Herbs Archives - Simply Me DIY

September 24, 2019January 15, 2020

Homemade Snack Crackers

Every time I go grocery shopping, I look at snack crackers that I can munch on that will side track me from something sweet. Everytime I refuse to buy them telling myself I can make my own homemade snack crackers.

I looked for all kinds of recipes and found several that looked good, but just kept putting it off, because, well, you know, it was just so much easier to just buy them.

One night while watching YouTube I came across a channel called Living Traditions Homestead and they were making homemade snack crackers. He kept talking about how easy and quick it was.

After watching it several times I found that it really is pretty easy, just like he said it was. It’s also pretty easy to change it up if you want.

I’ll give you the recipe he gave and then I’ll talk about how you can change it up.

Homemade Snack Crackers

Ingredients:

1 Cup oat flour
2 Cups all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
4 TBL oil
1 Cup warm to hot water.

Instructions:

Combine flours, salt, and sugar. Mix together well. Add oil and mix. I used my stand mixer for this, using the whisk attachment.

After the above was mixed well, I changed the attachment to the bread attachment.

You may or may not need an entire cup of water. So add about 1/2 to 3/4 of the water to the flour mixture and blend until well mixed.

I only used about 3/4 of a cup of water for this batch.

Rolled out dough. — Rolled out dough on wax paper. Helps keep the mess down.

From here add any additional water you may need a tablespoon at a time. You want a dough similar to bread or biscuit dough.

It’s easier to add water than it is to remove it. So go slow in how much you add at a time.

Roll out your dough on a floured surface as thin as you can get it.

Use a pizza cutter to score the dough into the size of crackers you want.

Bake at 425 deg. F for 7 minutes. Then remove them from the oven and spray or brush oil on top of the dough and sprinkle with salt or sesame seeds or whatever else you like. Then put them back in the oven for another 7 minutes.

After you’ve removed them from the oven, let them cool. If you scored them they will break at those scored lines.

Here’s some lessons I learned.

Scored dough. — Scored dough, ready to make.

I didn’t get the center thin enough, so the center wasn’t as crunchy as I would have liked. Around the outside of the dough it was nice and crunchy though.

When I make my next batch I’ll roll it out in much smaller batches so I can get the inside much thinner.

I’ll also score the dough all the way through next time. It seemed to cook better that way.

The other thing they mentioned in the video, that I actually tried, was to add dried herbs or spices to the dough along with the dry ingredients.

You can add herbs and spices to mix it up a little.

Powdered ingredients with spices and herbs. — Powdered ingredients with spices and herb.s

I used 1 tsp garlic powder and 2 tsp oregano.

There’s so many things you could add. You could add basil, dehydrated tomatoes, thyme, rosemary, onion powder, etc, etc. Be creative.

After all was said and done they really were good.

Previously, I tried this recipe using whole wheat flour and they were really hard. Either whole wheat is too dense for crispy crackers or they were too thick. Honestly, I think it was a little bit of both.

Since this mixes different flours, I think I’ll change that mixture up next time, trying something different. Maybe using some coconut or almond flour. That might add some good flavor too.

You can make your own oat flour if you don’t have any.

Oat flour is not something I have hanging out in my cabinets, so I had to make it. The Living Traditions Homestead video showed how to make it.

I used quick oats but you could use whatever kind of oats you have in the cabinet. Then just blend it using a blender, a bullet, a ninja or one of those personal smoothy makers.

I put a cup of quick oats in a regular mouthed mason jar. The mixer blade fits perfectly on the regular mouthed jars.

So I attached the mixer blades and just used it on the blender for make an oat powder or flour.

Let me know if you give this a try.

Tell me how you liked them. Even the uncrispy (is that a real word?) ones taste good, they just don’t have the crunch.

Let me know what herbs or spices you used. I’d love to hear what you come up with.

Hope to see you next week.

Until next time –

Health, Wealth & Blessings ~ Tracey

August 6, 2019June 14, 2021

The Virtues of Lemon Balm

Lemon Balm is one of the easiest plants you’ll ever grow with a bonus of the awesome lemony smell. It’s the Balm! (Yeah, that was a bad one I know, but I couldn’t resist).

Lemon balm tea blend. — Lemon balm and lavender tea blend.

The plant itself and the essential oil have many uses and all of them are enjoyable.

Lemon balm tea has a soothing, mild taste that I love. Because of this, I add lemon balm to a lot of my tea blends. Don’t miss my article on making your own homemade herbal teas here.

Another good way to enjoy the taste of lemon balm is to crush the leaves up, which releases the essential oils, then add them to your ice water. This gives the water an ever so slight lemon flavor that’s really good, plus you get the benefits of the herb too.

A little Lemon Balm history.

This herb dates back to the ancient Romans and Greeks, with one of its first recorded uses being a wine infused liniment.

The Swiss physician and alchemist Paracelsus (1493-1541) believed that Lemon Balm was the “Elixir of Life” and that it would increase strength and lengthen life.

The botanical name for Lemon Balm is Melissa Officinalis.

The word Melissa comes from the Greek word for honeybee. Lemon balm was given this name because bees love this plant.

“Melissai” was the name for a group of nymphs in ancient times, known as the nymphs of honey bees. They were credited with the discovery and use of honey and were believed to be able to morph into bees.

Lemon balm was traditionally used to uplift the spirits and used in spells to heal broken hearts and attract romantic love. It was said to balance feelings and emotions.

Ancient texts recount folk medicine practices using lemon balm tea as a support for heart health, and to promote healthy skin. It was common practice to use lemon balm externally or internally for it’s relaxing effects.

Today, many of its uses are the same.

Just running your hands through the plant and inhaling that scent will make any day more relaxing.

If you’re just looking at it, it looks like any mint plant. But run your hand through it and you’ll know the difference immediately.

Some of Lemon Balm’s relaxing qualities.

Once known as an herbal cure all, Lemon Balm supports the body in several different ways.

It’s most known for it’s relaxing properties. It’s used to help reduce stress, anxiety and depression because of its uplifting, yet calming tendencies.

Lemon balm and lavender tea. — A cup of lemon balm and lavender tea.

It’ll help reduce anxiety and promote sleep when insomnia is an issue.

Of course, this virtue is also going to help the support the body in reducing all the effects of anxiety and stress like headaches and nervous stomach issues.

The vasodilating properties, properties that allow the relaxing of blood vessels, allows for good blood flow. Another reason it’s good for headaches and migraines. Constricted blood vessels are usually the root cause for throbbing headaches.

Some of Lemon Balm’s “anti” properties.

Lemon Balm has a lot of “anti” properties.

It’s known as a mild anti-spasmodic helping to reduce muscle spasms. This includes things like leg or stomach muscles as well as bronchial tubes where asthma is an issue.

It’s anti-viral properties are good for helping to heal or prevent cold sores, among other things. And it’s considered an anti-oxidant, helping to prevent free-radicals from floating around in your body.

Now, this isn’t to say that Lemon Balm is going to cure any of these issues. But what it does say is that it may lessen the affect of these issues in duration and intensity.

A few unusual uses I ran across.

One thing I found, that I HAVE to try is making jelly. I’m not sure why, but this is something I wouldn’t have thought of.

It sounds awesome. And after trying dandelion jelly, this is something I have to try. I also read you could use it as a substitute for lemon in jams and jellies. This would be for the flavor only as there is no citrus acid in Lemon Balm. I haven’t done this either, but I’m sure I will now.

It was used to polish furniture in Europe. I’m sure this was a long time ago. But, can you just imagine how good your house would smell? Not sure how they did that, but it might be worth a try just because it would smell so good. I can see making a tea from it and using it as an ingredient in a cleaner or freshener.

It was also tossed on the floors, in the old days, to help freshen rooms. Can’t say I blame them. I’m guessing you needed a lot of smell good to cover all the other everyday odors of yesteryear.

Pollination is another thing lemon balm is good for.

A bunch of lemon balm. — A bunch of lemon balm

We read earlier how bees are really attracted to it. So plant it near where you need lots of pollinators, like a veggie garden or a flower garden.

BUT BEWARE–It is part of the mint family, so make sure you plant it in a container. As great as it is, it literally grows like a weed. So unless you have plenty of space for this plant to grow, you’ll want to contain it or it’ll take over everything.

I hope you found something useful and enjoyable here. Let me know if you’ve used lemon balm before. If you have, how did you use it? What did you think? Did you like it?

If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe. There will be more herbal information coming in the future. Information for learning about the herbs and how to use them and to build your own personalized tea blends.

Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time –

Health, Wealth & Blessings ~ Tracey

Disclaimer

The article above is written using my research and how I’ve seen this herb work for me. It is for informational purposes only.
As I said above, every person is different. So just like anything else, herbs will react differently from person to person. What works for one, will not necessarily work for another, or it will work to different degrees. So don’t relay just on what one person says. Try each herb in small amounts and give it time to work or give your body time to react. Make sure it’s doing what you want it to do. Also remember that herbs are not like modern medicine. It’s not an instant result. Some times it just takes time and for other herbs it takes several doses (or several cups of tea) before you will notice anything.
If you have any medical conditions, always check with your doctor before using herbs as a medicine.
Drinking herbal tea for the enjoyment of it, is generally no big deal, unless you have an allergy. But if you are attempting to get some kind of bodily reaction from it, you should do your own research. The FDA hasn’t approved any of these statements regarding the use of herbs as medicine. So it’s up to you as to how and when you use an herb(s) for a specific purpose.

July 2, 2019July 1, 2019

Homemade Herbal Tea

Do you buy herbal tea? Did you know you can easily make your own homemade herbal tea? Not all herbal teas must be made with dried herbs too. Have you tried making an herbal tea with fresh herbs?

I drink a lot of homemade herbal tea. I used to drink a lot of herbal tea because I was always cold and because I just like hot tea, but recently I’ve learned that I enjoy cold herbal tea too. That’s a plus in the summer. I’m embarrassed to say, it had never occurred to me to drink it cold.

Where to Get Herbs for Your Homemade Herbal Tea

You can get so many kinds of dried herbs these days. There’s no limit to the all the different types of teas you can make. And you can find recipes all over the web for any mix of herbal tea you could ever want. Here’s a look at some of the places to find herbs for your own herbal tea blends.

Grow your own herbs

Growing your own herbs isn’t just for cooking. You can grow almost anything you like for herbal tea too.

Growing your own herbs and drying them or using them fresh is an awesome way to enjoy herbal tea. You’ll always know where the herbs come from and never have to worry what might have been sprayed on them.

Going to the store

Most organic markets sell all kinds of fresh and dried herbs. Where I live there are several organic stores with a litany of dried herbs and flowers that can be used in teas. Fresh herbs can be found almost everywhere.

Stopping at your farmers markets is another great way to find herbs. Some of these won’t be dried, but you can easily dry them yourself. You can buy them in bulk from a farmer and dry them for making tea during the off months.

Shopping Online

There are several online sites that sell organic herbs. Actually, one of the online sites I have bought from I found through one of the organic markets I shop at locally.

Here are a few I’ve used before. I’m sure there are more out there, so you can do your own research and maybe you’ll find a few more I haven’t found yet.

Shop your own spice rack

You probably have a mess of herb that make great teas in your own spice rack. Did you know that rosemary, basil, sage as well as other cooking herbs make great teas?

My own apothecary. This has taken me several years to build up. That way I didn’t spend a lot of money all at once.

First, check the date on your herbs. As long as they’ve been kept in your cabinet closed up they won’t likely be bad, but the older the herbs, the more flavor they will loose and any benefits they may provide will diminish with time.

If you research the herbs you have in your kitchen you’ll discovery they have so many more uses than just adding great flavor to your food. The’re just as amazing mixed in teas.

I have a mix of dried herbs I use to help with arthritis pain in my fingers. I did my research on specific herbs I like and then created a mix that tasted good to me. Some of those herbs come out of my kitchen cabinet. If I drink it daily, I’ve discovered I don’t have any arthritis issues in my hands anymore. While, I can’t say it would work the same for you, I could tell you that it’s a good tasting tea that I’d drink even if it didn’t ease the pain in my hands.

Don’t Be Afraid To Try

Start with the herbs you have in your kitchen cabinet. You might be surprised. Do your own research regarding the benefits of each herb and decide which you would like to try first.

Then taste them. Decide on which flavors you like the best. You probably have some idea already from cooking with them.

One of my tea blends using lavender flowers.

Maybe mix a few together. You’ll only need a teaspoon or so for a cup of tea, so it’s not like you’ll lose a lot if you don’t like it. Add a little honey if you prefer some sweetness.

Then you can go to those organic stores nearby and buy a few more. Maybe try something new. You can buy them online too. Some of the online stores I use have huge selections.

Write it down

The one thing I am forever doing is mixing and not writing down my mix ratios. A few of them that I really liked I have yet to reproduce because I didn’t write down my herbal mix and ratio.

I like to mix bigger batches in quart jars and then label them. My kitchen is full of Mason jars filled with herbs and tea mixes. You can buy the labels that wash off so your jars are easy to reuse. Or you might find that perfect mix and just keep filling your jar over and over.

Before you know it, you’ll be a mixing master, at least for those homemade herbal teas you like the most. And isn’t that what’s most important, making the tea you most enjoy for you and your family?

I hope you enjoy mixing tea blends specifically to your taste. Let me know what you made and if you made it for a specific purpose or just because you liked it. It’d be great if you’d share your recipe too, but you can keep it a secret. A lot of us are always looking for a good tea mix. I’ll put some out shortly.

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to subscribe. For your convenience, there’s a subscription box at the top of this post and at the bottom. That way you won’t miss a single DIY.

Until next time –

Health, Wealth & Blessings ~ Tracey

June 11, 2019June 11, 2019

Homemade Bug Spray

Homemade bug spray is easy to make. Your homemade bug spray can be as organic as you want it to be, there are no chemicals and best of all it works.

Homemade bug spray is not going to be near as long lasting as the store bought stuff. I don’t know what they use to make it stick to you so long, but this homemade bug spray doesn’t have it.

My batch of bug spray. Sorry for that crooked picture.

What we buy in the stores has so many ingredients in it we can’t pronounce that I’m just not willing to use on me and mine, if I can at all help it. And like so many things we buy these days we just don’t know where that stuff came from or how it was made.

I use this homemade spray on my grandkids, my furbabies, and myself so I want it to be as natural and safe as it can be.

Like most homemade stuff, it doesn’t have the staying power the industrial stuff you buy from a store does. You have to remember to reapply it every few hours especially if you are sweating badly or getting wet. But that’s okay because it smells good and it’s all natural so it can’t hurt you.

What Attracts Mosquitoes

There are several things that attract mosquitoes to the human body. Here’s a short list of the primary ones.

Carbon dioxide. This is the gas that we expel when we breath. This is what lets them know there is a food supply nearby.
Body Odor. If you sweat, make sure you wash off regularly to help prevent the growth of bacteria. The bacteria that grows from sweating is what creates the odor that attracts mosquitoes to you.
Secretors. Sounds terrible doesn’t it? Apparently about 80% of the human population are what’s considered to be “secretors”. These people secrete saccarides (a sugar based chemical) and antigens. These antigens indicate your blood type and mosquitoes like type “O” blood most and type “A” blood least. Who knew?
Lactic acid. We emit lactic acid through our skin through activity and by eating certain foods. So the more activity, the more lactic acid you will emit. Foods like soured milks, kefir, yogurt and some cottage cheeses contain the lactic acid your body emits.

The above items are all related to scent which is the primary attraction for mosquitoes. Some other things that attract them are heat, moisture, movement and color.

I found out that pregnant women are shown to exhale 21% more carbon dioxide and tend to be warmer in the belly area. So any pregnant ladies may want to wear light weight long sleeves and pants to avoid as much exposure as possible.

I also found out they like dark colors. I’m kind of fond of wearing dark colors too, so that’s a problem for me. I might have to change up what I wear when I’m home in the evening.

Most things you buy for any kind of bug control either contains or at least smells like citronella. And there’s a good reason for that.

Citronella

From what I read in researching for this post citronella works because it helps mask the carbon dioxide from our breathing and the lactic acid that we emit through our skin.

Lavender

I use lavender because I like the smell and for all the other reasons I mentioned in my previous post here. But I also found out that mosquitoes just flat don’t like the smell. I actually read they they will avoid it “at all costs”.

From what I’ve read, mosquitoes don’t like several of the heavily scented plants and herbs like geraniums, basil, several types of mints, and rosemary, just to name a few. You know, all those herbs that you can run your hands through and then smell the oils on them.

I like the smell of citronella and lavender, so that’s the mixture I’ve gone with. You can use the mix that you like best using the essential oils mentioned above. You can research other herbs too to find those that you might like that I haven’t named.

Homemade Bug Spray Recipe

This recipe is so easy. It consist of water and essential oils. The only caveat is that you use real essential oils, not the synthetic equivalents. They won’t have the same potency that the real essential oils have.

You can choose the potency you like best, but this is how I mix it.

About 1-1/2 to 2 Cups of water in a spray bottle.

I added about 100 drops of essential oils. 50 of Citronella and 50 of lavender.

Remember you’ll have to shake your spray bottle every time you use it. Oil and water don’t mix, so you need to help that along every time you use it.

There are several places you can get your essential oils. Most of the organic stores in your area will sell essential oils. I get my oils from doTERRA. I actually became a doTERRA consultant for the discounts because I found I used essential oils for so many things. You can see what all they have here, if you like.

Several different essential oils you can use.

There are several places to get your spray bottles. Depending on what was in it, you could reuse an old spray bottle. You’d want to make sure it never any anything kind of toxic or harmful liquids in it previously. Make sure you clean it thoroughly before using, including the sprayer nozzle.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. Experiment with different scents to find the one you like best. You could actually make specific scents for specific people. Play with it and have fun. Let me know what you come up with by leaving a comment below. I really would like to know.

Until next time –

Health, Wealth & Blessing ~ Tracey

February 5, 2019August 8, 2020

DIY Myrrh and Cinnamon Tooth Powder

Have you ever read the label of a tube of toothpaste? I have and, no thanks. If you do, it might make you look at an alternative like tooth powder too.

Luckily I inherited my dad’s teeth. I rarely had too much problems beyond cavities when I was a kid. Which I will attribute to my lack of brushing well.

While, I’ve always been pretty good about brushing my teeth, as an adult I was terrible about going to the dentist. I’ve always been scared to death of them.

As a kid you don’t have much choice where you go, but as an adult I found out you just really need to pick your dentist carefully. There are good ones out there.

But I have to confess, I still don’t like going and they still scare me to death, although I admit my current dentist is a great guy. He told me once, “You’ll never feel any pain in my office.” He neglected to say, “the pain will come later after you’ve left my office”, but I knew that already.

Anyway, a year or so ago I discovered this recipe for tooth powder. Seemed weird at the time, but I’ve since discovered, my teeth are in better shape and my bi-annual cleanings are much easier and they don’t take as long.

I’ve talked to my hygienist and she said my teeth and gums are doing good , so I’ll stick with it.

This tooth powder only has 3 ingredients. You can add a 4th one if you really want to. But either way it’s super simple to put together.

The Ingredients

First lets look at the individual ingredients so you can understand why this is actually good for your teeth.

Myrrh

Myrrh is a sap like substance that comes from the commiphora species of trees. It’s been used in Asia as a traditional medicine for inflammatory diseases.

It’s been used as an antiseptic for the mouth and an analgesic for toothaches.

The myrrh I used was in its original gum form. So I had to grind it up. There’s several methods you can use for this, but I prefer a mortar pestle.

You’ll recognize myrrh as one of the gifts from the wise men to the baby Jesus when he was born as it was a highly valued item back in the day.

It’s been used as an analgesic for toothaches and can assist with inflammation.

Myrrh is also good known to be good for gums.

Cinnamon

We’ve talked about cinnamon before here where I talked about spicing your coffee.

Cinnamon adds benefits to this tooth powder in that it’s an astringent and an antimicrobial which provides support for oral health and can help prevent bad breath.

Cinnamon diluted essential oil is also great for relieving tooth pain.

And most important, cinnamon adds a nice taste to the powder.

Licorice Root

Licorice root is another one of those things that adds a nice flavor to this powder since it’s actually 50 times sweeter than sugar. Because of how sweet it is though, you only need a small amount.

It also soothes mucos membranes which can ease sore throats, and it’s good for healthy gums.

Cinnamon and Myrrh Tooth Powder Recipe

If your ingredients are not already ground, you’ll want to grind them to a fine powder. Then mix them

2 Tablespoons of cinnamon

1 Tablespoon of myrrh

2 teaspoons of licorice root

The first time I used this recipe I didn’t use the licorice root it was still good. I’m now on my second batch and I used the licorice root this time and it was even better.

Tooth Powder, a healthy alternative to tooth paste. — All of your powdered ingredients. Ready to mix your tooth powder.

If you decide to add the baking soda I recommend only about 1 teaspoon mixed with the entire batch. I probably didn’t use that much in my recipe, but that is entirely up to you.

You can purchase all these ingredients in powder form, saving you lots of time. Be sure you buy from a reputable company to ensure you are getting the best product for your money.

That much mixture will last me several to 6 months. I actually will put coconut oil on my toothbrush, then dip it in the powder.

And there you have it. A simple, effective tooth powder that I’ve been using for more than a year with no issues whatsoever. My dentist and hygienist are both happy with my teeth. My dental visits are easy and pain free, and that makes me happy.

Do you use something other than store bought toothpaste? If so, let me know what you use. Maybe you’d like to share your recipe. Please feel free to share in the comments below.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Until next time – Health, Wealth and Blessings to you. ~ Tracey