10 Things I've Learned about Making Cold Process Soap

Call me crazy, but amidst a new job and moving, I've taken up a new hobby. After years of lusting after homemade soap, the lovely Donna from Sossima kindly took me under her wing and gave me a cold process soap making lesson.

After that one lesson, I was hooked.

I had some prepaid VISA's kicking around that were begging to be spent, so I bought some equipment and ordered some supplies. The internet is chock full of soap making how-to's and I'm by no means an expert, but over the last month or so, I've learned a few things about making soap.

10 Things I've Learned About Making Cold Process Soap

1. Research First - If you're fortunate enough to get a hands-on lesson, jump on that opportunity. Otherwise don't just read JUST one beginners guide or watch JUST one video on youtube, watch many and watch closely, until you can anticipate what's going to happen next. Soapmaking is SCIENCE first and foremost and therefore requires precision and accuracy. Respect Science.
2. Fear the Lye - Just like on a construction site Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is not optional. Lye is caustic stuff and you need to wear gloves, eye protection and ideally an apron.  Keep vinegar on hand to neutralize the acid should you accidentally spill, keep the area well ventilated and ensure your kids and pets are at a safe distance. And just like you learned in 8th grade science, ALWAYS ADD ACID; add the lye to the water if you want to avoid an explosive, corrosive mess.
   
3. You need dedicated soap making equipment - If you make soap with it, don't use it for food. Soap has lye and as per number 2, you should have hearty dose of fear with respect to lye. You will NEED a digital scale, a thermometer, a stick blender (I got mine for $10 at Superstore), a large mixing container (mine is a Pyrex 2L measuring cup), a heat proof container and stirring stick for the lye (I use a canning jar and a bamboo skewer) and a mold. Your mold doesn't have to be fancy, you can use a small loaf pan lined with parchment or freezer paper, or you can use a milk carton with the top or side cut off.
   
4. Start Simple - I made a half batch of the Soap Queen's tried and true 'Lots of Lather' recipe and although it doesn't have pretty colours or fancy smells, I was successful on my first try. This recipe also uses only a few ingredients and won't set you back a fortune to get started. Plus, it really is a nice bar of soap.
   
5. Make friends with a Lye Calculator - unless you are following a recipe EXACTLY how you found it, you need to use a Lye Calculator. Although you can cut all the oils in half successfully, the lye is calculated based on its reaction with each of the fats, so recalculating is not optional (unless you're a fan of the explosive, corrosive mess). If you're willing to invest a few bucks, you can use the Brambleberry Soap app.
   
6. Trace is important - Trace is what happens when the lye and the soap blend together in a way that will create soap. Trace varies from light trace, which is kind of like whipped cream, before you whip it, to medium trace, which kind of looks like pudding and then there's heavy trace, which just looks like a big old gloppy mess. Different levels of trace are better for different types of pretty designs, and just to keep things exciting, adding scents or colours can accelerate trace and turn your pudding into glop that MUST be dropped into the mold immediately.
7. Keep your soap cozy - Once in the mold, cover your soap with a piece of cardboard then wrap it in towels for 24 hours; during the saponification (when it turns into soap) you want a nice stable temperature. You don't however, need to put it somewhere really hot (like on my Mom's heated tile floors) or you may have some cracking on the top of your soap.
8. Experiment with what you have - After I successfully made a half batch of the 'Lots of Lather' Soap, I substituted half the water with coconut milk, added some ground up oatmeal and used some cocoa powder for a pretty brown stripe. I tried a variation using coffee grounds for an exfoliating stripe, I'm also hoping it will deodorize stinky onion fingers. Scour the internet, be inspired and experiment.
9. Experiment with Oils - just using oils you can buy at the grocery store you can change your soap. Some oils make big bubbles or small bubbles or lots of lather. So far I've enjoyed partially substituting olive oil with grapeseed or rice bran oils and I can't wait to try out a little bit of mango butter for extra moisturizing goodness.
10. Be patient - perhaps the hardest part for me is the waiting. After 24 hours you can unmold and cut your soap, it will be soft and cut easily. Then, the real waiting occurs. The recommended curing time is 4-6 weeks; during this time keep your soap spaced our and rotate them occasionally, so that the water evaporates and the soap hardens. During this time the pH will also drop making an extremely gentle bar of soap. You can test out a little sliver to see how it lathers up after about a week, but truly, you need to wait before you start using your soap regularly.

And last but not least, don't forget to have fun!

Zoku Quick Pop Bundle Sale on Well.ca

You may remember me oogling over the ZOKU Quick POP maker last year. In only seven minutes it creates three custom pops and can make a total of nine pops before the base needs to be refrozen.

That's right, you can make nine healthy and delcious pops in under half an hour and starting today, Well.ca is having a great sale where you can get a FREE Zoku Tool Kit or a FREE Zoku Chocolate Station with the purchase of your Zoku Quick Pop Maker.

I had almost forgotten all about the Zoku, until my friend posted a picture of her kids enjoying homemade quinoa and blueberry pops on Facebook and suddenly I found myself lusting after a Zoku again.

I just got a juicer and I'm imagining all the healthful deliciousness I could feed my kids in the guise of frozen pops if I owned a Zoku. Fortunately, its my birthday next month and I'm asking for the Zoku  Tool Kit bundle, in fact I'm sending the link over to my husband right now.

And because shipping is always a concern; Well.ca offers FREE SHIPPING within Canada on orders over $25.

If you want to see the Zoku Quick Pop Maker in action, check out this utube video demonstration!

I am an a member of the Well.ca Affilliate Program, however all opinions are my own.

Momma's DIY Buckwheat Cold Pack Tutorial

Although they hated them for a long time, my kids love ice packs, especially Momma's DIY Buckwheat Cold Packs. If Mommy's kiss isn't quite enough to soothe their owie, Momma's cold pack almost always does the trick.

These were borne out of necessity; before our DIY cold packs it was almost impossible to get ice packs back from my children, which was bad on a number of levels.  First my kids were literally numbing their little hands, second, we could never find ice packs when the hubs and I needed them and  worse, lost or warm ice packs were not sufficient for little boy boo boo's.

I decided to make my own and partially because I had it on hand and partially because I thought the larger grain might not hold the cold as well, I used buckwheat as filler. Flax is also a good option I've used before (which can be heated in the microwave as well) but it has a lot more surface area and I think would stay cold for longer.

The buckwheat is perfect, it warms back to room temperature in 5-10 minutes depending on the size, at which point my kids tend to abandon it somewhere for me to rescue.

They are a super easy DIY that could be completed during naptime if you have a sewing machine. You can make these any size, or shape, you want and whatever scrap fabric you have available. I usually use quilting cotton and this tutorial uses a cute Batman flannel. It's the first time I've used flannel and my boys haven't complained it warms up faster, but its something you may want to consider in your fabric choice.

These are super quick and super easy, I'm sure you can do it.

DIY Buckwheat Cold Pack for Kids

1. Fold your scrap fabric, right sides together and cut out a square or rectangle. Then, keeping your fabric folded, pin around the three open sides.

2. Starting at the fold, sew up the side and turn the corner. Stop sewing and leave a 2 inch gap before you continue sewing around the corner down to the fold. Make sure you backstitch everytime you start and stop. Clip your corners and turn your cold pack right ways out. Use a chopstick to ensure your corners are pointed before you iron your cold pack flat.

3. Starting next to the gap, topstitch all the way around the edge, stopping at the other side of the space.

4. Use a spoon to fill your coldpack no more than 2/3 full with the buckwheat groats. Push the buckwheat to the bottom and place pins horizontally to keep it from shifting while you are sewing. 

5. Topstitch the gap shut, making sure you backstitch at both ends. Then throw it in the freezer and wait until its needed. Maybe next time Mommy's kisses don't work, Momma's DIY Cold Pack will.

25 First Foods for Baby | Starting Solids

As we all know there is a plethora of information available on what foods to introduce to your baby and I've discussed my thoughts with regard to introducing solids as well.  Sometimes rather than wading through a bunch of information, a simple list is easier to follow, so here are the first 25 foods (and a brief explanation for each) that I fed to my little baby boy.

1.     Rice cereal - an easy and common first food that can be mixed with nearly all other introductions.

2.     Avocado - a smooth creamy texture and loaded with good fat, avocados are easy to transport and are an ideal early food.

3.     Sweet potato - another common first food, sweet potatoes are full of nutrients and have a sweet silkiness that babies love.

4.     Pears - have a light sweet flavour that can be mixed with anything to make new foods palatable.

5.     Chicken - Health Canada recommends meats as a first food to refill depleting iron reserves; I always mix chicken with other foods. For my boys 'chicken & sweet potato' and 'chicken & pears' were hits on the first feed. 

6.     Quinoa - nutritious and delicious, this super grain is loaded with protein and fibre.  Quinoa baby food is easy to make and the baby gobbles it up, again mixed with pears or chicken.

7.     Zucchini - a summer squash that's abundant in Vancouver, this moist and mild vegetable is great for blending, but resist the urge to add extra water when pureeing, it thins out a lot.

8.     Prunes - at this point I noticed the regularity of the baby's poop's decreasing and the crankiness increasing so I introduced a daily dose of prunes.  I simmer the prunes with a little bit of pear to tame down the richness.

9.     Banana - I dislike bananas, but they are great food for travel and I was about to head off to Blissdom Canada so I mashed some up and gave them to the boy.  In truth, he's not super fond of them either.

10. Carrots - easy to make, easy to eat, easy to blend.  It's a common first food for a reason.

11. Peaches - my aunt brought me some peaches from her friends farm so of course I cooked them up for the baby.  After that, I just used canned peaches; its far more convenient and the baby only likes them mixed with other fruits anyway.

12. Broccoli - we eat a lot of broccoli in our house, so its natural that we'd introduce it early.  At our house it was a hit mixed with zucchini and some rice cereal.

13. Tofu - a great protein source that once again can be blended with just about anything.  The dietician told me to make sure you boil it before feeding it to your little one.

14. Blueberries - this sweet purple treat is abundant in the summer here in Vancouver and its another common food in our house.  Although the bright purple colour can be intimidating, this antioxidant rich treat is worth it.

15. Potato - Not my favourite, nor my boys, but it’s a welcome addition when you start making dishes that are more ‘meals’ than simply vegetables.

16. Pumpkin - After a visit to the pumpkin patch I had some delicious sugar pumpkins to roast and the baby was happy to partake in their sweet, mellow flavour.

17. Oatmeal - I made my own oats for the boy by grinding up some gluten-free oats and boiling them on the stove before mixing them with fruit for a new breakfast option.

18. Spinach – a nutrient rich veggie I was excited to introduce this to the baby using Annabel Karmel’s superfood puree recipe. Blended with chicken thighs and sweet potatoes, my little man can’t get enough.

19. Parsnips – a readily available root vegetable with a creamy texture, I hoped to use this to blend with foods the baby wasn’t so keen on.  Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to care much for parsnips.

20. Green beans – another plentiful, local vegetable, I introduced these so that I could prepare one of the boy’s favourite recipes for the baby with my next introduction.

21. Tomatoes – personally I only like cooked tomatoes and skinning fresh tomatoes is just too much work, so I always use canned tomatoes for my baby food.  The boy loved ratatouille made with a hearty mix of tomato, broccoli, zucchini and green beans.

22. Pork – after slow roasting a pork should for pulled pork, I blended up some of the unseasoned meat with some pears for the baby boy.  Just like pork chops and applesauce, only with pears.

23. Apple – I waited to introduce apples to both my boys simply because some varieties give me an oral allergy; that is they make my throat and inside of my ears uncomfortably itchy.  Granted I don’t get that reaction when the fruit is cooked and removing the peel on fresh fruit generally prevents the reaction, but given that my boys loved pears, there never seemed to be a reason to rush to introduce apples.

24. Egg yolk – an quick and easy to prepare finger food, I introduced egg yolk to add a little protein.  He likes it more now that he can feed himself, I separate the egg then fry the yolk firm without breaking it. 

25. Chickpeas – legumes are rich in fibre, protein and nutrients and if we want our kids to eat them it just makes sense to introduce them as babies.

In general I steam the fruits or vegetable until tender and then puree them with a bit of the steaming water.  I use an electric food steamer (which also works great as a bottle sterilizer) which makes it easy to avoid oversteaming the vegetables to ensure they stay flavourful and minimize nutrient loss.

I’m curious which foods you introduced to your little ones; did I introduce anything that you absolutely wouldn’t?  Or perhaps I missed something that you think is essential, I’d love to hear what you think.

Quinoa Minestrone Soup | gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free recipe

As much as I try to feed my children healthy, nutritious food, I admit that sometime its hard.  Like when its the holiday season, you have one son with mono and another whose teething like crazy and you're up far more than you want to admit in the night.  Sadly one of the things that tends to slide in those tough motherhood moments is the food and as of late the boy has had more lunches consisting of hot dogs or grilled Daiya cheese and ham sandwiches than I'd care to admit.

That said when I got my act together and made him some homemade fish sticks, yam fries and kale chips for lunch the other day he eagerly gobbled it all up.  This simply reminded me that his tastes are tailored to healthy, delicious foods because that's what I feed him and so I realized its time to get back on track; poor food choices should never really be an option.

So I pulled out my Quinoa 365 book and made one of my favourites, Quinoa Minestrone.  It's fairly thick and I consider it a stoup (thanks Rachael Ray for coining the term), in fact I like to use a scant measurement for the quinoa just to keep it a little thinner.  This stoup is delicious fresh and although the flavours are still great the next day, the quinoa just keeps absorbing the liquid and it gets quite thick the next day, so this time around I opted to make a half batch, which was more than enough for the three of us with one bowlful leftover.  This soup takes about 45 minutes from start to finish, veggies chopping included, so its more than possible to decide to make it at 11am and have it on the table in time for lunch.

This is a great meal for the entire family, the baby happily enjoyed this stoup with us for lunch; he's moving to chunkier foods and I was surprised to find that he was happy to eat it without any pureeing.  You could try making it without cheese and pureeing for younger babies, but the cheese (Daiya in our case) really gives the soup a creamy texture and taste.  The original recipe calls for parmesean, so if your family eats dairy please feel free to re-substitute it back in for the Daiya).

Quinoa Minestrone Soup

Adapted from Quinoa 365 by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming
(Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free & Soy-Free)

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 cup diced carrot
• 1 cup diced potatoes
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 can of diced tomatoes, including liquid
• 3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 cup diced zucchini
• 1/2 cup Daiya vegan cheese
• 1 cup thinly sliced spinach

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and saute the onion, carrots, potatoes and salt until the onion is tender, about 7 minutes.
2. Add tomatoes and liquid, stock, quinoa and garlic, bring to a boil. 
3. Simmer partially covered, stirring occasionally, until quinoa and vegetables are tender, about 18 minutes.
4. Add the zucchini and half of the the Daiya cheese.  Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Stir in the spinach and cook for an additional minute.
6. Ladle into bowls, top with remaining Daiya cheese and enjoy!

Why I Make Homemade Baby Food | Starting Solids V4

After flopping on the couch, exhausted from a day with the kids and an afternoon chock full of babyfood making, the hubs turned to me and said, ‘why don’t you just buy your babyfood like everyone else?’  I looked at him dumbfounded for a moment before I started spouting off all the benefits of making your own babyfood.

Cost – when you consider that a little 4.5 oz jar of baby food costs close to a dollar and most fruits and vegetables cost somewhere between one and two dollars per pound, it becomes obvious that making your own babyfood is far more economical.  For example, I just bought close to five pounds of Bartlett pears for under five dollars, those pears will make approximately four whole trays of babyfood and at 12 oz per tray that’s about 48 oz of babyfood.  For the same price I could buy about four to five jars of baby food (unless they are on a super sale), which (in this example) makes homemade babyfood about half the cost.

Taste – have you ever tasted jarred babyfood?  It tastes funny.  It’s so processed that the natural flavours barely shine through the super strained purees.  I want my carrot baby food to taste like carrots and my pears to taste like pears; otherwise I can’t help but wonder if my babe will recognize the flavour once he moves on to table foods.  As far as I'm concerned, the thicker stage 2 and 3 jarred baby foods are in a class all their own, they taste gross, they smell disgusting and my spoiled, homemade baby food eating kid wanted nothing to do with them when I took the boy travelling to China at eight months old.

Nutrition – it’s no surprise that fresh, whole foods are the most nutritious options for the entire family, so it follows that fresh homemade food is a good choice for baby.  I have been known to occasionally grab a few beginner purees from the store, for those days that I haven’t quite got up the gusto to make baby food, but only after carefully reading the labels.  Many jarred baby foods (particularly the stage 2 and 3 variety) have high water, salt or sugar contents.  Remember the order the ingredients are listed are an indication of the composition of the food; water should never be the first ingredient.

From a nutrition standpoint, not only does homemade baby food give me complete control over what my baby consumes, it also allows me to introduce foods, like the superfood quinoa, that are not readily available in jarred foods. 

Texture – last, but certainly not least, making my own babyfood gives me the power to gradually introduce texture to my boys.  There’s no need to go directly from super-pureed to chunky foods.  When the baby started eating solids, I pureed everything until smooth, now I puree until there is just a hint of texture.  I also  make a point of having at least one slightly chunkier food available throughout the week to slowly ease the transition towards table foods.

In essence, by making my own babyfood, I’m saving money, retaining control of what my baby eats and  giving him a chance to taste the flavours of a well-rounded, wholesome and nutritious diet that I hope he will carry forward through his entire life.  

Do you make your own babyfood or do you buy it from the store?  What prompted that decision?

5 Tips for Choosing Babies' First Foods | Starting Solids v3

Starting solids is exciting, but choosing the 'right' foods can be intimidating and scary.  You want to provide nutritious and delicious foods in an order that is appetizing and varied in order to ensure that your little one is off to the best possible start when it comes to eating solids.

There are many schools of thought on the best way to proceed; cereals first as a bland start for sensitive tummies, veggies first to prevent a sweet tooth, fruits first to encourage enjoyment of food, meats first to restore depleting iron reserves and of course there is the baby-led weaning school of thought, which skips pureed foods altogether.

Is there a CORRECT way to introduce solids?  That of course depends on who you ask; you're likely to get a different response if you ask your doctor than if you ask a seasoned mother.  As always choosing foods needs to be tailored to you, your family and your beliefs.

I am in no way an expert, or even educated in nutrition or the introduction of solids, however here are some tips, based entirely on my personal experiences, to help you choose your babies' first foods.

Introduce foods your family already eats, those are the flavours your child will be exposed to for a lifetime, and if you're breastfeeding he's already had a taste for them through your milk.

Introduce foods that are complementary, think about blending flavours so they appeal to your little ones senses.  Pears was one of our first foods as it blends beautifully with other fruits, meats or vegetables and its sweetness makes nearly any combination palatable.

Introduce a variety of foods, I don't want to eat straight vegetables for breakfast, lunch and dinner and your baby probably doesn't either.  By introducing a variety of grains, fruits and vegetables your little one will start off their introduction to solids with well balanced 'meals'.

Introduce new foods three days apart, in order to identify any sensitivities that your child may have.  There is no need to feed only the newest food introduced, however if possible feed it to your child all three days as a reaction will sometimes occur as the food accumulates in his system.

Establish a routine; I began feeding the baby boy twice a day the first week and was up to three times a day by the second week.  Again you are setting the foundation for your child's lifelong eating habits and by feeding solids (even a small amount) three times a day, you are making 'meals', not snacks, a priority for your child.

I've already shared the baby boy's first five foods, and a recipe for homemade Quinoa baby food; here's a list of the baby boy's second five foods.  Out of the entire batch, bananas are probably his least favourite, though its not suprising neither the hubs and I are fans and the boy only recently started to enjoy them.

1. Quinoa
2. Zucchini
3. Prunes
4. Bananas
5. Carrots

What are your thoughts on introducing solids?  How did you decide what foods to introduce first?

Quinoa for Baby | Starting Solids v2

I love Quinoa, granted I don't just eat it plain by the bucketful, but its so hearty mixed into salads and soups, adds extra nutrition, protein and fibre to baked goods and is amazing for breakfast as a hot cereal.  When the boy moved onto textured foods, quinoa was one of his favourites; if he wasn't feeling well he would almost always eat a bowl of quinoa and applesauce, perhaps with a little bit of chicken mixed in.

As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing wrong with that; quinoa is naturally gluten-free and has 2.5 grams of fibre and 4 grams of protein in a half a cup.  This superfood also contains iron, calcium and magnesium, it truly is both nutritious and delicious for adults and children alike..

After a bit of research, I decided that this time around I would introduce the baby boy to Quinoa much earlier in the game.  As I mentioned previously, I decided to use the Quinoa 365 method of cooking quinoa for baby since I've loved nearly everything I've made out of the cookbook.

Quinoa 365 provides easy instructions for using quinoa seeds, flakes or flour to make baby food, but I'm using the seeds as they are the least processed and therefore the most nutritious for baby.  If you are interested in the other methods, send me an email.

Quinoa baby food is super easy to make and I was impressed with the smooth texture after pureeing.  It freezes beautifully, but is a little denser than some of the fruit/vegetable purees and thus takes a little bit longer to defrost and warm up.  Since the flavour of quinoa is relatively strong, I recommend mixing it with another food that your little one is already accustomed to.  My baby boy has been happily eating his quinoa for breakfast with pureed pears and for dinner with yams and chicken.

Quinoa Baby Food

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1-1/4 cup water
• additional water for blending

Directions:

• Place quinoa and water in a pot and bring to a boil.
• Cover and reduce heat to a simmer for 10 minutes; do not remove the lid.
• Turn off heat, but leave covered pot on the burner for an additional 25 minutes.
• Fluff with a fork and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Blend with additional water to create a smooth texture.
• Feed to your baby or freeze for future feedings.

If you haven't already, check out: Starting Solids v1