Author: Nana

Hart Nana started out a world traveler living in cities and discovered her love of country living later in life. She loves to share her homesteading adventures and what she has learned in hopes that it might better your life and encourage you.
Posted on by — 97 Comments

Goat Milk Soap Recipe – Stunningly Easy To Make It Yourself

goat milk soap recipe

Goat Milk Soap Recipe – Stunningly Easy To Make It Yourself. Make this goat milk soap recipe using ingredients that are easy to find.  Sodium hydroxide (lye) can be found over at Amazon by clicking on this purchase lye link. You can also use canned goat’s milk, powdered goats milk or fresh, in the fridge section of your grocery store. Important information if you don’t have access to raw goat’s milk from your own goats or a friend willing to share. (find the supplies you need to make soap here)

Goat Milk Soap Recipe

  • 18 oz slushy raw goat milk
  • 6 oz water
  • 6 oz lye (sodium hydroxide)
  • 9 oz olive oil
  • 10 oz coconut oil
  • 24 oz vegetable shortening or lard

Directions

Heat the solid oils until they are almost melted. Take the pot off the heat source. Swirl the oil until they melt the rest of the way. Add in the olive oil. Set aside to cool down to 100 degrees.

Mix the lye and water. Mix the lye into the water (Important note for controlling how fast the reaction happens). It will heat up so I like to use a tall container. A plastic pitcher works great even though there isn’t a whole lot of liquid in the bottom. I also like to put the pitcher in a basin of ice water while I am mixing the lye into the water. This get the mixture to cool down to 100 degrees faster.  Because I’m not a patient person myself, to speed up the cooling of the lye/water mixture you can slip a few ice cubes down the side of the pitcher.  When everything is 100 degrees mix the lye/water into the oils, give it a quick stir with a wooden or plastic long handled spoon then add in the raw goat milk.

easy homemade goats milk soap recipe

Mixing to Trace

Mix with your stick blender until trace. Your soap mixture should look like thick vanilla pudding. At this point add in a few drops of what ever flavor essential oil you wish and what ever extra pieces of stuff. Give it another swirl or two. Now you pour your mixture into soap molds or card board soup trays (even ramine boxes work) lined with wax paper. Cover with towels and let sit overnight. After about 24 hours dump out your soap, cut (here is a funny crinkle cut knife article I wrote), then let stand on end for several weeks to dry out. Enjoy!

How to tell if your goat milk soap recipe has reached trace

When using a stick blender to get to the point of trace it is a good idea to start and stop the blender, not run it continuously.  I just use my stick blender as a spoon and turn it on intermittently as I’m waiting for the soap to trace.

If you happen to pour your soap into the mold before it has really traced and it separates you can always pour it back into your pot do this. Heat it up slowly and blend it some more until it reaches a real trace.

The other problem is going past the trace mark right into seized. Again you can recover from this. Grate the soap up then reheat (slowly) and add more goat’s milk (a little at a time) until it is no longer seized. Then just put it in the mold and let it set up.

Your Goat Milk Soap Recipe Has Seized What can you do?

You can prevent it by paying attention to the temperature and water amount. Soap cool and don’t discount your water. When you are using a new fragrance or essential oil and don’t know how it will effect your soap, make a one pound test batch first. If it is happening, don’t panic!

With a light seize, where just where you are stick blending on the bottom of the pot is seizing, stop stick blending and stir to trace by hand.

goat milk soap recipe

With a heavy seize that you can’t save, you’ve got three options!

Hot Process it – Dump it into a crock pot and hot process it. If it goes beyond the point of being able to stir it smooth and pour into a mold, you can hot process it. Simply put it into a crock pot and cook it until the whole mass has gelled (turned translucent) and then glop it into a mold.

Rebatch it – If you managed to get it into a mold but it is UGLY, you can rebatch it. Here are rebatching instructions. If you do it the day after, you usually won’t have to add additional water to it. If you rebatch it weeks later, you can add a bit of water to the shreds before cooking.

Chunk it – You can let your soap sit until solid. Cut it up into little chunks. Make a new batch of soap and add the chunks into the new batch. I’ve come up with some really nice

Why I love Goats Milk Soap

Of course if  you want to use goat milk soap much faster, you can always order it at HartNana’s store.

Save

Save

Posted on by

How to Feel Full Faster and Eat Less with Essential Oils

essential oils
 

How to feel Full, Faster and east less with essential oils. And which ones work the best! Satiety. It’s about feeling full, and not overeating. The aroma of peppermint oil has the ability to make you feel full, faster… especially if you breathe it in. Also Grapefruit oil could help you to actually lose weight!

Save

Save

Six Essential Oils For Weight Loss

There аrе ѕіx essential оіlѕ fоr wеіght loss – аll рrоvеn tо hеlр уоu lose wеіght. In thіѕ video, уоu wіll learn which оіlѕ аrе grеаt fоr wеіght loss at hоmе аnd without еxеrсіѕе. Sсrоll dоwn to rеаd аbоut еасh еѕѕеntіаl оіl іn thе dеѕсrірtіоn bеlоw.

Using Eѕѕеntіаl Oіlѕ Fоr Weight Lоѕѕ
While gооd nutrition аnd рhуѕісаl activity аrе vital ѕtерѕ tоwаrd lоѕіng weight аnd mаіntаіnіng a hеаlthу lifestyle, оftеn overlooked аrе the psychological and рhуѕіоlоgісаl соmроnеntѕ аѕ fасtоrѕ fоr wеіght lоѕѕ ѕuссеѕѕ. Anyone whо hаѕ tried tо shed mоrе than a fеw pounds knows thаt the bаttlе wіth thе bulgе саn bе mоrе in the mіnd thаt оnе expects.

We all seem to be looking for the magic pill to lose weight right? Well, for me essential oils play a huge part in curbing appetite and binging. I cover the oils that work for me in this article. #hartnana #weightloss #essentialoils

How Essential Oіlѕ Can Hеlр


Used therapeutically fоr nearly 6,000 уеаrѕ, еѕѕеntіаl oils hаvе bееn рrіzеd fоr thеіr unіԛuе hеаlіng рrореrtіеѕ. Essential оіl is a highly concentrated vоlаtіlе аrоmаtіс compounds derived from the roots, ѕееdѕ, flоwеrѕ, fruіtѕ, аnd leaves оf рlаntѕ. Arоmаthеrару іѕ juѕt what thе wоrd ѕоundѕ lіkе Arоmа and thеrару.

If уоu are ѕtrugglіng with wеіght gаіn, соuld it роѕѕіblу be a psychological bаѕіѕ?
Mауbе уоu ѕtrugglе with emotional eating, dіеtіng fаtіguе, lасk оf consistent motivation,
ѕlоw mеtаbоlіѕm, сrаvе sweet fооdѕ, low еnеrgу, рооr dіgеѕtіоn, оr suffer dерrеѕѕіоn.
Uѕіng еѕѕеntіаl oils соuld bе the mіѕѕіng piece to уоur diet program and hеlр рrореl and sustain you іn your wеіght lоѕѕ goals.

6 Key Weight Loss Essential Oіlѕ:

Grapefruit Essential Oil


Cоmmоnlу uѕеd as аn аntіѕерtіс аnd disinfectant, grареfruіt oil hаѕ a ѕwееt, сrіѕр, аnd uplifting аrоmа.
What іt Does
Curbs сrаvіngѕ
Bооѕtѕ mеtаbоlіѕm
Inсrеаѕеѕ еnеrgу аnd еndurаnсе
Rеduсеѕ thе аbdоmіnаl fаt ассumulаtіоn

Lеmоn Eѕѕеntіаl Oil


Cоld-рrеѕѕеd frоm thе рееl, lemon oil has a сlеаn pick-me-up ѕсеnt wіth slightly ѕоur overtones.
Whаt іt Dоеѕ
Suppresses weight gаіn
Inсrеаѕеѕ energy
Enhаnсеѕ mood
Rеlіеvеѕ раіn


Whу it Wоrkѕ
Lemon аlѕо соntаіnѕ thе fаt-dіѕѕоlvіng powers оf lіmоnеnе. Supporting thе fіndіngѕ of the аfоrеmеntіоnеd grареfruіt оіl study, researchers found that lemon оіl used іn соnjunсtіоn with grареfruіt оіl іnсrеаѕеd lіроlуѕіѕ.

Peppermint Essential Oіl


Frеѕh, mіntу, аnd quite іntеnѕе, рерреrmіnt оіl contains mеnthоl which has a саlmіng аnd cooling еffесt.
Whаt it Dоеѕ
Inсrеаѕеѕ еnеrgу and mental аlеrtnеѕѕ Elеvаtеѕ mооd
Aіdѕ dіgеѕtіоn
Rеduсеѕ арреtіtе

Whу іt Wоrkѕ
Cоntаіnіng uр tо 70% mеnthоl, рерреrmіnt has been used mеdісіnаllу for сеnturіеѕ tо trеаt indigestion.
Pерреrmіnt оіl is аn еffесtіvе muѕсlе rеlаxеr, аnd whеn uѕеd аlоng wіth caraway oil, it was found tо еаѕе thе muѕсlеѕ оf thе ѕtоmасh, rеduсе blоаtіng, and improve the flоw of bіlе – whісh allows fооd to раѕѕ thrоugh the bоdу fаѕtеr.
Pерреrmіnt оіl is also a nаturаl арреtіtе suppressant.

Cіnnаmоn Eѕѕеntіаl Oil


Derived frоm thе іnnеr bаrk оr lеаvеѕ оf thе Cіnnаmоmum trее, thе сіnnаmоn essential оіl hаѕ a wаrm аnd ѕwееt fragrance.
Whаt іt Dоеѕ
Imрrоvе іnѕulіn ѕеnѕіtіvіtу
Rеgulаtе blood ѕugаr levels
Reduce іnflаmmаtіоn

Whу іt Works
Inѕulіn іѕ the hоrmоnе rеѕроnѕіblе for mеtаbоlіzіng саrbоhуdrаtеѕ and fat bу fасіlіtаtіng thе аbѕоrрtіоn оf blооd glucose bу either converting іt tо energy or storing it as fаt.

Bеrgаmоt Eѕѕеntіаl Oil


Thе аrоmа profile оf the bеrgаmоt оrаngе is a соmрlеx blend wіth ѕwееt, tаngу, and ѕрісу nоtеѕ.
What it Does
Bооѕtѕ mооd
Inсrеаѕеѕ еnеrgу

Whу іt Wоrkѕ
Anxiety and dерrеѕѕіоn can ѕоmеtіmеѕ lead to emotional еаtіng, аnd while thіѕ mау bring аbоut a temporary ѕеnѕе оf соmfоrt аnd relief, еvеntuаllу іt piles on even mоrе negative еmоtіоnѕ lіkе guіlt and ѕеlf-сrіtісіѕm.

Fennel Eѕѕеntіаl Oіl


Eаrthу and ѕwееt, fеnnеl еѕѕеntіаl оіl іѕ ѕtеаm distilled frоm fеnnеl seeds.

Whаt it Dоеѕ
Imрrоvеѕ dіgеѕtіоn
Suррrеѕѕеѕ арреtіtе
Reduces weight gаіn
Mоrе rеѕtful ѕlеер

Why іt Wоrkѕ

Fеnnеl іѕ a source оf melatonin, thе hоrmоnе thаt nаturаllу rеgulаtеѕ circadian rhуthmѕ bу ѕіgnаlіng to thе brain dаіlу wаkе-ѕlеер сусlеѕ. In addition tо a more restful sleep, melatonin hаѕ also been fоund tо reduce wеіght gain by сrеаtіng mоrе “bеіgе fаt” (which burns оff аѕ еnеrgу) rather than “whіtе fаt” (whісh іѕ ѕtоrеd for еnеrgу).

The chart for applying essential oils to feet to target specific organs. This foot zoning chart is for entertainment purposes only #hartnana #footzone #weightloss

A Guide To Using Essential Oils

essential oils weightloss benefits

Helen Sanders of HealthAmbition.com does a pretty comprehensive explanation about how grapefruit burns fat that you can read about here.

Highly rated guide for people looking to incorporate essential oils into their health regime. Read the rave reviews here

The only negative comment (so far) was that it didn’t have recipes in it. From what I understand about essential oils the work most effectively as they are absorbed into the skin. They can also help used in a diffuser. Though I like to incorporate them into goats milk soap, I’m not convinced that they retain their medicinal properties that way.

That said the best way  to use essential oils for maximum absorption is topically . Your skin, after all, is the largest organ in your body. I also understand rubbing essential oils onto your feet allows the oils medical properties to reach the area needing help.

This chart gives you an idea of where to place the oil in order to reach the desired area. Personally, I like to do this at night. Not sure why, but in my mind,  because you are laying down, it might allow the essential oils to move more freely.

Posted on by

Easy Goats Milk Soap Gift Baskets – Thrill Your Family & Friends

spa gift baskets [et_pb_section][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text]

What says I’m thinking of you more than a homemade gift?

This year make homemade goats milk soap gift baskets. Use HartNana’s Goat’s Milk Soap Recipe – so easy and so forgiving that even a novice can have terrific results. Of course HartNana will be there with you to help you out if you have problems or questions.

You can make goats milk soap gift baskets. Here is one gift basket I made a while back for the holiday and/or a baby shower gift. All you need to find is a basket, some “extra” goodies, some homemade soap, and a little creativity.

If you are wanting to give homemade soap as a Christmas gift now is the time to be making it. This recipe only needs about three weeks to cure.

We also have a super simple recipe for Goat’s Milk Lotion – Make it the same day you plan to ship it, as there is no lead time necessary (that’s a plus for last minute gifts right?)

Make Goats Milk Soap For Gifts – Putting It All Together

You can always make the lotion and put it in a cute container and don’t forget to use your imagination for wrapping your soap! Gift baskets are popular and easy to put together too.

All it takes is a basket, some cellophane wrap (you can get at the dollar store), some tissue paper, your soap, a container of lotion, and maybe a loofah sponge, a candle and a relaxing CD. Put it all in your basket after arranging the tissue paper, then wrap the whole thing in cellophane wrap and add a big bow.

Here is a video to give  you an idea about how to put it all together.



There you go super simple, super personal and quite frankly – lots of fun!!

Save

Save

 

Goat Milk Soap Gift Baskets For Extra Holiday Cash

The gift basket featured above I made for a craft fair. In fact I made a bunch of them. You can do it too! Find interesting baskets (or dig through your stores), add your homemade soap – because truly that is the gift – then add a few odds n ends. Coffee, wine, candles, chocolate, tea, cookies all make great additions. And don’t forget the huge bow.

Here are Some From Amazon to Give You Ideas:

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
Posted on by — 2 Comments

Goats Milk Cheese Recipes – How to Make Feta The Easy Way

Goat Milk Cheese Recipes

If you have goats you need to have lots of ideas for things to make with goats milk. Because in the spring, if you decide to milk  your goats you have lots of extra around.  While I do freeze much of my goats milk, I have come across a couple super simple recipes for making cheeses. But you don’t even have to have goats to make these 3 goats milk cheese recipes! You can buy goats milk in the store.

The first of the milk cheese recipes I’m going to teach you is how to make a cream cheese:

To make cream cheese – which I like to spice up you will first need to make yogurt out of your goats milk. You can buy plain Greek yogurt and make it from there.

How to make yogurt from goat’s milk:

 

  • 1/2 gal milk
  • 2- 3 tbs fresh plain yogurt

Heat up to 110 degrees then pour over yogurt, set 1/2 gal jar on top fridge for 12 hours

I’m pretty sure he went and found that lid pretty quickly. You never want to leave your yogurt exposed like that because you will end up with not very friendly bacteria quickly.

Now to make the cheese spread, also known as Labne, this is what you will do:

 

You can also use Italian herbs instead of garlic and mint. You don’t have to use the olive oil. It goes really great with zucchini or yellow squash chips. These are dehydrated zucchini sliced into chips.

Now for the Feta  Goats Milk Cheese Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 gallon of whole milk – Pasteurized NOT ultra pasteurized
Warm milk to 80 degrees
2 teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon 30% calcium chloride solution dissolved in 2 Tablespoon of water (if you are using raw goats milk you don’t need this)
1/8 teaspoon mild lipase powder dissolved in 2 Tablespoon of water
1/8 teaspoon Mesophilic A culture
30 drops of vegetable rennet dissolved into 1/4 cup of water

I use raw goat’s milk, salt, yogurt, lipase powder and junket tablets. You can get them in the grocery store. Use 1/2 tablet per gallon of milk.

For a cheese press I have a #10 can that I took the top and bottom off of, a bowl, cheese cloth. Use Muslin, not the cheese cloth that you get from the grocery store. And a weight, which for me is sometimes a mason jar filled with water. Or you can use a bar bell.

You would take out the lid piece put your cheese cloth down inside so that the edges go out over the top, then put in  your curds. Next folld the cloth back over the curds then put the “follower/top” back on. Finally put your weights on that. If you use a shallow bowl like this one you need to hang around and every little go dump out the whey/water that will collect in the bowl.

Before you get ready to press your curds you can also add in dried tomatoes, and/or Italian seasonings or basil. You can always leave it plain, but in my world view, spice is the zest of life!

Simple Farm Style Goats Milk Cheese With Monterrey Jack with Peppers

  • 3 gallons of milk (I like mine raw)
  • 2 tablets of junket (you can find these in the baking aisle of most grocery stores)
  • 1/2 pint of buttermilk
  • salt
  • dried peppers

Heat your milk and buttermilk up to 90 degrees slowly (well as slowly as your temperament will allow). Let this sit and mellow for a couple hours.

3 goat milk cheese recipes. Feta, cream cheese & mozerella #goatmilkcheese #fetacheese #homemadecheeserecipes

Next step is to add the junket tablets to water (non chlorinated works best) about 1/4 cup just to dissolve the tablets before adding to the milk. After they dissolve add the mixture to the milk. Stir for about a minute to make sure the rennet gets well distributed.

After an hour or so (or even over night) your curds should be separated. Cut them into cubes in the pot. Using a long knife make a checker board pattern all the way down the curds, then start cutting through the curds at an angle all around the pot. The object is to have lots of one inch pieces of curds.

Now that  you have the curds cut, heat the curds and whey back up to 100 degrees slowly, stirring the curds gently.

Let them sit for another hour.

The next step is to strain the curds into cheese cloth (muslin) lined in a colander mix in your salt and peppers to taste. I use about 3 tbs salt and peppers for this recipe.

Ladle  your curds into a press and press under as much pressure as you can for eight to twelve hours. I use hand weights with my presses, but you can use water in jugs, put a can on the follower. (that piece that goes on top of the cheese cloth – I use the end of the #10 can) then put a plate or board over that and add your weights.  The harder you press your cheese the firmer it will be.

milk cheese recipes cheese pressOf course you could always buy a real cheese press and then  you wouldn’t have to be jury rigging stuff LOL

Once it is pressed, cut it into the size of pieces your family will use within a couple days (this doesn’t hold very well and will mold). Rub salt on the exposed parts, wrap in paper towels and then put in a plastic bag that you suck the air out of with a straw before completely sealing.

Freeze these. Let them defrost at room temperature before using.

NOTE:

Don’t throw your whey away!! Use it to make Whey good bread or pizza dough by substituting the whey instead of water in  your recipe. You can freeze it in plastic ziplock bags for use when you are ready to make your bread or pizza dough.

Make cheese, it’s easy and fun and there is something about eating and serving homemade cheese that makes it special, because you know where it came from and what went into it.

 When I first started making cheese this is the kit I used to “get my feet wet”. Simple recipe/directions are included and everything (except the milk) you need to make mozzarella and ricotta cheese. cheese making kitNow if you are wanting to use up your goat’s milk because you have so much of it you don’t know what to do with, perhaps you might want to start with this kit that has the ingredients you need to make goats milk cheese.

Save

Save

Posted on by

Whey Good Bread Recipe

Whey Good Bread Recipe.

Yesterday I was blogging over on Thyroid Treatment For Women,  about finding a good protein powder for hypothyroidism and got to thinking about my whey good bread recipe, so I thought I’d share it with you all.

Having goats, means lots of milk, lots of milk means you need to make stuff with it or what is the point right?

Whey is the by product of making cheese. It is the liquid that remains after you have coagulated the milk, separating it into curds and whey. Which I believe is what cottage cheese was called back in the day….Remember the old nursery rhyme:

Little Miss Muffett sat on her tuffet eating her curds and way. Along came a spider and sat down beside her and frightened poor Muffett away.

That was from memory so don’t hold me responsible if I messed it up.  It has been a few years since I thought about that little ditty.

Any way back to the recipe at hand.

This recipe for Rustic Farmers Bread at Let The Baking Begin calls for milk – but you could totally substitute whey and get even better results!

Whey good bread recipe

You can use Whey  as a substitute for any bread recipe you are making, it is especially good for pizza dough. It will give your bread a slightly cheesy flavor so you might not want to use it in a sweet bread.

Whey Good Dutch Oven Bread:

  • 3 Cups flour  – you can use bread flour or fresh ground flour (which is what I like to do)
  • 1 tsp active dry yeast
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups whey warmed up to 100 degrees (I freeze my whey when I’m making cheese so that I can make bread when I’m ready)

cast iron pans

You can also add in dry Italian herbs for extra special yumminess

I start this in the evening then bake in the morning. Here is the not very difficult process – mix all four ingredients in a glass or plastic bowl. It will be a thick mass but not look like bread dough in the traditional sense. No worries. Leave it on the counter, covered over night.

In the morning heat your oven with the dutch oven in it to 450 degrees for about 30 minutes. You want to get that dutch oven super hot before you add the dough.

Then dump your mixture onto a floured surface and shape into a round. Let the round rest while the oven heats up.

Transfer the round to your dutch oven with the lid on let it bake for 30 minutes then take the lid off for the next 15 minutes.

Let the bread rest for an hour or so.

I have it on good authority that this whey good bread recipe can be used to make baguettes if you have a baguettes pan.

 

Use It For Pizza Dough

The secret to good pizza dough is to let it rise slowly in the refrigerator over night. For some reason it make the crust much more chewy and delicious.

  • 3 Cups flour
  • 1 Cup warm whey
  • 1 tsp dry activated yeast
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 1/2 tbs olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt

Mix the warm whey, yeast and sugar together in a measuring cup until the yeast activates – forms bubbles on top

In a mixing bowl, add the flour and salt, give it a whirl to mix them together. Once the yeast is proofed add the whole shebang with the olive oil to the bowl.

Mix until it is a sticky mass, then keep adding bits of flour until it doesn’t stick any longer.  Knead it for about 5-7 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. (Which means you can poke the dough and it will come back)

Let the dough rest in a warm place for an hour or so until it doubles in size – or you can let it rest in the fridge until an hour before you want to make your pizza then take it out and finish off the rise at room temperature or in a warm oven (100-200 degrees) Don’t put a cold glass bowl directly into a warm oven though it will crack it.

You can add dry Italian Herbs to this recipe for a wonderful change up of flavor. You can also take  your home made mozzarella and fold it into the crust around the edges for stuffed crust pizza.

Build your masterpiece then cook it at 450 for about 15-20 minutes on a pizza stone?, until the cheese is bubbly.

Other Related Articles

More articles that will help in your quest to dominate the bread making skill.

Secrets to making Artisan Bread

The best tool EVER for making dough

Maybe you want to make some cheese to go with!

How to make goats milk cheese (or even cheese from regular milk)

Posted on by — 10 Comments

Homemade Goat Milk Soap Recipe For Beginners fast & easy Get Stunning Results

Goats Milk Soap Recipe For Beginners
Get Great Results making goat milk soap

Having been a soap maker for quite a few years now, I have discovered this secret almost by accident and now make wonderfully luxurious cream colored goat’s milk soap.  Using this secret disclosed in the homemade goat milk soap recipe for beginners,  you will be making great soap for your family and friends too, with very little headache.

Easy To Find Ingredients

Most of these ingredients can be purchased at your local grocery or health food store, except for the lye (sodium hydroxide) that will need to come from an online source probably Amazon. You can get smaller quantities from them and it is shipped without hassle for a reasonable price.  It is hard to keep 50 pounds of lye around if you aren’t making soap in large quantities. 50 Pounds is the quantity sold most commonly by soap maker supply companies.

What you need to make Goats Milk Soap For Beginners

As far as utensils go; it really depends on how much soap you plan to make. This recipe will make about three pounds of soap – enough to cover the bottom of a Campbell’s soup box (you know the cardboard that holds a case of soup). If you cut it in half then you could make 8 bars in soap molds.

I like to use an enamel pot that has high sides. I melt the solid oils together first over low, then add the olive oil so cool the oils down to 100degrees. And then when I mix the lye solution in I’m less likely to splash the mixture on myself. (Vinegar is the neutralizing agent for lye – keep it out and handy if you get some lye or lye mixture on you, douse with vinegar and it will stop the burning).

Though you may be tempted to make this without safety glasses, refrain. Wear those glasses! And gloves.  Wear gloves.

Okay, enough on the safety warnings. I’m sure you have your own mother to mutter these little warnings to  you so you don’t need me.

I have a plastic pitcher, a wooden spoon and a separate little glass container that I use for all things lye related. You can get  all of the supplies you need to make soap here

Here is the list:

  • An enamel or stainless steel pot (it doesn’t have to be real big)
  • 1 plastic pitcher
  • 2 wooden spoons
  • 1 stick blender (doesn’t really need to be dedicated to making soap, but be sure to wash it well)
  • 1 kitchen scale (the balance scales work okay for this recipe,  you will need a serious scale for most soap recipes though)
  • 2 glass thermometers
  • safety glasses
  • plastic gloves
  • vinegar on hand
  • a big plastic or glass bowl to set your lye mixture pitcher in.

That is it!

This is the homemade goat milk soap recipe for beginners:

  • 18 oz slushy goat’s milk – This can be from the grocery store, from a friend, from your goat, or powered that has been reconstituted. It also needs to be partially frozen for best results.
  • 6 oz water
  • 6 oz lye (sodium hydroxide)
  • 10 oz coconut oil
  • 24 oz of shortening or lard
  • 9 oz olive oil

That is it!

Learn to make goats milk soap perfectly even if you are a beginner with stuff you mostly can find at your local grocer

Here is the secret to getting cream colored goat’s milk soap

Rather than the orange/brown stuff that most beginners end up with. The reason goat’s milk soap turns brown is because the lye causes the milk solids to burn. The way around that problem is to mix the lye with water first, then mix the lye into the oils and then add the milk.

Another important point is that  you want  your lye solution and your oil to be about the same temperature and that temperature needs to be 100 degrees. It does make a difference.

I like to mix my lye solution over an ice bath. So I put the pitcher in a big bowl full of ice, mix the lye into the water s l o w l  y   so it doesn’t explode and then drop ice cubes down into the solution to get it to cool down quicker. I’m so not the patient type.

Here are the steps to the Homemade Goat Milk Soap Recipe for Beginners:

  • Heat the coconut oil and shortening/lard until it melts in the big pot. Take it off the heat and add olive oil.  Set aside to cool.
  • Put on your safety glasses and gloves
  • Put the pitcher in the ice bath add the water and then the lye to the water.
  • Once both are the same temperature, 100 degrees, mix the lye into the oils (DO NOT DO THIS THE OTHER WAY AROUND )
  • Add the milk.
  • Use the stick blender to mix and blend. Do this in pulses of 20 seconds or you will burn out your blender. Between pulses stir with the blender.
  • When the concoction traces it will look like vanilla pudding. Trace just means that it hold the shape of a swirl, like, as I said, vanilla pudding.
soap trace

Once it begins to trace add your essential oil and extra stuff. I like to use lavender oil and lavender bits, but you can add almost anything. If you are planning to add oatmeal, you need to grind it up first. Take it from me, the whole oats things doesn’t work so well, I know, I’ve tried it.

Adding Stuff To Your Soap

When it comes to adding essential oils, I only add a few drops. For honey/oatmeal soap, I add about 1/4 cup of honey and a cup of oats. Also I have found that sandalwood oil can cause your soap to seize. (turns hard really fast) so go slow when adding that.

Make sure that you have lined your cardboard molds with wax paper before you start if you are planning to use cardboard molds. Pour your mixture into the mold after it has traced and you’ve added all your stuff and made sure it traced again.

Before you Cut Your Soap

Let the soap sit in the mold for 24 hours – it will harden up. You then want to dump it out and cut it into the shapes you want. Let it cure for at least 2-3 weeks before using. Enjoy!

The whole process shouldn’t take you more than maybe an hour from start to finish.

If you have questions ask them below, I follow this blog pretty closely and love to help new soap makers get started!

scalescaleClick HerelyelyeClick Hereenamel potenamel potClick Herehigh side enamel pothigh side enamel potClick HerethermometerthermometerClick Hereplastic pitcherplastic pitcherClick Herewooden spponswooden spponsClick Herepowdered goats milkpowdered goats milkClick Herecoconut oilcoconut oilClick Hereolive oilolive oilClick Hereessential oilsessential oilsClick Heresoap moldsoap moldClick Heresoap moldsoap moldClick Heresoap moldsoap moldClick Here

Don’t forget to grab your copy of The Soap Maker’s Journal so that you can keep your recipes in one place. Every time I make soap I always do something a little different. Recording the adjustments in this journal allows me to repeat success and avoid repeating unwanted results.

Soap maker's journal for bath and body product crafters. Keep all your notes in one place. #soapmaking #homemadesoap #goatsmilksoap @hart_nana
Posted on by — 2 Comments

Why Raw Goat Milk – Should You Be Drinking Goat Milk?

raw goat milk

Raw Goat Milk - should you really be drinking it? #goatmilk #raw milkRaw goat milk is all the rage in the more natural “hippie” groups that share our planet, and you may be wondering why. “Well, let me tell you”, says Hart Nana, smiling…

Why Drink Raw Goat Milk

Raw goat milk called the “universal milk” because it is easily digestible, garners fans around the world. Having fat smaller than that of, say, cow’s milk it naturally mixes more evenly throughout the milk.  Because the fat globules are smaller they are easier to digest and they stay suspended in the milk so there is no need for homogenization.  I think that raw goat milk should be labeled “best next to mother’s own”, but that is just my opinion. Being natural you don’t have to worry about all of the chemicals that constitute the majority of baby formulas on the market. Have you ever considered that a baby goat is much closer in size to a human than a baby cow? That alone, should convince you drinking cow’s milk is probably not in  your best interest.

Benefits of Goat Milk

Raw goat milk provides the nutritional benefits of calcium, amino acids, protein, phosphorus, riboflavin, potassium, vitamin A,  along with other vitamins and minerals.

Long favored by cattle owners and even equestrian farms when the mom’s are unable to feed their babies, raw goat milk provides the best substitute. People, too,  make baby formula out of raw goat milk. Because there are a couple difference between raw goat milk and mother’s milk, a few extras need to be added. This goat milk formula put together by the doctors Sears includes pasteurized goat milk because there are many who want to use goat milk for their baby formula but do not have goats.

Use Goat Milk Topically

There are many benefits to using goat’s milk topically. As it is easy to incorporate into soap this this recipe, you can take advantage of these benefits daily.

  1. Maintains thе ѕkіnѕ’ рH level.
  2. Prevents ѕkіn рrоblеmѕ.
  3. Mоіѕturіzеr fоr ѕеnѕіtіvе ѕkіn.

Goat Milk Baby Formula Recipes

Goat’s Milk Recipes

Note: Always consult your healthcare provider before feeding any recipes to infants as a formula. Raw (unpasteurized) goat milk may be unsafe for infants, so be sure to use a pasteurized brand.

MEYENBERG POWDERED GOAT MILK
BEGINNING RECIPE
(12 oz container) Powdered Goat Milk
6 Scoops (84 g) 		Water
36 oz.		Rice Syrup
6 ½ Tbsp.		Calories (per oz.)
20
As baby matures during their first year, gradually increase ratio of powder to water until whole milk level is reached (see below). Discontinue adding rice syrup (carbohydrates).
To reconstitute to Whole Milk
Powdered Goat Milk
8 scoops (112 g)		Water
32 oz.		Calories (per oz.)
19
MEYENBERG EVAPORATED GOAT MILK
BEGINNING RECIPE
Evaporated Goat Milk
12 oz.		Water
24 oz.		Rice Syrup
5 Tbsp.		Calories (per oz.)
20
As baby matures during their first year, gradually increase ratio of evaporated goat milk to water until whole milk level is reached (see below). Discontinue adding rice syrup (carbohydrates).
To reconstitute to Whole Milk
Evaporated Goat Milk
12 oz 		Water
12 oz.		Calories (per oz.)
19

Alternative carbohydrates include corn syrup and simple table sugar.
Table Sugar = 48 calories per Tbsp.
Corn Syrup = 60 calories per Tbsp.
Rice Syrup = 42 calories per Tbsp.
NOTE: Any time goat milk is the sole source of nutrition, we recommend the feeding of a vitamin supplement. Always consult your healthcare provider before using goat milk formula.

Get Your Milk Tested

If you are going to consume raw milk it is highly recommended that you have your milk tested by the USDA. Though in many states it is illegal to sell raw goat milk for human consumption, in Idaho they offer a small herd exemption. All of our goats are tested and the milk that we sell is tested once a month too.

Lactose Intolerant?

A small note of warning, goat’s milk does have lactose in it so if you are lactose intolerant you might want to start out slowly with it.

Posted on by — 4 Comments

Homemade Laundry Soap That Works

homemade laundry soap that works 3 ingredient cheap laundry soap recipe work for high efficiency washer too

How to Make Homemade Laundry Soap That Works

Want to save money by making your own cheap laundry detergent? This homemade laundry soap that works recipe will make a almost four gallons of fabric cleaning laundry detergent for under one dollar a gallon.

cheap laundry soap recipe

Safe for all fabrics and dependable for removing stains. A little of the homemade homemade laundry soap that works can be used as laundry spot treatment Then wash garment as usual for stain removal.

Ingredients Needed for Cheap Laundry Detergent Recipe

Fels Naptha Heavy Duty SoapFels Naptha Heavy Duty SoapClick HereWashing SodaWashing SodaClick Here20 Mule Team Borax20 Mule Team BoraxClick Here5 Gallon White Bucket & Lid5 Gallon White Bucket & LidClick Here

 These three items need for this homemade laundry soap that works can be found in the laundry aisle of most any grocery store.

 

How To Make Homemade Laundry Soap that Works

Simple to make.

Start with a large sauce pan.  Then combine four cups of water and Fels Naptha soap. Be sure to grate the Fels Naptha with a cheese grater first. After that, add the washing soda and borax. Cook over medium heat until the Fels Naptha soap dissolves. Then reduce heat and let boil gently for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Once the 20 minutes has elapsed, turn off heat and add six cups of cold water to the mixture and stir until thoroughly blended. Next, pour soapy mixture into a 5 gallon, plastic bucket, then add exactly 22 more cups of water and stir thoroughly to combine. The laundry detergent will be thick and gelatinous. Should you want it to smell nice add essential oils to the homemade laundry detergent at this stage.

How To Use Homemade Laundry Soap that Works

That’s all there is to making cheap laundry detergent. If the 5 gallon bucket has a lid, the laundry detergent can be kept in the bucket. Scoup out with a cup when ready to use. Use between ½ cup and a full cup of detergent, depending on laundry load size.

Homemade Soap

After you get done making this homemade laundry soap that works, try your hand at homemade soap. This simple goats milk soap recipe is easy to make. And makes a great gift for the holidays.

 

Save

Save

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Make Comfrey Oil – It is a Carpel Tunnel Natural Remedy!

How to Make Comfrey Oil

Making any type of herbal oil is a simple process of infusing the herb into a good quality oil that will allow absorption into the skin.  I prefer Almond and Coconut oils for making ointments, oils and lotions. You could add the Comfrey infused almond oil to this goat’s milk lotion recipe. You will get a super wonderfully healing lotion!  Don’t use this everyday though, as there are chemicals in Comfrey that can cause liver problems if used long term even topically.

secret natural remedy that heals bones

To make Comfrey oil you will need both almond oil and Comfrey leaves that are dried.  I like to grow Comfrey as it requires so little effort. It also comes back from year to year without me having to do much.

Harvesting Comfrey Leaves

Each fall I harvest the Comfrey leaves and dry them on a clothes drying rack. Clothes drying racks are an awesome way to dry your herbs and greens.

harvesting comfrey leaves

(This is dill in the picture, I still had some wrapped up from last fall)

Gather the stems together in little bunches. Next rubber band them then use little pieces of wire like come with garbage bags or bread wrappers. I save mine in an old plastic bottle. Then thread the wire wrapper through the rubber band then attach the wire to the clothes rack. Sometimes I even put a bit of chicken wire between the racks so I can dry even more on one rack. This works well for drying peppers too.

Back to how to make comfrey oil. Take your Comfrey leaves crumble them up. Next rub them a bit to release their natural oils. Figure about 1/4 cup Comfrey leaves crumbled to one pint of almond oil. Heat the mixture  up until it is warm and let it sit while warm for several hours.

Make Comfrey Oil With a Crock Pot

A good way to do this is in a crock pot on the low setting. Place a wet dish towel in the crock pot first. Then add your pints of almond oil/comfrey on top of the towel.  Next fill the crock pot about half way up the jars then let it sit at low heat for about eight to twelve hours.  I like to start mine in the evening and then they are ready in the morning.

Make Comfrey Oil in Your Oven

benefits of comfreyYou can also make your Comfrey oil in your oven. Heat the oven up to 200 degrees then turn it off. Put your Comfrey oil in a roasting pan or a pot.  If you’re only doing one jar, that has hot, but not boiling water in it, fill them about half way up the jar. Leave these in the oven for 8 to 12 hours replacing the water and reheating the oven once or twice during the process. This method doesn’t work so well at night as you need to do more with it. And, hey, who likes to wake up in the middle of the night to be “fiddling” with stuff?

I’m all about easy, fast and efficient  in my world so the crock pot method works well for me.


After eight to twelve hours of infusing the Comfrey leaves you will need to strain them out of the oil. This is best accomplished by straining the oil/leaf mixture through cheese cloth. A neckerchief, or a piece of thin, clean cotton like muslin also work. Be sure to squeeze all of the oil out of the Comfrey leaves. Then label your Comfrey Oil. It is best stored in a cool dark place.

What are the Comfrey Leaf Benefits?

Comfrey leaves and roots have been used for centuries for heal bruises, bones and contusions. It is thought, by the medical community, that ingesting Comfrey leaves in the form of Comfrey tea can have detrimental affects on  your liver. But using it in a topical application has been shown time and again to really work to speed  up the healing process.

In 2016 I broke my ankle falling down the basement stairs. I used comfrey as a compress and was amazed at how quickly I healed. The bones was better in 3 weeks instead of 4!

The University of Maryland describes Comfrey:

Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) is sometimes used on the skin to treat wounds and reduce inflammation from sprains and broken bones. Comfrey roots and leaves contain allantoin, a substance that helps new skin cells grow, along with other substances that reduce inflammation and keep skin healthy. Comfrey ointments have been used to heal bruises as well as pulled muscles and ligaments, fractures, sprains, strains, and osteoarthritis.

Around here we like to either use Comfrey leaves crumbled, rubbed a bit and then put in a clean sock. Next we apply boiling water to the sock. You can dip it into a cup with boiling water in it. Then once the sock has cooled to warm (do not apply the boiling hot sock to your skin it will hurt and could burn  you) apply the sock/Comfrey leaf poultice to your injured area. Use an ace bandage to hold it in place.

Comfrey the Natural Remedy for carpel tunnel

This works as a carpel tunnel natural remedy. It also works for tennis elbow, or runners knee, shin splints or even back pain.

Use this in addition to the Comfrey oil you should notice significant relief fairly quickly. A trick for applying essential oils. Put it on the soles of your feet at night with socks to protect your bedding. By morning you will find that the medicinal properties of what ever you put on your feet have traveled to where the ingredients were needed most!

The next time  you have a cold, instead of applying the herbal ointment to your chest, put it on your feet. See if the results don’t blow you away by how well this works.

If  you don’t want to make  your own comfrey oil  you can buy it here and if you’d like to grow Comfrey and make your own oil, check out these deals on Comfrey seeds. Comfrey grows like a weed – a very special weed indeed.

be prepared in the event of a disaster.

Save

Save

Posted on by

Lose the Bottle – 5 All Natural Shampoo And Conditioner Ideas

all natural shampoo and conditioners

Over the years we have become so conditioned to purchasing our shampoo and conditioner at the local grocery story that we have forgotten the time honored, all  natural shampoo and conditioner ideas that our grandmothers used to use.  There are some things we need to talk about before diving in.  Since we have been using shampoo for years our hair and scalp have become accustomed to producing a certain amount of oil to combat the stripping action the chemicals in shampoo cause.  Therefore the more frequently you apply shampoo to your hair the faster it will get oily.  Weaning off of shampoo will take some time for your hair to adjust.

Finding All Natural Shampoo


You should find that by using more natural shampoo and conditioner ideas over time your hair won’t be oily as fast. Did you ever wonder what people did in the old days? Remember all those  young gals with long, long hair? Do you remember the 100 strokes before bed? Women and girls worn their hair up to minimize the amount of dirt that accumulated in it. They also didn’t wash their hair very often. Many of these old ways had a function. Now we are just encouraged to use, use, use, with little thought to what all of the packaging is doing to the environment or what the products are doing to us.

My own hair is fairly long. I wash it once a week. The rest of the time I wear it in a braid and brush it once a day to distribute the oil to the ends where it can benefit the most.  My hair is healthy and even though I am in my fifties my hair still grows almost four inches a year.

All Natural Shampoo and Conditioner Ideas:

  • You can use regular homemade soap if you want some lather. Goats milk soap will clean the oils and dirt from your hair and nourish the skin on your scalp.
  • Baking soda rinse instead of soap or shampoo. One tablespoon in an old squirt bottle filled with water. Rinse  your hair with water, then apply the baking soda mixture at the base. Massage it into your scalp and it will rinse through the rest of your hair. Follow that with a vinegar rinse to neutralize the backing soda. One tablespoon of vinegar to a squirt bottle of water. The vinegar will also cut any dandruff issues you may be suffering from.
  • Eggs – crack the eggs into a plastic cup and mix.  Once you are done with your “washing” apply the eggs while you finish bathing. Rinse thoroughly.
  • Mayonnaise – Apply as a conditioner while you wash, rinse out.
  • Olive Oil treatment – Once  you have “washed” your hair, apply very warm olive oil to it, then wrap your hair in a towel (right out of the dryer is best) Let your hair soak for ten to twenty minutes. Wash out the olive oil with hot water, baking soda and then the vinegar rinse.

Try these alternatives when it comes to all natural shampoo and conditioner  for a couple months and you will notice how wonderful your hair is and how much more time you have now that you aren’t spending so much of it messing with your hair.

Make Your Own All Natural Shampoo

½ сuр distilled wаtеr
¼ сuр liquid саѕtіlе soap
2 tsp аvосаdо oil
1/8 tsp рерреrmіnt essential оіl
1/8 tѕр tea tree еѕѕеntіаl oil
1 tsp vеgеtаblе glусеrіn  – this is optional but will add “body” to your shampoo
10 – 15 drops of еѕѕеntіаl оіlѕ – nothing like making your hair smell nice and nourishing it right?

Put the аbоvе іngrеdіеntѕ in a squeeze or pump bottle.  Shаkе wеll bеfоrе еасh uѕе. Pоur a lіttlе over уоur hеаd. Lather gооd. Gеntlу massage in thе ѕсаlр fоr a mіnutе or twо. Rinse соmрlеtеlу.

Find What You Need To Make All Natural Shampoo and Conditioner Here:

 

 

Castile SoapCastile SoapClick HereEssential OilsEssential OilsClick HereAvocado OilAvocado OilClick HereGlycerine VegetableGlycerine VegetableClick Here16 Ounce Cobalt Blue16 Ounce Cobalt BlueClick HereSoft 'N Style Lotion Dispenser Bottle, 16 oz.Soft ‘N Style Lotion Dispenser Bottle, 16 oz.Click Here32 Ounce White Plastic Bottle32 Ounce White Plastic BottleClick Here

Save