How do you make herbal heat and cold packs with rice or feed corn? Does anyone know of easy patterns for these?
Beverly from Fall River Mills, CA
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Every year I make home made Christmas gifts. I try to see how little I can spend. I bought 25 lbs of rice from a Chinese store. At Wal-mart, I bought little finger tip towels. Folded the towel length wise. Sewed the long edge and one end, put about 3 cups of rice in, sewed the end up. I had less than a dollar in each gift... Every one said this was the best gift yet. And they last for years.
I just use cheap white rice in a new tube sock. I close the end with a rubber band- tightly. We have some we've used for three or four years. I guess you could add essential oil in a favorite scent- I will try that.
I use a tube sock filled with rice and tied in a knot. I have one that is stuffed pretty firm for my neck and one that is looser for my forehead. I have frequent migraines and have found these heat packs invaluable. I keep them loose enough to be flexible so I can position exactly where I want.
I made these with my Brownie Pack and the girls loved them. We then sold them and they were a hit. Remember to use long grain rice and not minute rice or any fast cooking rice.
I make these all the time for myself and as gifts! I use flannel fabric, purchased when it is on sale. You can make them any size you want; square, rectangle, u-shaped (to fit around your neck), even 18"-12" and quilted in three or four sections to hold the rice in place.
Use newspaper cut in various shapes to find your desired pattern. Once you decide on how big and what size, cut out the flannel. With flannel pieces right side to right side, sew a 1/4 " seam around all four sides, leaving a 2 inch space or so on one side open. Turn inside out and fill with the cheapest plain rice you can find (Sam's Club sells it in 50 lb bags.) I also add some dried lavender, so that it doesn't smell like baby cereal when cooked.
I fill them about 2/3 full, so that they have some give and can adapt to whatever body part you're using them on. After filling, just sew closed the hole. I store them in plastic zip-lock bags, to keep out the dust/freezer smells and keep in the fragrance.
Microwave heating time depends upon the size -- anywhere from 3-4 minutes to 10 minutes. Each night I heat about 3 -4 large bags and use them to warm up the bed so I don't have to put my cold feet on my husband! (He is very grateful!)
In order to hold the heat for longer periods of time You will need to include flax seeds - I use 2lbs for 40 lbs of rice, other ingredients should include 1lb each of lemon grass, spearmint, ground cinnamon, peppermint, lavender if you like the smell betetr than the mint smell. The mints are the ingredients that give the herb bag the "bengay" feel and help with the healing process. A spritz of water before the micro creates a deep moist heat. My bags are top of the line, and last for years.
What keeps the rice from 'cooking' when you eat it up? How long do these packs last? Can the cold packs put in the freezer be used over and over?
Thank all of you for the recipes for hot and cold packs with rice.
Is there a recipe using sea salt and essential oils?
Does anyone have recipes using mineral salt for Ice and heat packs? Thank you so much if you do.
The other day I saw slippers !!! that they made in this way. Just heat them up in the microwave, slip them on and you have nice feet warmers.
Can you use oil such as eucalyptus as a scent?
I made my first rice hot/cold pack today and lo and behold, hubby hurt his shoulder. I heated the pack up and it was great. Except, it smelled like cooked rice. I wasn't sure I wanted to use any scent, because I wanted them for my migraines, and odors make me ill during a migraine.
That smell won't go away, and may even become more pronounced over time. Lavender and mint can be quite helpful for migraines. If you can easily remove the rice from your pack, you can mix in essential oils of your choice (chamomile is relatively light) until the rice smell is covered up.
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