Toothpowder. What a vintage word and concept.  It sounds like a product straight out of an apothecary.  A stained old box that you’d see on a shelf in a reenacted historic home.  But now it lives in my bathroom!

During this year of detoxing my beauty routine, toothpaste was one of my top priorities to recreate.

The array of tooth care products in the drugstore today is overwhelming: whitening, tartar control, extra-long breath freshening, sensitive teeth, with flouride or flouride-free, in different sized and shaped tubes, with a variety of flavors.  Do we really need all that to take care of our teeth?

As soon as I started experimenting with homemade toothpaste, my boyfriend admitted that he was a bit concerned about it.  While I won’t seriously hurt myself experimenting with shampoo and moisturizer, he was worried that I might get serious tooth damage if I really go an entire year without commercial toothpaste.

So I did some research.

According to wikipedia, toothpaste doesn’t clean your teeth – the friction of the toothbrush does.  And tooth pastes and powders weren’t common until the 19th century.   So I think as long as I do a thorough brushing, I should be fine with my homemade toothpaste.  Or if not, you’ll definitely hear about it!

Attempt #1: Baking Soda

The first thing I tried was plain baking soda – just dip your toothbrush in the baking soda and brush.  My teeth felt really smooth afterwards, but the taste was pretty bad.

Attempt #2: Sage Toothpowder

This time, I made a toothpowder from crushed dried sage leaves and baking soda.  Sage is antibacterial, breath-freshing and is supposed to whiten your teeth.  The major problem with this attempt is that I mixed the sage and baking soda together first, and then tried to grind them in a mortar-and-pestle.  As a result, the sage pieces were still too big (it’s hard to grind baking soda since it’s powdery), so I ended up with green bits in my teeth.  Not what I was looking for in a toothpaste!  I did like the taste of the sage, so I’ll keep working on this recipe.

Attempt #3: Sage Toothpowder v2

This time I ground up the sage separately first, then mixed with some baking soda – much better!  I carried some of this with me on a recent weekend trip and it worked well, and is easy to carry in a small container.  There are still some bits, but they’re small and rinse away easily.  I’ll probably continue to tweak this recipe over the year!

The sage flavor is nice, but I’m still missing the ‘minty fresh’ feeling – so next up is to experiment with some peppermint essential oil and actually making a toothpaste!

Last weekend I had a ton of broad beans leftover from my farm-share (CSA) box.  I really like making this broad bean dip, but we didn’t have anything to eat it on.   After some searching, I came across this cracker recipe and thought: 4 ingredients, 15 minutes, simple!

Unfortunately, this experience with cracker making left me less than convinced.  Maybe there’s a reason (other than laziness) why we buy crackers?  Maybe I just didn’t roll them thin enough?  Maybe there was too much flour?

A few of the crackers got very golden brown and crispy in the oven – these were pretty tasty.  But lots of them were just slightly chewy (not a good quality in a cracker).  And some were still coated with flour, even after baking.  Where have I gone wrong?  I still have half of the dough in the freezer, so I’ll experiment with that soon to see if it was the rolling that was the problem.

If you want to try making crackers yourself, here is the recipe I used – you could make endless variations on it by changing the herbs, salt, flour etc.  If you try it, let me know!

Rosemary Sea Salt Crackers

2 c. (290g) flour

1/2 tsp. sea salt

2 TB (30g) soft butter

approx 1 c. (250ml) milk

1 TB finely chopped rosemary

Preheat oven to 300F/150C.  Mix together all ingredients into a smooth batter.

Turn out onto floured board.  At this point I put half the dough into a log in the freezer for future use (hoping I can just slice it frozen like slice-and-bake cookies? Or maybe will thaw and roll out).

Roll out the remaining dough with a rolling pin until very thin (1/8″).  I think the thinner the better – you want the crackers to really crisp up in the oven.

Cut into the shape you want.  Prick with a fork on the top of each cracker.

Place on baking sheets and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

So where did I go wrong? Have you made crackers before?  Tips & advice very welcome in the comments!!

I’ve cleaned out my cabinets and shelves.  Offending beauty products are in the basement for safe keeping until next year.

I’m going to start with just the basics, and I plan to have a full, indulgent beauty routine reestablished by the end of the year – sans chemicals.  At least I hope so.  Because a year of just using soap, baking soda and vinegar makes me really depressed!

The four products I can’t live without

Keep in mind, I’m a product addict so this stripped down routine will not last long … but these are the very basics I need to get going!

1. Cleanser – Castile soap is an olive oil based soap about as pure as you can get.  I bought a bottle of Dr. Bronner’s rose scented soap which can be used for body, face, hands, hair — just about everything!
2. Moisturizer – I’m starting with some grapeseed oil mixed with some essential oils.  I’ve been doing this as a nighttime facial oil for awhile, and will just expand it to body use.  But making some real body cream is one of my top priorities!
3. Deodorant – Fortunately I switched to this crystal deodorant a few months back, so I’ll just continue using that.
4. Toothpaste – For lack of anything else, I know I can use baking soda as a tooth powder.  Definitely need to improve this one ASAP though, because baking soda is not very tasty.

This feels very back-to-basics to me and not very vintage-beauty-creative-fabulous!  I think I’ll last with this routine for a few days, max.  I am nervous about it, really.  I am however 100% sure that this sparse ‘essentials’ routine will motivate me to make some products, and fast.

Applesauce.  Yep.

It was supposed to be homemade chicken stock, but in my haste to pull yet-another-square-container-frozen-solid-with-yellowish-substance out of the freezer, I inadvertently added applesauce to my soup.

Since I know you’re curious:  Yes, I ate it (it was slightly sweet-sour.  And very thick!).  No, I’m not adding it to my recipe repertoire.

The moral of the story is that you HAVE to label all of your containers.  This is important when stocking your apothecary, your homemade beauty boudoir or your freezer.  I always harp on and on about the importance of labeling, and then this happens.  Unlabeled applesauce and chicken stock, side by side.

No matter how much you think you will remember … trust me, there is a good chance you won’t.  And while defrosting an unknown frozen food can be a fun culinary adventure, trying to remember what a dried mystery herb, or tincture, or body cream is, is much more risky!

What to include on your label

* Product/Food Name

* Date Produced

* Ingredients (for apothecary/beauty products)

* Source (for herbs … did you pick it yourself? Which store did you buy it from? This is useful so you can find the same high quality herb or avoid a poor quality one in the future)

* Warnings (for apothecary / beauty products)

Have you had any labeling mis-adventures?  Let us know in the comments.

I recently announced my year-long Beauty Detox.  The first step is an inventory of everything I currently own and use.  Partially to understand the scope of my addiction, but also to put these products out of sight for the next year (they’re going in a box in the basement.)   It would be way too easy to fall off the natural-beauty wagon in a moment of (bad hair) desperation.

Amanda’s beauty product inventory – July 2010

1. Face cleanser
2. Face scrub
3. Face moisturizer (with and without sunscreen)
4. Acne spot treatment
5. Facial mask
6. shampoo
7. conditioner
8. anti-frizz hair serum
9. Sea salt texture hair spray
10. dry shampoo
11. shaving cream
12. shower gel
13. body moisturizer
14. ultra rich body cream
15. hand cream
16. body scrub
17. perfume
18. deodorant
19. toothpaste
20. mouthwash
21. nail polish
22. nail polish remover
23. makeup (foundation, concealer, powder, blush, bronzer, eye shadow, mascara, eyeliner, lip gloss)
24. astringent/toner
25. self tanner
26. night time face treatment
27. hair color/dye
28. hand sanitizer (does this count?!)

When I actually tot up my number of products, it’s 115, including 10 hair products, 24 body products, 6 kind of perfume, and 52 pieces of makeup (not including my 48 shade Sephora pallet).

This number is staggering to me.  I really had no idea of the scope of my beauty product habit.   And I just remembered I forgot to include my nail polishes… ack.

I am starting to realize that this Beauty Detox is going to help my wallet significantly as well.

The lesson from this clean out?  That my beauty habit has gotten a bit out of control.  And that these 28 types of products are the ones I need to find natural alternatives for, or live without, in the next 12 months.

What’s your beauty product number?? Let us know in the comments.

Recently I’ve been thinking about the amount of chemicals and manufactured products I put on and in my body. There’s only so much I can do about environmental chemicals since I live in London, but I can control what I choose to eat, drink, smear, scrub, smooth and otherwise put on myself.

So, this weekend I started thinking about doing a year long chemical detox of my beauty routine.

Lip gloss, body scrub, face masks, minty foot cream, nail polish, spa nights – if it’s beauty-related, I love it!  It started with my first hand-me-down lipstick at age 9, and now takes up several shelves in my bathroom and bedroom.   I can’t even begin to calculate the amount of money I’ve spent on beauty products over my lifetime.

My year long beauty detox means that I need to first eliminate all ‘chemicals’ from my beauty routine – and try to find natural alternatives.  To be honest, I don’t know where to draw the line with defining ‘chemicals’, that’s something I’ll have to figure out as I go.

I will try to make every product I use myself – based on traditional recipes where possible, and using high-quality ingredients.  I’m also hoping I’ll save a lot of money, even with using really nice ingredients.  When I can’t make a product, I’ll try to find the most natural (but still effective) alternative available to buy.

So why am I freaking out?  I don’t want to become a hippy/crunchy/smelly/weird-looking person.  My challenge for this year is to detox my beauty routine without it being noticeable to people on the street.  I need to look, smell and feel normal.  I need to fit into regular society.  It’s a beauty detox for everywoman.

Also, I admit I’m freaking out because I won’t be able to use my favorite perfume!  Or nail polish.  Or eyeliner!  I love eye makeup and have a lot of it.  The smoky-eye-pale-lip combination is my best friend.   I can only hope there are good natural alternatives…

You’ve probably had Spanish gazpacho as a chilled soup.  But what about a bowl of cool, fuschia delicious-ness?

This vintage recipe is from Zak’s Lithuanian grandmother.  Cold beet soup is a Lithuanian tradition, and has become one of my favorite summer lunches.  Beet soup (Saltibarsciai, in Lithuanian) is a creamy buttermilk or yogurt based soup, filled with beets, cucumbers and dill.

When we visited Vilnius last year, beet soup was everywhere, often served with hot potatoes (and a good dollop of sour cream, of course!)  It’s often eaten as a starter to a bigger meal, but I also like it with a salad or sandwich for a summer lunch.

Don’t worry about the color, and trust me on this one, it’s really tasty!

Chilled Beet Soup

2 cooked red beets, peeled and coarsely grated

2 fresh cucumbers, thinly sliced

2 hard boiled eggs

6 TB sour cream

4 c. buttermilk

1 c. water

8 sprigs fresh dill, finely chopped

1 cup scallion greens, finely chopped

Method:

Stir together egg yolks, scallion greens and a little salt to make a paste.

Chop the egg whites.  Add egg whites and all other ingredients to bowl, and stir together.

Soup will become VERY pink colored (depending on the ratio of beets to liquid).  Chill, serve with extra fresh dill and hot potatoes.  Or, keep a bowl in the fridge like Zak’s grandma for an easy summer starter or lunch!

What traditional summer recipes does your family have??  Let us know in the comments.

If you’re interested, here is the progress so far… it’s huge!  It’s the tall plant on the right (you can also see my out-of-control mint plant on the left.  Mojitos anyone?)

It’s up to my waist in height and has two huge, white flower-like things on the end.   I’m just going to let it keep going and see what happens.

Did you have any garden experiments this year?? Let us know in the comments.

What if there were one simple daily action you could take to be green AND improve your health?

There is: cooking!

Cooking can be basic or extravagant, simple or fabulously complicated, functional (you need to eat), comforting (mmmm, homemade soup), creative (decorating cupcakes), and therapeutic (kneading bread).  As great-grandma would tell you, until recently, preparing food wasn’t a choice, it was a necessity.  Today we have the privilege of being able to purchase every single meal we eat… but we lose the connection with where our food comes from, how it gets to us, and what exactly it is that we’re eating.

Choosing to cook for yourself, your family and friends is a simple action you can take every day to take control of your health and your impact on the environment.

Green

Cooking your food is better for the environment because you are using whole, fresh foods.

• Fresh foods have less (or zero) packaging (have you seen the layers of packaging in a ready meal?!)
• Fresh foods don’t take energy to manufacture/package like pre-made foods
• Buying in bulk can reduce packaging, transport costs (and save you money) even further
• You can choose the source of your food, whether it’s organic vegetables, free-range eggs or sustainable fish.

Healthy

By cooking your own food, you know exactly what you’re eating.  My personal (completely unscientific) theory is that cooking is good for your health because:

• You’re eating fewer chemicals, preservatives and other nasties (ie, all of those ingredients you can’t pronounce)
• You’ll reduce your sodium intake (the sodium in packaged/prepared foods is unbelievable)
• You’ll be eating Real Whole Foods that your body knows how to digest and assimilate (this is just a personal belief, that our bodies don’t know what to do with all of those invented food ingredients, and we’re better off eating natural foods)
• You’ll ultimately eat a healthier, balanced diet with less fat and sugar (my opinion: you can cook a ‘treat’ food like cake or fish&chips occasionally, but it’s too much effort to do every night)

Take Action

• Cook something.  Today.
• Kait over at Pots & Plots has launched a Retake Homemade movement to show that cooking doesn’t have to be hard.  Feel free to check it out and join in the twitter hash tag of #retakehomemade with your quick, homemade recipes.
• And if you haven’t yet read The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan, consider adding it to your summer reading list.

Do you cook?  Share your tips in the comments for how you manage cooking with the rest of your busy schedule.  Don’t cook yet, but want to learn?  Let us know that too!

I’m slightly obsessed with sweater girls and pinups from the 1940s and 1950s … as well as the gorgeous delicate knits of the 1930s.  And creating your own vintage knitwear means you get the classic style, with the benefit of new materials!  (And you can make it exactly the color, style and SIZE that you want, which so often isn’t the case with vintage clothes!).

If you’re feeling knitty and want to make your own vintage knitwear, get some inspiration here:

• I recently posted some vintage patterns I bought at a charity shop
• Just stumbled across this link of some lovely 1930′s-era knitting patterns
• And I can’t recommend Ravelry enough – if you join, friend me, I’m vintageamanda.  I’m a member of several vintage knitting groups on the site, linked from my profile.
• Finally, here are a few vintage pics from flickr for inspiration.

Do you knit? Have you ever tried knitting from a vintage pattern?  What are your favorite resources? Leave a comment below.