Annie is MFC’s expert on ways to save money with natural and safe homemade products, and has taught us that making our own laundry soap is very easy.  We no longer have to worry about toxic ingredients or the high cost of natural store bought detergent.

Try your hand at making your own, it’s simple and fun.

• 3 pint water
• ½ bar of grated Kirks Castile Soap
• 1 cup Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (NOT baking soda)
• 1 cup Borax
• 2-3 Gallon Bucket to mix in

Instructions

1. Mix Kirks castile soap in a saucepan with 3 pints of hot water and heat on low until dissolved
2. Stir in Washing Soda and Borax. Stir until thickened, and remove from heat.
3. Add 1 quart of Hot water to the 2 gallon bucket.
4. Add soap mixture and mix well.
5. Fill bucket completely with additional hot water and mix well.
6. Set aside for 24 hours or until mixture thickens. You may add additional hot water if the mixture becomes too thick.

Mix well before each use. Use ½ cup per load. You may add ¼ cup of Borax to heavily soiled loads. For a fabric softener use distilled white vinegar.

Did You Know…
1 cup Borax and 1 cup Washing Soda makes  great inexpensive automatic dishwasher soap. Use distilled white Vinegar in your rinse compartment.

Summer is just around the corner and gardens are in full bloom!  I wanted to share with you an article I found that lists different flowers that can be eaten.  Edible flowers make a beautiful addition to any dish but especially salads and desserts.  As an added bonus, edible flowers are not just visually pleasing – they also supply the nutritional benefit of phytonutrients similar to those found in colorful fruits and vegetables.
Here is the chart – enjoy!
http://homecooking.about.com/library/weekly/blflowers.htm

I’ll start this blog by freely admitting that I tend to go overboard on things I like, especially if they’re related to health, but I have to tell you how excited I am about our new product – Essential Electrolytes!  It’s a lemon-lime flavored powder that supplies several electrolytes, including magnesium.  For a complete list of ingredients you can click here .

I’ve been testing this product for a few months prior to us bringing it into our product line, and I wanted to share with you some of my experiences:
• One night I was having terrible foot cramping for no apparent reason, so I took a dose of Essential Electrolytes (I’ll abbreviate as EE from here on as a special treat to acronym lovers out there) dissolved in a big glass of water.  Within 30 minutes, the cramps that had been happening on and off for over an hour went away!
• Last month I had a dull headache that lasted for several days which I realized on day 3 was most likely due to not drinking enough water.  I increased my water intake and also took 3 or 4 doses of EE over the day and by the afternoon the headache was gone.
• A chiropractor I work with gives a dose of EE to her patients before adjusting them and has found that it helps them hold the adjustment and not suffer any “detox” reaction from being adjusted.  I have started taking it before I go to have any kind of body work (massage, acupuncture, or chiropractic) done, so I get the most for my money!
• A horse trainer I know who is an outdoorsy type (as most horse trainers are) was feeling very fatigued, and he remembered a conversation we’d had about electrolytes in the past so he went to Marilyn Farms and bought a bottle of EE.  He said that after incorporating it into his routine he feels “back to his old self” and has joined me on the bandwagon of promoting electrolytes.
• When I started writing this blog I had a slight headache at the base of my neck (you know, the kind you get after sitting at a desk staring at a computer all day long) so I took a scoop of EE in a small cup of water and now I feel so good I think I’ll stare at my computer all night, just for fun!  Okay, I’m kidding about that but I do actually feel better and it’s only been 5 minutes since I took it.

So are you convinced?  If not, that’s okay.  But if so and if you have a story to share about electrolytes I’d love to hear it!  Please post it in the comments section.  I’m getting better about responding to those – really.

It’s barbecue season and I’m getting a lot of questions from people about which seafood is the safest to eat, so I thought I’d post some info in this week’s blog.  The contaminant that is of most concern in fish is mercury, so this list focuses on that.  The data below is compiled from www.nrdc.org. 

High Mercury Levels – Limit consumption to once/month

Bluefish, Grouper, Mackerel, Marlin, Orange roughy, Seabass, Shark, Swordfish, Tilefish, Tuna (Ahi, Yellowfin, Bigeye, Albacore)

Medium Mercury Levels – Limit consumption to once/week

Bass, Carp, Cod, Croaker, Halibut, Lobster, Mahi mahi, Monkfish, Perch, Sablefish, Skate, Snapper, Tuna (Canned Chunk Light, Skipjack), Sea Trout

Low Mercury Levels – Eat as often as desired

Anchovies, Calamari, Catfish, Clam, Cod, Crab, Crawfish/Crayfish, Flounder, Haddock, Hake, Herring, Mackerel, Mullet, Oyster, Perch, Plaice, Pollock, Salmon, Sardine, Scallop, Sole, Tilapia, Trout, Whitefish, Whiting

For those of you who don’t want to carry a list of seafood in your pocket when you go grocery shopping, I wanted to include some general rules when buying fish to help you make the right choices.

1.       Wild caught fish is almost always better than farm raised fish.  The only exception to this rule is wild caught fish from polluted waters. 

2.       Fish from cold water, such as Alaska, will have less mercury than fish from warm water, such as Asia.  Due to ocean currents there tends to be less pollution in colder water.

3.       Larger predatory fish will have accumulated more mercury than smaller fish.  This is due to the simple fact that they are eating more fish over a longer period of time, and storing that mercury in their bodies.

It has been proven over and over again that the benefits of eating fish outweigh the risks, so don’t be afraid to make seafood a regular part of your diet!