Friday, April 3, 2009

Green Recipes

I have been holding back so much info from you all, I'm sorry!! Here are some great recipes that we are using at our house to be green and save green!

I have seen many recipes for homemade laundry soap floating around the Internet, and I finally tried it out. I wish I had known about this years ago!! It is easy to make, works great, and is so incredibly inexpensive it seems too good to be true, but it's not! Here is the recipe that I used laundry soap

Try it out and tell me what you think.

Also, I made our own toothpaste. I had heard a long time ago that Fluoride wasn't good for you, but hadn't taken the time to do much research. Thankfully I have a friend that loves to investigate these things and share all her knowledge :-)) You can check out Aprils blog here. She doesn't have the fluoride info on her blog yet, so I'll just forward on the video she found. Go here to watch a video on how fluoride got into our drinking water and what you need to know about it.

After watching the video my husband threw out the toothpaste, and so I was forced to finally make toothpaste like I have been intending for years. Here is the recipe I used. I suggest using a bit less salt. We all like it, well dd is having a little fit, but I think she'll come around. It is very similar to arm and hammer toothpaste. We used freecycled baby food jars that each person got to decorate. I think the kids like having their own "special" toothpaste, so that helped in the transition.

Again I'd love to hear what you think if you make it.

6 comments:

Jenn said...

I make my own laundry detergent too! I've been doing it for about 6 months (?) now. Love it. Use the same recipe you do.

Haven't delved into the homemade toothpaste yet, but I'm with you on the fluoride for sure. I do make our own mouthwash though using xylitol. Xylitol is a natural sugar-like substance that is amazing for keeping cavities away!!! (Kills bacteria in the mouth)

Heather said...

The next time you make toothpaste, try using coconut oil (or any other kind of oil, really). Glycerin doesn't just wipe off your teeth and can prevent remineralization (which is how your saliva keeps your teeth enamel strong, sort of). Oil works as well but doesn't stick for so long. It's also easier for people avoiding animal products, as most companies are not specific about the type of glycerin they use.

Heather said...

I'm going to be the totally annoying commenter here, too. :) I see that toothpaste recipe calls for wintergreen.. I would not put wintergreen oil in anything you are ingesting. Especially for kids- wintergreen is in the same family as aspirin (salicylic acids) and can cause Reye's syndrome, blood thinning, or allergic reactions in those sensitive to aspirin.
Gosh, I'm such a downer... Sorry..

Grand Forks Mommy said...

Heather, thanks for the info. We used peppermint oil, and as for the glycerin I haven't noticed any time of residue. Actually my teeth feel cleaner than they EVER have before!! I do have coconut oil, so I'll give it a try next time.

I am so not a scientist, so I appreciate all of you that are and share your wealth of knowledge!!

Heather said...

I agree, peppermint or spearmint are great! I've also used lemon oil (but not lemon juice!) and that works well with the coconut oil. :)

DSusic said...

So have you tried the Mouthwash thats listed on the same page as the toothpaste? They put Vodka in it! wowsa!