DIY Cooling Pack That Won't Freeze!

Whelp, it's officially summer! The season for kids to fall off their bikes, runners to pull a muscle, and me to sweat my tail off. What do these things have in common? Ice packs. Sure, you could put some ice in a bag but it won't last very long because the ice will melt and sometimes the bag won't confirm to the shape you need it to. So I decided to take this tip from Ziploc's website and make my own cooling pack, which is awesome because in this California heat and lack of air conditioning, it'll be used almost daily!





To make one yourself, all you need is:

1. A plastic bag (I went with the quart size)
2. Rubbing alcohol
3. Water
4. Food coloring (optional)
5. Glitter (optional)




Mix three parts water to one part rubbing alcohol - I used 3 cups of water with 1 cup of rubbing alcohol. Next, add your food coloring (completely optional). 5 drops of blue did the trick!

And if you want to get fancy, a little glitter never hurt anyone.

Close up the bag and squeeze until all the ingredients have been thoroughly mixed together. Place it in your freezer until you're ready to use it!

I left mine in the freezer overnight and it was just as malleable as before!

If you're using this to cool yourself down in the summer months, the best places to put it would be your neck, armpits, groin, or behind the knee. Wherever an artery is close to the surface, you'll want to place the pack so you can keep your core temperature down. Keep cool and stay safe everyone!

TOTAL COSTS: About $4
$2.99 for box of Ziploc bags
$.99 for rubbing alcohol
Food coloring and glitter already on hand, both optional

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: Less than 5 minutes to assemble + 1-2 hours in the freezer

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 1 out of 5
This is very easy to put together and keep in the freezer. However, I might recommend duct taping the edges, as sometimes the water tends to try and leak out when you aren't looking!

Homemade Single Serve Ice Cream in 5 Minutes!

When I was 15, my first job was at an ice cream store called, "Treat Street." Some of my friends worked there, I loved ice cream, and it was air conditioned in the summer -- what more could you want? Ever since then, I've had a slight addiction to ice cream. I've never made it myself (why make it when there's Ben & Jerry's in the world?) but when I saw this post from DoItDarling, it seemed too good to pass up. C'mon, ice cream in 5 minutes? I put it to the test.



To make these you'll need:

1/2 cup of milk (cream or half and half work too)
1 Tablespoon of sugar
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla (I made mine here)
6 Tablespoons of kosher salt
12-24 ice cubes
1 gallon-sized Ziploc bag
1 pint-sized (or sandwich-sized) Ziploc bag

Start by adding your milk to the pint or sandwich-sized Ziploc bag.

And then add your sugar and vanilla. If you want to make chocolate ice cream, now would be the time to add chocolate syrup and seal it up tight!

In your gallon-sized bag, add your kosher salt.

Stick the smaller bag with the milk, sugar, and vanilla inside the larger bag and add enough ice cubes to fill up half of the bag in ice (I used 24 ice cubes - 2 trays - and it worked out just fine).

Now seal up the bigger bag and shake vigorously for 5 minutes. Some tips?

   #1 - Wear oven mitts. The bag is going to get cold and slippery because of the condensation

   #2 - Shake over the sink. During the last minute, my bag tore and I was shaking salty water everywhere!

After the 5 minutes are up, take out the small bag. From the outside, it might not look like ice cream...

But from the inside, you'll see it is! Ice cream for one, please!

While I was adding the milk, sugar, and vanilla to the smaller bag, I also added some peppermint extract (1/2 teaspoon was way too much, by the way!) but it did give it a nice minty flavor. I also added some mini chocolate chips because who doesn't like a nice topping with their ice cream? I wouldn't say it's enough for two but it is just enough if you have a sweet tooth!

TOTAL COSTS: About $18.50 (if you don't have any of the ingredients, prices from Vons)

$2.29 for milk
$2.69 for sugar
$4.99 for store-bought vanilla
$3.49 for kosher salt
$2.99 for a box of gallon-sized Ziploc bags
$2.09 for a box of sandwich Ziploc bags
I would hope you have ice cubes in your freezer!

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 10 minutes 

5 minutes adding all the ingredients together

5 minutes of shaking the bag

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 2 out of 5

The shaking is a really good workout for your arms so if you're just getting out of the hospital or you did 100 pushups yesterday and you can't raise your arms above your head, this might not be the project for you. However, if you don't mind shakin' what your mama gave you, the ice cream is a nice treat after the workout you'll be getting!