Avivah Werner

Category: Intentional Spending

  • Making freezer meals for a gift

    Tomorrow is my mother’s sixtieth birthday, and I was thinking that a significant birthday like this deserves more than a birthday dinner (what we usually do).  The problem with wanting so much to do something special is then when you can’t think of something, you feel guilty and end up doing nothing!

    I decided not to make a big deal out of this in my mind, knowing that my mother is a person who appreciates everything and won’t be expecting anything.  She already was touched when dd13 called to ask if she would come for Shabbos (and it’s not like this is a rare invitation).  Like me, my mother isn’t so into ‘stuff’, and I can’t think of anything she really wants or needs that will be meaningful.  I know she’ll love homemade cards from the kids and I’m going to encourage them to make a poem or write something heartfelt on their cards.  And we have some special dishes and her favorite dessert planned for Shabbos. 🙂   I’m planning to give her a homemade ‘coupon’ to take her out to dinner (just the two of us) when it’s convenient for her.  She loves spending time with the kids but often says how much she appreciates when it’s quiet enough to have time to talk to me without interruptions, so I know this is something that will mean a lot for her.

    Something else we’re doing is making her homemade dinners that are portioned in one person containers that she can put in her freezer and take out at her convenience. Like many others who don’t have anyone else to cook for still at home, she doesn’t take the time to make herself the kind of meals she really appreciates; it seems like too much effort for one person.  So we’re making her pasta and meatballs with green beans, egg rolls, quinoa with stir fried veggies, and maybe a couple of other dishes – I’m thinking about roasted chicken with potatoes and steamed vegetables.  I don’t want to make more than she’ll have room for in her freezer, so I’m trying to be moderate!

    This is something I hope she’ll appreciate, not just when we give it to her, but every time she comes home at the end of a long day and can pull something delicious and nutritious out of her freezer and enjoy home cooked meal.  A gift like this for my mother is not just a gift of food, but a gift of time, love, and health.  Time, because it gives her more time in her life to relax or do other things; love, because she’ll feel nurtured and cared about not only when we give it to her but every time she takes one out of the freezer; health, because it’s so much better than the typical frozen food a person can pick up in the store (even the health food store).

    Making these really just means buying the ingredients, a few appropriate containers, and taking the time to do it.  I think there are people in a variety of life situations who would appreciate a gift like this, don’t you?

    Avivah

  • A menorah purchase for next year

    Yesterday I stopped in at Target and Walmart to check out their post winter season sales – usually this week is the week that a lot of things go on clearance.  I wouldn’t go out of my way to do this (since staying out of stores if you don’t need something is a better strategy for saving money than being tempted by sales), but they were both on my way home from where I was, I needed to buy a new garbage can for the kitchen, I  had a gift card for Target, and so it seemed like a good time!

    I was happy to find an adorable hand painted metal menorah – it’s a Noah’s ark with four  kinds of animals, two of each animal, each on a spring.  It looks exactly like this and is so cute!  And it was marked down 75%.  But there was no price on it.  When I took it to the checkout, the cashier scanned it and told me it was $30.  I said it was marked 75% off and she said that was the reduced price.  At times like these you can’t help but wonder if people have lost their ability to think.  It would have to be $120 retail to be reduced to $30, which clearly was way beyond its value.  But all I said was that I thought $30 matched its retail value and was probably the original price, so she took it to the  manager to get it marked with the reduced price.

    She came back and told me it was 8.95, which was fine with me in terms of it being a good buy.  But because I thought it was supposed to be 75% off, I asked to clarify how they determined the price, and she told me that the price she told me was 75% off the original price.  I said that I believed 7.50 was seventy-five percent of thirty.  She insisted that they used a calculator to figure out the price.  I pleasantly told her again that it was 7.50.  She clearly wasn’t as confident of her math skills as I was of mine (for good reason :D), so she called the manager over and explained to him that I thought the price wasn’t figured out right.  It took him a minute to say out loud, ‘Half of thirty is fifteen, half of fifteen is 7.50 – yea, she’s right.”  I know Walmart isn’t paying people to think independently, but it’s still somewhat disturbing that two adults couldn’t work this out together just by thinking, let alone not being able to do it with the help of a calculator.

    I got this since all of our kids light menorahs from the age of five and up, so I’m thinking ahead about ds3.  Maybe we’ll give it to him next year, even though he’ll only be four.  When we give a menorah, it’s the first gift we give on the first night to that child, so they can use it right away.  I showed it to all the older kids, who thought it was adorable.  It’s part of the fun for everyone that they each get their own unique menorah to light, and they all enjoy seeing the variety of menorahs when we unpack them each year.  Now they’ll get to anticipate their younger brother’s excitement next year when we give this to him.

    This is the third menorah that I bought at the end of the season in the past three years for our kids – it’s an affordable way to get each child something much nicer than a cheap tin menorah!  By the way, this menorah retails online for $45 – 50, so this was really an amazing buy!

    Avivah

  • Seeds vs. seedlings

    >>have you ever figured out if it is better to plant (mostly i am talking about vegetables) from seeds or from seedlings? i am trying to decide if it pays to buy plants, or if it is a needless waste of money. i don’t exactly have a green thumb, in case that impacts your answer. also, what do you think about planting fruit trees? is it frugal?<<

    I got my seed catalog a few weeks ago and have been enjoying poring over it and deciding what to plant for the coming spring/summer.  Before beginning to garden, I never would have understood the enjoyment to be found in looking through a seed catalog!

    Seeds are always the most frugal; you can buy 2 -3 packets of open pollinated tomato seeds that will grow hundreds of plants for what you’ll pay for one tomato start.   When you buy a seedling, you’re paying for the foresight that the nursery has shown in starting the seeds indoors so you can get a jump on the planting season.

    How much you’ll benefit from using seedlings or seeds will depend on the length of your planting season.  If you have a shorter season, then you’ll want to transplant your seedlings to maximize your time.  If you live in a warmer climate, then sometimes you aren’t gaining more than two weeks, since the seeds planted in the ground once it’s warm generally take off really fast.

    But you can start your own seeds indoors and then have your own seedlings to transplant at a fraction of the cost – this is the direction I’d go in, if cost is an issue.  They’ll need warmth, moisture, and light after the seeds germinate.  Most seeds really aren’t a big deal to start yourself.  I’ll probably start some seeds indoors again this year, even though it didn’t make a huge difference to me in getting a start on my garden last year.  I’m going to try a different method this year that I think will be more effective.

    Another potential concern is regarding the quality of the seedlings you buy from the big box stores, which is low.  They are poorly tended, low quality hybrids, and often don’t transplant well.  They were responsible in large part for spreading the tomato blight this past year.  So even if you decide to go the route of buying them, realize that while you’re paying much more, you’re not necessarily getting much more.  If you’re going to buy them, look for transplants from reputable nurseries.

    Also, as far as seeds go, keep in mind that you often can save the seeds of the vegetables you eat and grow those.  And if you save the seeds of your open pollinated plants from year to year, you’ll never need to spend anything on seeds again.  That means buying any kind of open pollinated seed can be a one time purchase – super frugal!

    As far as fruit trees, I don’t see them as frugal in the short term.  It will take years until you have fruit you can harvest (taking into account halachic concerns), and this is affecting my decisions about this.  I’d been planning to buy several young fruit trees to plant in my side yard this spring, and am now thinking I’d probably be better off converting the area to grow vegetables.  But there is the long term satisfaction in being able to grow your own fruit, and eventually it becomes frugal once you’re past the preliminary years.  So we’ll probably go with the fruit trees even if something else would be more efficient in the short term.

    Avivah

  • Free accupuncture

    Today was a busy day, a beautiful day of good things: a sleepover for my children with friends, a funeral, an accupuncture session, and then a skating party for a couple of the boys to attend.

    If I can squeeze it in this week, I want to write a separate post about the funeral, which was inspiring and very special.  But for now, I’m going to share about the accupuncture treatment I enjoyed.  Because my dh takes our vehicle on Sundays to work, my mom generously offered to give me a ride to the funeral service, and then right after we went to have some accupuncture work done.

    I had the pleasure of meeting Julie, the accupuncturist, two or three years ago.  She’s shifting her practice to community accupuncture, a process that allows her to treat several women simultaneously, and I got a message from her that she’s offering complimentary sessions for the next couple of Sundays between 2 – 5 pm.  I’m sharing the link with info because this is a wonderful opportunity to experience accupuncture by an experienced practitioner for no cost.  (Her prices are incredibly affordable even after these complimentary sessions.)  You don’t have to make an appointment; if you live in this area and are interested, just check out the link for the address and show up!

    Accupuncture is a method of healing that uses tiny needles to stimulate pressure points in the body and thereby releases blocked energy.  You don’t have to undress; you sit in a comfortable recliner while the needles are inserted into spots on your arms, lower legs, and head.  (I had tights on today so I didn’t have the full benefit of having all my pressure points stimulated, but next time I’ll be sure to wear knee highs that can easily be rolled down.)    This takes just a few minutes, and then you relax and get quiet inside yourself while you wait for the energy flow to start moving around.  This was easy to do while listening to the beautiful and relaxing music playing, the only light was coming in through the windows, and it was very peaceful.

    At first I wasn’t sure what I was waiting to feel, so I asked her.  She said it would feel like your body was humming or gently vibrating, and that it takes a few minutes to start feeling it.  Once I started feeling it, it was like a gentle tingling or warmth – an inner humming is probably the best description.  I asked how long it would take, and she said that I would tell her when my body was ready.  Not knowing what that meant, I again asked and she said that usually your body ‘wakes up’.   This is hard to explain but once you do it, it’s easy to understand.  The humming kind of stopped at some point and instead of feeling deeply relaxed, I started to feel like getting up and going home.

    If you’re wondering about the set up, there are four recliners in the room.  Because of the angle you lie down at, the fact that you close your eyes when you are having your session, and the way the recliners are set up, you aren’t sitting around staring at anyone.  It’s very comfortable.

    My mother and I both found this very relaxing and renewing, and plan to go back together the next couple of weeks!

    Avivah

  • Integrating leftovers into meal planning

    If you’ve ever paid attention to how much the food you throw away is costing you, you know that letting your leftovers go to waste can really add up! Using up your leftovers is part of carefully managing your food budget, and I have a couple of ways that I stay on top of the large amount of food that we buy and prepare to minimize what could easily become a huge amount of waste.  This is another strategy that I use to maximize our food dollars so that we’re able to eat abundantly and healthfully for our family of eleven on $600 monthly.

    Firstly, on Saturday night, I inventory whatever is in the fridge, and make a list of that. These leftovers are only from Friday and Saturday, nothing before then.  Often this is a little bit of this, a little bit of that; sometimes it’s enough to serve as a main dish or as several side dishes.  Then I think about ways to integrate these leftovers into whatever dishes I’m planning for the coming week.  While most people make a menu and then go shopping, I do the opposite – I see what I have and then make the menu! Really – I almost never go out to buy a meal ingredient;  if I don’t have an ingredient in the house, then I won’t make a dish that calls for it.

    To illustrate this, I’ll give a sample of what this looked like in my home this week.  When I wrote my leftover inventory, I noted that I had about 4 quarts of chicken broth, a couple of cups of jellied lamb broth (very concentrated), about half a cup of lamb fat (skimmed from the top of the broth), 2-3 c. shredded meat, polenta from Friday’s breakfast, fresh cauliflower and zucchini both on the edge of freshness, soaked and sprouted chickpeas, beef stew, two fresh salads, three pints of defrosted heavy cream, a 28 oz can of pumpkin puree, and baked eggplant chunks.  Once I had this list, I sat down to figure out what to do with it all and wrote out my menu plan for the week.

    I started the week with a breakfast on Sunday of pumpkin pudding – this used the can that was opened since we thought it was tomato sauce (a toddler had pulled the label off :)).  Mixed into the pudding was one pint of the defrosted cream.  One can of pumpkin isn’t enough for a meal for our family of 11, so we mixed in a triple recipe of coconut pudding with it to increase the quantity.

    Next, for Sun. lunch was a cheesy cauliflower soup that used up all the cauliflower in the fridge.  I could have used more cream for this but felt it would be more appreciated served whipped to accompany a couple of breakfasts – coconut mango pancakes (Mon) and date scones (Thurs).

    On Monday the polenta was turned it into corn fritter batter and fried for lunch.

    Monday dinner was beef stew with a couple of salads.  Nice when there’s enough of leftovers for a full meal!

    Tuesday morning we used all the zucchini, shredded into flourless chocolate zucchini muffins.  We made these last week and the only problem was we made less than three dozen – we should have made a lot more!

    On Tuesday night was West African stew.  This used the soaked and sprouted chickpeas.  (I bought some dried beans that were labeled in a foreign language, but fortunately one of the packages was in English and so I knew they were ‘chickpeas’.  They are smaller and much darker than regular chick peas, but the price was right and when the price is good I’m willing to experiment. 🙂 At the end of last week I soaked them to see if there was an outer layer that would come off and leave them looking typically light colored underneath, but it didn’t.  So it’s clearly a different kind of chickpea.  Anyway, that’s why I had the equivalent of 1.5 pounds of dried chickpeas that were soaked and nicely sprouted!)  This recipe calls for eggplant, so I used the baked eggplant chunks.  A chopped onion for this was sauteed in lamb fat and the cooking liquid was the chicken broth.

    By Wednesday just about all of the leftovers were used (usually they’re finished by Tuesday evening).  For Wednesday’s dinner I made a stir fry that used the shredded meat (that I put into the freezer on Saturday night so it would stay fresh).  Of all the leftovers I mentioned, the only one left is the congealed lamb broth.  It’s not an accident that I left this for last. Because it’s so concentrated, this will stay fresh in the fridge easily for a couple of weeks.  This was the cooking liquid for the stir fry.

    There are other things that aren’t leftovers but also need to be used in a timely way, like the fresh fruit and vegetables we have on hand, as well as the perishables, like dairy.  These aren’t leftovers but also have to be managed carefully so that they’re used while they’re fresh; otherwise they end up getting thrown out.

    Can you see how planning a menu with my leftovers in mind makes efficient use of what I have on hand?  Most of these things would easily end up getting thrown away without a plan, since they were a bit of this and a bit of that.  But it would have been a substantial amount of food when considered in total.

    Then, because leftovers continually accumulate, there’s the second part of managing them.  As you know from my weekly menus, Thursday night is usually CORN – Clean Out the Refrigerator Night.  Lunch is a great time to use any leftovers from the night or two before; by the time Thursday rolls around, the only leftovers we have to work with are generally from about two days prior or less.

    This process is very simple.  It repurposes leftovers into something new and delicious,  so no one is left feeling like they’re constantly being served the same food over and over. It keeps food from having to be thrown away, and it saves you money!

    Avivah

  • How to make butter

    I got a great buy on organic cream a week and a half ago, and this morning I decided to show the kids how to turn it into butter.  This is a fun and simple activity for  kids of all ages, two and up – it’s like magic to see cream turn into butter before their eyes!

    All you need is heavy cream and a container with a lid.  I used a glass jar, but if you’re going to let a two year old do this, use a plastic jar, like an empty mayonnaise jar with a tight fitting lid. You can even use a disposable water bottle – it doesn’t really matter, as long as it’s something that will close tightly and be easy for your child to handle.

    Pour a cup of heavy cream into the container, making sure not to fill the container more than half way, and tightly close the lid.  Hand it to your child and tell them to shake it until it turns into butter.  That’s it.  🙂  At first the cream will become whipped cream – we stopped and let them taste at this point.  Then as they continue shaking it, it will form a solid ball as the liquid separates.  This takes a lot of shaking – great to use up some little kid energy!

    If you’ve used a narrow plastic container like a water bottle, cut it open (since the ball of butter obviously won’t fit through the opening); otherwise just open the container and pour out the liquid. Reserve the liquid to use for soaking flour or grains; pour out the butter and put it in a closed container in the fridge.

    We gave each of our kids a small container to put the finished butter in, and after smoothing it into the container, they marked their butter with their initial.  I let my ds7 and ds3 make this first, and everyone else was so interested that they asked if they could also make some.  It’s a good thing I bought a lot of cream!  For the first batch we didn’t add salt, but I told the kids who wanted to make it afterwards that they could decide if they wanted to salt theirs, and choose the kind of salt and proportions they wanted to use.

    My kids were wondering if it was cheaper to make butter than to buy it, so naturally I told them to figure it out.  🙂   But I’ll do the math for you.  😀  A pint of heavy cream yields a half pound of butter.  Since I bought the cream at the low price of .79, our homemade organic butter comes out to 1.58 lb, which is cheaper than regular non-organic butter (which is what I usually buy).

    Enjoy!

    Avivah

  • Presents for our parents

    Tonight our mothers came over to enjoy the second to last night of Chanukah with us.  It’s been such a wonderful week!  The kids have given them gifts each of the three evenings they’ve come so far, and tonight dh and I gave them our gifts.

    Remember when I told you about making first aid salve?  I made a bunch with the intent to give some as gifts.  It’s the kind of thing that is expensive to buy, but so affordable to make yourself, and useful for so many situations.  I bought tins from Mountain Rose Herbs weeks ago to package the salve in, and asked dh if he could make a label for it – that was the plan and I thought I was all set.

    Then I saw that the salve that was a perfect consistency when I made it in September was too firm for the cooler temperature now.  Actually, it was downright hard!  (Now I know that I should have stuck with the measurements of the original recipe!)  All I needed to do was melt it all down and add more oil, but then started thinking that I didn’t want to give ‘imperfect’ salve and should just start all over.  Then when my husband didn’t have time to make the label, I decided I didn’t want to give it if it wouldn’t look the way I pictured it looking!

    Yep, thoughts of perfectionism sneak in and I have to beat them back!  I melted the salve down, added some cold pressed flaxseed oil, and cooled it down.  Then I hand labeled the tins with a ‘product name’, a list of ingredients on the back, followed by the uses for it. This wasn’t so easy for me to do, since I had to let go of my image of what I wanted it to look like.  It was a good exercise in letting go of my ego. 🙂

    But you know what?  The salve itself smelled wonderful, the texture was wonderful, and it will be a useful gift for our parents.  They both appreciated it, and were impressed that we made it ourselves. Giving nothing because I couldn’t make this perfect wouldn’t have been a better option.  Neither would buying something just to have something to give been good.

    In addition to the salve, we gave my inlaws a jar of homemade organic fig preserves; I used honey as the sweetener so it’s delicious and a healthy jam option.  We made this in September when we picked the figs. I was hesitating about giving this because a) it tastes so good that I don’t want to share! and b) it’s unattractive looking.  Finally I decided that I have enough ‘currency’ with my inlaws that there’s no reason they would expect to be given something awful, and stopped worrying about it!

    For my mom, I bought three different kinds of herbal tea- two are holiday blends and one is her favorite kind.  Celestial Seasoning boxes are attractive, so we stacked them one on top of another, and wrapped a ribbon around it, then popped it into the fabric gift bags we made.   She loves herbal teas and really appreciated this.

    I love so many things about Chanukah, and I love giving the people I love things that they appreciate!

    Avivah

  • Happy Chanukah!

    Wow, can you believe we’re already halfway through Chanukah?

    The kids spent two days before Chanukah decorating the house with Chanukah themed shapes.  We have dreidels hanging from our dining room chandelier, a large menorah and dreidels adorning the front door, and snowflakes in the window.  A day ahead we took out the menorahs and moved around some living room furniture – almost all of the kids light their own menorah, so we need a six foot table in front of the window to accomodate everyone (and that’s atill pretty squishy!).

    My mother spent Shabbos with us, then my in-laws joined us for Saturday night and then again on Sunday night (when we had a surprise birthday dinner for dd15).  We went to friends on Saturday night after our parents left, and tonight we enjoyed a quiet family evening – we’ll be having friends over for dinner tomorrow night and then spending the next night with other friends.

    My kids have been busy buying/making things for each other and for friends and relatives – I took them to a floral design workshoplast week where five of them made lovely floral centerpieces.  They’re small, with a floating tea light in a glass cup in the center.  I hinted to them that dh and I would appreciate having one to put in our bathroom.  🙂

    We’re again using the fabric gift bags that I made last year of green taffeta and black velvet.  They worked out so well last year- they looked festive and elegant, and there was no messy cleanup after each present was opened.  Last year when I gave my mother my gift, I had to disappoint her and tell her she couldn’t keep the bag!  Dh’s father had a similar reaction this year. 🙂

    I don’t make myself crazy looking for presents.  I keep an eye out for things that gifts that would be appropriate, then put them to the side.   In addition to that, if there’s something a child needs and I buy it around this time of year, I’ll put it to the side and also give it for Chanukah. This can be something small or big, but they all enjoy getting it as a ‘gift’.   And I don’t feel that they have to be bought brand new, at retail prices, either!  What’s more important to me is that it’s something the child will appreciate and use.

    An example is the Shabbos yarmulkes I bought for a couple of the younger boys, which they were given before Shabbos candle lighting on Friday.  New Shabbos shoes for ds16 were also given then so he could wear them to shul.  I know it sounds boring but our children are all  appreciative for what they receive; my ds3 spontaneously thanked me several time for his new yarmulke, and tonight was so happy about new tzitzis!  I’ll even give socks or underwear one night if I happen to have them!

    This year I took dd13 and dd15 each shopping to choose what they wanted, since I didn’t want to guess about their tastes.  My kids enjoy thrift store shopping as much as me, and that’s where we headed first.  Dd15 found great quality boots that she liked (like new, selling for $70 retail but we paid 3.50 :)), ds13 wanted a poncho (not for rain, the fashionable ones you wear on Shabbos) and found something she really liked for $8.   I got brand new boots for dd9 – she has two pair of boots, but neither are waterproof – so I got her good snow boots with the tag still on them (yes, from the thrift store).

    Also from the thrift store I bought a couple of shrink wrapped science kits (can’t remember the company this minute, but they’re good ones), a set of toy construction tools for ds3 in the original packing, a gorgeous solid wood toy train for ds2 (it has five parts, and were giving him one car each night), and an origami kit for ds7. At the annual library book sale I got books for ds10 and dd9 from their favorite series -sometimes people donate books to the library to sell, so you can get books that have no signs of wear and no library stickers.  These books were brand new books in a series they love – .50 each; we gave it to them tonight and ds10 kept asking me how much I paid, since they’re expensive hardback versions and he knows I wouldn’t pay $25 for a book – I didn’t tell him, of course :)).  I got a couple of stationary sets for the older girls.  I estimate for everything (including the boots and shoes) that I paid less than $40, which is pretty good when you consider that almost everything I bought was new in the wrapping or like new.  I spent more than that on new socks and yarmulkes for them!

    Anything we give them is supplemented by gifts from grandparents and siblings. Again, everything is kept simple, which allows us to focus more on our family traditions as well as what holiday is actually about!

    Avivah

  • Uses for baking soda

    >>On another subject, I am anxiously awaiting your post on baking soda. All of a sudden I seem to be using it in so many things.<<

    >>I am always looking for ways to be more frugal and I noticed u sed don’t use coupons. I was wondering, what brand do u or did u use for diapers, laundry detergent, and I get the impression ur more “green” in terms of healthy choices. Do u use bleach or chemicle cleaners or is ther another alternative for killing bacteria or viruses in the house?<<

    Since both of these requests came in within a day of each other, it looks like it’s time for me to share about the magic of baking soda!

    In answer to the second question, no, I don’t use chemical cleaners, but I do periodically use bleach for whitening whites – very periodically.  Baking soda is an incredibly effective, inexpensive, and versatile replacement for many household cleaners.  It can replace some of the things you’d buy as health and beauty aids.  It seems that there are endless uses for it, but I’ll share some of what we’ve found most helpful.

    I’ll start with my favorite uses that I start my day with.

    • Toothpaste – I don’t like fluoride based toothpastes (due to toxicity), and though I could have gotten plenty of name brand toothpastes free during my stint couponing, I wasn’t interested even at that price.  I keep a small container of baking soda on my bathroom counter, and after moistening my toothbrush, dip it in so there is just a tiny bit on the toothbrush.  You need only a very small amount; using a lot would be counterproductive since it would be overly abrasive.  You can also mix up your own toothpaste by using a mix of 70% coconut oil to 30% baking soda.
    • Deoderant – this is something I really love, since anti-perspirant was something I continued to buy for years, despite concerns it was inherently problematic (it’s not a good thing to block the pores that release the toxins from your body).  There are various recipes I intended to try out, but started with plain baking soda and after a year ago of using this in all seasons and situations, can say with confidence that it’s very effective – no odor at all.  I take a generous pinch and rub in on clean skin.
    • Some inevitably falls into the bathroom sink, but since I wipe it down every morning as part of my routine, it doesn’t matter to me.  In fact, baking soda is useful as a dry cleanser for sinks, tubs, and toilets.  Sprinkle a little on and rub.
    • I tried baking soda as a shampoo replacement and didn’t care for it, but I didn’t give it a fair try.  You really need to be willing to do it for several weeks, to give your hair a chance to adjust and reset its oil levels.  That’s the biggest challenge, the adjustment period.  Dd15 used it for months and it was great, but when she went to camp the water was different and her hair felt stiff, so she switched back to regular shampoo.  To do this, you mix some baking soda and water, massage it into your hair, and rinse.  Your hair will feel very squeaky clean.  Then you do a rinse with diluted apple cider vinegar to restore shine.  I kept a spray bottle in the shower with the vinegar rinse.  I’ve read that once your hair resets itself, you’ll need to wash your hair much less frequently.  You don’t have to use straight baking soda to benefit from its cleaning ability, though- you can also add a teaspoon of baking soda when you shampoo your hair to remove dinginess and residual soap build up.
    • Facial scrub – mix 1 part baking soda with 2 parts ground oatmeal, and add water to make a paste.  Gently rub on your face, leave on for a few minutes and rinse with cool water.  (I haven’t done this but it sounds good.)
    • Laundry – can be used as a booster to regular loads by adding 1/2 c. baking soda to each load.  When I wash cloth diapers (don’t use them in the winter), I use straight baking soda to wash them since my homemade laundry detergent isn’t good for diapers.
    • Vegetable wash – you can add 1/4 c. of baking soda to a sink of warm water to wash fruits and vegetables; this removes dirt and insecticides.  Rinse with clean water.
    • Appliance cleanser- For ovens, make a paste of baking soda and water and spread inside.  Let it sit for a few hours, then scrub off.  To wipe down appliances, sprinkle some on a damp sponge.  When I’m cleaning the stove top, I often sprinkle baking soda on it, then pour some white vinegar on top, and wipe it down.  The vinegar and baking soda interact chemically to make a powerful cleanser.
    • Clean crayon marks on wall – make a baking soda paste with water, and using a damp rag or an old toothbrush, lightly scrub wall.
    • Clean silver with a paste of baking soda and lemon juice.
    • Relieves indigestion and heartburn – mix a teaspoon of baking soda into a cup of water, and drink quickly.
    • Poison ivy/itchiness – relieves itchiness; add 1/2 c. baking soda to a tub of warm water and soak.
    • Bee stings, insect bites, sunburn – make poultice of baking soda and water
    • Mouthwash – mix 1/2 t. baking soda with 1/2 c. of water and swish around your mouth.  This gets your mouth clean and fresh and apparently is good to relieve canker sores (we’ve never had canker sores so I can’t say from personal experience).
    • Fridge freshener – this is classic – everyone probably already has a small box of baking soda in the door of their fridge to absorb odors.
    • Car freshener – I can’t stand the smell of commerical car fresheners.  Fill a little dish with baking soda and put it in the console where cup holders are.  A couple of days ago I noticed the van was smelling musty from all the dampness tracked in by wet boots, and I plan to do this in the coming week.
    • Ant repellent – mix equal parts salt with baking soda and sprinkle where ants enter.
    • Play clay- for a fun play dough for kids, mix 1 1/4 c. water with 2 c. baking soda and 1 c. cornstarch.  Knead until smooth, store is closed plastic bag or container.
    • Remove burnt on food – soak the pan with hot water and baking soda.
    • Clean clogged drains- we stopped using it for this since I’ve gotten conflicting information on it.  You pour in a 1/2 c. of baking soda, followed by a cup of vinegar.  Let bubble a few minutes, and then run hot water down for a couple of minutes to flush it all through.  I’ve heard that when not sufficiently flushed out, it can solidify in the drain.  Since this is a popular suggestion, I didn’t want to ignore it here.
    • Clean stained countertops – make a paste and scrub.

    These are some uses, but there are lots more.  Since baking soda is great at absorbing odors, it’s good for anything where odors are a concern (eg carpets and pet odors).  Since it’s good at scrubbing, it’s good for that.  When mixed with vinegar, it increases the potential uses!  Baking soda is very inexpensive – I used to buy it in a 12 pound bag at Sam’s, now I buy a 50 lb bag (through my bulk source). (I also buy white vinegar by the gallon and keep it under the bathroom sink, as well as one next to the washing  machine.)  It’s non toxic, which means that you don’t have to worry about your little kids ingesting something poisonous. Because you can use it for so many things, it eliminates a lot of specific cleansers, saving you money, improving your health, and it’s better for the environment to boot!

    If you use baking soda in your home, please share your tips with us in the comments section below!

    (This post is part of Fight Back Fridays and Frugal Fridays.)

    Avivah

  • How to make coconut cream and milk

    When I discovered about three months ago that Trader Joe’s carried an inexpensive and kosher coconut milk, I was thrilled!  However, it’s light, not whole fat (which I prefer), and as you know, I’m always looking for ways to maximize my grocery dollars. 🙂  I bought a 50 lb bag of dried unsweeteened coconut a while back, and it occurred to me that I might be able to use it to make my own coconut milk.

    However, in trying to make it, I actually ended up with coconut cream!  This is something I haven’t yet found kosher, and was thrilled to be able to try it out in our Thanksgiving pumpkin pie – it was rich and delicious!  I also used it to make pear crisp.

    It was exciting to be able to make something so tasty and incredibly frugal; here’s what I did:

    Homemade Coconut Cream/Milk

    • 2 c. shredded unsweetened coconut
    • 4 c. boiling water

    Blend both in a blender.  Let sit for about fifteen minutes, to give the water a chance to absorb the coconut flavor.  Pour into a strainer lined with cheesecloth over a pot, and let it drip through.  Then press it so as much liquid as possible is removed – you want the pulp to be as dry as you can get it.  Put the coconut pulp to the side – I’ll tell you what to do with that in a minute.  🙂  Put the coconut liquid in the fridge, and in the morning the rich cream will have risen to the top and solidified, and the water will be left below.

    If you want to use this as coconut milk, let it sit out and melt a little, and mix the water and cream together by hand – it’s very quick and easy to do.  If you want to use it as cream, scoop the top layer off and put it in a separate container.  Use in recipes as you would cream for a rich flavor.

    Now, about the coconut pulp.  This is where this gets even more frugal and fun!  Put the coconut pulp into the dehydrator, and dry.  Blend until smooth.  I’m planning to use this as coconut flour for baking.  When you buy coconut flour, it’s been defatted and doesn’t have the coconut flavor anymore, so this seems like it should work well!  I haven’t yet purchased coconut flour because of the cost ($7 lb).  Now I can use dried coconut for which I pay less than $2 lb, and can make my own coconut milk/cream, as well as coconut flour for a fraction of what they cost at the store!

    (This post is part of Real Food Wednesdays.)

    Avivah