Pregnancy Notes: Postpartum Herbal Sitz Bath {recipe}

Herbal sitz baths are extremely soothing, relaxing, healing and a great way to pamper a new mama after going through the tiring workout of laboring and birthing a little baby.

What are Sitz Baths?

Some of you might have never heard of a sitz bath. I sure didn't know heck about it until my midwife explain it to me. A sitz bath is literally what it sounds like - a bath where you sit in warm water that covers the buttocks and hips.

Sitting in warm, herbal infused water helps clean the sensitive area, bring healing, soothe soreness, aid in shrinking hemorrhoids, prevent infection, relieves pain, reduces swelling, heals tears and increase blood flow to the areas starting at your belly button, down around to your lower back bone & to the where the baby made an appearance. These herbs can truly help speed along recovery!

You can do your sitz bath in the bathtub or in a large bowl, but make sure you have someone to help you in and out. After my 2nd & 3rd babies, I used my kids' little bathtub and it worked great, but this 4th time around... I was able to use an actual bathtub and enjoyed a long soak! Taking a relaxing bath is a rare treat for me  :)

My First Sitz Bath

My midwife brought a bag of herbs over and prepared my first sitz bath after Tabitha's birth. I was eager to give it a try, but was a little skeptical that it would do much to relieve the little pain I had from my tear.

I was so wrong... It was amazedly soothing and totally won me over. I took a sitz bath everyday for a week and wanted more!

Plus, I noticed rapid healing of my tear along with putting on a combination of aloe vera, coconut oil and raw honey. I am thankful to say that I never tore again with my 3rd and 4th babies.

I, of course, asked her for the recipe when I became pregnant with Tobias. Unfortunely, her recipe called for a lot of herbs… making it a little too expensive for me to make a small batch for myself.

So, she recommended simply using a combination of Lavender, Chamomile, Rosemary and Calendula Flowers… much like the ingredients used for the Soothing Postpartum Pads! I also decided to add in Comfrey leaf as it is excellent to use on a stretched & sore perineum, Yarrow for is ability to stop bleeding and sea salt which provides needed minerals to help speed healing.

The Ingredients & Benefits
Below you will read the medicinal properties of each herb that help pamper and heal the new mama. This Healing Postpartum Herbal Sitz Bath will leave you feeling refreshed, renewed and relaxed.

• Chamomile Flowers: This herb is best known for its soothing & delicious aromatic smell and taste. It is widely used as a mild sedative. Chamomile displays a wide range of healing properties such as being anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, antiseptic, antispasmodic and even anti-body odor... all coming from the daisy-like flowers, which contain volatile oils as well as flavonoids. It also improves wound healing, which is great for tears and c-sections, along with bringing good flow of blood to the skin surface thus inducing perspiration and helps regulate menstrual flow. Chamomile is one of the best herbal sources of niacin, magnesium and essential fatty acids.
• Rosemary Leaf: Called the "herb of remembrance" by Shakespeare, this herb has the ability to strengthen the entire body and relieve pain (like lavender) associated with muscle pains, sore muscles & headaches. Rosemary helps boosts mental activity, so when your brain feels tired (and we do feel brain-tired after birthing a baby!), take deep breaths as you enjoy the sitz bath for fresh mental energy. It also contains good concentrations of 2 dozens or so antioxidants.
• Comfrey Leaf: The latin name of this herb translates "knitting together". One of the main healing properties in comfrey is allantoin, an anti-inflammatory that perks up the immune system, speeds wound healing and encourages new skin and cell growth. It has a long history of being used as an external application for mending of wounds and broken bones. Comfrey is a contact healer, relieving pain and immediately helping the growth of new flesh and bone. It is also high in calcium and vitamin C. 
• Yarrow Flower: Considered the "poor man's chamomile", Yarrow contains a volatile oil which is similar to chamomile and has been medically documented to be very effective anti-inflammatory agent. It contains aromatic compounds that shrink inflamed tissues and promote sweeting. It also contains bitter compounds that relieve smooth muscle spasms, reduce blood pressure and helpful in stopping bleeding from hemorrhage. The herb has antibacterial and antifungal compounds that are helpful in replenishing the intestinal flora.
• Lavender Flowers: Best known for its relaxing effect on the mind and body, Lavender's soothing properties is readily absorb into the skin and not only promotes restfulness, but it helps in treating pain, anxiety & nervousness, exhaustion, restlessness, emotional stress, headaches and increase mental activity. It is also an excellent remedy for various types of pains caused by sore muscles, tense muscles, muscular aches, backaches and the lumbago (lower back) area. Lavender is excellent for improving blood circulation in the body, which is essential for complete healing in the perineum area. It also has antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant properties.
• Calendula Flowers: A herb long used through Europe and the Americas for wound healing and ulcer treatments, Calendula is known for its amazing healing properties. The phytochemicals in these flowers opposes fungi, bacteria, viruses and inflammation. Calendula also excite the white blood ells in the immune system to fight microbial invaders with a little more vigor. It is good for treating skin problems of all kinds, especially cuts, scrapes, bruises and minor wounds.
• Sea Salt: A natural detoxifier, sea salt provides the needed minerals to help the body heal quickly.

Healing Herbal Sitz Bath

2 cups chamomile flowers

2 cups rosemary leaf

2 cups comfrey leaf
2 cups yarrow flowers

1 cup lavender flowers

1 cup calendula flowers
2 cups sea salt

Mix all the herbs & sea salt together in a large bowl. Store in a glass jar and keep in a cool & dry place.

Fill a large pot with 1 gallon of water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add 2 cups of the herbal mixture or stuff the loose herbs in cotton muslin cloth bags. Cover and let it sit until warm. Strain (or pour it all in if you don't care about loose herbs!) liquid into a bathtub or large bowl/basin and add warm water until it covers your hips & buttocks.

Sit and relax in tub for 20 minutes or more. You can soak with your baby as it will speed along cord healing. If using bowl or large basin, sit or squat carefully in it for 10-15 minutes.

Gently pat dry and do it everyday for at least a week. You can use the Soothing Postpartum Pads for extra healing & comfort!

Have you ever done a sitz bath? Have you used herbs for postpartum care? What herbs and how did they help you?

Note: The links above are my affiliate links and I will earn a small commission if you decide to order the herbs and other supplies through those links (no extra charge to you!). Thank you for reading this and supporting my family through your purchases!

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Pregnancy Notes: DIY Natural Nipple Cream {recipe}

Let's be honest... breastfeeding can be painful. Especially the first week and when your baby starts teething!

When I was pregnant with #1, I had romancing visions of happily cuddling & nursing my sweet little baby... oh man, all that went out the window at the first latch.

After the first few nursings... my nipples were painfully sore and cracked. 

After almost 3 days of nursing... I was grinding my teeth & curling my toes every time my baby latched on. I was not prepared for the pain! I wished someone had said something about that important little big detail while I was pregnant!

But I made it through… with some lanolin and lots of prayer.

Concerns about Lanolin

I don’t know about you, but I really hated using that common lanolin stuff on my nipples! I felt that it didn't help much. I hated the oily feel and the stains it left on my bras & shirts. I did not feel much relief and found it uncomfortable on my sore nipples.

What exactly is Lanolin? I didn't know until I did some research and found out that Lanolin is the greasy discharge from a sheep's sebaceous glands. It is used in all kinds of cosmetics, from lip balms, shaving creams, hair products to breastfeeding creams. Although it has been touted as highly effective in soothing & healing chapped skin (but not for me!), lanolin usually contains a heavy load of pesticides from the wool being soaked in chemicals to remove parasites before the lanolin is scoured out of it.

Since your baby will basically be ingesting small amounts of whatever you smear on your nipples, it is critical for the ingredients to be safe (in my humble opinion). Many mamas swear by lanolin, but I rather use more natural ingredients that are 100% edible and safe! At the moment, there are no organic options for lanolin out there.

Unfortunately and completely clueless at the time, I used lanolin with both my first and second babies... after that, I promised myself to find a different alternative.

Finding an Alternative Relief
Thankfully, it was my mom who found it. A herbal nipple cream called Motherlove that she picked up at Whole Foods. I used it after Tobias was born and...

I. LOVED. IT.

It smelled good, did not feel oily, felt really soothing, absorbed quickly into my skin and did not stain my bras & shirts. I clearly remember my nipples healing very quickly... like 4 or 5 days! I used it again with Poema, my 4th baby, and got the same results.

Y'all, that’s a big deal!

Why? Because both my midwives (from my 1st & 2nd births) have told me to bear the pain of nursing for 10 days, use lots of lanolin and then I will be fine. True enough, by the 11th day... the pain was significantly less and breastfeeding became a much more pleasant experience.

But now I think that 10 days of pain can be cut in half... using the DIY Natural Nipple Cream! Of course, every mama has different experiences with breastfeeding and some take longer to heal and get the hang of breastfeeding. I truly hope this cream will help lessen the pain, speed healing and shorten the time it takes for your nipples to get used to be sucked on by a hungry little mouth! Ouch!

Buy it or Make it?

The Motherlove nipple cream is a little pricey for such a small bottle and I only used about half of it during the first couple weeks of nursing Tobi, but to me… it was worth it!

Of course, I wanted to try making my own... simply because I enjoy DIY projects and wanted to save a little money. I looked high and low around the internet for a recipe, but didn't find much. Most simply said to use 100% coconut oil or a combination of coconut oil, beeswax, cocoa butter and shea butter... but was I looking for something more similar to the Motherlove nipple cream. 

Later, after learning how to make a few different kinds of salves/creams... I took the basic salve recipe, the ingredients from Motherlove and set out to make my own natural nipple cream.

I'm glad to say that it was a success! I have been able to use it as my 4th baby is still nursing pretty strong at 18 months old. The small amount I made was enough for me to share with another mama who recently had a new baby. She loved it and noticed quick relief from using it.

The Ingredients & Its Benefits
Below you will learn how each ingredient is very healing for those sore nipples! For those who might be concern... this natural nipple cream is completely safe for the baby. I have used this for my 3rd and 4th babies with no concerns or side effects.

In fact, with Poema still nursing at 18 months and has teeth now... I still use the nipple cream whenever I start to feel little sore. If you are not convinced, then you can simply wipe off the cream just before you nurse, but it will most likely already absorbed into your skin.

• Marshmallow Root: The genus name comes from a Greek work meaning "to heal". This herb contains some germ-fighting and inflammation-relieving phyto-chemicals. It also contains compounds that help stimulate the immune system slightly. Marshmallow Root is known to help with bruises, chafing, sores and wounds... which is beneficial for the nursing mama! 
• Calendula Flower: A herb long used through Europe and the Americas for wound healing and ulcer treatments, Calendula is known for its amazing healing properties. The phyto-chemicals in these flowers opposes fungi, bacteria, viruses and inflammation. Calendula also excite the white blood ells in the immune system to fight microbial invaders with a little more vigor. It is good for treating skin problems of all kinds, especially cuts, scrapes, bruises and minor wounds.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil and/or Coconut Oil: Both oils help promote healthy skin regeneration, fight off infection & thrush and moisturizes the skin.
• Beeswax: Helps to keep needed moisture in the skin, promotes new cell growth and protects the skin.
• Shea Butter: Moisturizes, protects, strengthens and regenerates the skin. It is great for minor cuts and cracks in the skin.

Making the Natural Nipple Cream

Thankfully, making nipple cream is super easy. I ordered my herbs & beeswax from Bulk Herb Store and the shea butter from Mountain Rose Herbs, but you can purchase all the ingredients at Mountain Rose Herbs. I love both companies and love their quality & prices! You can also purchase most, if not all, of the ingredients on Amazon.com too.

I am sure most of you already know this, but I feel it is important for me to say that It's highly recommended to use organic oils. When making my batch of nipple cream, I used 100% organic olive oil and loved the results. If you prefer, you can use a combination of coconut oil and olive oil or 100% coconut oil... whatever you like or have in hand!

Once you've made the natural nipple cream, you can start using it even before your baby is born! Rubbing the cream into the nipples throughout the latter part of your pregnancy and the beginning weeks of nursing will create healthy, flexible tissues that will be more resistant to cracks, tears and chapping.

Natural Nipple Cream

1/4 cup Calendula
1/4 cup Marshmallow Root
1 cup Olive oil and/or Coconut oil
1/8 cup Beeswax
2 Tbsp Shea Butter

Scoop herbs into a glass canning jar and pour oil on top. Make sure there is at least one inch gap between the mixture and top of the jar. Screw lid on tightly.

Set out a medium size slow cooker and line the bottom with a thick hand towel. Place the jar inside and fill the slow cooker with water up to the level of the oil in the jar, but keep the water level below the lid.

Turn the slow cooker on the "warm" setting and leave it on for 3 to 5 days, partially covered. Add more water into the cooker when necessary.

After 3 to 5 days, remove the oil infusion from the cooker and let it cool a little. Strain the oil through a fine sieve and/or cheesecloth into a small stainless steel sauce pan. Squeeze with your hands or use the back of a spoon to release the finished oil. Throw the used herbs away.

Add beeswax and shea butter into the sauce pan and turn heat on low. Stir until wax and butter has melted. Pour the mixture into 4oz glass jars or 4oz tin cans. Allow them to cool completely before putting the lids on. Date and label the nipple cream. Keep them in a cool, dry and dark spot. Will keep for several months.

With the recipe above, you should be able to fill three or four 4oz tin cans or jars pretty easily. You will most likely only need one for yourself and the extras will make fantastic gifts for your mama friends! I would love to make a gift basket with all my natural remedies to give to a mama friend... one day I will do it!

Think you can tackle this easy DIY project? For those who have made this cream and used it... Did it help your sore nipples? Did you noticed anything different? 


Note: The links above are my affiliate links and I will earn a small commission if you decide to order the herbs through those links (no charge to you!). Thank you for reading this and supporting my family through your purchases!

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Making the Adobe Bricks

So, exciting news... the roof is about 1/2 way done! We just need to put up the tiles and skylights to finish up. I will put up pictures later. Please continue to pray for God's provision as we move forward to finish our home!

Today, I want to share a little bit of what I learned about the process of making adobe bricks. I am no expert... just sharing what I saw and learned as I asked questions.

Truly, making adobe bricks is demanding and time-consuming in many ways, but it is a cost effective way to build a house. Especially in many third-world countries.

After weeks of watching these men make hundreds of adobe bricks to build our home and the staff housing... I have a lot of respect and admiration towards these men. They work hard and do their job well!

It takes a small team of men to build several hundred adobe bricks at a good pace. When they first started making bricks for our home back in January... they were making up to 100 bricks a day!

To start off, they made a mixture of mud/clay, pine needles and water... yep, just three ingredients. They mix it and mix it and mix it some more until it holds together just right.

They don't use measurements or anything like that... it is all simply mixed together by feel and how it looks. It is much like cooking without a recipe  ;)

Because of the thickness and the importance of mixing everything together well... they would get in that pile of mud and use their hands, feet and a shovel. One guy chose to work with his mud boots and a shovel while the other younger guy worked with bare hands and feet.

After watching them, it is much easier to work with your bare hands and feet! I didn't try, but I think feeling mud between my toes would feel pretty interesting. HA!

Next, they would fill up wheel barrows full of the mud mixture and wheel it to the end of the long line of adobe bricks set out to dry out in the hot sun. Those wheelbarrows are really heavy with the mud, but they were thankful to use them... most men use plastic buckets to carry the mud back and forth.

Then a simple, wooden frame is used to make two bricks at a time to make the process go a bit faster. The young guy in the red shirt fills one side at a time by packing it down firmly with both his hands and feet (sorry, didn't get a picture of him using his feet to pack down the bricks). We were told that it is very important to make sure the bricks are packed down tightly to prevent cracks and breaks. Makes sense!

After packing it down for several minutes and smoothing out the bricks with water, he carefully lifts up the frame and moves over to do all over again....

That's really all it takes! Yes, it is fairly simple, but it still takes skill to get everything just right for the adobe bricks to last and to build a solid home. Thank God for these skilled workers!

Once dried, these bricks are HEAVY! One brick weights between 20-30 pounds! I lifted up a finished brick to get an idea and I can't imagine trying to lift those bricks up as the house goes up. Talk about a back-breaking workout, but these men are strong!

If you are wanting more information on how to make adobe bricks... here's a couple links to start off with:

• Making Adobe Bricks - Mother Earth News
• How To Make Adobe Bricks

There are tons of videos and simple tutorials out there... just google around!

Thanks for stopping and reading. Do you think you would ever try building adobe bricks to make a house or wall or something?? Would be a fun DIY project!

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You've Got Ice Cream Questions? I've Got Answers!

Ever since I first published the ice cream ebook... I have been asked question after question from those who were wanting to buy the book, but needed to know specific things before making a purchase.

Honestly, I loved getting their questions and replying back with answers to help them take a step forward to start making the best homemade ice cream right in their kitchens. As an author, it is important to me to help you all be able to accomplish that!

Below I put together the top 10 questions that have been asked and my answers to them. I hope they will be helpful to you and if you have any questions not listed here... please do not hesitate to ask in the comments below or email me! Thank you!

Top 10 Frequently Asked Questions

1. What kind of ingredients are being used?

Real, wholesome ingredients. No weird or yucky ingredients here!

2. Are there dairy-free & sugar-free options in there?

Yes, in the book I recommend using coconut milk as a dairy-free option.

For sugar-free options, you will find honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar or stevia. You can learn more about the different options in the book, Just Making Ice Cream.

3. What kind of sweeteners do you use?

Raw honey is my go to sweetener, but I also use sucanat, maple syrup, coconut sugar, turbinado and organic cane sugar. It just depends on what kind of ice cream I plan to make and how the sweetener can affect the overall flavor.

4. Can I use stevia exclusively to sweeten my ice cream?

You can use stevia, but you will have to play around with how much you use. Creating recipes using stevia exclusively is tricky because not everyone uses the same amounts. Plus, almost every brand of stevia is different in taste and sweetness.

5. Do I have to have an ice cream maker?

Nope! I recently shared 5 ways you can make fast & delicious ice cream with or without a machine... plus, In the book, you will find 5 different ways you can make ice cream without a machine. Sure, it is easier to make ice cream with a ice cream maker, but not everyone has one and that shouldn't stop you from using other alternatives!

6. How long will it take me to make the ice cream, from start to mouth?

Usually anywhere from 40 minutes to 24 hours, depending on what technique (fast or slow) you use to make the ice cream base, the time it takes to cool down the ice cream base and what method you use to make the ice cream. In the end, it is so worth it... trust me!

7. How easy is it to make your recipes?

Super easy. Even my oldest daughter can whip up some ice cream using  my recipes (with my help, obviously).

8. How many recipes are there and can I take a peek at the list?

There are exactly 73 recipes in the book. You are more than welcome to take a peek... while you are at it, enjoy some of the delicious photos too!

9. What's your favorite recipe in the book?

Ooooh, that's a tough one because I love every single recipe in my book... I created, tested & enjoyed them all! But I will say that my all-time favorite is the Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Growing up, that was the flavor I always chose whenever we went to an ice cream shop, but with my recipe... I get twice the amount of cookie dough in my ice cream now!

10. What's the difference between the first and second edition?

I have been working on this baby little by little to improve the ebook since its first release. There were typos to fix, more pictures to add and a new recipe to add in because it was too good to leave out.

I am already working on creating a 3rd edition with more pictures and recipes! I hope to have it available in printed format... oh, I would love to hold a book of Just Making Ice Cream in my own hands, someday!

Have any other questions that is not listed here? Don't hesitate to ask in the comments below or email me!

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5 Ways I Can Help You Make Fast & Delicious Ice Cream At Home With or Without Machine

After years of many failures and successes, plus writing an ebook devoted wholly to ice cream, I have learned several ways (or tricks, really) that you can use to get consistent results for creamy, delicious ice cream... especially, the fast way.

We all know that texture & flavor is pretty important when it comes to making homemade ice cream, especially the texture. Everyone likes their ice cream creamy and easy to scoop out of the container, but... that's commercial ice cream.

Realistically, you just can't compare homemade ice cream with commercial ice cream. Homemade wins, hands down, ingredient-wise and flavor-wise.

Commercial ice cream is full of hidden ingredients that help the ice cream to keep their creaminess and make scooping easier, but I am not going to go into more details on that because I already wrote all about it in my ebook, Just Making Ice Cream.

So, back to making ice cream at home... you and I have seen all those delicious, beautiful pictures of perfectly scooped homemade ice cream on Pinterest & elsewhere and often click on the links to find out how to make it in our own kitchen.

What do we find? More often than not, a recipe that calls for cooking up a custard base, chilling it for several hours or overnight and then pouring it into an ice cream maker. Here we have three potential problems...

"Hmmm, but I want it RIGHT NOW!"

"OH MAN, I wish I could make this... but I don't have that fancy ice cream maker!"

"Ugh, is not dairy-free or egg-free!"

Ever had those thoughts? yeah, that's what I thought...

So, today I am going to come to the rescue and share 5 ways I can help you make delicious ice cream, fast & easy... with or without a machine. Making the ice cream without a machine won't be as fast as having an ice cream machine or even a food processor, but it will be better than nothing!

These are some of the many tips you will find in my book, Just Making Ice Cream. To learn more reasons why you should make your own ice cream and 5 other ways to make ice cream without an ice cream machine... you will have to purchase the book  :)

5 Ways I Can Help You Make Fast & Delicious Ice Cream At Home

1. Use 100% cream. You are pretty much guaranteed to get the creamiest results if you use 100% cream. When a recipe calls for cooking up a custard with a combination of whole milk, cream and eggs... skip that and just mix everything together using 100% cream.

Personally, I often find using 100% cream is too thick for my taste. So I prefer about 20% whole milk and 80% cream (ex: 1 cup milk & 2 cups cream) or pure goat milk. You can totally adjust the amount of milk and cream to your preferences! Don't let one technique stop you from using a different technique so you can have your ice cream in less than an hour.

When you transfer your ice cream into a container to harden in the freezer, be sure to allow it to thaw for about 10 minutes. Check it after 5 minutes because room temperature can play a hand in how quickly your ice cream will thaw.

2. Coconut milk. Can't have dairy? No problem! Coconut milk is the best dairy-free alternative for making ice cream. The full fat version will give you the creamiest results, but you can use the light version if you don't want a strong coconut flavor.

You can use 100% coconut milk in any recipe, just keep in mind the possibility of having some coconut flavor when eating your ice cream. I often use coconut milk when I don't have goat milk on hand and have been very happy with the results!

Also, it is much easier to keep coconut milk in your pantry as it lasts longer on the shelf in a can then fresh cream in the fridge! So, if that desire for ice cream kicks in and you don't have any fresh cream or whole milk... all you gotta do is pull down a can of coconut milk to save the day!

3. Use dry sweeteners. Exclusively using liquid sweeteners, such as honey & maple syrup, will cause your ice cream to be a little "icy" instead of smooth (but I personally don't mind that too much!). Dry sweeteners, such as Rapadura, Sucanat, evaporated cane juice, coconut palm sugar and maple sugar, gives the best results for a smoother texture.

Keep in mind the flavors of the sweeteners you plan to use... some are stronger than others. When I plan to make ice cream, I think about which sweetener would combine well with the ingredients to product the best flavor. For example, I often use rapadura or sucanat or dark honey when I make a chocolate base ice cream, which help create a deep, rich flavor. When making a strawberry base ice cream, I often use light honey or evaporated cane juice. When making a caramel base ice cream, the best is coconut palm sugar and so on. 

4. Use lots of egg yolks...or not. Egg yolks will increase the creaminess in texture and lessen crystallization when storing your ice cream in the freezer, plus eating raw egg yolks is so good for you!

But you can totally skip using egg yolks if you have egg allergies or need to be frugal. Using 100% cream or coconut milk is good enough to make delicious & creamy ice cream!

5. Make your ice cream in 5 easy steps. Of course, we all want an ice cream machine... I have a super nice Breville ice cream machine and use it frequently, but there was a time when I didn't have a machine and had to get creative with making homemade ice cream without a machine. Join me in the process and you will be surprised how easy it really is!

1. Prepare your ice cream mixture and make sure it is chilled before proceeding to step 2.
2. Pour your ice cream mixture into a deep baking dish or bowl made of plastic, stainless steel or something durable and put in the freezer.
3. After about 45 minutes, open the door and check on it. When it starts to freeze near the edges, take the ice cream out of the freezer and stir it vigorously with a spatula or whisk. Really beat it up and break up the frozen sections. Return to the freezer.
4. Continue to check the mixture every 30 minutes and stir it vigorously as it is freezing. If you have one, you can use a hand-held mixer or stick blender for best results... but since we are doing it low-tech here, a spatula or sturdy whisk with a strong arm is good enough!
5. Keep checking and stirring while it freezes until the ice cream is frozen. It will take about 2 to 3 hours to be ready. Transfer the ice cream to a covered storage container until ready to serve.

Tip: You can add in nuts, chocolate chips, fruits and whatever else you want towards the end of the process, but sure to add them in before the ice cream is completely frozen!

Think you will try making your ice cream with a strong arm and whisk? Have you made ice cream without a machine?

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