Lighten Skin with Lemon & Salt Bath

Last night I was showing my mom the effect of my trial homemade bronzer, which was basically just cocoa powder brushed on my cheeks. I even went under the light so she can see clearly. But instead of noticing my bronzed cheeks, she noticed how clear my skin was. 

Days before she told me as I was under the light that I had eruptions and last night she told me otherwise! I do tea baths almost everyday but yesterday I did something completely different. I bathed in lemon with salt. (We're missing the Tequila here!)

I heated some water, added about 9 Kalamansi (Philippine lemon) and added the salt after turning off the heat. Salt will make it hard for the heater to do its job because of its cooling effects.  

My hair was shiny but it wasn't as soft or manageable as when I did my Stevia, Java Mint and Chamomile bath. But it was very shiny. My skin look like it lightened too. I wear T-shirts a lot and the sunburn just below my collar bone is a mainstay for me. But after doing this, my skin visibly lightened in this area. It is not suggested to do this bath everyday because it might be harmful. But if you want lighter skin and clearer complexion, lemon and salt are your kitchen-go to.

Photo from: http://www.ericcressey.com/sodium-intake-is-salt-bad-for-you

Java Minty Tea Bath

I had a lot of Java mint spare when my parents harvested for the Fresh Mint Chocolate Chip cookies and the Mint Chocolate ice cream I made for them so I figured why not air dry it and make a tea bath out of it. 

This baby came from my mom's garden. Pretty thing, isn't it? Smells great too. 

Air-drying takes about 3 days. I used about 3 tbsps. worth of dried leaves before putting them in boiling bath water. I left it to boil for another 20 minutes. At around 15th minute, the house was filled with the sweet, refreshing smell of Java mint. My mom noticed it first. I completely forgot about heating the water with tea leaves in it. Ha! This is why I do not cook! But, it was incredible like a whole-house aromatherapy session. But the smell just doesn't stay too long. Too bad. 

The bath was incredible. I currently use mentholated shampoo because when it changes weather a lot, I tend to get dandruff. What I notice about Java mint bath is that it's not as mentholated as what we use in commercial shampoos and body washes. It's a lot milder and the smell doesn't stick so long as all good things but the effects are to be in love with. My hair was really shiny and soft and manageable right after and no itch! I had my mom feel my hair and she said it was like a horse's. And I take that as a compliment. 

After talking about a lot of tea baths here, you might think that all tea baths are made the same. Well, no. I'm just lucky that so far because I've tried good teas that have great effect on hair and body. My mom has tried Lagundi tea bath, although it has warmed her entire body on cold days, it didn't make her hair look as nice. So not all tea baths are made the same but I am starting to believe that all are awesome for skin. I haven't used lotion for weeks (apart from the fact that it's summer)  and I can tell you it's far from being dry. 

DIY Stevia Tea Bath

So another of the tea bags that I have totally forgotten and just expired are the free samples given to me by an organic Stevia gentleman farmer I met. 

And it would be a waste to throw away like the Expired Organic Chamomile tea bags I had. So I did a little research. According to Wisdom of the Ancients, Stevia can heal cuts and sores. It is said also to smoothen wrinkles and make skin soft when they dry from this tea rinse. A woman also claims that it removes aches and pains when put in the bath and is just as relaxing. It's also a good hair conditioner that helps retain hair color and makes the hair stronger. Just leave the rinse at the bath for 5 minutes. 

With my expired Stevia tea bag, it's time to try this ancient secret to sweetness and beauty.

What you need:


Hot bath water
Stevia tea bags (enough to color water)

Steep tea bags for 15 minutes. Remove the tea bags and enjoy. Tea bags may be reused 5 times.

Review:


It's indeed relaxing but it didn't have the extremely calming effect as the Chamomile bath I had last night. I almost fell asleep through dinner. And it did get  my aches and pains I have or maybe it's the hot water. As for the effect on hair, it didn't turn out as soft as the chamomile bath but the shine of my hair was fantastic and it managed to calm my curls. Definitely a must do! Can't wait to do a chamomile-stevia fusion bath!

This is what it looks like when it's fresh by the way.

Get your Stevia at Php60/seedling. 

Coming soon at https://herbalandherbs.wordpress.com/ 

DIY Yakult-flavored Yogurt

I was supposed to try out making yogurt but since I forgot to buy yogurt at the grocery store for my starter set and we have Yakult, I decided to make Yakult milk instead.

I wanted a really CREAMY yogurt so I bought my favorite powdered milk, Bear Brand. But creamy Yakult milk, is another thing worth trying.

Since I baked fabulous Fresh Mint Chocolate Chip cookies and making Yakult milk needed oven assistance, I decided to make it after the baking. 

What you're going to need:

1 liter of water

1 pack of 300 g. powdered milk of your choice

1 pc. Yakult

Oven

1. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees Celsius. (Better if you bake first so it's more economical.)

2. Mix the three ingredients together in oven-proof bowl. Put in oven at 250 degrees then turn off the oven. 

3. Leave mixture undisturbed for 12-14 hours. This is what it looks like after 12 hours.

And when you mix it, you will see some formed lumps.

4. Chill for 2 hours and enjoy! Add sugar if you want to taste.

Review:

The consistency reminds me of cottage cheese that's more runny.

It has the tangy taste of yogurt and the aftertaste of Yakult without the sugar. Definitely, an acquired taste. Sugar makes it easier to down just make sure you dissolve the sugar well.  But the health benefits make it totally worth it. For more information on Yakult, visit http://www.yakultusa.com/. Cheers to healthy intestines!

DIY Fresh Mint Chocolate Ice Cream

A new twist to an already tested recipe! I've posted before about DIY Ice Cream.  I've always wanted to try mint ice cream and since my parents have java mint (also used on my DIY Fresh Mint Choco Chip cookies), I thought I might as well make ice cream. 

What you will need:

2 all-purpose cream
20 fresh Java mint leaves
1 can condensed milk
1 c. chopped chocolate

So same recipe as DIY ice cream only difference is that we'll be heating the cream in a sauce pan in low fire with 20 leaves of Java mint. Do not boil. Keep stirring the cream until there are bubbles at the side of the pan. Remove from heat and cover pan for 30 minutes. This is what you call steeping. The same thing is done when you make tea. 

After 30 minutes, sift the tea leaves and press it down so all the flavor will go to the cream. Refrigerate cream for about 2 hours or until it looks thick and not runny. Whip it until soft peak. Add chocolate chips to your condensed milk and fold into whipped mint cream. Refrigerate for 6 hours or until it has solidified.

Get your Peppermint at Php60/seedling. 

Visit https://herbalandherbs.wordpress.com/ for more details. 

I got this idea from Simply Recipes and merged it with the easy recipe I got. Turned out well except that again, I dread bittersweet chocolate. (Just a little more and the bittersweet chocolate will all be gone from the pantry. *Evil laugh*)

But it does look good, doesn't it?

What to do with Expired Chamomile Tea Bags

Our next door neighbor gave us a box of organic chamomile tea bags from London about a year ago. But being busy people that we are, we forget things. And two days ago I found out that it already expired.

Photo from: http://www.whittard.co.uk/tea/herbal/organic_camomile_caffeine_free_herbal_25_teabags.htm

Honestly, I found it a waste to just throw it away so I found a different use for it that's just as effective as the oral intake. I used it in my bath. 

I placed in hot bath water 3 bags of this baby. I shampooed and scrubbed with loofa and rinsed out with chamomile tea.  

I knew of the calming properties of chamomile as a drink and as an essence but as a tea bath, who knew? I was so relaxed right after, you'd think I came from the spa. 

I was well-aware that chamomile can be used for highlighting hair for blondes but not of the other benefits of bathing hair with chamomile tea. My hair was so soft and shiny after. Conditioner got nothing on chamomile tea! And it is said to lighten eye bags too. I have yet to try this!

Which reminds me, I have expired stevia tea bags too - but that's another story. Expired tea bags rock!!! 

DIY Fresh Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies (Sugar-free)

A friend of mine has been requesting mint chocolate chip cookies from me for the longest time and it is only now that I found the time to finally try making them. Sure there are available mint food essence available in the market but fresh is always better! And since my parents have an herb garden, I might as well take advantage!

Get your Peppermint at Php60/seedling. 

Visit https://herbalandherbs.wordpress.com/ for more details. 

I got this recipe from Une Gamine dans la Cuisine. 

Group A:

1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of baking soda

Group B:
1/2 cup or 113 g. unsalted butter, at room temperature
165 g. coconut sugar

1 egg
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Group C:

1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chopped
1/4 cup of chopped fresh mint leaves (or food processed)

1. Sift Group A together. 

2. Cream butter and sugar for 10 minutes (KitchenAid speed 4). Add egg and vanilla then mix for 30 sec. (KitchenAid speed 6). 

3. Add Group A to creamed mixture in 3 additions. Mix only until no traces of flour can be seen. Scrape sides as needed. 

4. Add Group C and fold manually until well incorporated. 

5. Refrigerate for 3 1/2 hours. But you can chill for 30 mins if you cannot wait. (I couldn't wait.)

6. Scoop dough (approx. 1 tbsp./ pc.) in greased cookie sheet. Put flour in scoop as needed so that dough doesn't stick. Place cookie dough one inch apart each other in cookie sheet.  

7. Bake at preheated oven temperature 180 degrees Celsius for 7 minutes. Leave in cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. 

Makes 20. 

Recipe Review:

I think I've mentioned in my  post for DIY ice cream that I'm not a big fan of chocolate cake or ice cream. It's the same with cookies but it's always nice to bake for your mom who worships chocolates, yes? 

What I don't like about my first attempt is the fact that I used bittersweet chocolate. It was the only thing available in the pantry. I'm weak against bitter stuff because I'm sweet. Ha ha! My mom loved it though. She's a sucker for all things bitter. Eew. 

I like how the cookie is firm on the sides and chewy and wonderfully moist on the inside. The green patches are not as visible when you see the cookies in person. I used flash for this photo. 

 

I guess the only down side to using fresh mint leaves in your cookies is that it tends to get stuck between your teeth. But if minty fresh breath after a sweet treat is what you are after, this cookie will not disappoint. Will definitely make them again but this time with semi-sweet chocolate.

Get your Peppermint at Php60/seedling. 

Visit https://herbalandherbs.wordpress.com/ for more details. 

DIY Sexy Thighs

After posting about two wonderful cakes and thinking about making mint chocolate ice cream and caramel frosting, I think it's about time I thought of posting something about fitness. And what better way to offset these wonderful craving than working on our booties. 

I've obsessed about my thighs and have done self-cellulite massage and have discovered in my first blood donation that it can be thigh-slimming. I wish I was kidding too but my pants were really loose on the thigh area after my blood donation. But mind you, it's not the be and all of slimming down your already wonderful pair of thighs. 

I've began exercising regularly starting January 3 and I have since focused on my thigh size reduction. I measured myself before beginning with my exercise and by the first week of March (blood donation not included), I've already lost 1 inch not only on my thighs but also my arms and waist. And I'm going to share some of the things, I've done after days of searching the internet for the best way to lose all the unwanted gravity on my body. 

Since I have very low attention span, I only do these for 30 minutes. 

1. Walking 

2. Brisk walking and jogging 

3. Biking

4. Home Exercises - include warm-up exercises and other movements that target the thighs. 

Home Exercises

Apart from 100 counts of skipping rope, squatting to going all the way down, jumping jacks, stair step exercise, butt squeezes, weights, sit-ups and elbow-knee reach crossovers, what I really want to share here is an exercise I discovered upon my search. It's deadly but it's very effective! It gets easy to do once you get used to it. I showed this to my best friend and she told me she had results in just two weeks along with the cellulite massage. I can really say the same. My thighs were definitely firmer after two weeks!

I like the sumo squat jumps better, which is like the reverse of a jumping jack. The curtsy lunge and side lunge done alternately is a little too deadly for me. What I like to do is do curtsy lunges and side lunges separately with 15 counts for each side and 3 repetitions. 

I guess the most effective way to get your sexy thighs is to be consistent and to exercise regularly. Mix and match exercises so that you don't overdo anything and you give your muscles time to rest. 

To keep me really motivated to exercise and to create the exercising habit, I have put up an exercise calendar. 

Photo from: http://stuff.icanhascheezburger.com/2010/06/08/cute-kawaii-stuff-june-calendar-wallpaper/cute-june-calendar-2/

Mine has pictures of cute kittens but this is just so cute and perfect for me (cupcakes)! Every time I exercise, I stamp the date with a kiss mark. 

Photo from: http://heartrouge.blogspot.com/2011/02/lip-stamp-muah-muah.html

Every time, I miss a day, I pay the next day. Meaning if I don't get to exercise for 30 minutes on one day, I exercise for one whole hour the next day. I've also placed below my calendar, the handwritten word DISCIPLINE to remind me to be disciplined about it. And it's a good reminder because I pass by it almost all the time. I still allot a day's rest from exercise. But now, when I don't do to my regular exercise patterns my body starts looking for it.  Remember, YOU are the boss of your body! Don't let it tell you what it wants to do especially when it's lazy. 

I used to want to be really slim like those Korean pop stars and weigh 50 kgs.even if its underweight for my height but a few months of exercise made me appreciate my own body. I realized that it's not the weight but the health to do the things I like doing, the glow of my skin, the shine of my hair, the clarity of my thoughts and the ability to donate blood that is more important to me. Now I'm happy with myself but it doesn't mean I'll stop taking care of it. In fact, it motivates me to look better by taking care of myself. Yes, exercise does that.  

As Laura Pirott says in her Elf-help book, Take Charge of Your Eating...

Photo from: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780870293788

Look at your body and appreciate your physical uniqueness. Relax and be as you are, without trying to hide or wish away parts of yourself. God has lovingly made you. Marvel at the creation that you are. 

DIY Yellow Cake with Cookies 'n Cream Frosting

I've been a sucker for cookies 'n cream. When I was about 9 or 10, my dad came home with a lot of Hersheys cookies 'n cream chocolates. I devoured a bag on a one-way day trip. It's just really weird because I'm a big fan of white chocolate but not of Oreos. 

Photo from: http://-foodporn.tumblr.com/post/22577889546

I'm still no fan of oreo, but cookies 'n cream? Count me in, most definitely! 

I'm also a HUGE fan of yellow cake so I married these two favorites in one, which was an amazing experience like falling in love for the first time. 

I used Smitten Kitchen's yellow cake recipe which was intended for caramel cake but I haven't perfected caramel yet. Wait and see, caramel, I shall get you right soon! 

For the yellow cake

Group A:

2 c. cake flour

1 tsp. baking powder

3.4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Group B:

1/2 c. or 100 g. butter (at room temperature for 30 mins.)

3/4 c. or 160 g. white sugar

2 large ORGANIC eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease an 8-inch square pan, put parchment paper and grease paper. I like using my 9-inch round pan for this recipe instead.

2. Sift together Group A.

3. Cream butter and sugar for 10 minutes (KitchenAid mixer speed 4). Add one egg at a time and mix (KitchenAid mixer speed) for 30 seconds. Add vanilla with last egg and mix. 

4. Add all the buttermilk and mix. 

5. Add in Group A to mixture in 3 additions. 

6. Put in pan and rack pan to rid of air bubbles. 

7. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the toothpick comes clean.

8. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before transferring to rack. 

9. Cool for an hour before frosting. 

Important: 

I studied baking before and never in my life was the liquid (buttermilk in this instance) added first before the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt). But it totally works with this recipe so don't deviate, otherwise there will be a lot of holes in the cake. Trust me, I know. I've tried. 

Organic eggs: 

You have the option of using ordinary eggs but I tell you organic eggs make a lot of difference. I'm sure some of you know that yellow cake gets their color from the yellow of the egg. Let me tell you ordinary egg yolks pale in comparison with organic egg yolks. Not only is the color better, the cake is so much fluffier also! I haven't tried organic eggs with chiffon cakes but I can only imagine how wonderful it would be! I can't wait!

Photo from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowcake

Not my picture. Ha! I really have to take pictures of the goodies I bake before they're gone. 

For the frosting, I used Bake Space's wonderful cookies and cream frosting. 

1/2 c. or 100 g. unsalted butter

1 3/4 c. or 190 g.  powdered sugar

pinch of salt

1/3 c. or 80 g. whipping cream

1/2 tsp. vanilla

crushed oreos

1. Cream butter and powdered sugar and salt. 

2. Add whipping cream and vanilla. 

3. Fold oreos. 

Crushing oreos: I use my food processor to make oreos into a powder. I not only put it in the frosting, I'd like to top the cake too with it. So yum! 

Craving!!!

Below are some ingredient substitutes you can make:

For the cake:

Cake Flour (1 cup)

2 tbsp. corn starch + all purpose flour to make 1 cup

Buttermilk (1 cup)

1 tbsp. vinegar + skim milk

For the frosting:

Whipping cream

Use all-purpose cream

Computing calories:

Yellow cake (accdg. to Calorie-charts) = 245.28/slice

Cookies 'n cream frosting (accdg. to Food) = 235.2/slice

Total = 481 calories/slice of this delish recipe

At this point, I really don't care about the calories, I mean if you've tasted it, you'll know it's worth it! But in case you are trying to lose some weight, here are activities you can do to rid of yourself the guilt trip. And as I've mentioned in my red velvet cupcake post, you can burn 168 calories just by baking (and cleaning up. It's really part of it.) 

So get up bake and enjoy!

DIY Red Velvet Cupcakes

Now this is a true story but I never tasted red velvet cupcakes until I baked them one day. I was like 'what's all the fuss?' with this little thing so I decided to try it out. 

Photo from: http://gimmesomeoven.com/red-velvet-cupcakes-with-cream-cheese-frosting/

I used Joy of Baking's recipe. This isn't my picture though but it looks a lot like it! I couldn't take a good picture of it because I'm still not very good at designing. I make really good FUNCTIONAL cakes though. It serves its sweet purpose. 

For cupcakes: 

Makes 12

Group A:

1 1/4 c. or 125 g. cake flour

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. Dutch-processed cocoa

Group B: 

1/4 c. or 57 g. unsalted butter (at room temp for 30 minutes)

150 g. White Sugar

1 large egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Group C: 

1/2 c. buttermilk

1 tbsp. red food coloring

Group D: 

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. distilled white vinegar

1. Line muffin tin and preheat oven at 180 degrees Celsius.

2. Sift Group A together and whisk them together. 

3. Cream butter & sugar for 10 minutes (KitchenAid mixer Speed 4). Add egg and vanilla and mix for 30 seconds (KitchenAid mixer Speed 6). 

4. Mix Group C together. 

5. Add Group A and Group C to creamed mixture alternately in three additions, starting and ending with Group A. 

6.  Combine Group D. Let it finish fizzing before folding into batter. 

7. Scoop to the muffin tin evenly and bake for 18-23 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. 

8. Cool in tin for 10 minutes before putting in the cooling rack. 

9. Cool for an hour before putting frosting. 

Ingredient Substitution:

Cake Flour (1 c.)
2 tbsp. corn starch + all purpose flour (to make 1 c.)

Buttermilk (1 c.)
1 tbsp. vinegar + skim milk (to make 1 c.) Let stand for 5 minutes.

Photo from: http://nasilemaklover.blogspot.com/2012/01/red-velvet-cake-cupcakes-with-cream.html

For the cream cheese frosting:

8 oz. chilled cream cheese (cut into pieces in you're using a handmixer)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. or 60 g. powdered sugar
2/3 c. or 160 ml. chilled heavy cream

1. Whisk cream cheese for 10 minutes (KitchenAid Speed 4).
2. Add vanilla and powdered sugar, whisk until well-mixed.
3. Add cream and whisk until thick enough to pipe.

Ingredient substitution


Heavy cream
Use all-purpose cream.

Review:

I just love this recipe! It's simple and it's really good. Although, I just made 11 cupcakes out of it. I should learn how to distribute scoops evenly. 

As for the frosting, it's really good but it's too much for me and my family. We love sugar as much as the next person but we don't really need large swirls of cream cheese frosting. So the next time I'm making this, I'm cutting the recipe in half or I'll make two batches of cupcakes. 

And if you're worried about your waistline, Starbuck's red velvet cake makes 430 calories. Baking can burn 168 to 348 calories according to this site. If you're using a KitchenAid mixer or a  hand-mixer, we can safely assume we burn 168 calories - I mean we will still be cleaning the kitchen up while waiting for the cupcakes to bake. While waiting for the cupcakes to cool, scrub a bathroom and you've already offset the 'caloric damage' of a red velvet cupcake.   

Happy baking!

My First Blood Donation

Now this is different from my usual posts. It's nothing DIY but it's a wonderful experience I'd like to share with everyone. 

Ever since I was in college, I've been trying to pass the screening to donate blood. Sadly, I've always failed for a number of reasons; I was either underweight, had low blood pressure, had colds or was under asthma medication.

I thought it was completely hopeless for me to donate blood in the future so every time I receive text messages regarding sick people in our community searching for blood donors, I just prayed for that person.  

But last Friday, things were about to change. I received three messages from different people for the same person who needs blood. It happened to be a very close friend's parent whom I love dearly. We had the same blood-type, O+. I don't really know what came over me but I decided to go. 

I wasn't sure if I was going to pass the dreaded qualifications. We were given a questionnaire, interviewed by the doctor and our blood samples were screened. I was praying so hard that I’d make it and guess what my prayers were answered. 

It was like a dream come true! I gave a bag of my blood! My mom and best friend congratulated for this feat. 

My blood-letting took about 15 minutes to finish. Every 5 seconds, if you ever try it, you will be required to close and open your hands. I really felt my blood rush out from all parts of my body. It was funny because while the bag was still attached to me, I didn't feel my energy leave me. But the moment it was removed, I felt the fatigue. I was required to rest for about 15 minutes. The phlebotomist who assisted me told me that there were proud, bulky guys who stood after the bloodletting and fell flat on the ground. So much for pride. I waited it out. I mean who needs humiliation?

I was told to take iron supplements, eat and rest so no driving or commuting alone after bloodletting.

My friend's mom received my blood after being cross-examined and after getting the doctor's approval. She's still recovering.  I hope she gets better soon.  

It was just really tough luck for me because I had my period the night after I donated blood. I do not recommend this for any woman. I was weak for days because of this. I still may be weak until now. My physical therapist friend told me to take two iron supplements, one in the morning and one at night until my period’s done. So if you are thinking of giving blood, mark in your calendars first when your last period is. It is not suggested to give before you get your period and you definitely cannot give after it. You can donate every 3-6 months. 

Donating blood is good because you not only get a free medical check-up, your blood is cleansed and renewed and it gives your bone marrow a well-deserved work-out. And another perk people probably didn't know, my friends complimented me how slim and how pretty I got. Ha! Who cares about getting weak for days when you get all these benefits? My thighs got really smaller. So that’s where I hide all my blood!

I think I was really fated to give blood last Friday. I mean I always have colds because of my allergic rhinitis but that day, not even a sneeze. Well, I did but after the bloodletting. But among these benefits, what I appreciate the most is being able to help someone. A lot of us people think that we need a lot of money to be able to help out people. Although money is important, I realized that taking care of yourself is not selfish and giving love is free. And this is enough motivation to keep myself fit and healthy. I will definitely be doing this again. I will take care of myself so that until the day I die, I can still give a part of me. How about you? What’s your motivation?

Eggs: Also for Bouncy Hair

My mom recently bought a book entitled Herbal Home Remedies by Jude Todd. 

Photo from: http://www.paperbackswap.com/Herbal-Home-Remedies-Jude-C-Todd/book/8180565505/

I totally worship this book! I mean it's amazing and I can't wait to try out all the interesting stuff written here and share it with all of you! And the best thing is my mom has this herbal garden business so getting my hands on those herbs are easy, breezy and free. I'm such a lucky girl!

Today, I'm posting a review on this book's shampoo substitute. And I bet every person reading this can do it as soon as they read it. 

What you need: 

Egg

Vinegar-rinse

Photo from: https://www.organicbuyersgroup.com.au/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=740

All you have to do is beat the egg before taking a bath. Massage it on your scalp. I like to leave it on while I soap myself and then rinse my hair with the vinegar-rinse and water.

As for the vinegar-rinse, use the recipe here. But instead of using everything, put it in your empty and clean shampoo bottles so you can use it every time you need it. Pour enough vinegar-rinse on your hair then rinse with water. Do this twice a week. 

So what I thought of it? After my bath, my hair already felt different. It felt thicker and heavier. I did this shampoo substitute for two consecutive days. If there is something to complain about this recipe, it is that the egg smell stays even with the vinegar. So you better wash really well.

I remember when I was a teenager, my mom and I would put mayonnaise on our hair and it would come out just beautiful. Mayo is basically eggs and olive oil. So maybe egg really is the secret! 

When making leche flan, we put  lemon or lime to remove the smell of eggs. Maybe I should try putting vanilla. Leche Flan scent on my hair. Hmm. 

Photo from: http://muchamunch.wordpress.com/2012/02/13/i-heart-leche-flan-2/

      

I didn't really notice the wonderful effects of this shampoo substitute until I was back to using my commercial shampoo. My hair was manageable even if it's just air-dried. I'm also doing DIY Highlights and after this shampoo substitute, I could see that my hair has really lightened! Biking under the sun has really paid off! And to add to this, my hair is shiny and tangle-free! And I don't brush because I have curly hair. 

All in all, I love this DIY shampoo. I'm definitely doing this twice a week and I'm adding lemons and vanilla.  Leche flan-scented hair anyone?  

DIY Highlights

I have a confession to make. I'm terrified of going to hair salons and this is probably why I am doing all the DIY stuff (except for the haircut) so that I wouldn't have to go. When you go to the salon, it's usually to feel good about yourself. I don't know if it ever appeared to you in this way but notice when you go to salons you feel picked on (at least at the salons I've been to). 

I have naturally curly hair and there was a time when rebond was all the craze. Oh my formative years. When I go for a haircut, the person doing my hair does nothing but rip my self-esteem by telling me to have my hair done straight. For awhile I followed their advice until I realized that they were not after my welfare when they suggested this to me. My hair got damaged and I had to grow it out to its former glory. 

Until now, when I go to salons I am still being told to do the same. But after that really bad experience, I know better. And if you want something done right, you gotta DIY, love!

Summer's around the corner and what better way to start feeling it than to have HIGHLIGHTS on your locks. I have black hair - not really the jet black type because when I'm under the sun it reveals a light brown color. Since I'm all for the natural stuff, I did my research on highlighting hair naturally. And all of them say the same thing, use LEMONS!

Photo from: http://kas2ri-kas2ri.blogspot.com/2009/06/limau-kasturikalamansi.html

We have American lemons here but I think our native Calamansi will do just fine. 

I've experimented on this just this morning. Below is the list of what you will be needing:

1 cup water

4 tbsp. Kalamansi (approx. 16 pcs.)

Sunblock

Sun

Photo from: http://rainbowsunshinekittens.tumblr.com/

You simply mix them together, go for a bath and use this as a last rinse over your head. Then put sunblock and bask under the sun for thirty minutes. After that rinse with water and dry! 

What I like to do is go out to bike around the village at 8:30 AM. The sun will be up and about by then and it's exactly 30 minutes away from the sun being harmful. I not only burn 109 calories according to this calorie calculator, I also get my much needed Vitamin D, a tan, thigh muscles and my highlights on! Definitely better than sitting for an hour to two hours in the salon while reading magazines or watching TV! And mind you lemon is also skin lightening and a wonderful astringent for your face so that's like doing three treatments in one! Just don't let it get to your eyes!

Of course, the effects are not as immediate as with the salon. So I might be hallucinating a bit when I find my hair a little lighter when I saw it a minute ago against the light. The best way is to do this once a week for four weeks. Lemon is very acidic and may dry hair (and your skin!) if you do this everyday. Patience is a virtue. 

Some websites say that you will have blisters on your head if you do the last rinse method for this but I've just tried it this morning and no, none of the pain they were saying. But if you are still not sure about this, you can put the concoction in a spray bottle and spray away so lemon juice won't hit your scalp. 

If you have time to spare, you may also want to try honey and olive oil. You can check how it's done here. I've tried them both. I didn't enjoy it though because olive oil is again too greasy and honey makes the ants go crazy in my bathroom. But honey does make your hair feel softer. I can't wait to try the beer treatment but I think this would be best with a girl friend so you can drink and bash old boyfriends so early in the morning together. 

I'm continuing this treatment until the four weeks are up. Just in time for April! Can't wait how it turns out!

DIY Hair Spa

My mom has been keeping secrets from me. And this is a good one. I've been telling her for weeks now that her hair looks more wonderful than usual. Her secret, VINEGAR. Her last rinse in the bath is aloe and vinegar but she mainly used vinegar to be a preservative of aloe vera because it starts to smell after awhile. I researched about vinegar and its benefits when used on hair and apparently a lot of people already know about this the secret behind vinegar.

Image from: http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/cleaning/all-natural-cleaning-solutions/vinegar-0

So vinegar... Who knew right? I certainly did not. And when I found out about it this afternoon, I tried it out immediately.

So this is what you'll need:

2 cups of warm water

1 Tbsp. of vinegar (any kind you want)

Basically, you're going to mix this together and then use it as a last rinse when you take a bath. You leave it on for 30 minutes then rinse it again to remove the vinegar smell. 

I've tried this and it's wonderful! The effect is immediate. After the last rinse, I noticed my hair feels different already. I just air dried my hair after the second rinse and it was manageable and shiny and not a whiff of vinegar! Usually my hair does not know which way to go at this point so I cannot get over the fact that it's down and easy with just vinegar! 

I read here that you can do it as much at three times a week. I'm definitely doing it weekly! It's a good antiseptic for skin too and hey, it kills mildew in the bathroom. Three birds with one stone all for the price of vinegar!  

DIY Waxing

So I have mutant blackheads and the same goes for my hair. I used Veet until recently. I've tried the spray, cream and the strips. But it takes an allergic reaction gone wild to make me stop using Veet. My legs were a disaster and had wounds all over here. And that was when I realized that it was time to go organic on this one as well.

There are a lot of waxing clinics that started sprouting here in BF Homes but my favorite of which is Lay Bare which has a lot of branches all over the Philippines. My favorite branch of which is the one in Festival Mall. And my favorite waxer is Cristy! She's not only good with her hands but she's so friendly too! We've become fast friends after I first had my waxing done with her. And I would totally recommend her to others!

But sometimes I get TOO busy that I don't have the time to go out of my way to have someone wax me up! And that was when I discovered Strip It in the internet.

Image from: http://strip-it.blogspot.com/

It's made of mainly sugar, honey and drops of kalamansi (Philippine lemon). No harmful chemicals and no heating. You just apply the sugar syrup downward onto skin, put the washable cloth that comes with the kit and then pull upward! Hair out! Gorgeous exfoliated skin in! I think it's the same thing they use in waxing salons here.

I've tried it on my legs. The 200 ml kit serves two uses for me (just for the legs). It costs Php200 inclusive of delivery. It was okay but it proves to be hard to do because you can't really pull everything out and I had to put myself through different positions just to get everything covered. Learning curve. But it proves to be easy to apply on the underarms. When you go to a waxing salon, underarm waxing is charged around Php150 per visit.

Well, I'm not going back to shaving with my DIY underarm shaving. Not only does it save time, it's economical and chemical-free. When you wax, hair growth tends to be slower. For the underarms, it's said to take three weeks before you need to do it again. So that really makes me a mutant. As for the legs, waxing can last you almost 3 months. Again, I am a mutant.

Just a quick tip, if you're going to wax it's best to moisturize well days before. I waxed myself last year, I think I had dry skin then and I had breakouts when hair on my legs started to grow. I couldn't wear a skirt for a long time. Also remember to follow the instructions in the manual of the kit because there are precautions there that you cannot wash waxed part with soap as well as no exposure after waxing  to avoid allergic reaction.

Photo from: http://weddings-plaza.com/perfect-legs/

Happy DIY waxing!

DIY Hand and Foot Spa

In my last post about Sunflower Oil, I sort of bashed Olive oil and I feel bad about it. So I'm posting it to make up to it! Ha ha!

I was in National Bookstore when I read from a beauty book about Sugar scrub. Now, I don't know about you but it was the first time I've heard of it because when I go to the spa or nail salons, all I ever get are salt scrubs with different scents like strawberry and mint. The idea of a sugar scrub was already very attractive to me since I am a sweet tooth. I tried it as soon as I got home and all I can say is I loved it.

What was so good about it was it was so easy to prepare. It's just olive oil and sugar. I didn't measure it anymore. You can already gauge by looking. There has to be more sugar than olive oil but you have to make sure that the sugar is coated by enough olive oil.

I first scrubbed my feet. It's like an automatic 2-in-1 hand and foot spa because it works your hand and foot at the same time. I'm so ticklish so I rarely have a foot spa done. I thought if I did it myself, it wouldn't tickle as bad but it still did. After this self-pampering, I was the happiest person on earth. My feet and hands were as soft and smooth as my face. I wish I was kidding too but no! It's really true.

There were additional instructions like put a drop of olive oil in your hand moisturizer before applying before bed and to cover hands with cotton gloves and feet with socks but I didn't go the extra-mile anymore. I was pretty content. I was exfoliated and happy. My friend does a sugar scrub on her body once a month and she said it's just as great. I tried it but I find the clean-up a little problematic with all the ants around. I guess that's why salt scrubs make better body scrubs than sugar. But for my hands and feet, I go sugar all the way!

I used white sugar for this one but that's because I am not using Muscovado or Coconut sugar yet. That's your organic option. When I finish all my white sugar, I'm trying out any of these two brown sugars next. Looks luscious and sinful, don't you think?

Photo from: http://mysocalblog.com/2012/02/diy-%E2%99%A5-beauty-%E2%99%A5-brown-sugar-body-scrub-recipe.html

DIY Look Younger

♫ Flower, gleam and glow
Let your power shine
Make the clock reverse
Bring back what once was mine

Heal what has been hurt
Change the Fates' design
Save what has been lost
Bring back what once was mine

What once was mine ♫

I wanted to get the original version of Mother Gothel's Healing Incantation but I couldn't find any on Youtube. But I did find this version done well. 

Anyway... The point of posting this video is to make us realize that modern times tell us that there are no longer wonderful magic flowers from droplets of the sun that can make us look younger by chanting above lyrics. Too bad huh? 

Not so fast! We may not have magical flowers or magical girls with 30 feet of blonde hair that when we sing to will automatically heal and make us younger but we have technology and a little drop of organic sun of our own that we should celebrate!

For technology... I give you the Galvanic Spa.

It really works wonders. I'm still young so it doesn't show any drastic changes but it does give the lift without the botox injections. My problem areas though are the bags under my eyes. After using it, my friends tell me that it lightened and my skin feels soft and smooth and velvety and I had a glow in my face that was super! I tried it on my dad before and my mom said he looked like a ballet dancer. I don't know what exactly she meant but my mom's really good at giving pseudo-compliments like that.  

I use it with the Facelift kit that I have to remove the blackheads in my nose and I notice my DIY nose strip removes more blackheads than when I don't use the Galvanic Spa. For older people, changes are immediate and you can really see the difference. What I like to do is do half of the face first so that you can compare the treated and untreated part. It's scary when you see this because you can see that your face goes lopsided! The best part of this is this baby takes just 10 minutes to do on the entire face. Constant use is anti-aging as well. Tried and tested!

No hiking to the mountains to get to the magic flower, no effort on trying to hide it in a tower, it's available in the market, portable and just as effective! People think it's a little expensive. I don't really know why. At Php21,500, you get the Galvanic spa and the treatment gels good for 24 uses. I think it's worth it because I know I won't be using it for just one year. I'll probably use it for years! 

I used to go to facials and I spend Php700 every time I go. Imagine, if I go to facial in all 52 weeks in a year, I'll be spending Php36,400. Mind you, that doesn't include my fare and the food I eat when I go the mall where the facial clinic is. And I eat a lot.  I think the Galvanic Spa is way more economical. It's quick, you can do it at home or bring it anywhere, no paying fares if you're doing it at home plus it helps that I don't need to go to the mall often, I seem to find something to buy when I'm there. After you finish the gels, you can just get them for Php5,000, which is already good for 3 months if you do it weekly. Just saying. 

As for the organic drop of sun, I present you Human Nature's Sunflower oil!

Photo from: http://herroyalbleakness.blogspot.com/2011/05/grapes-of-wrath.html

This baby has a lot of benefits; it's moisturizing to your skin, hair and it's said to be anti-aging. I love this so because it's not as greasy as olive oil. I mean I love you olive oil but let's face it, you're way too greasy on my skin and hair that I can't use you daily. You take about 2 baths before all traces of you are gone! But you're special, so you're for my special occasions. *Wink* 

The best part that I love about Sunflower oil is its promise that it can lighten my eye bags and reduce lines under the eyes. I have deep-set eyes and I know that even if I obsess about my eye bags, it won't be going away soon. Born with it. But the lines under my eyes? That's a different story. I had them ever since I was in college. Those were the days when sleep was a luxury. I had three thin lines under my left eye then and seven under my right. Thankfully the number hasn't changed since then. I was worried about crow's feet before too but thankfully I think Sunflower oil has suspended it's public appearance. 

Let's face it if you want a wrinkle-free face, you have to keep moisturizing it. Same story with stretch marks, if you don't want it, keep your body moisturized. I'm bathing my future daughter in moisturizing oils when she's a teenager to avoid my stretch mark misery. 

For me, Human Nature's Sunflower oil does a great job. Been using it for almost a month now and I'm seeing results. I get out without making up but not without this and sunblock. I even use it as a base for my make-up. I put this before applying my wonderful tinted moisturizer that's foundation, SPF and concealer in one. It makes my face have that glow and smooth, supple look. 

But one of the noted effects of this just happened to me over the weekend. I did general cleaning of my tiny office at my house. I'm allergic to dust so my face itched and I made this HUGE mistake by accidentally scratching both side of my nose near the eyes. It scabbed the next day and I kept my scabbed face for another but I kept applying Sunflower oil and after two days, I woke up as if nothing happened! The scabs were removed probably when I was sleeping and it didn't leave a noticeable scar! If that's not a miracle, I don't know what is!

And I'm sure if Mother Gothel knew about this, she wouldn't have kept Rapunzel in that tower. But then again, there would be no story. 

DIY Ice cream

So summer's around the corner!e. And my craving for ice cream (or anything cold really) is genuine. And I just go crazy when I hear Mamang Sorbetero's bell ring.

Photo from: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dirty-Ice-Cream/54519711375

Our Mamang Sorbetero's ice cream can be sold in three different ways.

First, cone. You can get the regular cone or the wafer cone. The wafer cone is a little more expensive than the regular cone.

Photo from: http://coffeemakesmeweak.wordpress.com/2010/11/06/guilty-pleasure/

Second, cup.

Photo from: http://sketchingmycorner.blogspot.com/2010/02/ice-cream.html

And bun.

Photo from: http://www.ourawesomeplanet.com/awesome/2009/12/dirty-ice-cream-burger.html

All of them very delicious of course! The usual flavors are chocolate, cheese and strawberry. If you're lucky, they have mango, avocado (yum!) and even cookies 'n cream just for Php10-15. Gone are the days when you can get it for Php5. I feel old.

Weeks ago, I wanted my dirty ice cream fix. And I thought it was fated just when I heard one of the Mamang Sorbetero's rings. I called him out excited and all but he must be deaf because he just walked away. I wanted it so bad. I sat back in front of my computer and figured, if he's not giving me my fix, I'm making it myself!

I've searched the internet for easy, simple ice cream recipes and I came across two that were simple enough. One only had one ingredient, the other had two. Hard work (research) pays off.

So you may be asking how one can make ice cream out of one ingredient? This one is easy to guess if you've watch Rachel Ray in Food Network because they've featured this before. It's awesome. And so the secret ingredient is...

Photo from: http://karlasnaildesign19.blogspot.com/2011/03/bananas-in-pyjamas.html

If you've guessed bananas then you definitely got it right! Thanks to our vegetarian brothers and sisters of the world, this was invented. It's easy breezy also. All you got to do is look for OVERRIPE bananas, cut them up, freeze them for about two hours and put them in the food processor and puree away! Instant healthy ice cream! You can check out the detailed instructions here. 

It was a mishap when I first tried it though. I call it over-excitement. I didn't really read the instructions through and so, I placed the bananas with their skins still on overnight. The next day I couldn't peel the skin off. I had to slice the sides and boy was that hard. I was scared I'd hurt my fingers. It did okay in the food processor though. I use Moulinex's Food Processor. Does a fine job.

Another thing though was I didn't really wait for the bananas to go overripe because I'm way to excited so my wonderful sundae tasted really like bananas and they weren't sweet enough that my mom had to add Milo to it to make it taste better. But wait until next time. I'll get it right.

On to the second recipe! And this one I love, it only uses two ingredients; 2 cups heavy cream and 1 can of condensed milk. You just whip the cream until there are soft peaks and then fold condensed milk. You can check the other flavors you can make with this recipe at this site. They have really awesome flavors! But really it depends on your imagination.

What I did with mine was add two more things; bananas and melted chocolate. I had bittersweet and semi-sweet chocolate bars left in my pantry that were just going to expire if I didn't use them. So for my anti-hoarding chocolate bars movement, I melted one bar, used half to make chocolate-coated cereal (makes it easy to eat healthy cardboard) and the rest I placed in my ice cream. I also added pureed bananas because as I mentioned earlier, I placed all the available bananas in my freezer. I had to find a better use for them.

So to add different flavors what you do is mix it with the condensed milk first before mixing it with the whipped cream. Then after 6 hours of painful waiting, there you have it your own ice cream!

Oh by the way, I didn't really use whipped cream for this one. Instead, I used chilled Nestle's all-purpose cream. It does the job, it's more economical. I just had my KitchenAid mixer do the whipping.

From: http://theprudentpatron.com/2011/11/hot-kohls-kitche-aid-mixer-only-149-99-get-45-in-kohls-cash.html

Best investment, EVER!

I'm not really a fan of chocolate in baking and ice cream. I like it as a bar and ready to chomp but as far as this ice cream recipe goes, my mom loved it. Commercial ice cream tends to be airy unlike homemade ice cream that's creamy and wonderful and dense and filling. My new found friend who tasted it commented that it was amazing because the ice cream I made did not melt so easily. I think I made a mistake because the instructions say to whip the cream until it reaches a soft peak. I whipped it until it was stiff. My bad. But hey, worked for the best! So that's the trick for a longer lasting compact ice cream!

If you are watching your weight, the minimum calories of vanilla ice cream (the base cream + condensed milk recipe just add vanilla essence) is 145 calories per half-cup serving, which you can burn if you clean up the house for 45 minutes while you wait for your ice cream to freeze.

So the next time you have an ice cream craving, satisfy it with your own creation. Go crazy with your own signature flavors. Have fun making it and eating it!