Thursday, May 1, 2008

#216 - A Salty Bitch Am I

Switching from Traditional Toothpaste to Baking Soda

This is the second change in my month-long pledge to give up plastics for Crunchy's Extreme Eco-Throwdown, and I must say, it was easier than I thought. I dumped a couple tablespoons of baking soda in an empty glass spice container. I shook some of it out onto my recycled toothbrush and proceeded with the ol' Burbanmom tooth-brushin' routine.

It did a great job getting my teeth clean, but I must confess, my mouth still tasted a little funky. I'm not talking about the extreme saltiness of the baking soda (which I actually like) I mean that I can still taste what I had for dinner. So I'm thinking I would need to supplement this new toothpaste with mouthwash, which comes in a plastic bottle, thereby defeating the whole idea of going tubeless.

OR...

Now, align yourself here....

The purpose of this challenge, for me at least, is to find creative ways to avoid plastic. I'm looking for something minty, perhaps even slightly medicinal, to remove the stale taste from my mouth. And it must come packaged in a glass bottle. Hmmmmm.....

Is anyone else here thinking "Peppermint Shnapps"?

No? What's that? "Peppermint extract" you say? Well, that doesn't sound nearly as much fun for Burbanmom, but I guess I'll give it a go.

And in honor of my new plastic-free oral cleansing routine, I present to you -

The Burbanita:
Serves 4 1

12 oz. Vodka
6 oz. Rumpleminze Shnapps
2 oz. Jagermeister
2 oz. Blue Curacao Liquer
3/4 tsp. sugar
2 -2 1/2 cups of ice

Add ice to the blender first and then the above ingredients. You might have to adjust the amount of ice you use depending how thick you like your burbanitas. Play with this until you get the consistency that you like, or until you get bored and/or sober. Be sure to rub the rim of a margarita glass with your tongue and dip in salt. Pour burbanitas into the margarita glass and garnish with mini candy-canes. Or, if no one else it there, just stick a straw in the blender and have at it.

Invite some with friends tonight. Hell, have some tomorrow night too, it's the weekend! In fact, Cinco de Mayo is Monday, why not make it a long weekend and just get plastered? Your mouth will feel minty fresh every time you puke! :-)

10 comments:

Todd said...

Geeze - how do they recycle a body after one of those!

Do you think if you might add mint to the Baking Soda it might taste better?

EcoBurban said...

No that I don't care about your oral hygiene or even mine for that matter... But as a fellow suburban mom - THANK YOU for pointing out that alcohol comes in glass bottles and not plastic!! I guess as long as I am not buying the cheap stuff that is. Oh, well, only the top shelf stuff for this suburban momma! Happy Friday!

JessTrev said...

That is hilarious, you know i think you can actually brush with salt itself. as long as the baking soda is so, well, salty. And I am, um, going to skip the burbanitas in fear of the burbling tummy, thanks very much. But I so totally bet you could do a straight vodka-mint leaves mouthwash (kinda spendy to spit it out, you'd want to swallow the backwash, hmm, getting back to that burbling).

Anonymous said...

Don't you know that sugar is bad for your teeth?
You should delete that from the recipe...

hic hic hic hic

equa yona(Big Bear) said...

I just caught up on your last couple of days posts, DAMN you're funny! Like, write-a-book funny! I was chortling aloud I tell ya! Think about writing a book, if you haven't already. Of course I wouldn't buy it because I read your posts for free---but Good luck with the crapper repair!!

Anonymous said...

I was wondering about adding peppermint as well or an essential oil like tea tree? I bet you could find some more recipes online.

Connie said...

Hey have fun while you're at it. I remember my Mom telling me how they brushed their teeth with baking soda in the Depression.

You're ahead of me!

Anonymous said...

I like the way you think!

Chile said...

For my toothpowder, I mix salt and baking soda 50/50. Then I stir in 1-2 drops of peppermint essential oil. It helps...a little. The main thing is to rinse really well after brushing.

OR, go hardcore. Use nothing. Just dampen your toothbrush and go at it for 5 minutes. Yes, 5 minutes. You'll probably need to set a timer because you'll never believe how long 5 minutes is when doing this. But, your teeth will be shiny clean and you'll have saved yourself toothpaste, powder, or anything else you might use.

Anonymous said...

I don't think I could handle that drink even in my college years!

As for the toothpaste...I do belive that in the olden days they would chew mint, parsley or lemons to freshen the breath. Seems like the mint an dthe parsley could be a new addition to the garden?

That being said...aren't you worried about not ingesting all that poisonous Flouride they swear we need?