Gentle Cleaning Scrub

We all know that germs and molds grow in unclean environments. Keeping our homes clean is important to maintain the physical health of our families

Make your house sparkle and enjoy the clean scent of fresh mint. This gentle soft scrub recipe uses natural soaps and essential oils to clean deep without scratching delicate surfaces. Perfect for any surface you need gentle non-abrasive cleaning.

Ingredients & supplies

Instructions

  • Mix all ingredients well until you have a paste about the consistency of thin icing. If you would like a thicker paste, add more baking soda until you have reached the desired consistency.
  • Carefully pour into bottles. You can use a funnel or if you use a mixing bowl with a pour spout, that will work as well. If you prefer the thicker cleaning paste, you can choose to store it in a recycled glass jar with a lid. Use on any surface you need gentle, non-abrasive cleaning.

Can Eating Organic Help Save the Bee?

The honey bee is in trouble. Last winter 44% of managed honey bee colonies didn’t make it through the winter. Commercial honey bee colonies are managed by professional beekeepers who travel around the country with their bees on a truck, pollinating our food sources. This is a fascinating process. But if these hard working little pollinators aren’t making it through the winter, pollinating our food crops will get increasingly harder and more expensive.

Eating organic is an easy way for you to help the honey bee.

Many of the insecticides used in conventional crops contain neonicotinoids. Studies have shown that bees prefer pollen laced with neonicotinoid insecticides, and that they will choose this pollen source over other sources. This means that even if the crop is not pollinated by bees, any bees in the vicinity can still be impacted due to insecticide drift from the conventional crop. Neonicotinoid insecticides can be harmful to bees because they disorient the bee, causing them to become weakened and confused. This doesn’t outright kill the bees, but does lead to weaker hives that may not survive the next challenge to the colony.

So next time you’re faced with the choice between non-organic and organic fruits, veggies, herbs or nuts, you know what to choose!

Ice Pillar Candles

If you’re like many of us, we love receiving a homemade natural gift from a dear friend. Our DIY recipe for Ice Pillar candles is easy to follow, and ends up being a beautiful Christmas gift for a loved one. Try personalizing the candles with seasonal essential oils like Siberian Fir Needle or Spruce Needle. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS & SUPPLIES

Mold Sealer and Duct Tape*
Wax
Essential Oil: 1/2 oz /4 lbs of wax (optional)
Colorant: 8-15 drops /1 lb of wax (optional)
Silicone Spray (helps release the wax from the mold.)

Pillar Candle Mold or a Wax Lined Cardboard Carton (like an empty milk carton)
Ice Cubes

INSTRUCTIONS

1. You will need to determine how much wax to melt depending on the mold you choose. Using a double boiler or a melting pot and double boiler ring, melt wax.
2. Run pre-measured wick through your mold and secure bottom with a mold sealer. Pull wick and tightly secure to a wick bar at the top of the mold. Be careful not to pull on the wick too much as it can pull right through the mold or tear from the sharpness of the wick bar.
3. When wax has reached its recommended pouring temperature (160-165° F), remove from heat and add essential oil and colorant and stir well. Test the color by placing a few drops on a white piece of paper. Within a few moments you should be able to tell what color result you will have for your candle.
4. Fill mold with ice. Slowly begin to pour the melted wax over the ice. The ice is going to begin to melt, so be sure you have properly prepared an area to accommodate this.
5. Once the candle has cooled for at least 2 hours, you can pour out the water and release the candle from the mold. The candle should be textured from where the water displaced the wax.
6. Trim wicks to approximately 1/4" and allow to cure for 24 hours before burning.

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip cookies

Almond Butter Cookies VertThese almond butter cookies are easy to whip up in a pinch, taste great, and make an easy holiday gift. We passed these out to our friends and neighbors and they were a huge hit!

INGREDIENTS

1 Cup Aunt Patty’s Organic Almond Butter
¾ Cup organic cane sugar
1 large egg
½ tsp Aunt Patty’s Baking Soda
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ Cup Aunt Patty’s Dark Chocolate Chips

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
  2. Mix almond butter, cane sugar, egg, baking soda and salt until well combined, then fold in chocolate chips.
  3. Form dough into round balls, about 1 rounded tablespoon each. Place 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Press down lightly on each cookie.
  4. Bake 8-9 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet.
  5. Transfer cookies to wire cooling rack and let cool for an additional 15 minutes.

Organic Products – Good For People and the Planet

You stand in the produce aisle, or the egg section, and wonder; why is Organic more expensive? Is it worth it? What if you just care about humane treatment of animals, or avoiding genetically modified organisms (GMO’s), or making sure chemicals don’t leach into the local lake or stream?

We wanted to shed a little light on understanding just what the USDA Certified Organic label means, to help answer those questions.

What does USDA certified organic mean?
In order to receive a the USDA Organic certification, foods must be grown and processed according to strict federal guidelines which regulate things like soil quality, animal raising practices, pesticides and herbicides and use of additives. For example:

  • No GMO’s: Organic foods can not contain any traces of GMOs. Scientists are able to make plants super-resistant to chemical pesticides and herbicides by genetically modifying the original DNA of the species. Because organic foods don’t use chemical pesticides and herbicides, there shouldn't be any trace of GMO products.
  • Fruits and Vegetables can only be certified organic if it is verified to have grown on soil that has had no prohibited substances applied to it for three years prior to harvest. Prohibited substances are things like synthetic chemicals and harmful natural poisons and acids.
  • Organic meats require that animals be treated humanely—with regulations stating that animals must be raised in living conditions accommodating their natural behavior (like the ability to graze on pasture), fed 100% organic feed and forage and not administered antibiotics or hormones.
  • Manufactured certified Organic Foods must have at least 95% organic ingredients. If it has any non-organic ingredients, it must be because they are not available organically and are on the NOP list of approved ingredients. They cannot include artificial flavors or colors among other unnatural additives.

Royal Jelly Facial Moisturizer

Did you know that honey bees produce more than just honey? It’s true! There are other lesser-known hive products with amazing health benefits such as bee pollen, propolis and royal jelly. Known for their beneficial and nutritional properties, hive products are great for creating a truly nutrient-packed, high-end skin care product in your own home.

So what is royal jelly? It is the creamy substance fed to honey bee larvae and queen bees. Queen bees live exclusively on royal jelly, which accounts for their incredible size and longevity.

Royal Jelly is also an amazing, nutrient-rich substance that helps support radiant skin. A skin cream with royal jelly is truly la créme de la créme!

INGREDIENTS & SUPPLIES

2.5 oz Jojoba Oil
2.5 oz Mango Butter
1/2 oz Beeswax (use pastilles for easy measuring)
10 drops Vitamin E Oil
15 drops Germaben II
10 drops Essential oil (single or blended)
1/2 oz Royal Jelly
3.5 oz Distilled Water
Glass or Plastic Storage Container

 

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. In a double boiler (or use a microwave using 30 second increments), heat the jojoba oil, mango butter and beeswax until completely melted.
  2. Remove from heat and pour in the distilled water. Use a stick blender to mix into a cream. This process should take roughly 10 minutes to complete. If mixing by hand, you may need as much as 30 minutes.
  3. Allow to cool. Then, add the Vitamin E Oil, Germaben, essential oil(s) and royal jelly.
  4. Scoop into clean glass jars. Freeze if not using within 6 to 8 months.

Festive Holiday Honey Fudge

Delight your taste buds with this easy to make holiday recipe, updated to include our favorite ingredient - honey! You may even need to make an extra batch!

Ingredients

1/2 cup - pure honey
1 can (14 oz.) - sweetened condensed milk
1/4 teaspoon - salt
12 oz. - semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 oz. - bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup (4 oz.) - coarsely chopped walnuts

Directions

  • Line an 8 x 8-inch pan with foil; butter and set aside. In medium saucepan, combine honey, sweetened condensed milk, and salt; mix well. Bring mixture just to a boil, stirring frequently. Lower heat to a simmer.
  • Add chocolate chips and bittersweet chocolate, stirring constantly, until chocolate melts completely and mixture is smooth. Stir in walnuts.
  • Pour immediately into pan and smooth top. Let cool, then refrigerate until cold. Cut into 25 pieces.

Thanks to the National Honey Board for this recipe!

Tips for a Sustainable Holiday Season

Sometimes the holiday season can feel like our values have been suspended between Thanksgiving Day and New Year’s Day-- instead of being healthy and thankful for what we have in life, there is overindulgence and excess. On average, 25% more waste is generated during the holidays, and 33% more food is thrown out. In a 2013 study the Pew Research Group found that 36% of people surveyed felt stressed out and 23% felt wasteful. Looking for ways to live your values during the holiday period? Here’s a few tips and tricks.

Reduce waste

  • Cooking for a large group of people can leave you swimming in leftovers. Remember to freeze and label your leftovers, or send them home with your guests in a reusable or recyclable container.
  • Rent a potted tree or at least buy a real tree. The average artificial tree uses three times as many resources as buying a new live tree every year.
  • Reuse cards from last year to make Christmas ‘postcards’, or labels for presents. Here’s a nifty post about putting old Christmas cards to use.

Reduce Stress

  • Holidays can be a stressful time, check out local groups, activities, and classes if the winter darkness is starting to get to you.
  • Essential oils and candles can bring calm to your home. Check out these recipes.

Give Experiences

  • Giving gift cards or cash towards an interesting experience means no waste, and really very little chance of the gift sitting in someone’s attic taking up space.
  • Mason jar recipes are a cute experience to give.
  • Give a craft kit of repurposed items.
  • Go zero waste or give Sustainable items like reusable coffee mug or water bottles.

A Gathering Of The Hive Minds

GloryBee was proud to be part of the 2016 OSBA Conference in Silverton, OR this year. In addition to setting up a table for answering questions from beginning beekeepers and providing convenient bee supply sales, we also had five members of our team in attendance to soak up all the new and exciting incoming information regarding bee health and best management practices.

Oregon State Beekeeping Association Logo

    • As always, the Varroa Mite was topic number one. Master Beekeeper, Morris Ostofsky from the Lane County Beekeeping Association, gave an amazing presentation entitled “Mite Keeping 101”. His topic on mites included the observation that if you keep bees, you are also keeping Varroa Mites-- because they are present in every hive.

 

    • Longtime GloryBee customers and Queen Producers, David and Linda, came all the way from Florida to talk about their experience in raising queens. From breeding tests and grafting to artificial insemination, it was incredibly interesting to hear their expertise and see detailed pictures of this very important segment of the beekeeping world.

 

    • There are many ongoing research efforts at Oregon State University, Washington State University and University of California-Davis that we were updated on. With all the many research efforts taking place by such talented and committed researchers, we hope to see a decrease soon in annual hive losses. Environmental effects, diseases, and competing harmful organisms may soon become a non-issue when the many promising projects being worked on by these bee scientists come to fruition and make life easier for the honey bee.

 

  • GloryBee was happy to announce a donation of $10,000 to the OSU Honey Bee Lab, headed by Dr. Ramesh Sagili.  This donation was added to the money raised in the auction during Saturday’s banquet. We are blessed to have been able to donate this amount for the past 3 years and help the OSU Honey Bee Lab in their efforts to Save the Bee.

The attendance at the OSBA 2016 Conference was near an all-time high, which indicates the increased popularity of beekeeping in the Pacific Northwest. If you live near Oregon and are interested in bees, we highly recommend you start planning your trip to the lovely Oregon Gardens Resort in October of 2017 for next year’s Conference.

Pillar Candles Basics

If you're looking for a fun craft project this holiday season, try making a pillar candle with soy way. It's biodegradable and environmental friendly. You can add your favorite scent or essential oil - sugar cookie scent is a best-loved fragrance around here.

golden pillar candleBasic Ingredients & Supplies

Pillar Blend Soy Wax
Paper-core wicking
Mold Sealer and Duct Tape*
Wick Bars
Candle Mold
Essential Oil: 1/2 oz /4 lbs of wax (optional)
Colorant: 8-15 drops /1 lb of wax (optional)
Silicone Spray (helps release the wax from the mold.)
Thermometer

Instructions

    1. You will need to determine how much wax to melt depending on the mold you choose. Using a double boiler or a melting pot and double boiler ring, melt wax.

 

    1. Run pre-measured wick through your mold and secure bottom with a mold sealer. Pull wick and tightly secure to a wick bar at the top of the mold. Be careful not to pull on the wick too much as it can pull right through the mold or tear from the sharpness of the wick bar.

 

    1. When wax has reached its recommended pouring temperature (160-165° F), remove from heat and add essential oil and colorant and stir well. Test the color by placing a few drops on a white piece of paper. Within a few moments you should be able to tell what color result you will have for your candle.

 

    1. When you’ve mixed color and fragrance to your liking, pour the wax into your mold. Try pouring about an inch of wax into the container first to check that there are no leaks in your mold. Keep some reserve wax for use later on.

 

    1. Once your candle has cooled just enough, check it for “dipping” or cracking. Use your reserve wax to fill these holes and top off your candle. This will allow your candle to burn longer!

 

    1. Allow your candle cool for 12 hours before releasing from pillar mold. Trim wick to a 1/2" and allow to cure for 24-48 hours before burning.

 

Honey Brined Turkey

Looking to try out at turkey brine recipe? We’ve created an easy brine for beginners that will make your turkey moist and delicious! Adjust the spices to your taste, but remember the ratio: for every gallon of liquid, add one cup of salt, and ½ cup of honey. 
carving

Ingredients

1 – 18 to 20 pound turkey
2 gallons of water
2 cups sea salt
1 cup GloryBee Honey
2 bunches of fresh thyme
8 large garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons black pepper

Directions

    • Line an extra-large stockpot with a heavy large plastic bag. Rinse turkey and place in plastic bag.
    • Add all ingredients to water, stirring to incorporate thoroughly. Pour brine over turkey. Tightly cover turkey and refrigerate for at least overnight but up to 18 hours.
    • Carefully drain turkey from brine. Pat turkey dry inside and out and season as you prefer. Cook turkey until done according to weight and temperature (165 degrees on the innermost part of bird).

Coconut Oil Pumpkin Pie Crust

Crushed Graham CrackersIt’s pumpkin pie season! The foundation of a great pumpkin pie is an amazing crust. This simple recipe uses Aunt Patty’s Coconut Oil and Coconut Sugar to make a versatile crust that can be used for pumpkin pies, cheesecakes, or key lime pies!

Ingredients

1 -1/4 Cup Crushed Graham Crackers
1/3 Cup Coconut Oil
1/2 Cup Coconut Sugar
1 TSP Cinnamon
Pinch of fine Sea Salt

Directions

  1. Crush graham crackers in food processor or by using a plastic bag and using a rolling pin.
  2. Place crushed graham crackers, coconut sugar, cinnamon, and fine sea salt into mixing bowl and mix together with a fork or spoon.
  3. Gently warm coconut oil to a liquid state.
  4. Slowly pour coconut oil into dry ingredients while mixing to ensure good coverage.
  5. Pour mixture into 9 inch pie pan and use bottom of drinking glass to compact mixture. Use the back of a spoon or your fingers to compact the sides.
  6. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Allow to cool.