Perk Me Up

I live in Oklahoma and we have had more snow in the past 10 days than we have had in history.  Plus brutal wind chills which makes going outside not fun. Before all this snow we had such a dry fall and early winter.   All these elements have created havoc on my skin and made me very tired.  So I thought I would share a homemade face and body scrub that will give your skin a perk up.

This coffee scrub will give dull skin a pick-me-up and the caffeine in the coffee beans will reduce puffiness.

Most everyone probably has the ingredients already in their house.  You will need:

1 cup of ground coffee
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of olive oil

You are going to take all of these ingredients and mix them together.  After mixing together, you will want to store the scrub in an air tight container in a cool, dry place for up to two months.

The scrub will have a grainy feel.  While in the shower, massage the scrub over clean, damp skin, then rinse, and pat dry.



Remember if you use it on your face, be EXTRA gentle.

One bonus about this scrub is that it smells great and might even perk you up.  Give it a try.

Meditating Monday

Yogurt, My New Obsession

Yesterday was National Frozen Yogurt Day so I thought I would post about my new obsession, yogurt. I know it is not frozen but could be if you want it. I have become addicted to greek yogurt and making my own comes very close.   I am using a yogurt maker in this post but I also give you a link for using a slow cooker to make your own yogurt.

First get out all your ingredients and utensils. This includes the yogurt maker, milk, yogurt or starter, measuring cup, pan, and thermometer (came with yogurt maker). My yogurt maker is by Doniver and I got it on Amazon. I like it but I would recommend one with the glass containers like my mom has, the plastic ones are a little hard to use.

The yogurt maker makes eight 1/2cup containers.  So you need to start off with 2 cups of milk which you are going to pour in a pan.

Next you are going to heat the milk on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until bubbles appear  (see picture) around the edge of the pan and steam rises.

Once this happens, remove the pan from the heat source and add the Thermometer. Let the milk cool until it reaches the add starter level. You need the marker to be between the lines.

Then you are going to add 1 to 2 heaping Tablespoons of the yogurt or you can use a starter mix. Store bought yogurt is easier. Stir until well blended.

Then pour milk equally into the jars, cover securely with the lids and place jars in yogurt maker. Place cover onto yogurt maker. Plug in the unit.

Then press the hour set button and the minute if needed to the desired hour. I recommend at least 10 hours, so you need to do this first thing in the morning or late at night. I like my yogurt thicker so I usually do 12 hours. Then press the start button and leave it alone.  Time for fun things.

Once it finishes, you will have thick, creamy yogurt that you made and costs less for all kinds of things. I love mine over top of fruit!

I will tell you there are many ways to make yogurt and you really do not have to have a machine.  Here is a link to use your slow cooker to make yogurt, A Year of Slow Cooking: Making Yogurt

Why not give it a try. My next batch I am going to use coconut milk and see what happens.