Homemade Body Butter

I'm not a huge fan of using lotion. I always put it on the kids after bath time, but I usually neglect myself. 

I do love this body butter to dilute and rub on essential oils. It's an awesome fatty carrier with nothing but nourishing ingredients. 

If you hang around my blog very long, you're soon to find out how much I love Wellness Mama's recipes!  This one is fabulous!  It's easy and you only need 4 ingredients!

One thing I have learned by trial and error is that I do not like bees wax in most recipes. Lots of lotion recipes call for bees wax. Maybe that's the difference in lotion and body butter? Another note: this is an easy cleanup (using bees wax is not!). 

Cocoa, mango, and shea butters can be found on Amazon (or at a health food store). A pound will make several batches. 

I use whatever coconut and olive oil I have in the kitchen. (Today I am making a batch with avocado oil. We'll see how it turns out 😉) 

And for essential oils, I suggest Young Living. You can get them here: https://beta.youngliving.com/vo/#/signup/start?isoCountryCode=US&sponsorid=2391092&enrollerid=2391092&type=member&isoLanguageCode=EN

Whipped Body Butter Recipe

 

An easy DIY recipe for homemade cloud-like body butter that is excellent for any skin type and completely natural.

Author: Katie Wellness Mama

Recipe type: Beauty

Ingredients

• ½ cup Shea Butter
• ½ cup Cocoa Butter or Mango Butter
• ½ cup Coconut Oil
• ½ cup light oil like almond, olive or jajoba
• Optional: Essential Oil for scent- I like using 10-30 drops depending on the essential oils used. Peppermint and Citrus/Lavender and favorites at our house.

Instructions

1. In a double boiler or glass bowl, combine all ingredients except essential oils.
2. Bring to medium heat and stir constantly until all ingredients are melted.
3. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
4. Move to fridge and let cool another 1 hour or until starting to harden but still somewhat soft.
5. Use a hand mixer to whip for 10 minutes until fluffy.
6. Return to fridge for 10-15 minutes to set.
7. Store in a glass jar with a lid and use as you would regular lotion or body butter. If your home stays above 75 degrees, it may soften and need to be kept at the fridge, but it will stay whipped at a temperature lower than that.
8. Enjoy!

http://wellnessmama.com/6544/whipped-body-butter/

Join Our Whole30

Update 6/24/15 -

We have one week down!  How's everyone doing?!  Can we say detox?  

Need some snack ideas?  Here's a few of my favorites:

- Dried apples

- Almond butter

- Banana & Almond butter

- Fresh cucumber :)

- Chocolate pudding (hallelujah!!)

     2 avocados

     2 bananas (during Whole30 I use       bananas rather than honey to sweeten)

        Cocoa powder

        Vanilla

Combine all ingredients in food processor until smooth and creamy!  

Update 6/15/15 -

Two cookbooks I have and use often are Practical Paleo & Everyday Paleo. I love Practical Paleo because the first half is great reading material on the "why" of it all :) 

Starting Monday, June 15, a group of friends, family, & I are starting a Whole30.  Join us!  I highly suggest reading "It Starts With Food."  But to jump right in, read this: http://whole30.com/whole30-program-rules/

I will use this one blog post to update throughout the month. I'll add snack ideas, recipes, etc. 

You Are What You Eat

According to my husband, I've been on every "diet" known to man. Although this is not true, I have tried many different - I'll call them "ways" of eating. I've done no red meat, no meat, lots of grain, no grain, vegetarian, and so on. And I'm telling you this because I want you to know I'm speaking from experience.

What works best for me and my family is a [mostly] paleo lifestyle. 

I do not call it a diet. That's not what it is. It's not a fad or 90 day program (there is the Whole30; I'll get to that later). It's our lifestyle. The way we do things.  We don't focus our world around it (it has become second nature to plan ahead when I know food options will be limited or difficult).  We don't count calories.  We live like everyone else; we just choose to leave out some foods that are marketed as "healthy" but don't make us feel that way.  My general rule of thumb: if you don't know what all the ingredients listed on the label are, don't eat it. Best practice would be to buy nothing in a package, but this is so hard in our society and lifestyle. I do the best I can. 

Let me give you the basics:

What we eat - meat, veggies, eggs, fruit, nuts, seeds

What we don't eat &/or limit - grains, dairy, legumes, sugar

Are we perfect at this? - not even close!

But the closer we follow these guidelines, the better we feel.

We live in a world of convenience.  Every food you can imagine is already prepared, seasoned, cooked, & loaded with chemical preservatives!  This is such a new thing in our world. Could you imagine your great grandmother buying box of cookies? 

This is a passion of mine [or soapbox :)] - our world is so loaded with chemicals that are PROVEN & KNOWN carcinogens BANNED IN OTHER COUNTRIES!  Why on earth do we put them in our bodies?!  Because it's more convenient?  Because the FDA approves them, so we think they're safe?!  I want to do everything I can to help my family live the healthiest lifestyle - this includes foods, cleaners, and anything that come in our home. [rant over]

I say "we" because even though Paul Michael called me crazy for going through all my crazy recipes in the first years of our marriage, he knows & experiences that this paleo lifestyle works best for his body.  I know this is the best for Luke's body - he is very sensitive to corn (a grain, not vegetable) & dairy.  

How I found paleo - 

July 2012 I was 5 months postpartum. I could not lose the last 10-15 pounds of baby weight. I had also been reading and hearing "paleo" diet, but I didn't really know what it was. My best friend (who had a baby 3 weeks before me) said she had been eating this paleo way & dropped the last of her baby weight. That got my attention. I read The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf and It Starts With Food by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig. I soon thereafter started a Whole30 - http://whole30.com/new/ .  This was one of the hardest but best things I have done for myself. The weight fell off (and stayed off)!!! I learned what foods make my body work and feel great. And what foods make me feel awful!  I didn't know I was even feeling so yucky until I felt better!!!!