Honey Face Wash – Week 1 Check In

Hello all my honey pretties! It’s been about a week since we’ve all joined Crunchy Betty’s Honey Face Wash Challenge. I wanted to check-in and see how everyone is coming along! Let’s get a discussion going!

Here are a few things that I’ve noticed:

  • My skin feels tighter and more refreshed.
  • The more I got used to this method the easier it became to spread the honey on my face and use the right amount for my face.
  • It doesn’t take much honey at all and by working it around your face, that helps it get into the pores and your skin a bit better.

I like to use the honey as a light mask, so I leave it on my face for a few minutes.  In the mornings I put it on before I get in the shower. That way it sits on my face for a few minutes while I’m dry brushing.  I like the way my skin feels after having the honey on for that extra time.

In the evening, I’ll put it on and read a few pages in my book or do some chores (putting away laundry for example) before washing it off.

I still tone and moisturize afterwards.  Some folks on Crunchy Betty’s site have mentioned that they do not need to tone or moisturize after the wash.  My skin tends to feel a bit tight if I forget that step.  I have noticed that I need less moisturizer though now.  Just a week bit goes a long way!

Have you been dutifully washing your face for a week with raw honey?  Have you noticed any changes?

Also, Crunchy Betty posted how to remove makeup with honey so be sure to swing over and check that out!

Honey Face Wash Challenge

Along with incorporating real whole foods into my diet, I also have started researching how to incorporate that into my skin as well.

Confused?

We are what we eat, in more ways than one.  It’s not only important what we choose to feed ourselves but it’s also important how we choose to feed and nourish our skin.  I’ve started looking more into natural skin care and beauty products because if I’m not going to eat chemicals and hormones, why would I put that on my body?

I’ll have another post detailing how I got to this point and what it means to me.  For now we need to talk about the Honey Face Wash Challenge that I’ve signed on to do at Crunchy Betty’s.

Her blog is my current obsession.  For those of us just starting out and dipping our toes into the all natural skin care world, it’s a HUGE resource of information, tips, and recipes. Plus the author actually takes time to respond to comments and tweets, which is a plus!

In my research for an all natural face wash, I was put off by most of the recipes for several reasons.

  • Everything had to be surgical sterile that was used to create the face wash.
  • It only made enough to last a few days.
  • You had to keep it in the fridge.

Okay, no, no, and no.  At this stage of the game I really don’t want to have to prep my kitchen like I’m going to preform brain surgery just for something to wash my face.  If I make something, I want a huge batch of it. Keeping it in the fridge is annoying because that means I would have to remember to pull it out and take it up to the shower with me.

The chances of me forgetting to do that are high.

Then I stumbled onto Crunchy Betty’s challenge and fell in love.  Hard.

All you need is honey and water.  No sterile equipment, no small batches, and no need to keep it in the fridge.  In fact it can stay in the bathroom!

Hooray!

It could not be easier either:

  1. Put honey on face.
  2. Rinse off with water.
  3. Done.

I am in! So I signed up for her two week challenge.  I was two days behind when I signed up but I’ll make those up at the end.  I took a before picture for recording purposes.

Fresh outta the shower and no makeup on (You’ve seen me like this before, all racing photos of me are makeup free). Honestly this is how I look most of the time.  Makeup is a pain and I dislike wearing it.  I only wear it for functions and if I’m out to dinner, for example.  Otherwise this is standard Andrea right here.

Now I will say that this isn’t a “true” before picture because at this point I had used the honey twice on my face already for a wash.

It was amazing!  I can’t even believe how awesome it was.  Please follow the link to Betty’s so you can read all about the challenge and learn about honey.  You’ll need raw honey for this challenge and you can find that at your local health food store or your local farmer’s market.

I’m prone to breakouts either when I’m stressed or when it’s around my period (we’re all adults, you can handle the talk).  If both happen at the same time, watch out!  At 34, I have to tell you that I’m tired of dealing with pimples.  Honey is supposed to help with this.

Only after two washes I can tell that:

  • My skin was tighter and fresher looking.
  • My skin tone was evened out.
  • My skin was very soft.
  • Oil was under control.

I don’t have “oily” skin but I do have skin that is naturally oily.  Meaning, it’s got plenty of good oil without being too much.

I like to leave the honey on for a few minutes before washing off.  When I use this, my skin feels the cleanest it’s ever felt. My $30 face wash that I had been using doesn’t even come close.

For right now, this is to be used only on skin that doesn’t have makeup on it.  So probably your first wash of the day.  If you don’t wear makeup anyway, (like me, most times I do not), you can wash twice a day with it.

So what do you think? You want to take the challenge with me? Can’t hurt to try something new, right?

Slow Food Columbus Presents Snowville Butter Making Class

Last week, Nicole emailed me asking if I wanted to attend a butter making class with her.  She had an extra ticket because her mom ended up not being able to go.  I have been interested in making butter for a few weeks now ever since I learned that you can freeze butter.

Did you know this? I did not. It was the one thing preventing me from making my own butter because I would have so much, I wasn’t sure what I would do with it all.  Now that I can freeze butter, BRING IT!

This sister wants to learn how to churn her own butter!

I told Nicole that I would love to attend the class with her and I showed up bright and early (as early as one can be for a 1pm class) on Sunday armed with mason jars ready to fill my brain with butter making knowledge.

Plus I got to spend the afternoon with these two lovely ladies!

Nicole on the left and Wendy on the right.  If you recall, I met Wendy at the Market District opening. I was happy to see her smiling face walk in the door because that meant I got a chance to chat with her and another friend was taking the class!

This class filled up with people coming in long after it started.  This was the third class that Slow Food Columbus and Snowville put on.  Their first two were so successful and sold out quickly, so they decided to add on a third.

The class was led by Snowville representative and honest dairy milk advocate, Warren.  I had the pleasure of sharing a dinner with Warren, gosh two years ago now, at a Hills Market function.  I was very happy to be able to have the chance to attend one of his classes.

The class was two hours long and the majority of the time Warren was talking to us about dairy and the difference between grass-fed and feed-fed dairy.  He gave us a brief history of the dairy industry, what pasteurization for milk means and how Snowville handles their cows and milk.

Once Warren gets going, time can get away from him but only because he’s so passionate about what he does.  The butter making portion of the class ended up being a little rushed but that was okay because we still learned a great deal.

We each brought QT sized mason jars, which were then filled about 1/3 of the way with Snowville Whipping Cream.  We sealed the lids up tight and got our shimmy-shake on.  You can make whipped cream and butter just by shaking a jar.  Did you know that?  I shook and shook and then my cream entered the whipped cream stage.

Don’t stop there! Keep going!

Keep going and then the cream will break and separate into two elements, butter and buttermilk.

Once we got to this stage we stopped and were instructed to finish the process at home.  They were also demonstrating the process at the kitchen.

This huge jar of whipped cream was going to be transferred to a stand mixer so that it could be taken to the next stage of separation.

Once separation occurs, drain off the buttermilk and squeeze the butter to release more buttermilk.  Then you repeat the process a few times and you have butter!

Basic explanation but I intend to do a more in-depth one all about butter.

When I got home I drained off the buttermilk from the mason jar and rinsed off the butter until all the buttermilk was released.  I was left with fresh butter!

Spread on bread and enjoy!

Have you ever made your own butter? Are you interested in learning?

At Home Barista: Pumpkin Latte

Since it’s Pumpkin Month it’s about time we get some pumpkin goods up in here, am I right?  As soon as the end of August starts getting near and the thought of September hits our consciousness, what does everyone start thinking about?

Pumpkin Lattes!

Don’t play, you know it’s true.

The concept I’m about to discuss is not one that I came up with, I have to acknowledge Mama Pea for this inspiration.  Last fall she discovered that a pumpkin latte from Starbucks made with soymilk and no whip is in fact not vegan.

Apparently there is some dry milk or something similar in the pumpkin spice syrup used to flavor the coffee.  I’m not really down with that.  I’m not vegan by any stretch but my preference for dairy comes in the form of cheese.  If I don’t want dairy and I’m actively trying to avoid it in food products, I really don’t appreciate having it snuck in behind my back.

A pumpkin spice syrup really doesn’t scream out that it requires milk, right?  So why have it in there?

Mama Pea came up with her own pumpkin spice latte and I turned around and made my own version as well.  It produces a rich creamy drink that is actually very filling!  We have been enjoying pumpkin lattes ever since!

We typically have a pumpkin latte on the weekends when we have a bit more time to relax and enjoy morning coffee.

Andrea’s Pumpkin Spice Latte

  • 1 1/4C Vanilla Soymilk (or vanilla nondairy milk of your choice)
  • 1 1/2TBSP Pumpkin Puree
  • 1tsp Ground Cinnamon
  • 1/4tsp Ground Allspice
  • 1/4tsp Ground Clove
  • 1tsp Vanilla extract
  • 1/4tsp Molasses

Toss all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth and frothy.  Makes enough for two mugs of pumpkin latte.  Fill mug close to half way with pumpkin mixture, then add in your freshly brewed coffee.  Stir and enjoy!

Frothy, delicious, and totally makes you think of fall weather.  It also smells mighty fine!  Now the next time you’ve got a hankering for some pumpkin spice lattes, you can make them at home!

Want a pumpkin spice latte using a homemade syrup?  Brandi just made some and she shares her technique!  Check it out!

Happy Pumpkin Month! :pumpkin:

Event: Slow Food Columbus Tomato Sauce Canning Class

This past Wednesday, I had the pleasure of attending a tomato sauce canning class that was put on by Slow Food Columbus.  The class was taught by Rachel of Hounds in the Kitchen.

To give a brief description of who these folks are, Slow Food is a movement that started in 1989.  It’s goal is to get people to not only start cooking for themselves, but to support local suppliers, AND take the time to get to know who the folks are behind your local farms and businesses.  It’s a movement to counteract the idea of fast food and to help educate people on where food comes from and how to purchase and eat responsibly.  Most places across the US have a Slow Food chapter in their area!  If you are interested, take a look at the website to see where your local chapter is located.

Rachel, runs what she calls her Urban Homestead.  Rachel, along with her husband and their daughter, grow the majority of their own produce and herbs, they can a lot of sauces, and they just started raising chickens.  She is doing what I hope to be doing over the next several years.  I just need to learn!  And taking a canning class is a start in the right direction.

I was so excited when I found out about this class because I honestly have been wanting to learn how to can for quite sometime.  I know that my grandmother used to can along with the majority of my elder relatives.  I want to be able to do that too!  I fully feel that canning is a handy skill to have.  Not only will you be preserving foods that you made, but you are also cutting grocery costs and being environmentally friendly.   Other than Rachel, I don’t know anyone who cans so I didn’t really have a way to learn until now.

The class was held at The Dispatch Kitchen located on the second floor of The North Market.  For non-locals, The Dispatch is the local paper and The North Market is a huge market containing local vendors.  Here you can buy everything from produce, to meats, to popcorn.  Literally a one-stop-shop for all your shopping needs. I was drooling over the fridge with French style doors!

The Dispatch Test Kitchen is equipped for filming purposes, as you can see by the huge lights at the top.  I was more interested in the huge beam!  I love that wooden beam!  It was totally gorgeous and rustic.

Rachel went over the process of canning with us, everything from starting the sauce to the actual canning part.  Everybody in the class got to come up and can their own jar!  We pulled it out of the water bath, filled the jar, put the lid on, and then set it back in the water bath to cook and sterilize.  The jar sizes were pints, and the cooking time once all the jars were back in the pot was 35 minutes.

I learned so much about canning!  Stuff I never realized and stuff that I didn’t take into consideration.  For example, flavors and herbs intensify the longer something sits.  So it’s best not to supercharge a sauce with a ton of flavor right from the start because a few months later when you open it up, it might be way more intense than you want.  It’s best to be basic and simple, then doctor the sauce up when you use it.

Also, not all varieties of tomatoes have the same acidity level.  The lighter color ones, like the orange ones, have less acidity than say, a huge red variety.  And that San Marzanos actually have the least acidity of the red tomatoes!

Admittedly the idea of canning has me both excited and nervous.  I really, really, really, want to be able to can my own things.  This is what I was excited about learning!  However Rachel explained the idea of acidity and that in order for something to be can-able, it must have a certain level of acidity to it.  She suggested following a recipe that has been researched and studied several times (like the ones you would find on the Ball website) because they are going to be the most successful.  That creating a recipe up on the fly might not be the wisest choice.

This sort of bummed me out a bit.  I am the worst at following a recipe.  I always want to add my own spin to things, but adjusting the seasoning and ingredients will then adjust the acidity level.

EEP!

Acidity levels weren’t something that was even on my canning obstacle radar.  Now I’m wondering if I would be able to can my salsas and sauce?  I’m not sure what their acidity level is and I’m not sure how to find out.  My best option, I think, is to research everything first and go from there.  I will can something though, I am determined!

If you are interested in canning, Rachel is currently doing a canning series on her site which is filled with loads of information.  We were also told that most of the vendors at the local farmer’s markets will hook you up with multiple pounds of tomatoes if you just ask them and give them enough notice.  Also, The Greener Grocer, located in The North Market will gladly work with you on getting as many tomatoes as you need for your canning purposes.

Do you can?  If you do, what kind of things do you can?  If you don’t can, are you interested learning or is it something you have no desire to do? :)