. After thoroughly cleaning the wounds with water and calendula goats milk soap, I decided I should put some sort of salve on it to help heal quicker and relieve the itching. That is how I came up with my very inexpensive (especially if you keep these ingredients on hand like I do), easy, and effective healing salve.

Homemade healing salve

Ingredients: 

1/4 cup coconut oil 

1 tablespoon dried calendula 

Directions:

Warm the coconut oil just enough so it is a liquid (this can be done by putting it in glass jar and running warm water over it until the coconut oil melts). Once you have your liquid coconut oil, mix 1 table spoon of the calendula into the coconut oil. I added a couple extra pinches of it just for good measure. Once mixed store your salve in a airtight container in a cool place. If it is too warm you will have coconut/calendula soup instead of salve. 

I use this on bites, scrapes, burns, ect. You can add a few drop of lavender essential oil to give it antibacterial, antiseptic, and slightly pain reliving properties. 

This salve helped soothe the itching, and helped my son and I heal up quickly from our bug bites and scrapes. I will be sure to keep some on hand for the rest of the summer!

Want to get good quality essential oils? Click here.

A real day, of real food.

Today was a normal day. We didn't go anywhere (which is more common then a day where we go into town), and it seems our sleep/eat routine was right about normal. So I decided today would be a good day to take note of what we eat to share with you. Breakfast and lunch and the snacks are for my 9 month old and myself. Dinner is for us and my husband.

Breakfast: we both had a fresh pear cut into chunks, oatmeal with a little coconut oil and maple syrup.

Snack: the little man had; homemade apple/pear pouch, homemade granola bar. I had; homemade granola bar.

Lunch: the little man had; carrots (sliced and boiled till soft), sweet potato (boiled chunks), leftover pork chop. I ate; leftover pork chop, and leftover quinoa.

Snack: the little man had; the rest of his fruit pouch, and a fresh apple (sliced and peeled). I had; a homemade granola bar and a couple homemade marshmallows.,

Dinner: stir-fry with whole grain noodles. The stir-fry consisted of...chicken breast, sugar snap peas, water chestnuts, tomatoes, orange and yellow bell pepper, sweet potato, mushrooms, and yellow squash.

Evening snack: arrowroot cookie for the little man, and homemade pineapple ice cream for my husband and I.

Of course the little man breastfed throughout the day so this wasn't his only nourishment. This is a typical day of real food in our house. What do you eat?

Real food.

We have chosen to eat real food because that processed boxed/fast food junk simply isn't good for you. Never mind that it is expensive, isn't even tasty, and makes us feel bad. Real food that is made from wholesome healthy ingredients tastes so much better, cost less (once you get started and have some ingredients already on hand), and is SO very much healthier! It doesn't even take that long to prepare a good, healthy, homemade meal. In the photo is another reason we are choosing real food. If it doesn't break down, or mold, ect, then it isn't real food and we should not be eating it! We are still doing a very limited amount of processed things just because we don't have our garden up and going yet (like canned tomatoes from the store as opposed to ones I canned from my garden). Once we have our garden this spring, and our fruit trees start bearing fruit we will be buying even less at the store. In the mean time there is so much we can do to better our food. Right now when we go food shopping our motto is "if it has ingredients that we wouldn't use at home, can't pronounce, or don't know what it is exactly we do not buy it". This is a big step from just buying what looked good. In addition, we are not eating fast food. If it doesn't come from a locally owned, small chain, regular type diner/restaurant that uses mostly fresh ingredients then we just simply eat at home or bring food with us when we are out. These are our first steps to being healthier, less dependent on outside sources for food, and striving to live better. What are you doing to achieve this?