I don’t drink too much milk and just like to add skim milk to my coffee.  But now I’m beginning to switch to other milk substitute (non-dairy) such as almond, coconut and soy milk.

Of all the non-dairy milk, almond milk has become my new favorite.  But I would like it better if it wasn’t too sweet.  It’s great for cereals and coffee.  Especially when your coffee is now vanilla flavored almond milk.

Coconut milk is a new thing from Silk. It’s not the delicious coconut water found inside young coconut, but it’s the white creamy part made from coconut meat.

Silk’s coconut milk is not too creamy and taste like water down coconut cream. I’m thinking of freezing them and eating as coconut slushies.

Photo from Silk.

So far I’ve only noticed two companies that make almond milk.  Blue Diamond Almonds Breeze operating out of central California.  And the other is Texas brand Silk that also makes almond, soy and coconut milk.

For soy milk, I like Silk because they use non-GMO soybeans.  But the best tasting soy milk is the homemade version made with organic non-GMO soybeans. You can usually find this at your local natural health food store. 

Making the milk does take time, but it’s worth it! First soak the beans in water, then blend the soften beans. I actually have a soymilk maker that measures and blend. I think it’s 1 cup of soybean to about 3-4 cups water. Then filter out the remains and boil the soy milk. You have to keep an eye on the milk while it’s cooking because it will boil over quick. Let it cook for about 20 minutes and taste to see if it’s done. I like to sweetened my homemade version with honey or agave syrup and add a few fresh slices of ginger.

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Introducing the “Chocolate & Sea Salt” handmade soap. It’s fresh off my curing rack.

Ingredients: Oils of coconut, palm, rice bran, and soy. Guava juice, sodium hydroxide, wheat germ and sunflower oil, cocoa powder, and fine Brazilian sea salt.

The guava juice smells fruity, but none of the scent made it to the final bar. So it’s a rather unscented bar with the slight chocolate scent from the cocoa powder. It’s the first time I’ve used guava juice instead of water or milk. Turned out to be a great bar of soap that my skin loved.

Notice the white speckles? They’re from the salt. Only the top portion has the chocolate and looks to be seeping. I’m starting to think it looks a bit creepy, so maybe that’s perfect for Halloween.

The cocoa powder is added because it’s rich in antioxidant and has natural moisturizing properties.

Brazilian Sea Salt. Photo from Amazon.

The salt (Brazilian sea salt) makes it a harder bar. When I was cutting the bar, the bottom edge tend to crack a bit. After several use, the edges smooth out on it’s own.

The salt in the soap also provides a relaxing and soothing effect on the skin. And instead of taking a messy salt scrub shower, why not just use a salt bar instead? Other popular salts being used in soap include Himalayan salt, Dead Sea salt and Hawaiian sea salt.

I love using the Himalayan Honeysuckle as I always feel much more refreshed after each shower. Maybe it’s something to do with the salt?

The only down side with a salt bar is that it doesn’t lather too well. To fix that, just use this soap with a bath sponge and it will produce loads of sud and foam.

So lather up!

The latest edition to my botanical soap collection is made with coconut milk and hibiscus flower petals. It is made with all vegetable oil, even with a touch of sesame oil too!

Since I’ve learn so much about the benefits of coconut for our skin, I’ve been wanting to add this to my soap.  The coconut milk  are usually used for cooking and baking.

I let all my soaps cure for about three to four weeks before using it.  I have been using this for about a week and really love it.  It’s a very luxurious and creamy soap.

Instead of water, I replaced it with coconut milk.  Both the addition of coconut oil and coconut milk is very moisturizing.  Coconut is full of antioxidant, and the oil protects and nourishes the skin.

I also added ground hibiscus.  This hibiscus flower is normally used in making tea.  Hibiscus flower is full of Vitamin C and would also be great for your skin.

I thought the bright color of the petals would seep into the soap, but it didn’t.  The best part is the ground hibiscus petals added a nice exfoliation of the skin too. 

Ingredients:  Coconut milk, Safflower oil, Canola oil, Palm oil, Coconut oil, Sesame oil, and Hibiscus petals.

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I’ve been wanting to make goat milk based soap for over a year now.  Especially goat milk soap, but since I don’t have any of that I decided to make milk soap using “half & half” instead.

I do have goat milk powder and thought of just adding water to it.  But Casey Makela author of Milk-Based Soaps doesn’t recommend goat milk powder at all, she said all the fat has been removed so it would not be good for soapmaking.  But I have used goat milk powder in one of my soaps and find it to be just as nice and creamy.  Although Makela’s book was informative, it seem to stretch out this process more then necessary!  And also make you NOT want to make any milk based soap ever.

Here is the milk & cream soaps.  Some say it smells more like sweet oatmeal.  I think that smell may fade in 3-4 weeks time when it’s done curing.  I can’t wait to give this soap a try!  I can feel how creamy and rich it is while I was cutting it up.

Now that I’ve successfully made my first batch of “milk soap” it wasn’t much different then regular CP soaping. Well there are some differences, but not much.

Updated: The sweet smell is still there. Something I can’t describe, but like sweet cookies. I have given this soap the shower test and it’s great! Very nice and creamy bar of soap. Thick and hard bard too. I think it will last a long time in the shower. Just keep it dry in a nice soap dish.

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Coconuts have always been a big part of my diet and life growing up. My mother would make curry and desserts using coconut milk. And when we were kids, my father would bring us young coconuts as a treat. We would all gather around and watch him pour out the sweet coconut water. Then when were done, he would crack it open so we could enjoy the meat inside. The white meats were soft and nutty and we would scoop it out with a spoon. The coconut water is really the best drink ever.

Usually when I am at the Asian market, I can pick out young fresh coconut. They are not expensive at all, prices ranging from 99 cents to $1.50. So every time I drink the juice, it brings me back to my happy childhood. The drinks are really nature’s soft drink.

At caloriecount.com, they gave coconut water a nutritional analysis and it got an A! The water has no cholesterol and contains natural sugars and salt. Coconut water is high in many vitamins and minerals, especially potassium. The most important nutrient found in coconut water or milk is lauric acid. Lauric acid is believed to have antimicrobial properties and is found naturally in mother’s milk, cow milk, and goat milk.
Pictured here is of “Melissa’s Fresh Young Coconuts” sold thru Amazon.com, they are very pricey!

A friend of mine said his father (the physicist) used to work with Dr. Mary Enig. She even sent him a signed copy of her new book- Know Your Fats. I have yet to read the book, but I know just where to find it. Dr. Enig has classified coconuts as a “functional food,” which provides health benefits over and beyond the basic nutrients. She has specifically identified lauric acid as a key ingredient in coconut products.

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