Zero waste Whitening Toothpaste

I’ll be honest I don’t use this toothpaste every day. The switch to zero waste toothpaste is a hard one for me, but I do love this toothpaste. I use this toothpaste mostly as a whitening tool and not as my daily toothpaste, but I know lots of zero-wasters who use a similar toothpaste daily. This easy to make toothpaste tastes great. It will go solid at room temperature (if you live somewhere cold like me) but you just need to rub the bristles in it, and it works just fine. When its warm out (and liquid) you need to dip your brush in. I recommend everyone having their own container since your brush has to touch it. I also think making small batches works best.

Why does it work?

Baking Soda:
I find that the baking soda (or bicarbonate soda) makes this toothpaste whitening (I’m not a dentist, so this is just my own experience). Baking soda is abrasive, so it is great for removing surface stains but you need to be careful it doesn’t damage your teeth. I find that mixing it with the coconut oil helps make it less abrasive.

Coconut Oil:
I’m sure you’ve all heard of oil pulling (swishing oil in your mouth to clean it) by now. Oil pulling was my inspiration for adding coconut oil to this toothpaste. I find I can get the benefits of oil pulling while brushing with this toothpaste. Coconut oil allegedly can reduce tooth cavities and eradicate bad breath. Whether that’s true or not I don’t know, but I love it in this toothpaste.

Peppermint Oil:
Lastly, I’ve added peppermint oil primarily for flavour, but that isn’t all it does. Peppermint oil has antimicrobial properties and is great for freshening breath. I used peppermint essential oil (which should not be swallowed), but you can use peppermint extract (for cooking) if you don’t want to worry about swallowing it.

 

Recipe:
1 to 1 1/2 tbs of Baking Soda
1 1/2 to 2 tbs of Coconut Oil
1-5 drops of Peppermint Oil
Fist melt the coconut oil and then add the baking soda. The key is to create a paste so add more coconut oil or baking soda as needed. The amount of peppermint oil used is up to you.

 

Tips:

Many other oils can be used for flavouring. Oregano oil and clove oil are often used for tooth aches and are antibacterial. Spearmint and wintergreen are also great flavours to add in.

 

Let me know if you try this and it works for you

Easy Zerowaste Nut Milk

Where I live, nut/seed milk (vegan milk) comes in plastic lined cardboard packaging. This packaging is recyclable but only through a specialized process where the plastic and cardboard are separated. Unlike glass and metal milk cartons cannot be recycled indefinitely. Since this is the case, I’ve tried to make my own nut/seed milks.
Making nut/seed milk typically involves a high speed (very expensive) blender, but this recipe is so easy, and any blender/food processor can handle it. Traditionally you would soak whole raw nuts or seeds (almonds, cashews and sunflower are most common) overnight and throw them in a Vitamix (or another expensive blender) then strain with a nut milk bag or cheesecloth.
For my milks, I choose to make hemp milk because the seeds are soft and therefore easy to blend. For my other milk, I choose cashews because that’s what I had. The cashew recipe can easily use any nut butter you want.

What You’ll Need

-a blender or food processor 

-nut butter and/or hemp seeds

-a metal sieve, cheese cloth, or filter

-water

-a jar or container

 

The Steps

Step One:
Add one to two tablespoons of nut butter OR add two to three tablespoons of hemp seeds to a blender or food processor
Step Two:
Add one cup (see notes) of cold/room temperature water
Step Three:
Blend until creamy

Step Four:
Pour through a metal sieve (you can use a nut milk bag or cheese cloth)
Step Four:
Store in an airtight jar or container for up to a week in the fridge

If you try this let me know how you like it!

Note: you’ll want to taste adjust the water to nut/seed ratio.
The more nuts/seeds to water the creamer it will taste so think about what you want this for. If you want a coffee creamer try lowering the water content, and if you’re trying to replicate skim milk add more water.