How to Make Plain Yogurt

I'm one of those people you see at the grocery store reading product labels. For the same reason, I am always looking for recipes on YouTube to make things that I consume on a regular basis. Below is a recipe for making your own plain yogurt at home.

Ingredients:

1 Gallon of whole milk (I use only just a little more than half a gallon)
1 Cup of plain yogurt (You only need this the first time you make it, you can use your own after that)

Utensils:

A big plastic container with a lid
A silicon whisk or wooden spoon
A large pot (preferably a non- stick one)
A cup
A towel or piece of clothing big enough to cover the plastic container where you will put the yogurt

Preparation:

1. Before you start, measure a cup of plain yogurt and set it aside so it reaches room temperature. 
2. Pour a little more than half a gallon of milk in a pot.
3. On a low to medium heat, bring the milk to a boil. Stir the milk continuously with a silicon whisk or wooden spoon making sure that you get the bottom of the pot "swept" as you stir. This is done to prevent the milk from sticking to the bottom, which can cause the yogurt to have a weird taste and color. If  you feel that the milk is sticking to the bottom, consider lowering the heat. Once the milk comes to a boil, let it boil for about a minute and then turn the heat off. 
4. Let the milk cool down to a point that if you put some on the palm of your hand, it feels warm enough but it doesn't burn you. This is very important because you do not want to kill the bacteria of the yogurt once you mix it with the milk. 
5. Remove any fat that has set on the top of the milk while cooling down. 
6. Now that your milk has cooled down enough, mix it with the yogurt. Make sure that the yogurt and the milk are well combined. You can do this by stirring it for about a minute. 
7. The last step is to place your yogurt in a plastic container with a lid. At this point you can take a towel or any piece of clothing that will cover the container well and keep it warm. Place the yogurt in a warm dark place (like a cupboard that you will not keep opening for a while). 
8. Leave the yogurt to set overnight or at least 8 hours. You will be tempted to check on it, DO NOT. 
9. Refrigerate your homemade yogurt and use it as you like. If you plan on making yogurt again, save about a cup for next time you want to make more.

Tip: If you like Greek yogurt, all you have to do is take the yogurt that you just made and strain it for a couple of hours. To strain it, you can use any thin piece of clean cloth like a white t-shirt.

Tom's Natural Deodorant - Review

I'm slowly transitioning to natural products and it can be very overwhelming trying to find the best product when you are just getting started. Deodorant is one of those things that I use everyday but never really cared about the ingredients. When I did start having concerns about what the ingredients were, I read that aluminum is not a good ingredient to see on the list. Tom's Natural Deodorant was my first choice to try out. 

Pros

My experience with it has been positive for the most part. When I first tried it out, I felt that the wild lavender scent was, in my opinion, strong but as the days went by I started to get used to it. The consistency of the deodorant is a yellow-ish solid and when it gets in contact with your skin, it starts to melt. You only need to rub it to your armpits a couple of times because if you over do it, it starts to look like soap lather. I haven't experienced any unpleasant armpit odors while using this product so it passed the performance test for me.

Cons

The only con that I find with this deodorant is that it allows you to sweat. I know that sweating is one of your body's ways to naturally detox, but it can be a bit uncomfortable and look not so cool. 

Overall, this product works fine for me and I continue to use it, but I'm on the hunt for another natural deodorant. I have no problem with sweating if I'm around the house or working out, but if I'm about around people it is not very nice to have sweaty underarms :D. I know that this is not the only deodorant they do so I'm looking into trying out the other one (s) and see if any stops you from sweating. 

 Below, as you can see, there is a picture of the back of the product if you are interested in knowing more specific details about it.

Do you have any recommendations for natural deodorants or perhaps you know how to make your own? I would be interested to know...

Minimalism Journey Update - Makeup Collection

During my minimalism journey, this has probably been the hardest area to declutter. I had to ask myself many questions before I even attempted to tackle it. Why? You may ask, and the main reason is because I just love pretty makeup, even if I do not wear a lot of it.

I became interested in makeup probably around 2013 when I really got into YouTube. I started watching some of the London YouTubers, which I still love today, but reached a point where I said to myself: Does it make sense to keep constantly buying makeup? Soon I will have more makeup than I need. What is the point of having a full drawer when I mainly use concealer, mascara and lip balm on a daily basis? I do not even like the feeling of too much or heavy makeup on my face! After all these thoughts, it was time to get serious.

My first decluttering session was sometime between April and June, I can't remember exactly, but besides wanting to live a more minimalistic lifestyle, moving was also the perfect opportunity to do so. I got rid of many products and I shipped the rest to my new place. The pictures you will see here are from a second decluttering session I had recently. This time around it was easier because I have detached myself a lot more from the makeup items I still had.

To make it easier, this time my criteria for keeping an item was:

• Do I use it a lot and do I like it?
• Does it feel good on my skin? 
• Is it recent or has it expired?
• How healthy is it to apply these things on my face? Could I find a healthier and natural alternative in the future once I run out of what I decide to keep? 

With these things in mind, I put all my make up on a table, started sorting and after getting rid of what I didn't want to keep, this was the result. The pile on the left is what I decided to keep and on the right what I got rid of. (A couple of days later I got rid of 8 more items from the keep pile, it gets easier each time.) It doesn't seem much, but I'm not trying to have 0 products.

What are your thoughts on minimalism? Leave your comments below and if you have a blog I would be interested in checking it out. Leave your link! 

Disclaimer: With this post I'm not trying to convince anybody to be a minimalist and get rid of half of their belongings. This is something that has worked for me, it helps me feel better, live a healthier lifestyle and be a lot more conscious about what I put into my body. As you may know, stuff you put on your skin is absorbed into your blood...Once I ran out of what I have, my goal is to transition to using natural products.