The Home And Happiness Botanical Handbook: Plant-Based Recipes For A Clean & Healthy Home

The Home And Happiness Botanical Handbook

4/30/2021

Complex Recipes To Clean, Paint & More, Some Are Not As Green (glitter?) As Expected

The Home And Happiness Botanical Handbook: Plant-Based Recipes For A Clean & Healthy Home by Pip Waller

This book provides an abundance of recipes for not only cleaning your home, but also your vehicles & pets. But it doesn't end there. You will also discover how to make your own ink, paints & dyes as well as food wraps, rose petal beads, gluten free playdough. EMF remedies & more.
Note: While most recipes are clean & green, some were a little surprising. For example, the author uses glitter; an environmental disaster.

In chapter one the author makes the bold albeit incorrect claim that ...everything we need can be obtained from plants. I'd like to add almost to the very beginning of this statement to make it more factual. While I am all about utilizing flora & fauna, I do recognize that plants cannot provide every single thing humans need.

The author rightly points out how the vast majority of folks in modern industrialized countries are far removed from nature. Folks tend to rely on polluting, toxic, man-made chemicals rather than that which can be obtained naturally. In fact, I find that the majority of folks prefer these toxic options over greener ones. As the author points out, even folks who reside in rural areas tend to fall into the same toxic trap. Thankfully, the percentage of rural folks tends to be a little lower in toxic product dependency. But you'd be surprised at just how many utilize the same health destroying products as the folks in big cities. This is not to say that everyone who resides in the city isn't doing the green thing. Many are & I applaud you for your efforts. You green city folks help educate others that you don't have to live on a farm or have a big backyard to grow your own naturally.

This toxic man made dependency can partly be blamed on a lack of education as I see a greater number of folks interested in an organic lifestyle where education is highest. Should you have the option to petition your government to increase internet options in rural areas, please do. In today's age, access to high speed internet is a must for everyone.

For the most part, this is a great book. However, I would be doing you a great disservice if I didn't point out the negatives. First off, this is rather complicated. In order to create many of the recipes, you are likely to need to have created other parts aka ingredients to complete a recipe. One way to look at it is cookbooks designed for living back to the land or diets that restrict certain food groups to help folks heal (aka manage) conditions like autoimmune diseases.

If you are the type of person to give up on a cookbook because you must first make your own seasonings, sauces, milks, etc. rather than grab something off of a store shelf, declaring you don't have time, I've got news for you. You are probably not the person for this book. This book is work, no different really from the involved cookbook you may have tossed out.

On the other hand, if you don't mind or even enjoy cooking from scratch. From scratch I mean exactly that. No canned this or boxed that. No packet of seasoning mix or jar of mayonnaise because you, my fine friend make your own seasons & mayonnaise thank you very much. No box of brownie mix for you, oh no. You get out the sugar, fat, flour, chocolate, vanilla, etc. & make real brownies. Perhaps you even grow the the plants that produce the flours &/or sugars. You are a very busy person with valuable skills. This book will add more labor to your days but you don't mind because you've got this sustainable homesteading lifestyle mastered. Okay, maybe not mastered my kombucha brewing sister, but pretty darn close. I salute you not only for your commitment, but also for your willingness to take on even more work in an effort to keep it green.

As for me, I'm a full time Eco farmer. I'm exhausted most days. Not only do I grow my own, I also harvest it, put it up (can, dry, freeze, etc.) & cook my meals from scratch. I currently have very little interest in adding these recipes to my workload. Your eyes read that correctly. I'll even repeat it, I currently have very little interest in adding these recipes to my workload. Don't get me wrong, many of them seem great. But I find less is more. I prefer a mix of white vinegar, a drop of soap, a few drops of an essential oil & water makes a fabulous all purpose cleaner. Plain baking soda is great for scrubbing. A few drops of essential oil is fine if desired. That's all I use. No, really. I do make my own goat milk soap. Sorry, I know this is a Vegan book, but I'm not Vegan & frankly if you don't use milk soap you are denying your skin one of the greatest luxuries. By the way, making soap is dangerous. But it's not nearly as scary as it seems. Once you make it a few times, you'll be good to go. Cold process soap making is actually simple & incredibly easy. Really.

Now that I've said the above, I am absolutely keeping this book. I do plan to make some of the recipes in my own good time. Who knows? I may even end up incorporating them into my regular Eco homesteader lifestyle. There are too many valuable recipes in this to not hold on to it. After the China Virus hit us, we all saw what happened to our supply chain. Knowing how to make our own from scratch, for example, make your own witch hazel; is critical. In some situations it will not be possible to make your own as you cannot get the supplies. But in others, it can be done. There is some equipment the author utilizes that I don't own that I am hoping to slowly acquire so that I may learn at my leisure. Leisure, LOL!

Bottom line, do you want to DIY. By DIY I mean well & truly Do It Yourself. Not from a box, but from Mother Nature? Yes? Awesome-sauce! This book is totally for you my tree hugging dirt worshiper. Seem like too much work to you? Too many hours at work, too many demands from the kids & spouse? No time to even cook Hamburger Helper? DI- what you say? You might want to give this recipe book a pass or perhaps see if your local library carries it if your overworked self is still interested & would like take a look-see without the risk. You never know, you may find yourself immersed in the plant world or yawning.

Only one way to find out...

The Home And Happiness Botanical Handbook

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