The Holistic Mama by Roxanne King

How to Make Kombucha Tea at Home

April 27, 2020 By Roxanne Leave a Comment

Do you want to learn how to make kombucha tea at home? It's really fun, I promise. I started making kombucha a couple of years ago after I realized how much I was buying! If you are new to fermenting, kombucha is an easy beginner project. It's low maintenance and creates a super healthy brew.

What you Need to Get Started

A large glass vessel for brewing
Tea – black or green
Organic Sugar
Kombucha scoby and starter
Small empty kombucha bottles with tight fitting lids (for the second ferment)
Fruit Juice (for second ferment)
Plastic mesh strainer (like this one)

To get started making kombucha tea and home you'll want a vessel that holds at least a gallon (mine is 1.5 gallon and works well). Also make sure the cover is either glass or plastic, never metal. Metal should not come in contact with your scoby and it will corrode. I purchased mine at Home Goods but it looks similar to this one.

Grocery Subscriptions, Have You Tried Them?

March 24, 2020 By Roxanne 1 Comment

Online grocery delivery subscriptions, have you tried them? I hadn't considered it until now because I actually enjoy food shopping under normal circumstances. Due to the required social distancing, and the current lack of supply of certain items, I'm giving these subscription services a try.

My first requirement is that the food is organic and responsibly sourced. My family eats mostly a paleo diet so vegetables, fruit, and animal proteins are most important. There are a number of “meal kit” services that have grown in popularity recently. With my family's dietary restrictions and my requirement for organic food, its almost impossible to find a meal kit service that fits my needs. For those reasons, grocery delivery subscriptions interest me a lot more. After researching a few options I am trying out two companies.

Get Glowing Skin Without Paying for a Facial

March 1, 2020 By Roxanne Leave a Comment

You don't need expensive facials and spa treatments to have glowing skin everyday. What really makes a difference is your daily practice of taking care of your skin. Create daily habits that are healthy for your skin and your body with intention.

Exfoliate

If you don't exfoliate already, you should. Removing dead and dry skin cells allows your skin to soak up moisturizers better and keep skin hydrated and healthy. This can be as simple as using a warm cloth to gently exfoliate your skin or you can use (one of my favorites) a konjac sponge. It is a very gentle way to manually exfoliate on a daily basis.

Another option is to use a chemical exfoliating face wash that contains salicylic or glycolic acid. These work by breaking down oils to remove dead skin and help prevent breakouts. The problem is that it's very hard to find a face wash that has these ingredients and is also safe to use. Always check your products on the Skin Deep Database and look for a rating of 1 or 2.

How Green Cleaning Can Change Your Home

September 7, 2017 By Roxanne Leave a Comment

Let's talk about green cleaning. Every home has on average 62 different toxic chemicals present at any one time. This is worrying for obvious reasons, but more so because we spend 90 percent of our time indoors according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This means we are constantly touching, breathing in and ingesting these chemicals. Whether you’re at home or at work, going about your daily life usually includes getting your daily dose of volatile organic compounds which are typically found in your cleaning products.

What can be done about it? Unfortunately, the U.S. hasn't made many labeling laws for toxic substances. No one knows the true depth of exactly how devastating these products can be on your health and food sources. However, there is good news. It’s not hard to eliminate these toxic chemicals from your cleaning regime and your life. Here’s a look at how to do it.

Single-Ingredient Green Cleaning Products

Arguably the most important point in using single-ingredient cleaning products is that they can help revolutionize how you interact and treat your living space. You will find most of these ingredients in your cupboard, so they’ll not only be better for you, but they’ll be cheaper, too! The following ingredients can be used in various combinations to replace the majority of conventional cleaning cans and sprays:Continue Reading