My Recipe for Homemade Probiotic Deodorant.

I have been making my own deodorant for about 2 months now.  I even got Josh to start using it.  We are just amazed at how this stuff works.  Not to get to personal here, but I was having break through body odor with the department store brands.  After switching to this I have not had any smelliness at all. If probiotics are good for balancing your bacteria inside your body then why not on the outside too? This is a great way to get rid of a few more toxins in your house and on your body and it costs a fraction of what we were spending.  Plus really it's simple to make.

 Ingredients:
* 1/4 cup baking soda
* 1/4 cup arrowroot starch (or cornstarch)
* 3 shelf stable probiotic capsules. (This means that they are the ones that don't need to be refrigerated.)
* 6 tablespoons of coconut oil
* Optional: Essential oil of your choice.  I typically use 6 drops of tea tree oil (don't want to much of that one.)
* Container of your choice: an upcycled deodorant container (just be sure to get one with a solid bottom the cheap ones with holes will not do), a small jar, etc.

1. Mix together the baking soda and arrowroot.  Break open the capsules of probiotics and add them in.  I just do this in a glass measuring cup to make it easy to pour later.  Mix with a fork or small wisk.

2. Melt the coconut oil so it's liquid but not hot.  About 20 seconds in the microwave will do.  Pour it into the dry ingredients.  Mix well.  Add your oils next. Then pour it into your container.  We just an old Old Spice container with the top with the little holes because you can dispense just a small amount.  You don't need much at all of this stuff, in fact if you get too much you might have to wipe a little off.  We have also just hand applied it from a little jar.  Then I put it in the fridge to "set up" to solid.  

Note: Coconut oil has a melting point of about 76 degrees.  This is not a stick you can just throw in your gym bag and leave in the car.  Also if your house is warm and it's starts to melt you may need to adjust the amount of coconut oil, use the jar method, or keep it in the fridge (sounds kind of refreshing on a hot day). 

Also this is an oil so be sure to let it soak in before putting your clothes on.  I've never had any issue with it getting on my clothing though.  (Nothing a little dish soap wouldn't take care of if you do though.)

Let me know if you give it a try and how it works for you!

My great grandparents generation VS my generation.

I feel very privileged to have know 5 out of 8 of my great grandparents.  They lived long health lives for the most part.  When I think about them I always think about words like spunky and vivacious. These were people who lived their lives to the fullest.  And they never slowed down until their bodies gave up on them.  They didn't die of diseases, they died of old age.  They were farmers who lived off the land.

Now contrast this to my grandparents generation.  People of this generation are dying of terrible disease.  They retire and watch TV most of the day.  They are told that getting old should feel terrible like they do.  Aches and pains and disease are just part of life as you age.

Even worse then that look at my generation.  We are told that we are the laziest generation.  We are told that we have no work ethics.  We are told that being overweight, sick and tired is just part of life.  30 year olds are living on energy drinks just to get through the day. We are slaves to our DVR's and La-Z-Boy's.

Is this our fault?  I don't think so. We have been set up to fail.  We eating foods that are causing inflammation in our bodies.  Giving us disease earlier and earlier.  We are malnourished and overfed, making us feel like crap all the time.  Our government has allowed our food to become politics and then recommend that the majority of our calories come from the least nutrient dense sources.  It's perfectly acceptable in this day to eat cereal, milk and toast for breakfast. The majority of the vitamins from this meal are fortified, added back to the nutrient-less food to make you feel like you are having a healthy breakfast. The food guide that is recommended to us wants you to get the most servings of your day from grains, most of which have to be fortified to be "nutritious".

It's time to start living like our great grandparents again.  Get rid of the processed foods, and live off the land again.  Even if you can't have a farm, eat like you do.  Eat mostly pastured raised animals, eggs from chickens that eat bugs, and organic local fruits and veggies.  Have liver and onions like your grandparents did.  Eat the whole animal like they did. Spend time as a family cooking dinner together instead of time watching tv together. Don't be afraid to spend a little money on that which sustains your body.  (We spend less on food then any other generation before us!) And see that you can feel like they did.  Health, spunky, and vivacious well into your 90's.