Coconut Oil Makeup Remover Pads

With the cold fall air right around the corner, many people have to change their skin care routines to prevent dry skin. Utilizing coconut oil as a skin care ingredient (or by itself for a moisturizer) can be very helpful for all skin types. Coconut oil has been know to have anti-inflammatory properties (which can help with irritated skin) and there are no side effects like many other cleansing oils have.

Lady removing makeupSupplies

Cotton cosmetic rounds/pads
Mixing bowl
Whisk
Jar for storing finished makeup remover pads.

Ingredients

1 cup of hot water
½ tsp castile soap (unscented)
2 tbls Aunt Patty’s Organic Coconut Oil
5-10 drops of essential oil (can utilize what’s best for your skin or whatever fragrance you prefer).

Directions

  1. Pour hot water into mixing bowl. Add castile soap and coconut oil to hot water - gently whisking until combined.
  2. Add essential oil drops to water mixture. Whisk until all ingredients are combined.
  3. Meanwhile, place cotton cosmetic rounds in a small container (with tight fitting lid for storage).
  4. Pour water/coconut oil mixture over cosmetic rounds until covered.The makeup remover pads will last for a few weeks stored at room temperature.

Aunt Patty’s Breakfast Bites

Healthy, on-the-go breakfasts make it easy to start your day. Aunt Patty’s Breakfast Bites are a cinch to prepare, with no baking required! You can adjust the recipe to your taste - add chocolate chips, different dried fruits, seeds or nuts. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

3 Ripe Bananas
½ Cup Aunt Patty’s Organic Almond Butter or creamy peanut butter
½ Cup dried cranberries (or other dried fruit, if larger, rough chop)
½ Cup roasted peanuts (or almonds or hazelnuts)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
¼ Cup GloryBee Raw Organic Clover Blossom Honey
4 Cups of quick cooking oats (add more if necessary until it clumps together in a biscuit-dough style of dryness)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Beat ripe bananas in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until almost liquid.
  2. Add salt, honey, and then almond or peanut butter and run until well mixed.
  3. Add peanuts and dried cranberries, mix well.
  4. Add oatmeal in stages until mixture clumps together. Now is a good time to stop and make a tester – resulting ball should be firm and stable.
  5. Scoop with a small batter scoop into appropriate sizes, roll between slightly dampened hands until desired shape, let rest overnight (this allows the oatmeal to absorb the moisture from the bananas and not be dry).

Peanut Butter and Coconut Oil Dog Treats

We all love our pets!  Many of us consider them a member of our family. Just as we make healthy treats for our family, we can do the same for our pets. Utilizing coconut oil in dog treats can potentially provide health benefits including skin clarity along with sleek and glossy coats. Below is a favorite recipe our GloryBee dogs enjoy.

Ingredients

1 cup of Aunt Patty’s Coconut Oil
Dog treats in jar1 cup of peanut butter (use natural, no sugar kind)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 ripe banana
Silicon Mold

Directions

    1. Mash ripe banana in a small mixing bowl.

 

    1. Combine peanut butter, coconut oil and cinnamon in a pot on the stove at medium-low heat. Stir all ingredients until melted.

 

    1. Add coconut oil mixture to the mashed banana.

 

    1. Once all ingredients combined, pour into small (teaspoon size) silicone mold. Freeze overnight.

 

  1. Serve a treat to your dog once a week.

The Grades Are In — GloryBee Proud to Receive a “B”

A movement is happening in retail sales. Customers no longer want just the cheapest or just the healthiest — they want their purchases to have an impact on their communities and make a difference globally. Retailers are discovering they need to give consumers opportunities to buy products that are produced responsibly and sustainably.

Wanting to help influence this growing trend toward positive change, ingredient supplier GloryBee, requested to receive an impact assessment and be graded on how transparent, ethical and sustainable they were as a company. On just their first assessment they scored extraordinarily high in all categories and in 2016 became a Certified B Corporation

Executive Vice President of GloryBee, RaeJean Wilson says, “Maintaining our B Corp status will challenge us to be the company we strive to be and to constantly consider how we are affecting the environment, the community, our employees and our clients.”

As a Certified B Corp, GloryBee shares the environmental concerns of consumers. Everyone knows honey bees are dying off at an alarming rate. What we don’t know is why they’re dying. There are so many possible causes that scientists are struggling to fund all the research needed. GloryBee’s Save the Bee Initiative enables people to make a difference now and help scientists find a cure for the vanishing honey bees.

Initiated in 2012, over $130,000 has been donated through Save the Bee to research labs and beekeeping organizations. Money comes from donations and fundraising, as well as from retail sales of GloryBee honey. Known throughout the country as the leader in organic and gourmet honeys, GloryBee is offering honey lovers opportunities to get involved and take direct action.

Don’t wish for change—be the change!
During September 22-24, GloryBee will be at the Baltimore Convention Center in Maryland for Natural Products Expo East. Showcasing their honeys and other natural ingredients, GloryBee is inviting all retailers to visit them at both 621 to discuss opportunities to work together and influence positive change in the marketplace.

How to Winterize your Hives [Part 3]

In part two of our continuing series on wintering your hives, we discussed winter feeding and supplement use. In part three, our final part, we’ll be concluding with best practices for dealing with moisture, winter winds and colony losses.

UPWARD VENTILATION

In a hive, adequate ventilation is just as important in the winter as it is in the summer. This can be accomplished with the use of a moisture box made from 2” supers, a hole saw, hardware cloth or industrial mesh, canvas and wood chips or rags. This very useful (particularly in the PNW), but wildly underutilized piece of equipment can easily be assembled in no time flat. This unit works wonders to reduce the moisture issues commonly experienced while wintering over hives. This, in essence, acts as a sort of attic on your hive which allows you to remove moisture that can chill the bees, while at the same time keeping as much heat in as possible. A suggestion for improvement upon this great unit might be to use some industrial mesh to avoid moisture absorbing into the hardware cloth, which, depending on the severity of the moisture problem, may defeat the purpose of the unit. Another strategy for those more inclined to take a serious shortcut might be to attach an excluder to a comb super and swap out your cedar chips for old rags you can wash, dry and replace. Be sure to check your moisture box every couple weeks or so based on the moisture tendencies in your area to remove moisture and replace your dry absorption material.

PROTECTION

dead bees in winterLate fall is a great time to evaluate possible seasonal weather changes that occur in your area and determine how they might affect your hive. If winds tend to be harsher this time of year at your hive site, consider making a break for protection. Common materials used are hay or straw bales arranged in a U-shape placed behind the hive, creating a wind breaking ‘hug’ for your hive. Some beekeepers go as far as creating a temporary shelter for their hives, but something as simple as putting a piece of plywood on top of the cover that extends past the edges of the telescoping top can be beneficial in keeping rain out. Be sure to protect the entrance from piercing winds, but do not constrict ventilation. The aim is only to provide protection. Mouse guards are also wise this time of year as small critters are also looking for a warm place to winter over and the 93°- 95° F temperature range of a hive makes this a nook nearly impossible to resist.

WINTER DEATHS

There are assorted reasons that bees might die in the winter, or seem to winter over well, only to then limp along come full spring, or even end up absconding. Some reasons for these disappointing frustrations are as follows:

  • Starvation
  • Low Population Numbers
  • Nosema Disease
  • Queenlessness

Bee Informed has a great blog post about winter losses and the LCBA (Lane County Beekeepers Association) has a winter loss report that may also give some insight.

Overall, a beekeeper’s job is to support the bees in doing what they do, when they need to do it. The keeper aims to make the lives of the bees easier by grooming their environment to be the most beneficial for them in the present as well as the future. There are endless ways to accomplish this goal, forever improved upon with ingenuity as we learn more about honey bee biology, as well as the biology of her enemies, along with what we learn of our ever changing environment. The best chance a beekeeper has at success is having an ever present thirst for knowledge. The only constant is that things will change, so our best advice is to be prepared to adapt.

 

Tips for Removing Soap from Plastic Molds

Tips for Removing Melt & Pour Soap from Plastic Molds

Most of the time it is fairly easy to remove melt and pour soap from plastic molds, however, every once in awhile you might get a stubborn batch that isn't as easy to remove.  Here is our list of tips to ensure that your soap will come out easily:

Tip #1:  When pouring your soap into the mold when it is in its liquid form, make sure to fill each cavity of the mold all the way to the top.  This will make unmolding more simple.

Tip #2:  Make sure that your soap has completely dried and hardened.  We recommend letting your soap sit in the mold to harden for at least 12 to 24 hours after pouring.  The time depends on the size of the soap, but it should be completely hard to the touch before you try to remove it from the mold.

Melt and pour soapTip #3:  Place your molded soap into the freezer for 30 minutes.  The mold will expand as it warms back up to room temperature.

Tip #4:  Run the bottom of the mold (which would be the top of your soap when it is unmolded) under warm water.  Be sure not to get any water on the soap itself.

Tip #5:  If all else fails, use a hair dryer to slightly warm the soap from the bottom of the mold.   Make sure you don't heat it too hot, as you don't want the soap to melt...you only want it to get slightly soft.

After you feel like your soap is loose enough, turn the mold over and using pressure from both of your thumbs, press the soap out of the mold.  It should now come out very easily!

Tips for Removing Cold Process Soap from Plastic Molds

You definitely can use plastic molds to make cold process soap.  Many CP (cold process) soap makers like plastic molds for the beautiful detail they provide; however, it can be slightly more bothersome to remove CP soap from plastic molds, but it can be done.  Here are some tips that we've learned that help when removing CP soap from plastic molds:

Tip #1:  Have patience!  Since it's not as easy for air to get to your CP soap when using plastic molds, it does require that you allow it to sit in the mold to harden longer.  It can take up to 2 weeks before you might be able to remove CP soap from a plastic mold.  You can test to see if the soap is hard enough by trying to remove one.  If it starts to bend or crack, then you know you need to wait a day or two longer.

Tip #2:  Use a CP soap recipe that contains a lot of hard oils.  Some examples of hard oils include coconut oil, palm oil, cocoa butter and shea butter.  We recommend to stay away from soft oil CP soap recipes if using a plastic mold.  Examples of soft oils are sweet almond oil and olive oil.

Tip #3:  Try adding sodium lactate to your cool lye water.  The recommended amount to use is 1 teaspoon per pound of oils in your recipe.  Sodium lactate is the sodium salt of lactic acid.  It basically will make your soap harder which in turn makes it easier to remove from a plastic mold.

Once your CP soap is ready to remove from the mold, simply break the seal between the soap and the mold by pulling gently on the sides.  Then turn the mold over and push gently from the bottom using even pressure from both thumbs.  If your soap is hard enough, it will come out smoothly with the details still intact.  If you are still experiencing difficulty, you can try putting it into the freezer for 30 minutes, cool back down to room temperature and then retry unmolding.

Chia Breakfast Porridge

Here's a quick breakfast pudding with simple prep the night before. This recipe makes an easy on-the-go breakfast that contains 37% of your daily fiber, Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids, and the energy boosting benefits of chia seeds. Chia means “strength” in the Mayan language. Ancient Central American messengers would use them as fuel while running long distances. The following easy recipes will give you the strength for you and/or your family to get your day off and running.

Yields about 4–1 cup servings:

Chia pudding with fruitINGREDIENTS

½ Cup chia seeds
2 Cup almond milk
1 Tbsp GloryBee Montana White Clover Blossom Honey
1 ripe banana
2 Tbsp Aunt Patty’s Organic Almond Butter or creamy peanut butter

DIRECTIONS

  1. Puree banana.
  2. Add almond or peanut butter and honey and continue to puree.
  3. Stir in chia seeds, mix thoroughly.
  4. Let sit overnight in the refrigerator, stir again in morning before serving.
  5. Garnish with coarse fresh fruit and crushed banana chips.

Looking for a simpler option that doesn't require so much prep? Try the following:

Yields 1 serving:

INGREDIENTS

1 Cup almond milk
4 Tbsp chia seeds
2 tsp of GloryBee Montana White Clover Blossom Honey

DIRECTIONS

  1. Whisk together almond milk, chia seeds and honey in a medium bowl.
  2. Cover and chill overnight.
  3. Top with fresh fruit, shredded coconut, nuts or granola.

Partnering with Printers and Paper Suppliers to protect the planet

Many companies now print their catalogs overseas due to reduced prices. At GloryBee we think saving money is great, but we strongly believe people are more important than profits. By using local resources and creating catalogs with the smallest ecological footprints, we are able to have a lasting impact on our planet’s future.

Lynx Group PressmanWe have been printing our catalogs locally with Lynx Group for over 13 years. Here are some advantages our company gains by using a local sustainable printer:

      1. We’re able to produce quality catalogs that are both cost-effective and eco-friendly

 

      1. We transport the finished catalogs to our facility using our own trucks as they return from scheduled routes, saving fuel and reducing carbon exhaust.

 

      1. We’re able to use Windpower credits through Green Mountain Energy to offset the energy used to produce the catalogs. One catalog uses about 8.3 kWh. Lynx Group buys approximately 80,000 kWh of wind power per year!

 

      1. The dryer on Lynx’s web press captures the energy from sealed off-gassing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as energy to run the press.

 

      1. Lynx Group creates a digital catalog that we publish online, allowing us to print fewer physical catalogs.

 

    1. Lynx Group recycles over 950 tons of paper and 18 tons of aluminum plates annually, conserving energy and reducing landfill space.

Paper for our catalogs, Nature Web, has 30% post-consumer waste (PCW), recycled content and is made with hydropower from the Willamette River. It is sourced from West Linn Paper Company, which is less than an hour away from Lynx Group.

We believe that each of us is called to do our part to maintain the health of our planet. Together we can inspire positive action.

How To Winterize Your Hives [Part 2]

In part one of our continuing series on wintering your hives, we discussed treatment for mites and hive strength. In Part Two we'll be covering best practices for winter feeding and supplement use.

WINTER FEED AND SUPPLEMENTS

During the late summer to fall there is a dearth period that can drastically affect the stores the colony has worked so hard to build up all season long. What this means is that with the ebb and flow of the seasons, flowers come and go. When the first blooms come on full force, and major nectar sources are in abundance, this is called the ‘flow’. When there are few to no blooms, this is called a dearth. (Keep in mind that though there may be blooms nearby, they may not be blooms that provide substantial nourishment to honey bees. Some flowering plants are good for both pollen and nectar, whereas some are only good for one or the other. What a colony forages on is all dependent on what fills the need they have at the time.)

Hives in winterFirst and foremost, whenever possible, it is always best to feed your colony its own honey, whether you leave it for winter consumption or freeze frames for later use (Note: If you freeze and feed, make sure to let your frames come to room temperature before placing in your hive so as to not chill your bees!) Feeding is a form of rescue as well as a form of insurance. If you plan to leave your honey super for your bees, make certain to remove your queen excluder! A winter cluster will not move beyond its queen, so it makes no difference to leave your bees a super if you do not allow your queen access to it.

Protein- A rich source of protein encourages the production of vitellogenin, enabling bees to winter over. Some beekeepers prefer pollen patties as a feed and/or supplement during the dearth periods. Read some well-researched thoughts on this here, here and here.

Fall Syrup- The fall calls for a ratio of two parts sugar to one part water. This ratio encourages your colony to store for the winter, (versus the one to one ratio that is generally thought to encourage comb building) as well as requires less work to dehydrate or ‘cure’.

‘Which one to use’  is a great resource for explanations of why to use which ratio and when.

Solid Feed- When temperatures start to drop in the late fall and winter, it is highly recommended to switch to a solid food. If standard syrup were to be fed, the bees would have to work to warm it before being able to use it. This would be the reverse of the conservation of energy that a beekeeper aims to assist the bees in doing to survive the winter.

Options for solid food include, but are not limited to, the following:

Fondant- A great go-to recipe for this is located here. The vinegar acts as a microbial deterrent to keep the candy as stable as possible while under warm and moist conditions present in the hive. This can be placed directly on the top bars for ease of access.

Candy Board- This is essentially a fondant that has been fixed to a board directly above the brood chamber. An inner cover can be used for this purpose in lieu of building a feeding specific unit. An inner cover can also be used with straight cane sugar sprinkled onto its deep side for a quick feed in moments that demand a quick solution.

Classic Candy Canes- This is an inexpensive option after the holidays and enticing to bees because of the peppermint. These are also convenient for placing between frames to get close to the brood when concern of low supply of convenient stores is an issue. Any un-caramelized white hard candy can be used.

Grease Patties- Keep these patties on your top bars year-round to thwart tracheal mites. Our recommended tried and true recipe is four parts powdered sugar to one part canola oil or Crisco. The same can also be done using coconut oil.

Click here to read Part 3 on how to Winterize Your Hives.

Candle Wick Tips: Free Printable PDF

The wick is one of the most important components of a candle... without it, the wax in your candle won't burn. Selecting the proper wick for your specific candle project is a bit trickier than it would first appear. There are many variables involved with making a candle that can influence the way it burns, including the following:

  • Ice CandleType of wax
  • Type of candle (molded, container, rolled, etc.)
  • Size of candle
  • Type and amount of fragrance
  • Type and amount of colorant
  • Use of additional additives (stearic acid)

Most candle making suppliers will provide you with general guidelines on what type of wick to use for the specific type of candle you are making (click here to view ours), however, the key word here is "general". These general guidelines are really just a starting place. To determine the best wick for your candles, we highly recommend you create a personal process for testing each new candle project. The best way to do this is to use the guidelines provided by the supplier and then adjust from there- either to a different size or type of wick. GloryBee also offers a printable wicking chart located here. It is important as part of this testing process to keep detailed notes and physical samples that you can use for future reference. As you gain more experience in candle making and become more familiar with wicking types and sizes, this testing process will become easier.

Here are a few indicators of improper wicking:

Over-wicked Candle (wicking is too large):

  • Flame is very tall
  • Flame flickers constantly
  • Burns very quickly
  • Can see black smoke coming from the flame
  • Mushrooming - carbon ball that forms at the top of the wick
  • Melt pool is deeper than 1/2 inch
  • If it is a container candle, the container becomes very hot

Under-wicked Candle (wicking is too small):

  • Flame is very small
  • Tunneling - wick burns just down the middle
  • Doesn't burn all the way to the edge
  • Wick extinguishes before all the wax is burned

A properly wicked candle will have the following optimal burning characteristics:

  • Flame will be an appropriate size
  • Flame won't flicker
  • Melt pool will extend all the way to the edge if it is a container candle
  • Melt pool will extend to within 1/4 inch of the edge of a pillar candle
  • Wick will burn cleanly without any mushrooming

We hope this information helps you find the best wick to suit your candle making needs. Have fun and don’t let your candle burn at both ends

Click here to download your free printable Candle Wicking PDF

Cast Iron Apple Pomegranate Crisp

Leaves are changing color, kids are back in school, and fall aromas like pumpkin spice and apple pie are in the air. Here's a modern update on the classic apple crisp—adding pomegranate airls! Pomegranate seeds are a great source of fiber, the juice is rich in Vitamin C, potassium, iron and polyphenol antioxidants. Serve hot with Blackberry Honey-Vanilla Ice Cream. Makes 6 servings

apple-pom-crisp-servedINGREDIENTS

½ Cup plus 2 Tbsp whole wheat flour, divided
½ Cup old-fashioned rolled oats
½ Cup pecans (chopped)
1 ½ tsp cinnamon, divided
½ tsp fine sea salt
¾ Cup GloryBee® Raw Honey, divided
3 Tbsp Aunt Patty’s® Organic Virgin Coconut Oil (melted)
3 Pounds Granny Smith or Honeycrisp apples (cored and cut into ½" slices)
1 Cup fresh or frozen pomegranate arils (seeds)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 375 ℉.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine ½ cup flour, oats, pecans, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and salt. Stir in ½ cup honey and coconut oil to combine.
  3. In a large bowl, toss apples and pomegranate arils with 2 tablespoons flour, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, and ¼ cup honey. Transfer to a 9 or 10" cast iron skillet, sprinkle crisp topping over apples, and bake until bubbly and well-browned, 45 to 55 minutes.

Business After Hours hosted by GloryBee

When: Thursday, September 15, 2016 5 - 7 PM
Where: Future Home of GloryBee
192 N Bertelsen Rd, 97402
Eugene, OR 97402

GloryBee and special guest, School Garden Project, are teaming up to create a night to remember! At this Business After Hours event you'll hear live music, sample savory flavors from Lane Catering, partake in cool refreshments courtesy of Oakshire Brewing and Iris Vineyards , and enjoy special produce and merchandise give-aways, as you learn more about our host and School Garden Project's exciting plans for the new school year. Come see what all the buzz is about... and the future home of GloryBee

Click here for more information on tickets and how to register.