Real Food Friday Feast - How to prepare nuts properly

This is not a meal as such but, given that so many of us rely on nuts as a snack, I thought it was time to go over how best to prepare them. Even more so now that everyone is following the banting diet (and I will blog my thoughts about this soon!) Have you ever noticed how, after eating a bag of nuts, your stomach is not altogether happy with you? Many of us, when we're out and about and getting a bit hungry, will grab a bag of nuts off a shelf and eat them thinking, incorrectly, that they are a healthy snack.

Nuts, like grains, have their own built in protection mechanism and eating them raw is, in the longterm,  going to do more harm than good for your system. The protection mechanism comes in the form of phytic acid. Sadly, we humans  have lost touch with our ancestral heritage of food preparation. Back in the day, everything was soaked, fermented, properly prepared and healthy and nutritious. These days we listen to all manner of food gurus who tell us raw and unprocessed food is better. Or we're told to eat a lot of high-phytate foods like store-bought whole-wheat bread and all-bran breakfast cereals and we think we're doing wonders for our bodies. Of course we would think that. The experts can't be wrong, can they? But raw is definitely not nature’s way for grains, nuts, seeds and beans. Even a lot of vegetables are easier digested when they're cooked.

To put it as simply as possible, the phytic acid in nuts makes the nutrient like phosphorous unavailable for your body. It attaches itself to the minerals ensuring that your body can't digest them. Phytate also inhibits important enzymes that we need to help us digest our food. A diet that is high in unprepared nuts and grains leads to tooth decay, nutrient deficiencies, lack of appetite and digestive problems. The problem is that phytic acid is present in SO many of the foods we all love to eat. That's why it's really important that we learn to prepare, and eat them properly.

I've said it a million times but I'll keep saying it, food bought in a store is ALWAYS prepared using the fastest, easiest, cheapest methods possible to increase sales and income for the various companies. They are in NO WAY interested in your health. In the interest of keeping up with the constant demand for fast food and convenience, the manufacturers have simply removed all of the old methods of preparing foods, cut corners and given us what hardly passes for food. We are told that all these foods are healthy. They WOULD be, if they had been prepared the way they were supposed to be, but, by the time we take them off a shelf they have been so chemically altered as to actually be completely toxic to your system.

Most people have no idea that they are actually suffering from mineral deficiencies due to all of this badly prepared "food" that we are eating. The amount of women suffering from osteoporosis is staggering. It's actually so common these days that women just accept that it will happen when they reach a certain age. That should never be the case but, because we have been incorrectly advised, women are suffering from mineral deficiencies which leads to unhealthy bones and osteoporosis, among many other things.

Aside from the phytic acid present in raw nuts, there is also the issue of vegetable oil being used when roasting nuts that are sold in grocery stores. For starters, roasting the nuts doesn't do much to remove the phytates and I have mentioned a few times how bad vegetable oil is for you. I would avoid buying nuts from grocery stores altogether, to be honest. If you buy them, buy them raw and then take them home and prepare them properly before you even think of eating them.

The preparation is relatively easy. It just takes some time, as most of these things do. I'd recommend buying a really BIG bag of raw nuts so that you will have some prepared nuts on hand whenever you need them.

You will need:

Lukewarm water
1 Tbs Salt (Use a good mineral salt like Himalayan Rock Salt)
4 cups of nuts of choice (this is not cast in stone at all. If you use less nuts, use less salt.)
A large glass jar or bowl

• Add salt to warm water 
• Mix until dissolved
• Pour salt solution over nuts
• Seal lid of jar or cover bowl with a dishtowel and leave in a warm spot for up to 12 hours (This depends on the type of nut but rule of thumb is that, the softer the nut, the less time is needed. eg. almonds need the longest, cashews need the least)

That takes care of the soaking part. Now, some people will just move the bottle of nuts to the fridge and eat them straight out of the water but those are the raw foodists and I'm just not into that kind of eating. I like my food to taste good! Soggy nuts sounds entirely unappealing to me.

There is also an argument that soaking the nuts isn't enough to destroy all of the phytic acid and that the nuts need to then be dehydrated or roasted for a few hours. I have a food dehydrator but I really love the flavour that roasted nuts have, so I go with roasting.

• Put your oven on to 50°C
• Drain the salt water out of the jar. (Pour it into your garden so you don't waste water)
• Spread nuts over a baking tray evenly
• Place in oven and roast gently for at least 4 hours (this will vary from oven to oven, as well as on how many nuts you are doing and on the TYPE of nut. Almonds take the longest.)
• Make sure you dry the nuts all the way through. I enjoy this part because you get to taste-test them;) If they don't dry properly, the will go mouldy and that will be a complete waste.

The salt gives the nuts the most delicious flavour because it soaks into the nuts. The nuts you buy at a grocery store have got NOTHING on these, I promise. I tested them on GLM too. She LOVED them. So did our friends. They just have an amazing flavour compared to the store bought ones and the beauty of it is you don't need to use oil to get the salt to stick. Because you soak them for so long, the salt actually gets absorbed into the nut and the nut retains the salty flavour. You can also experiment with different spices. I've added some cayenne pepper and cinnamon to some and all I can say is YUM!

Set aside some time and do this if you are a big nut eater. They really are an easy snack when you're on the road or just to slip into your kids lunchbox. The more you prepare at a time, the less time you need to spend preparing.

We are off to Sodwana Bay for a little holiday next week so I won't be blogging as I intend to shut down electronically but I will be back in action from Monday 10th November:) Have an awesome weekend!

Wellness Wednesday - Spice up your life!

No, the Spice Girls have nothing to do with today's post, thank goodness;) In my last post I spoke mostly about honey, but I also mentioned using some spices to cure a bout of flu quickly. Although I spoke about spices in this post as well, it was definitely more about chicken curry so I thought I'd go into a bit more detail about those spices today. (Please remember that any spices I talk about are organic and non-irradiated. You should find them at dischem and definitely at Fruit and Roots but NEVER buy them from a grocery store. Robertson's spice is terribly bad for you. You want to get the real thing if you are going to get the full flavour AND health benefits, which are the most important part. I only buy and use pre-ground spices as I don't have a decent grinder... yet...)

I love popcorn and I have a serious weakness for salt and vinegar popcorn. When I used to eat crisps, I could devour a big packet of salt and vinegar crisps in a few minutes. Just the smell of them still does my head in but, fortunately, my brain is so well trained now that I can't even imagine putting one of those chemically engineered crisps anywhere near my mouth. The problem with salt and vinegar spice is that it is never going to be a natural thing... Somehow, pouring vinegar over a bowl of salted popcorn doesn't have the same effect as the actual spice! It's been a tough one for me to give up but fortunately, I have found a delicious substitute:)

For a tasty popcorn spice mix:

• Add the following to a small container:
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (if you like a bit of heat, otherwise leave it out)
• Shake the container well
• Sprinkle over popcorn (the amounts will depend on the size of the bowl of popcorn and your own personal taste!)

This will taste even better if your popcorn is popped in healthy, organic butter or free range duck fat, both of which you can buy at Woolies!

I just love the flavour of cumin. I find it so tasty that it's managed to take the place of salt and vinegar spice in terms of addictiveness! Perhaps it's my penchant for spicy foods that makes it so tasty for me, but GLM seems to enjoy it too so perhaps not...

Cumin is more than just a tasty popcorn spice though. It has been part of Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years. That's why, if you add it to your popcorn, or any food, you can be sure you are getting all of these amazing benefits as well:

• In several studies, cumin extract was more effective at reducing blood glucose than glibenclamide, an anti-diabetic medication
• It lowers total cholesterol, triglycerides, and pancreatic inflammatory markers
• It's proven to strengthen the immune system
• It increases bone density, thereby helping to prevent and improve osteoporosis
• It protects the liver
• It is a potent antioxidant which means it cleans out free radicals

Sounds like some pretty good reasons to rather put cumin on your popcorn huh?

Cinnamon also forms part of my special popcorn spice mix and, aside from its delicious flavour, I'll tell you why it is so good to eat every day:

• It is known to lower blood sugar and cholesterol
• It has natural anti-infectious compounds
• It reduces pain linked to arthritis
• It may reduce the proliferation of cancer cells
• It is a natural food preservative
• It contains fibre, calcium, iron, and manganese
• It's been proven effective for menstrual pain and infertility
• Cinnamon holds promise for various neurodegenerative diseases, including: Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, brain tumour, and meningitis

Yesterday I woke up feeling horrible. I had a pounding headache and I felt a bit feverish. A lot of my clients are full of flu so I thought, "Oh dear, it's my turn!" The minute I feel a bit fluey I make sure that I consume at least a tablespoon of cinnamon a day, more if possible. Why? Because it has natural anti-infectious compounds and it helps with pain. It is best used in warm dishes and drinks because it makes it easier to absorb so I add it to my herbal tea to get the best benefits. The trick is to keep stirring it so that all the cinnamon doesn't clump at the bottom of the cup and you end up with a big glob of cinnamon which is hard to swallow. It doesn't dissolve in the tea so you need to make sure you actually swallow all of it.

Another spice that I add to my mug of herbal tea when I'm feeling under the weather turmeric and there are just so many benefits to turmeric it's a must-have in your condiments cupboard.

• This amazing spice has been used for over 2 500 years in India. It is an natural antiseptic and anti-bacterial agent
• It's an excellent cancer fighter, particularly breast cancer. It literally causes melanoma cells to "commit suicide" and it reduces the bad side effects of chemotherapy while boosting the positive healing effects of the chemotherapy. It also stops the growth of new blood vessels in tumours
• It reduces the risk of childhood leukaemia
• Its a natural liver detoxifier
• Preliminary tests have shown that it may prevent and slow down the progression of Alzheimer's Disease
• It is a potent anti-inflammatory that works just as well as any anti-inflammatory medication, but without the side effects and has been used successfully to treat arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
• It slows the progression of multiple sclerosis
• It is a natural painkiller
• It may help fat metabolism and weight management
• The chinese use it to treat depression
• Helps treat inflammatory skin conditions

So, no question as to why I made sure I consumed at least a tablespoon of turmeric yesterday, and EVERY time I feel like I'm getting sick. It also works better if it is in a warm cup of tea, or cooked with a meal. Heat activates more of the nutrients. If you have a turmeric root, which I was lucky enough to get from my mom, blending it in a blender will also make it more nutritionally available for you. Be careful, it makes your fingers orange for days! Turmeric doesn't have a strong flavour so its really easy to add it to your food without it affecting the flavour while still benefiting your health. Even when I'm not sick, I still consume at least half a teaspoon of turmeric every day because it is so good for you.

Ginger also featured prominently in my spiced tea drink while I was feeling sick. The reasons for that are numerous:

• Its antibiotic effects are exceptional. It has proven to be SUPERIOR to antibiotics in fighting bacterial infections
• It can kill cancer cells, particularly in aggressive cancers like breast, lung, ovarian and skin cancer
• It is anti-fungal and, where medicine-resistant strains of fungus are evolving, and managing to beat medication, ginger has proven to be more than capable of fighting the superbugs
• It can resolve brain inflammations
• It is very good for digestive issues including ulcers and acid reflux and can actually prevent ulcers from forming
• It treats and prevents diabetes
• It is a POTENT anti-inflammatory even in chronic cases of arthritis, cancer and prostate disease. It has also proven to be successful with gout
• It is well known that ginger reduces nausea caused by motion sickness and morning sickness and even chemotherapy
• It prevents the toxic effect of all sorts of chemicals ranging from pesticides to MSG to chemotherapy, protecting the liver and kidneys. For this reason it has also proven effective in treating non-alcoholic fatty liver disease which is on the rise due to the increase in corn syrup as a sweetener.
• It as proven AS effective as ibuprofen in reducing period pains
• It reduces the side effects of radiation poisoning

I add a chunk of ginger root to our breakfast smoothie every morning but, while I was feeling sick, I also added a quarter teaspoon of ground ginger to my tea for all of the reasons above. 

A spice that we have every day in our morning mug of tea is cayenne pepper (capsicum). When I'm sick I up the dosage as well. It's also loaded with so many health benefits:

• It eases digestion, upset stomachs, ulcers, sore throats, spasmodic and irritating coughs, and diarrhoea
• It is anti-fungal
• It prevents migraines
• It is an anti-allergen and relieves allergies
• It is anti-inflammatory and is very good for treating joint pain caused by arthritis
• It is very good for blood clots and has been known to reverse the onset of heart attacks if taken in time
• It is a circulatory stimulant which makes it a very good detoxifier
• It's a very good natural preservative and can prevent food contamination from bacteria
• It may help prevent lung cancer and liver tumours
• It supports weight loss by regulating the appetite
• It's good for toothache and gum disease

No need to question why I drank it for medicine! It also adds a nice kick to a bowl of popcorn;)

One spice that you don't hear about too often is nutmeg and what a tasty little spice it is, full of lots of yummy goodness too:

• It is great for anxiety and depression and it can also help your brain to focus more at work or at studies
• The Chinese use the spice to treat inflammation and abdominal pain. It helps aching joints, muscle pain and arthritis among other ailments
• It's great for digestive-related problems like diarrhoea, constipation and bloating
• It can also effectively treat halitosis or bad breath caused by a build-up of bacteria in your mouth. Nutmeg destroys that bacteria which is why it is a common ingredient in many brands of toothpastes. It is also used to treat gum problems and toothache
• It helps to detox your liver and can also prevent and dissolve kidney stones
• It really helps with insomnia. A 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg is a mug of warm milk will help you sleep better. 

I battle to sleep the night before a gig which is a big problem for me as a tired voice doesn't work very well! Nutmeg really helps me there. It also did wonders for me when I was sick and a blocked nose and irritating cough were keeping me awake.

All of these spices are so easy to consume on a daily basis because they taste yummy, but even if you don't like the taste, if they are added to a meal of some kind they will be mostly invisible in flavour, but very present in terms of effectiveness. A curry, even one that isn't hot, is a great way to consume all of these spices.

So, as I was saying a few paragraphs back, yesterday I woke up feeling terrible. I immediately started my day with my spicy tea mix. I had four cups of it throughout the day and, by last night, I was feeling so much better. By this morning I was ALL better:) Magic stuff I tell you.

I highly recommend spices to cure just about every ailment. The first time I was sick this year, I stuck to homeopathy and herbs. They worked, but quite slowly. I got over the worst of it in about 3 days, but I didn't heal properly for about 3 weeks with a lingering cough and sinus issues. When I got sick again, I combined herbs with spices and boy did that work well! I have never recovered so quickly from an illness. Now I KNOW what to do in future. As soon as it starts I am heading to the spice draw!

For a power nightcap that helps you sleep better and fight pain and infection:

• Fill a coffee mug halfway with milk
• Add the following:
•  1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (unless you can handle heat, then add 1/4 teaspoon!)
• 1/4 teaspoon raw honey
• Warm up the milk in a pot, then add all spices and stir (Just warm it enough to drink, don't let it get too hot)
• Remove from heat and stir in a teaspoon of honey
• Mix well and drink

Do yourself a favour, before you head to the chemist or the doctor to take conventional medicine, try a few spices for a couple of days. You will be amazed at the results, I guarantee!

Wellness Wednesday - The edible liquid gold we should all have in our kitchens

In light of the current bee crisis, (which you can read about here) I decided a post on honey would be a good idea. It would be the world's worst disaster if bees were to die out. Besides the obvious tragedy of it all, it would also signal the end of apples, onions, avocados, carrots, mangos, lemons, limes, honeydew, cantaloupe, zucchini, squash, brinjal, cucumbers, green onions, cauliflower, leeks, bok choy, kale, broccoli, broccoli rabe, mustard greens and raw honey, to name just a few.

Raw honey is a power food of note and something, I reckon, that every person should have in their kitchen. Most people see honey as a sweetener and it's true, it is definitely nature's best when it comes to sweeteners, but most people don't realise the true healing properties of honey.

Since ancient times, honey has been lauded for it's healing powers. It's well documented. The problem with honey is that it can't be patented and, for that reason pharmaceutical companies have tried to replace honey with chemical ointments, antibiotics and antivirals. In the process, all of that well-documented information about honey seems to have been forgotten by everyone.

What we do know is the following:

• Honey has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for more than 4000 years. It's an ingredient in 634 remedies in ancient Hindu vedic texts.
• Papyrus discovered from ancient Egypt expounded on the medicinal properties of honey. It's used in nearly every ancient Egyptian remedy.
• In ancient Greece, the “Father of Medicine”, Hippocrates, wrote, ”Honey and pollen cause warmth, clean sores and ulcers, soften hard ulcers of lips, heal carbuncles and running sores.”

Just to be clear, we are not talking just any honey. Honey can be bought pretty much anywhere these days. But don't be fooled. Just because the label says honey, doesn't really mean it's honey, and just because the label says "raw", it doesn't mean it's loaded with goodness either. Confused? Let me explain it a bit.

Honey is loosely defined as "anything containing pollen". But even that very broad definition doesn't stop countries like China from totally removing all the pollen from honey. Why would anyone do that? Because without pollen, the source of the honey can't be traced. It's like the honey's DNA. Some honeys are not allowed to be sold in certain countries but, by rebottling, and removing all the pollen, it's difficult to prove where it was actually bottled and so these companies are still making money and it's not very well policed.

Over 70% of the honey sold in grocery stores is completely devoid of any pollen. Why is this an issue? Honey without pollen is like a multivitamin without the actual vitamins. The label SAYS it's a multivitamin, so you buy it because it's the cheapest on the shelf and you are doing your "healthy" bit. Just like the label SAYS it's honey, so you buy it because it's the cheapest on the shelf and you are doing your "healthy" bit. You might as well buy refined white sugar, or perhaps a tin of golden syrup for all the "health" you'll get from that honey.

Then there's also the issue of pasteurised (or radurised) vs raw honey. I've had this discussion about a different product, but the same principal and that was in my post about milk. Why is anything pasteurised? To remove any possible bacteria. When honey is heat treated, the process is called radurising. The problem with heat-treating anything is that it kills off EVERYTHING good in the product. In the case of honey, it's the propolis we really want to keep. Propolis is a POWERFUL healing agent that is produced by bees to protect the hive from bacteria. You can see why it would be good for us too. Heat treating honey destroys the propolis in the honey, among other things.

It is essential that you buy honey that is local. Why? Because any honey that is imported is required to be heat treated or radurised to destroy any potential bacterial threats. There is a honey at Dischem which is imported. It sits on the shelf next to all the other honeys and it proclaims to be raw but it isn't raw because it is imported and is therefore radurised. It is essentially dead honey and therefore not raw at all. I was highly upset to discover this accidentally from a honey expert who happened to be at Dischem, in the honey section. I was buying it because it was a cheaper price and I thought it was raw so it was a good deal. She warned me about it and gave me the low-down. Not a good deal at all and it is absolutely false advertising as they are required to say "radurised" on the product and a lot of them don't.

A good way to check if a honey is imported is to check if the bottle says, "Bottled in South Africa." That means it has been made somewhere else and re-bottled in South Africa. If it says "Made in South Africa" or "A product of South Africa" you know it's safe. Of course, South African honey can also be heat treated and that is out of a misguided sense of doing the right thing for the purposes of safety. But they are not doing you any favours in terms of health and they are required to tell you whether or not it's been radurised so you can make the choice yourself. As I said earlier, heat treated honey is no better than buying refined sugar. The only difference really, is that honey is sweeter than sugar, so you may use less (or you should) but it's still refined sugar and not a healthier option.

So, if you do buy raw honey, what can you use it for? Well, raw honey is anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal, making it one of the most healing substances on earth. It's also extremely nutrient-dense. Honey is a natural multivitamin. It contains significant amounts of: B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, C, magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium chlorine, sulphur, and phosphate.

Historically, honey has been used medicinally for many health issues:

• Honey applied liberally on a wound, burn or rash will speed healing. Apply honey liberally and cover loosely with a wrap. The honey, applied topically to the wound or cut, moistens the skin and helps prevent or reduce scarring as well. I can vouch for this. I use it often. It also slows down bleeding.
• A teaspoon taken 3 times per day can help prevent seasonal allergies, especially if it's honey bought in, or near, the area you live. Why? Your body builds up an immunity to the local pollen via the honey. 
• A tablespoon of raw honey sprinkled with cinnamon taken 3 times per day can boost the immune system and fight off a cold or sore throat. 
• A spoonful of honey on its own can soothe a cough caused by a tickle or sore throat. 
• A teaspoon of honey stirred into hot tea can lessen the symptoms of a cold or flu. 
• Honey mixed with equal parts coconut oil makes a wonderful skin conditioner. 
• Studies show that honey can help control blood sugar fluctuations. 
• Raw honey increases the production of antioxidants in the bloodstream. 
• Recent studies proved that honey reduced overall cholesterol levels when taken daily. 

I often get hit by the flu bug during winter. It usually has me flat on my back in bed thanks to my IBS compromising my immune system now and then. But I never take antibiotics, especially not for flu, so visiting a doctor doesn't even enter my mind. I usually hole up in bed (if I can) and wait it out, drinking hourly doses of tea that consists of echinacea, stinging nettle, lemon balm, moringa and rooibos. To that mix, I add a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon, ginger, turmeric and cayenne pepper (all organic and non-irradiated) to each cup, along with a generous teaspoon of raw honey. Yeah, it sounds gross, but the spices actually make it taste like chai tea so it's quite delicious and soothing.

However, the most important part of my "self-medication" is this: 3 to 4 times a day I liberally sprinkle a tablespoon of raw honey with cinnamon and swallow it which, let me tell you, is absolutely YUMMY! Within 3 days I am up and about and feeling 99% normal again, no conventional medication necessary, not even panado. I know for a fact that honey is at the root of it. There is never a time when we don't have honey in our kitchen. In fact I panic when it starts coming to an end!

I get my honey from a honey farm in Richmond. It's raw, creamed Saligna honey and it's the best honey I've ever tasted. The farmer is very ethical and very good at what he does and he's just a nice guy. If anyone in Durban or Jhb is interested in trying it, give me a shout. Because I buy straight from the farmer, I get a really good price. Cape Town is a bit further and courier prices may take it out of your reach but Durban and Jhb are manageable. The cheapest raw honey I've found is Peels Honey (also local from KZN) and that is about R49 and it's bottled in plastic. My honey is R45 and it's bottled in glass jars which can be reused for so many things as well. Place your orders at mellowhealth@melanielowe.co.za.

Until Friday!

Monday Mix-up - How to make homemade liquid soap

One thing I forgot to add to last week's beauty products is liquid hand soap. I wash my hands so many times during the day it's impossible to count, especially when I'm in the kitchen. I'm a virgo and I hate having dirty hands;) Liquid hand soap is now the accepted norm in anyone's bathroom. No-one likes bars of soap, especially if they have to be shared. They leave a huge mess on your basin and they collect germs as well.

Right next to the hand soap you usually find the hand cream. Hand cream is pretty necessary if you are using conventional liquid soap because it dries out your skin so badly. If you, like me, wash your hands about a hundred times a day, you are going to need hand cream to put some of the moisture back. The unfortunate thing about the hand cream is that it usually isn't natural either so it is going to end up drying out your hands more unless you buy a natural one.

 If you have two bathrooms in your house (which a lot of people do) that means a liquid hand soap for both bathrooms, and, if you're like me, one for your kitchen too.

That can be expensive if you buy them monthly. You're probably looking at about R30-R40 a bottle, and they aren't big bottles. Multiply that by 3 and you are spending over R100 a month just on liquid hand soap. Try to go the natural route and you will end up spending even more. I struggled to find an affordable, natural liquid hand soap.

My solution? I make my own:) It's actually so easy and so cheap you'll wonder what you've been wasting all that money on!

All you need is:

1 bar of natural soap (You can find this at all health shops and many farmer's markets as well)
±3 litres of water (the amount of water you use will determine the thickness of your soap. You'll get used to your own preference)
Essential oils (optional)

• Grate the bar of soap completely
• If you are using tap water, place the water in a pot on the stove and boil completely to kill germs and remove chlorine. If you are using filtered water simply make sure the water is heated enough to dissolve the soap in it.
• Place the grated soap into the heated water and mix until it is all dissolved. You will notice your mixture is very liquidy. That's fine.
• Remove from heat and leave to cool on the counter overnight
• When you come back to your mixture you will see that it's taken on a gel-like appearance. This is when you add your essential oils and stir them in. I add some tea tree for anti-bacterial purposes and then whatever else you want your soap to smell like. It might be tricky to stir initially because it'll be very thick but it will thin as you stir. Don't stir too much or it will become TOO liquid again.
• Decant your soap into clean soap dispenser containers (This is why it's good to keep old ones, especially if you want everything to match)

Total cost for the soap is the cost of the bar of soap plus a few drops essential oil. Even if you spent R40 on the soap, that R40 has given you 3 litres worth of hand soap which should last you several months! For an even more moisturising recipe, I sometimes also add 2 tablespoons glycerine and 2 tablespoons coconut oil but it's not necessary at all. 

Be sure to keep the excess soap in the fridge, or somewhere cool, until your bottles need to be topped up again. Because it doesn't contain any preservatives, it will go off eventually. Soap never lasts long enough in our house to worry about that though!

You may find this soap to be a little more gooey than commercial handsoap but it does the job perfectly in my opinion so it's not an issue for me. It's also passed the GLM test and that means it's definitely good enough;)

Beauty without cruelty, naturally.

If you were thinking that your beauty products are doing wonders for your skin, think again. The beauty industry, unlike the food industry, is completely unregulated. Just because a product says it's organic and natural, doesn't actually mean it is. There are no regulations and no certifications like there are for farmers which I find truly bizarre. Putting creams on your skin is exactly the same as ingesting them because they are absorbed into your blood stream and work their way through your system the same way food does. There is great potential to do serious damage, and unfortunately they do.

So, what can you do to prevent that damage? That's easy. Use natural and organic products. We have slowly but surely cleared out all of our chemical beauty products over the last year. Those things don't come cheap so we felt obliged to finish them, but it killed me to do it, knowing what it was doing to us. Thank goodness they're all finished and we are chemical free.

Body cream is probably the most important product when you are transitioning to natural products. It literally covers your entire body on a daily basis leaving plenty of time for your skin to absorb all the toxic chemicals that are in it. So it's definitely the first thing you should be changing. But what to use? There are just as many natural products out there as there are chemical products and the question really is, what works for you? I have dry skin so my body literally soaks up creams the minute they touch my skin. With that in mind, I struggled to find a body lotion that worked for me, and was affordable. Body "lotions" are a waste really. They are predominantly water and don't do much for most people, but for me, I might as well literally just be putting water on my skin. Within seconds my skin feels so dry I'm itching all over!

Body butter is the way to go if you are looking for real skin protection and something really moisturising. I started to experiment with making my own and I found the perfect recipe for me so now I make my own under the Mellow Health brand. All it consists of is herbs like calendula and rooibos, various oils like grapeseed, avocado and coconut oil, beeswax and cocoa butter or shea butter depending on preference. It's rich and creamy and feels delicious for my dry skin. GLM uses it too and she enjoys it as well. If you would like to go the natural route, feel free to contact me and place your order!

You will also see soaps in that picture above. I make soaps too now. Soap is important for the same reason cream is. If you put something on your skin with water, the water facilitates the absorption of the product. Soaps are full of toxins that not only enter your blood stream, but severely dry out your skin. (and Dove is NOT as moisturising as you think. It still contains toxins that dry your skin out because ALL chemical moisturisers actually dry your skin out and the 1/4 moisturiser in Dove, is made with chemicals too) I don't know how I coped before I started using my own soap. They make my skin feel so much softer and more hydrated. Let's also not forget that, by using chemical soaps, you are putting toxins into the environment when they wash down your drain and that's just irresponsible.

Moving on to cleansers, ALL conventional facial cleansers that foam, contain sodium lauryl sulphate, a highly toxic and dangerous substance, for you AND the environment. Just avoid anything that foams, if it isn't natural. I have found a great face cleanser from Essential Collection.

It lasts me about 2-3 months because you use so little of it, it doesn't dry your skin out at all and it does foam enough to clean it properly, but not enough to dry you out. It contains only natural ingredients so it's safe if some gets in your mouth or eyes. All I do is rub it on with a little water, then wipe it off with a facecloth and my face is completely cleansed. It was a great find for R74! Just some info about cleansing, I only cleanse if I need to remove makeup. Otherwise I simply splash my face with water and then put moisturiser on. The more you strip your skin of its natural oils, the more you dry it out, the wrinklier your skin gets. Cleansing too much, especially with chemical based cleansers, will age your skin.


Guess what? I don't use toner. Who on earth said you need to cleanse, tone and moisturise anyway?! People who wanted to make you spend more money, that's who. Your skin will be just fine without it, honestly. Especially with all natural products. They don't act like paint stripper on your skin so you don't need to put moisture back with a toner. Some toners even contain alcohol, which removes excess oil from your skin, drying it out completely. Your skin balances its pH itself, naturally, without a toner believe it or not. Putting alcohol on it will mess up the natural balance just as stripping it of it's natural oils will. Don't spend money you don't need to, on a toner.

I always need a face moisturiser because my skin is dry and I hate that feeling of dry skin on my face. I didn't have to look too far when I found Essential Collection Night Cream and I haven't looked back!

This moisturiser is R89 and it lasts about 2 months. It's delicious on my skin and it's all natural AND it's local! You may be thinking, but what about your day cream? Again I will ask, who on earth said you need a separate day and night cream?! It's all just cream! I use the night cream during the day too because my skin is dry and it needs the moisture. I don't need to use two separate creams. No-one does. You may argue that the day cream has an spf. Don't get me started on how bad sunscreen is for you. All I'll say is, inviting free radicals to have a party ALL day, under your skin? Not a good choice. 

It's really hard to switch your mind over to a new way of thinking, I know. It was drummed into my head from a young age, cleanse, tone and moisturise! Us a day cream with spf and a night cream to feed your skin during the night. Advertisers are SO good, aren't they? My wife still keeps saying she needs a day cream and I say, "What for?" She's not entirely sure actually. She just knows it's what she's supposed to do! That comes from years of going to spas and being fed all the propaganda by the beauty therapists. It's not their fault. That's what THEY'VE been told too. It's like all of us believing that skim milk and fat free EVERYTHING is better for us. Again, it's all propaganda. Now is a great time to start re-training your mind:)

If I look back on what I used to spend on my face products I want to cry. I would easily pay almost R1 000 for a  cleanser, toner and moisturiser (day and night cream) and I would think it was worth it and that I was doing the right thing for my body. I didn't know any better. Now, these two products are my complete face routine: R163 in total... My skin feels great. So does GLM's by the way. It passed muster with her too;) 

As far as shampoo and conditioner goes, I have tried many. I've also tried making my own and that didn't work out so well;) After I had to go for a MASSIVE trim to get rid of my ruined hair, I decided it was worth spending money on an organic brand. All in the name of research;) Not that I spend a lot at all. My shampoo and conditioner together, cost me about R80 and Pick n Pay sell it.

You don't need all the rubbish they put in Redken and Loreal. It's full of chemicals that strip your hair of its natural oils AND they test on animals as well. Who wants to suppport that? Earthsap doesn't need to test on animals because it's all natural ingredients so it won't sting your eyes or cause irreparable damage to you like it does to the animals they test on. This is beauty without cruelty at its best.

It's uber important to use a natural toothpaste. I wrote a whole blog about the dangers of fluoride and that's not all they put into a tube of toothpaste. It comes with a warning to contact the poison control centre if swallowed. And we put this in our mouths?! So if you read that blog, you'll know we use this toothpaste.

Dischem sells it for R23. It's the cheapest natural toothpaste I've found and it's worth every cent, especially if you have sensitive teeth and gums.

If you are a mouthwash person, I'd avoid store bought ones. Most of them contain alcohol and fluoride, not to mention many other toxic substances. Again, they warn you not to swallow it because it's toxic. Really?! So I now make our own and it's really easy. Find yourself a glass, 500ml bottle to store it in. It must be glass because  you need warm water to mix all the ingredients and warm water and plastic are dangerous combinations for your health. Ingredients wise, you will need:


485ml boiling water
3 teaspoons xylitol (dischem sells it)
15ml hydrogen peroxide (this is only if you want the teeth whitening aspect. Dischem also sells it)
About 10 drops of peppermint or spearmint oil
2 drops of tea tree or clove oil
1/4 teaspoon bicarb

If you use a funnel you can place all the ingredients directly into the bottle, shake it up and put in the fridge to cool. Gargle with about 10 to 20mls morning and night and shake the bottle before you use it to mix the oil in.

Deodorant is a tricky one. We have tried several and very few natural ones actually work. Here is the reason you DON'T want to use conventional deodorant. They contain MANY nasties but the two worst ones for me are:

Parabens: Which can actually mimic other hormones and disrupt the hormone system. The effect is far worse in leave-on products like deodorant.

Aluminium compounds: These compounds form a coating on the surface of skin, blocking the sweat glands to keep you dry. But that defeats the main purpose of perspiration which is to release the toxins in the body and to regulate body temperature. By blocking the sweat glands the aluminium compounds stop the release of harmful toxins from the body. These toxins then go back inside the body and are distributed throughout the body by the lymphatic system. There has been a lot of talk about the connection between deodorant and breast cancer and you can understand why.

I know, it's unladylike to sweat. It's also completely natural and necessary. But it can be done in such a way that you don't smell, and you don't expose yourself to toxins. You can make your own quite easily.

The ingredients you'll need are:

4 Tbs shea butter or cocoa butter (if you don't have these, add about a Tbs extra of coconut oil)
4 Tbs sesame oil
2 Tbs bicarb
5 Tbs arrowroot powder or cornflour
1 Tbs coconut oil
1/2tsp non-GMO vitamin E oil (or just pop open 2 capsules and add the oil)

Melt coconut oil, sesame oil and shea butter in a double boiler (you can also just use a small pot inside a bigger pot of boiling water)

Remove from heat and mix in bicarb, arrowroot powder and essential oils

If you have any probiotic capsules at home, open up 2 of them and mix them in too. Good bacteria gets rid of any bad bacteria, hence no bad smell! These are optional.

Place in a small glass jar

The key with this deodorant is that it doesn't stop you sweating, but it stops you smelling and it feels lovely on your skin. Just scoop a little out of your glass jar and rub into your underarms. I know, it seems weird right? But it works, I promise. The amazing thing is, the more you use of this, the less you end up needing it because you start to sweat less. I can say that, if you follow a nutrient-dense, organic, clean diet, you shouldn't smell anyway so, if you do, it's a sign that you are not very healthy!

Final beauty product I'll mention today is lip ice. You don't want to know what goes into that stuff and you EAT most of it off. The chemicals in conventional lip ice actually dry your lips out more so you become addicted to it because your lips are permanently dry. I used to be addicted to it too. Now I make my own edible lip ice and my lips and body love me for it!

If you would like to try out any of Mellow Health's products, drop me an email: mellowhealth@melanielowe.co.za. We make body butter, soap and lip ice. If you would like to know where to buy any of the other products I've listed in my blogs, please also send me an email and I will send you all the details!

Natural household products that we use

Apologies for the brief hiatus I took from blogging! Life just got hectic for a while and I decided to just finish all I needed to finish before I carried on with my blog. I will try my hardest to keep the posts regular from now on!!

Following on from my last blog post about what we eat and drink in our house, this post is about what we use to clean our house, naturally. It's been a bit of trial and error on my part. Not everything on the market is completely natural OR all that the sales pitch promises it to be. I've gone through many dishwashing liquids and SO MANY laundry powders and liquids but I finally think I've got the right mix. GLM is happy and that is a big plus. I can adjust to just about anything if I know it's good for me, and for the environment, but my wife is a bit fussier so, if it passes muster with her, you can be assured it's ok!

My domestic looked at me like I was completely nuts as I went about experimenting with different dishwashing liquid brands. I bought, and tried, several. I even made some of my own for a while. The problem with making your own is that they don't foam and that means a little more elbow grease is going to be involved when cleaning. This was NOT going to work for our domestic who prefers to use as little elbow grease as possible;) I used the following 2 brands for quite some time but I have now changed to a new one which I'll go into in a bit.

What's so awesome about Enchantrix "I clean it all" is that it is completely versatile. It literally cleans it ALL. You can even use it for your laundry. It doesn't make it smell the way conventional washing powders do, but it cleans it well enough. (I can't stand the fake fragrance in conventional washing powders anyway. Staying away from them for a while has made me realise just how strong they smell and now they just make me feel ill after a while) I wouldn't recommend using Enchantrix on a permanent basis for your clothes. It's wonderful for everything else like dishes, counters, floors, baths, toilets, basins and pretty much any other surface except wood. After I discovered this one, our domestic begged me to keep getting it and to stop trying to make my own;) The downside: it costs R80 per litre. Before you panic though, remember, this is the ONLY cleaning product you will need. It's super-concentrated so you don't use it neat to clean everything, you mix it with water and it lasts. You will save money that you would ordinarily spend on separate bathroom and kitchen cleaner, domestos and glass and mirror cleaners, floor and tile cleaners and every other cleaner that Mr Muscle insists you NEED. I promise, you don't need them all. If you add them all together, you are spending about the equivalent on all the separate ones and all they are doing is poisoning you and your family, and putting poison into our water system.

After using Enchantrix for quite a while, I discovered Triple Orange and started re-looking my affection for "I clean it all":

This stuff is SO concentrated you only need a teaspoon added to 20litres of water and that will clean all your floors and surfaces for the day. I fill a bucket and add my 1 teaspoon and then I use that to wash my dishes, clean the floors, clean the bathrooms etc (you get the message). I found it for R77 at the Weleda pharmacy in Pineslopes shopping centre. Again, you may panic at the price, but again, this is ALL you need for everything. I calculated that you will get 100 teaspoons out of this 500ml tub. If you use 1 teaspoon a day it will last you for 3 months. 2 washes a day will get you 2 months out of this little tub. It definitely beats "I clean it all" for me and it smells amazing and cleans like a bomb and it's totally natural.

As I said, we were using both of these for quite a while. But, over time, the large retailers have started coming to the party with environmentally friendly cleaning products. I tried Woolworths one but it lasted about a day! It wasn't as concentrated as they said it would be. Then I tried the Clicks one:

Now, as I said before, you don't actually need a million products to clean your house. That is a serious marketing ploy that we have all bought into. What is good for tiles will be good for counters, dishes and bathrooms, believe it or not. So I tried the Clicks My Earth Dishwashing Liquid and now we use it for EVERYTHING in our house. It foams really nicely and cleans really well and it's earth friendly. The best part is it's only R26.99 for a 750ml bottle. We go through about 2 a month so that's just over R50 we're spending on cleaning our house and our house is clean, let me tell you:) Of course, Clicks are going with the age-old marketing ploy of making a product to clean everything, but I didn't fall for it! We'll stick with one cleaning product thanks very much. The world has enough plastic to deal with!

Laundry Liquids

I have been through LOADS of different laundry liquids and powders. I made my own for a while but, when our whites started to turn grey I backpedaled. GLM was not impressed;) I tried various things but all ended up costing me more trouble, time and money. The ONLY way to get around this one is to spend the money and I think it's money well spent. We now use Londa Bio Bleach:

It's R119 for 2kgs. That seems quite pricey initially but, here's the thing; it's the ONLY cleaning agent you will ever use for your dirty clothes again. No more need to buy normal bleach, Vanish Stain Remover, Stasoft, handwash soap etc. This stuff is a natural bleach that also happens to clean clothes EXCEPTIONALLY well. I know you hear "bleach" and you think, "But what about colours, clothes turning yellow, harsh on material etc." Here are the benefits of using it:

• Colour safe and fabric safe – Brightens colours
• Continual use will not cause yellowing or graying of cotton fabrics
• Effective stain removal in a broad range of water temperatures
• Lengthens time between linen replacement
• Prevents fabric from becoming yellowed or darkened
• Does not weaken the strength of fabrics like chlorine bleach does
• In the laundry, Bio Bleach is used to de-stain, deodorise and whiten and is VERY effective as a laundry pre-soak for heavily stained articles

This stuff is pure magic, that's all I can say. Within one wash, all our whites were white again and our brights were bright! And it doesn't just work on clothes. I have soaked all manner of things. It works on any material (except silk and wool) and it doesn't destroy it. It seems to brighten and whiten it the more you use it! If you have something that is heavily stained, simply soak it for a few hours (no scrubbing necessary) and then wash in a normal wash. Your stains will be history. I can't tell you how it works, I just know it works so well and it's natural!

Dishwasher soap

Final household product is dishwasher soap.  I was using Better Earth Dishwashing Liquid for ages, and it works like a charm:

Using this stuff means you don't need to add additional rinse aids to keep your dishwasher clean. It contains water softening agents so no need to add salt either. 1 teaspoon of gel, in the dispenser, will clean a full load. You can get about 200 washes out of this bottle so even if you do a load a day, it will last you about 6 months! Granted, you may have a really dirty load that needs 2 teaspoons but you are still looking at about 5 months. At R100 a bottle you also might initially want to choke BUT divide that 100 by 6 months and you are paying R16 a month to keep your dishwasher going for 30 straight days and it's GOOD for you and the environment. Not too shabby... A small box of dishwasher pills costs around R20 and you will get maybe 2 weeks worth of washes out of that. No comparison really. It's also really bad for you and the environment.

As I said, we WERE using this one. Now we actually use the Londa Bio Bleach for the dishwasher as well and it works amazingly well! Told you that stuff was versatile;) Both work very well so feel free to give them a try. You can buy Londa Bio Bleach here.

Ok, so to recap, you basically need TWO products to clean your house and living area. Clicks MyEarth Dishwashing Liquid and Londa Bio Bleach. Total cost of those 2 is R172.98 per month if you use 2 of the Clicks bottles. 2kgs of Londa Bio Bleach often ends up lasting me longer than a month as well. Depends on if I need to soak anything or not.

As far as cleaning other things go, I have learnt how to make my own and these ones work just fine.

Carpet stains:

• Mix equal parts white vinegar and water
• Pour on the stain
• Leave it for a few minutes
• Rub it with a cloth until stain is gone

It leaves no residue, no marks and removes the stain. The cheapest carpet cleaner you will ever find!

Drain cleaner and unclogger:

• You will need white vinegar, bicarb (baking soda) and boiling water
• Pour a cup of bicarb down the drain making sure it goes down as far as possible
• Pour a cup or two of boiling water down the drain to dissolve all the sludge
• Pour another cup of bicarb down the drain making sure it goes down as far as possible
• Pour a cup of vinegar down the drain and immediately put the plug in
• Leave until its done fizzing and bubbling
• Pour another cup of boiling water down the drain

Hey Presto, your drain is clear and you haven't put any DANGEROUS caustic soda into the environment or near you. Seriously, caustic soda. It eventually erodes your pipes and it is extremely toxic for you to breathe in, never mind handle. Protective gear is paramount. Most drain unblockers contain it so try avoid them.

Furniture polish:

Please, under ALL circumstances, avoid aerosol cans. They are dangerous and they also cannot be recycled at all. Keeping them around your family and putting them into the environment is just plain irresponsible. As far as aerosol furniture polish goes, did you know the ingredients cause irritability and depression, in the short term and long term? Even worse, the smell of furniture polish can linger for weeks or months, polluting your home and putting strain on the central nervous system of every person living in your house. Solvents in furniture polish are highly neurotoxic. Avoid, avoid, avoid. It's so easy to make your own and it works. You can make it as you need it, or make a bottle and keep it in the fridge. Simply combine:

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup vinegar 
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• A few drops of lemon oil (optional) 
• Shake the container, dip your cloth, and rub onto your furniture (or if you have a spare spray bottle you can put it in there. Just always shake before use.

You may notice a common denominator through all these recipes, is vinegar. I keep it on hand for everything. Stubborn dirt on pots or stains on the kitchen counter, or on the floor? Vinegar is the answer. If you feel your clothes aren't soft enough when they come out of the machine, instead of using a chemical softener, put a tablespoon of vinegar in the softener dispenser. It conditions your clothes beautifully and doesn't leave a vinegar smell I promise. I use it for every wash and it doesn't make your whites dull like stasoft.

I use vinegar to clean all my fruits and vegetables. Most organic produce comes to you unwashed so it's good to clean out any remaining insects, sand and anything else that might have been along for the ride.

Here's a handy tip: if you have lettuce in your fridge that is starting to sag a bit, put it in a bowl of water with a couple of tablespoons of vinegar added and leave to soak for about 10 minutes. Remove the lettuce, rinse and shake off the excess water and put it back in the fridge in a sealed bag. Your lettuce will have a new lease on life and be crunchy again;) This also works for any other leaves like spinach and kale.

I think that covers pretty much everything. Any other questions, feel free to ask! Next post will be all about natural beauty products and the ones we use on a daily basis.