Homemade Toothpaste

I know I said that I meant to have this up yesterday, but yesterday ended up being busier than anticipated. We went to the Ag Expo in the morning. The kids enjoyed petting the rabbits and calves and goats. Then we ran some errands around town before heading home. Once we got home we found a message from the meat processor that our 1/2 beef was ready to be picked up, so we turned around and headed out again. The drive to the meat processors took more than an hour on curvy, hilly roads. Andrew spent the drive throwing up. Apparently he's one to get car sick. Sam went through this same kind of phase. Not fun at all. So, after getting home at 7:30, cleaning up a vomit-covered child, bathtime, and bedtime...Shawn and I were ready to relax. We put in a movie that we got from the library, "Super Size Me," and we just sat and relaxed and enjoyed the movie.

So...here's the post I promised, Homemade Toothpaste.

Before our big food conversion, we used the toothpaste that I got for free using coupons at Walgreens. We had a huge supply of toothpaste. I did purchase the fluoride-free flavored toothpastes for the kids. When we started the Feingold diet, I had to find toothpastes without artificial colors or flavors. Before that time, I had never even thought about the ingredients in toothpastes. The fact that they were neon blue or tasted like a piece of bubble gum never even crossed my mind. So, I started searching for non-artificial alternatives. I ended up purchasing some Tom's of Maine toothpaste. After all this time of getting toothpaste for free with coupons, it was really difficult to pay full price for the expensive toothpaste. I bought two tubes of the Tom's paste before I started researching homemade alternatives. I tried a couple different recipes, but chose this one as my favorite.

Here are the ingredients you'll need:



2 Tbsp. virgin coconut oil
3 Tbsp. baking soda
1/2 to 1 small packet of stevia powder
20-25 drops peppermint or spearmint oil** (Personally, I prefer 25 drops of spearmint oil)

Mix together in small bowl using fork.

**Start by using 1/2 the amount, then add more as desired.

Before mixing:



After mixing:



The first time I made this, I made the mistake of using expeller-pressed (not virgin) coconut oil. It was not very good at all. The virgin coconut oil has a little bit of a coconut taste that helps to make the taste of the toothpaste more pleasing. Virgin coconut oil also has anti-fungal, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial properties which aids in maintaining the overall health of your mouth.

I haven't done it, but you can experiment with this by using cinnamon oil instead of spearmint or peppermint.

If you do decide to try homemade toothpaste, I'd be interested in hearing your experience. I've been thoroughly pleased and do not intend on switching back to the store-bought stuff.