Homemade Spoon Butter Recipe

Easy Orange Chocolate Mousse Recipe

Our Valentines Days’ usually look a little different than most folks…

Town is 35+ miles away, and finding a babysitter that day is all but impossible. Not to mention, I just don’t get excited about heading to a crowded restaurant on a specific day because that’s what we’re “supposed to do”. (I get really rebellious when it comes to holiday expectations sometimes… anyone relate?) And so, we usually stay home and eat homegrown steaks, homemade fettuccine Alfredo, and some sort of decadent chocolate dessert.

I’m all about alone time as a married couple, but we prefer to do it in more unorthodox ways I guess, like bumping along in the feed truck going to check our heifers while we brainstorm our next big idea. We’re weird like that.

So for this moment in time (three small children, no sitter, and a loooong ways from a fancy restaurant), our Valentine’s Day suppers shall include sippy cups instead of candlesticks, and it’s all good.

In years past, our dessert of choice has been the Double Chocolate Cream Pie, but recently I’ve added this easy orange chocolate mousse recipe to our repertoire and it’s been a hit. I mean, hello… anything combining whipping cream and chocolate cannot possibly be bad, no matter how hard it tries. A splash of orange juice and sprinkling of orange zest gives it an extra dose of elegance. And the best part? It requires zero cartons of Cool Whip or pudding mixes– hallelujah.

It tastes all sorts of fancy, but couldn’t be easier, or more foolproof, to throw together. Make it for date nights or just because.

Orange Chocolate Mousse Recipe

You Will Need:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 4 yolks
• 4 tablespoons maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (how to make your own vanilla extract)

Instructions:

Whisk the yolks, syrup, orange juice, and zest together in a small bowl.

Heat 3/4 cup cream in a saucepan over medium-low heat until it’s steamy, but not boiling.

Slowly whisk the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture, then return it all back to the saucepan and cook over low heat until it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Mix in the melted chocolate and vanilla extract. (Hopefully the egg yolks stay unscrambled, but just in case they didn’t, you can pour the mixture through a strainer.) Chill.

Once the chocolate custard has cooled completely, whip the remaining 1 1/4 cups of cream with a mixer until stiff peaks form.

Fold the custard into the cream until it’s completely blended and no longer streaky.

Spoon into dessert cups or ramekins and chill for an additional 30 minutes. If desired, you can garnish with additional orange zest, sifted cocoa powder, chocolate chunks, or whipped cream.

Kitchen Notes:

• Leave your chocolate mousse in the fridge overnight if you’d like to make it a day early.
• For a rich, creamy pie, simply spoon the mixture into a baked pie crust or graham cracker crust and chill.

5.0 from 4 reviews Print Easy Orange Chocolate Mousse Recipe Author: The Prairie Homestead Recipe type: Dessert Serves: 8 servings Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 4 yolks
• 4 tablespoons maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Whisk the yolks, syrup, orange juice, and zest together in a small bowl.
2. Heat ¾ cup cream in a saucepan over medium-low heat until it's steamy, but not boiling.
3. Slowly whisk the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture, then return it all back to the saucepan and cook over low heat until it's thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
4. Mix in the melted chocolate and vanilla extract. Hopefully you didn't scramble the egg yolks, but just in case you did, you can pour the mixture through a strainer.) Chill.
5. Once the chocolate custard has cooled completely, whip the remaining 1¼ cups of cream with a mixer until stiff peaks form.
6. Fold the custard into the cream until it's completely blended and no longer streaky.
7. Chill for an additional 30 minutes, or you leave it in the fridge overnight if you want to make it a day early.

3.4.3177

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6 Ways To Maximize Your Raised Bed Garden This Year

Image source: Pixabay.com

Sitting inside, pouring over gardening magazines, and dreaming about my spring garden, I envision acres of land covered in lush, green plants. Each row is teeming with fruits or vegetables, and my family is awed by the bounty of supplies that our garden provides.

When I step outside and face the reality of my yard, however, reality comes crashing back. I don’t have acres of land to work with, and my expanse of lawn is stopped abruptly by the fence that divides my yard from my neighbors (all three of them). To make matters worse, the “dirt” in my yard is more accurately called sand and doesn’t seem to want to grow more than weeds. How can I still achieve the garden of my dreams? With raised beds.

Using raised beds, I can still have rows of plants; they’re just contained in smaller areas.

Seamazing: The Low-Cost Way To Re-mineralize Your Soil

Here are six ways to maximize your raised bed garden this year:

1. Shapes matter

To maximize the space, think rectangle instead of square. Using long, rectangular boxes allows you to easily reach all the plants without having to leave pathways for walking. The benefit? You can fit more plants in your box. Use raised beds that are no more than three feet wide for maximum gardening ease.

2. Location, location, location

If you live in an area where good soil is hard to come by, raised beds allow you to grow plants anywhere. By mixing your own soil, you can grow a bountiful garden in your yard, on concrete patios or elsewhere. Place your raised bed in an area that receives full sun, has easy access to water and is safe from outside forces such as pets, running children or lawn mowers.

3. Spacing

Instead of long rows of plants with spaces in between, stagger your planting rows. A traditional garden uses planting squares to help guide your planning. In your raised bed garden, think triangles. Stagger the rows so that the plants in the second row are in between the plants in the first and third rows, forming triangles. This creates a fuller garden, giving you more production capacity.

4. Companion planting

Image source: Pixabay.com

As you’re developing your garden plan, follow the lead of Native Americans and use “sister” crops. Planting corn, beans and squash together allows the cornstalks to support the beans, while the squash grow happily in the shade provided. Find other compatible plants to group together to provide an assortment of produce. Some other “sisters” are: tomato, basil and onion; carrots, onions and radishes; celery and beets.

5. Succession planting

Want the benefits of your garden to last all season? Plant in cycles. You can capitalize on fast-producers like lettuce by planting a new crop after your harvest. Replace the lettuce with peppers to keep your garden producing longer.

Need Non-GMO Seeds? Get The Best Deals Here!

For even more production, stagger plant dates by using transplants. Grow seedlings by starting them indoors at varying dates. Add plants to your raised bed at two or three week intervals to ensure a continuous supply of produce.

6. Think vertical

Even if you don’t have a large area of ground, your garden can still produce an abundance of food. Just grow up instead of out. Train cucumber and squash to grow up on stakes or trellises. Plant vining crops along one side of your raised bed with sturdy poles, or in the middle using trellises to provide shade or support to other plants.

Are you planning your spring garden? Maybe you’ve decided to try a raised garden bed this year, or you’ve done raised bed gardening in the past, but haven’t been happy with the results. Using these simple tips can help you maximize your raised bed, giving you and your family a rich harvest that can last year-round.

What advice would you add on raised bed gardening? Share your tips in the section below:

Are You Making These Common, Avoidable Gardening Mistakes? Read More Here.

This article first appeared on offthegridnews.com See it here

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Homestead Homeschooling: Year 3

“Eh… So… Are you still homeschooling?”

I hear that question a lot. And I get it.

I mean, doing school every single morning. With three kids (one being a wild toddler). While running a blog and our doTERRA business. And writing a real, published cookbook. And keeping up with a homestead, etc, etc, etc.

It sounds crazy. Well, it IS crazy. Maybe I’m crazy.

But regardless, the answer is ‘yes’. We are in the thick of our third year of homeschooling and we don’t plan to stop any time soon. I think we’re lifers, y’all.

I’ve written homeschooling posts for our previous two years, (here’s year one and here’s year two) so I figured I’d keep the tradition alive this year and write up what we’re doing this time around.

Why We Homeschool

Our reasons for diving into Year 3 are the same as they were our very first year. In a nutshell: We’ve created a unique life that we love and I don’t want my kids to miss out on it for 7+ hours a day. Homestead life is rich with lessons, creative pursuits, and opportunities to develop skills, and I personally hate the thought of sending my kids away from this environment for the majority of their childhood. It’s important to us to raise our children to be problem-solvers and entrepreneurs, not just employees– I think homeschooling fosters that idea beautifully.

(This is where I interject my disclaimer: homeschooling is not for everyone. Truly. The intention of this post is not to judge or condemn anyone who chooses public schooling. Heck, who knows? Our kids could end up there sometime in the future. As much as I love it, homeschooling is not my sacred cow.)

That being said, homeschooling isn’t perfect and we certainly aren’t perfect. Having been homeschooled myself (K-12), I’ve witnessed very successful homeschool families and extremely dysfunctional ones. But that happens with public schooling, too. There are days where our mornings are ridiculously organized and orderly, and days (kind of like today) where everyone has a hard time staying focused and the toddler is sticking blocks up her nose while we’re doing spelling words. It comes with the territory.

Homeschooling with Three Kids

Speaking of toddlers, doing school with a two-year old in the house is… interesting. I haven’t yet developed a foolproof strategy of getting school done with other little ones in the house. I doubt I’ll ever get it completely figured out– we just do the best we can. Toddlers have a knack for creating chaos, no matter how good your intentions. Our “plan” is usually for her to play with special toys while we do our lessons, but that doesn’t always work and sometimes she ends up sitting on my lap grabbing at Unifix cubes and flashcards with her octopus arms.

(By the way– these magnetic tiles are the most-played with toy we own. They are out on a daily basis.)

On the flip side, she’s learning by osmosis (she’s starting to count) and she can hold her pencil with proper form while she pretends to write the letter “a”. So there’s that, I suppose.

This is also my first year schooling two kiddos at once (Kindergarten and Second Grade), which has required some juggling. Prairie Boy turned 5 in October, and if he had been going to public school, he likely would have waited to start Kindergarten until next year. That was initially my plan, since he showed very little interested in schoolwork and had a hard time sitting at the table when we started in September. However, something clicked this winter and he’s been soaking up the lessons like crazy. Right now he’s on track with Kindergarten-level work and really enjoys it, so I’m rolling with it. I can’t believe how much he’s changed in just a few short months.

Homeschool Curriculum: Year Three

The amount of curriculum choices out there will make your head spin, but I am committed to sticking with my plan of keeping things simple. I do not try to recreate a traditional classroom, and we focus on the basics. I especially love curriculum that can be used for multiple grades at once, as I believe there is much value in the one room classroom model.

Here’s what we’ve been using this year:

(this post contains affiliate links)

Reading/Writing/Spelling:

Ever since she started Kindergarten, Prairie Girl has been especially strong in math, but slightly weaker in language arts. We had tried two different reading curriculums previously, and I just didn’t love them. She was getting frustrated and reading wasn’t flowing for her. I spent hours searching for different options, even though I knew in the back of my mind what we’d end up using… My mom used a book called The Writing Road to Reading with me, and I hated every minute of it in elementary school (sorry, just keepin’ it real). However, it gave me an extremely strong foundation in writing and reading, and I still use the principles I learned in that book to this day. (The only higher education I have are two Associates Degrees in Equine Studies– that darn book gave me the tools I needed to turn writing into a career. Who would have thought?)

And so, much to my chagrin, I found myself hunting down that very same book to use with Prairie Girl. It’s been revamped over the years and is now called Spell to Write and Read, but the principles and method are basically the same.

But it hasn’t necessarily been a slam dunk. Let me start with the GOOD first:

In less than six months of implementing Spell to Write and Read, Prairie Girl’s reading has improved dramatically. She’s reading fluidly and confidently, and more importantly, she is understanding WHY words are spelled and pronounced certain ways. I felt like the other books were based too much on all the exceptions to the rules… (“A” says “ah”, but wait… not here, or here, or here, or here…) SWR teaches all of the letter sounds right off the bat, along with spelling rules, so the English language suddenly becomes so much more logical. There are still exceptions, of course, but they are fewer and far between. It’s enlightening, even as an adult. We introduce 30-40 new spelling words each week through the book’s lessons. Focusing on spelling as a foundation has skyrocketed her reading ability and comprehension, and when it’s time to read a storybook, we don’t have the tears and frustration we used to.

SWR functions as a spelling, writing, and reading curriculum (supplemental story/chapter books are recommended once the child is ready), and this all-in-one approach fits perfectly with my “keep it simple” plan.

However, there is another side to SWR:

It is a BEAR to implement. While the curriculum itself is brilliant and I believe wholeheartedly in its premise, the organization of the books are less than impressive. They recommend setting aside a large chunk of time to learn how to teach it, and they aren’t kidding. My first clue should have been the multiple “getting started” guides that came with it– no other curriculum I’ve ever seen or used needs this many different instructional sheets, websites, and videos. It’s insane. I may or may not have said some bad words while sitting at the table late at night trying to decipher it all.

Once you’re familiar with it? It’s a cakewalk. But the way the books are laid out feels clunky and confusing to me.

That being said, the time I spent figuring it all out (about 6-8 hours, I think) was worth it, and I’d do it again for the benefits I’m seeing with my kids. Prairie Boy has already worked through all the letter sounds of the alphabet and I’m excited to use SWR with him from the very beginning. I suspect reading will flow more easily for him not having used other books first.

We also read aloud almost daily. Little House in the Big Woods, Farmer Boy, and Mr. Popper’s Penguins have been our favorites so far this year.

Math:

We used Singapore Math for first grade last year, and while it gave Prairie Girl a strong foundation, I didn’t love how they presented some of the concepts. We switched over to Saxon 2 this year and we’ll be sticking with it for next year as well. I like Saxon’s no nonsense approach and the simplicity of how they present each concept. She’s been breezing right through it, and I’m seeing huge advances in her understanding of various concepts since we started the year.

Math with Prairie Boy started out informally. We did a lot of counting at the beginning of the year, as well as making patterns with blocks and shapes. We’re working on counting by 10s and 5s, and he is grasping basic addition and subtraction concepts. We did most of this with simple manipulatives and a white board, I grabbed a DK Children’s math workbook for him a few weeks ago for added reinforcement, but it’s nothing we haven’t already covered.

History:

We’re using Story of the World again this year and I love it. It’s no frills, but the kids adore it and I love that my 5-year old can tell me about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the library of Ashurbanipal. I highly recommend getting the accompanying activity guide for each book, although we don’t always do the more complicated crafts (crafts just ain’t my thing). The Prairie Kids love the coloring pages, and I have noticed a huge different in their retention when they color a page on the story topic.

Science:

I enjoyed Dr. Jay Wile’s biology and chemistry books when I was in high school, so I decided to try his elementary science curriculum this year, Science in the Beginning. It’s marketed as a book for K-6, though I’ve found most of the lessons are a little too advanced for a Kindergartener and a Second Grader. It has an experiment for every lesson, which I appreciated, though some are better than others. We’re using portions of it this year, and I plan to implement more as they grow older. At their ages, most of their science lessons are a part of our every day life, so at this point, they are learning more science during the non-school portion of our days. (Weather, solid/liquid/gas, water cycle, seeds and plants, etc)

Moving Forward

And that’s pretty much the extent of it. We start school by 8am every day (I’m a stickler for staying on a schedule– our life functions best that way), and we usually finish no later than 11am. Afternoons are for playing outside, riding horses, art projects, puzzles, legos, or helping Daddy in the shop. I see us adding more into our days as the kids get older, but right now I’m mainly focused on giving them a very strong foundation in math and reading and going from there. Next year we hope to join our local Classical Conversations community (as a way to connect with other homeschoolers) and Prairie Girl will be doing 4-H once she turns 8.

It’s messy, crazy at times, and not for everyone, but I can genuinely say I’m enjoying this homeschooling ride. Do you homeschool? Leave a comment and share your favorite curriculums!

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5 Minute Homemade Mayonnaise Recipe

Why go to the trouble of making stuff?

Good question. I’ve ask myself that on occasion, especially when I find myself spending precious time deciphering a recipe for something I could grab at the store in two seconds flat.

Sometimes it’s to avoid toxins or artificial ingredients (like in my homemade fly spray or from-scratch BBQ sauce).

Sometimes it’s because I end up with a superior product than the store-bought version (like in the case of my homemade honey lip balm recipe).

But a lot of the time, I DIY just for the sure joy of it. Creating is one of my favorite things, whether the creation involves homemade butter, or homesteading ebooks, or this blog.

The process of creation energizes me better than a cup of black coffee. There’s something about sitting back to admire a completed projected and being able to say, “Hey– I made that!” I’m a creation addict. And there’s no turning back.

Anyone relate?

The Industrial Age brought us many advances, and I’m thankful for well-stocked stores full of ready-made products when I need them. However, only ever being a consumer robs of us of the pleasure that accompanies producing. And creating. And experimenting. And crafting. And while I don’t feel the need to make/grow/product/create every single tiny thing in my life, any time I can add a new skill to my repertoire, it makes me oh so happy.

Which brings us to homemade mayo. Creamy, rich, decadent homemade mayo.

Do You Mayo?

In the interest of full transparency, I don’t make homemade mayonnaise all the time. Just keepin’ it real. It’s not something we eat a ton, and so it’s usually easier for me to simply buy it and keep it in the fridge the rare occasions.

But, how cool is it to say you know how to make mayo from scratch? Because you never know when the insatiable urge for mayo will arise when you don’t have any in the fridge. Plus, you can skip out on the less-than-desirable soybean or canola oils present in many of the premade versions.

There are lots of ways to make mayo, but I’ve found my food processor to be the the simplest method. And holy cow, I just discovered the COOLEST thing you guys.

Go get your food processor right now. No really, go get it. I’ll wait.

Grab the plunger thingie and look at the bottom. Is there a tiny hole? If so, you have a crazy-awesome mayo-making machine at your disposal and you didn’t even know it.

The teeny hole lets the oil drizzle ever-so-slowly into the rest of the mayonnaise mixture so it emulsifies perfectly. It’s borderline miraculous. Technology, y’all. Who woulda thought?

Brought to You By…

(this post contains affiliate links)

This particular homemade mayo recipe is from the book Homegrown & Handmade: A Practical Guide to More Self-Reliant Living by Deborah Niemann.

Deborah does a fantastic job of introducing the reader to the idea of doing what you can to produce more, and this book is a slam-dunk reference for anyone looking to expand their self-reliance, or even just understand the options that are available in the homesteading lifestyle.

Homegrown & Handmade includes chapters on:

• Growing a sustainable garden
• Cooking from the sustainable garden
• Managing a backyard orchard
• Keeping a backyard poultry flock
• Starting a home dairy
• Keeping fiber animals
• And much more

Now, onto the mayonnaise!

5 Minute Homemade Mayonnaise Recipe

(From Homegrown & Handmade, used with permission)

You Will Need:

• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons organic lemon juice (buy it here)
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt (buy it here)
• 1 1/4 cups mild cooking oil (see below for options)

Instructions:

Place the eggs in a food processor or blender and blend for 30 seconds. Add the lemon juice, salt, and dry mustard and blend for an additional 15 seconds.

Slowly drizzle in the oil while the processor or blender runs on high (the slower you drizzle, the thicker the mayo). If the plunger of your food processor lid has the magical hole, simply fill it and let the oil drain out before re-filling with the remainder of the oil.

Blend until the mayo is creamy and thick. Taste and add more lemon juice and/or salt, if needed.

Store in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Kitchen Notes:

• The key to the best-tasting homemade mayonnaise is to use a mild tasting oil, such as light olive oil, sunflower oil, avocado oil, or safflower oil. Skip using straight extra-virgin olive oil–it’s too strong and will overpower it in an unpleasant way. You can also mix oils 50/50 (such as half olive oil/half avocado oil). For a super thick mayo, use half light olive oil and half expeller pressed coconut oil (the kind that does not taste like coconuts– buy it here).
• Spice up homemade mayo with extra herbs and spices, such as 1 tablespoon parsley, 1 teaspoon dill weed, 1 to 3 teaspoons chili powder, or 1 teaspoon paprika, just to name a few.
• Any food processor will work, but I have a model similar to this one. (My actual model has been discontinued, I think.)
• Real mayo does contain raw eggs, so be sure to use eggs from a healthy, reputable source.
• You can also use a hand blender to make mayo, although I have had the best results with a food processor. You can also use a plain ol’ whisk, but I’m a wimp and my arm gets tired.

P.S. Don’t forget to grab your copy of Homegrown & Handmade for more from-scratch living ideas!

More DIY Foodie Goodness:

• Homemade Fruit Popsicles
• How to Make Sour Cream
• DIY Herb Seasoning Salt
• How to Make Cream Cheese
• Homemade Whipped Cream Frosting

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7 Of The Best Composting Toilets: a Review Guide

In this exclusive composting toilet review guide you will discover exactly what they are, how they actually work and what the best toilets on the market in 2018.

Environmental conservation and eco-friendliness are more than just passing fads. If we want to be good stewards of the Earth we need to adopt practices that reduce our impact on the planet to leave it in better shape for our children.

There’s plenty of ways to do just that. Strategies ranging from using energy-efficient light bulbs to recycling to relying on solar panels for electricity are all excellent eco-friendly alternatives. Another way to “go green”, however, is right under your nose: switching to a composting toilet is often a better way to handle human sanitation.

What is a composting toilet?

A composting toilet isn’t much different than a traditional flush toilet when it comes down to looks. You’ve still got a regular-shaped seat and lid, but there’s no flushing mechanism — there’s no tank! Instead, composting toilets have a receptacle under the bowl where the magic happens.

These receptacles either close automatically after you’re done using the composting toilet or can be closed manually with a turn of a knob or the push of a button.

How does a composting toilet work?

Unlike flush toilets, which focus on using water to remove human waste to be routed to a waste disposal system like a sewer or a septic tank, composting toilets use little to no water at all. Instead, waste gets subjected to a natural reaction, one that doesn’t involve the introduction of artificial chemicals.

The only process at work is aerobic: peat moss and sawdust mix with the waste, and air is introduced to power a microbial reaction that breaks down the waste, dehydrating it and, eventually, turning it into compost — fertilizer.

Does it smell bad?

Composting toilets are not just modern chamber pots. They’re not modern outhouses, either, and the smells associated with a composting toilet are not nearly as bad as you might think.

That’s because of two very important factors: number one, the holding tank for waste as it gets turned into compost is usually separated from the toilet bowl itself by either a manual or automatic closure, and two, all but the smallest and most portable composting toilet systems are vented to prevent any unpleasant odors from lingering.

How do you use it?

For the most part, using a composting toilet doesn’t differ from a regular flush toilet, though the biggest difference is that you’re not flushing your waste away. It’s after this that the biggest differences occur, and these differences largely depend on what type of composting toilet you have.

A simple, portable composting toilet, the kind you would typically take with you camping, usually features a hand-crank to manually aerate the waste to speed up the dehydration and composting process, but the upside is that these can be used anywhere and in any conditions.

After a specific period of time, you simply remove the holding tank from the toilet itself and then spread the compost in places where it’s needed, such as in gardens and flower beds.

Bigger, less portable models often usually mean less hands-on maintenance at the expense of an electrical connection. Electric motors drive a macerator for aeration; these bigger units also have a heater installed to keep the waste at a temperature that’s ideal for turning it into compost.

Finally, these often also have blower fans to facilitate venting. This usually makes the compost removed from these types of models higher quality and easier to handle.

The Best Composting Toilets on the Market Today

Ready to take the plunge in switching to a composting toilet? Here are seven of the best composting toilets on the market today.

Nature’s Head Dry Composting Toilet

Click here to get the lowest price on Amazon

This compact and robust composting toilet is a favorite, especially when it comes to providing toilet facilities in smaller spaces like RVs or boats. In fact, the Nature’s Head was originally designed by a pair of sailors, and it even comes with a “spider” handle style crank for installation in tighter spaces.

One of the best sealed and vented composting toilet systems, the Nature’s Head hand crank is used for agitating compost and its electric blower fan with a flexible 5′ long hose is used for venting. Other perks, like featuring completely waterless operation and collecting waste liquid in a separate container, makes this model very popular

Separett Villa 9200 Composting Toilet

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Featuring similar performance to the Nature’s Head but with a much more streamlined and less bulky look, the Separett Villa 9200 is perfect for part-time vacation homes or getaway cabins. Liquid waste can be routed completely outside – the company recommends using an external drain pit.

The Separett Villa also features an electric venting fan, but there is no hand crank. Instead, this composting toilet comes with biodegradable composting bin liners that make it easy to dispose of waste as its modestly-sized compost receptacle fills. You can then transfer these bags to a nearby compost pile to let nature finish the job.

Sun-Mar Excel Self-Contained Composting Toilet

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The grandaddy of composting toilets, the Sun-Mar Excel is one of the oldest models out there. Sadly, this shows in its design: the Excel is a self-contained unit but it features a very large composting bin, necessitating the inclusion of a step stool. Still, we’re including the Sun-Mar Excel here because there are hundreds of satisfied customers who have been using their unit for decades or more.

The Excel is designed that way because Sun-Mar uses a drum system for its hand-driven crank agitator, and while the approach might have been innovative years ago, today it’s not quite as useful. Additional concerns before looking into a Sun-Mar Excel for your own use include some complaints about newly-constructed models not being as robust as older ones, sometimes even leading to claims of leakage.

Sun-Mar Compact Self-Contained Composting Toilet

Click here to get the lowest price on Amazon

A better option for smaller spaces is the Sun-Mar Compact, a scaled down version of the Excel that still provides excellent composting ability. Unlike the Excel with its giant composting bin, there’s no need for a step stool to get on top of the Sun-Mar Compact. This makes it a much better choice for anyone looking for a composting toilet with a small footprint like in an RV.

Featuring the same waterless, drum-based composting tech of its bulkier predecessor, the Sun-Mar Compact does have a front-mounted agitator crank. This makes it not-so-great for spaces without enough forward clearance — something to keep in mind when selecting this model composting toilet.

Sanitation Equipment Visa Potty Model 268

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The Visa’s Model 268 composting toilet isn’t going to win any beauty contests. Its square and boxy aesthetic is utilitarian as it comes. However, it’s this focus on function over form that makes the Model 268 a snap to clean and empty thanks to its well-engineered quick-release latches.

Another feather in the cap of the Model 268 is that it is eminently portable, making it a great choice for travel or for transporting to an off-grid cabin. One important facet to keep aware of, however: the seal between the top and the holding tank is so good that the bottom half can pressurize if you move from the lowlands to the mountains, so make sure to vent it properly in these situations.

Thetford Porta Potti

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Unlike the Visa 268 the Thetford Porta Potti is actually pleasant to look at. Featuring a curved front and a seat height that brings it roughly into the same dimensions of a traditional toilet, the Thetford gets high marks for comfort and design.

This completely self-contained unit is not a great choice for permanent installations, however. The seal between the toilet seat and the storage tank suffers from the same pressure problems as the Visa 268, and are perhaps even worse, and stability issues necessitate the use of a “hold down kit” that’s separately available from the manufacturer. This makes the Thetford ideal for small-scale use but otherwise not much else.

Camco Standard Portable Travel Toilet

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Designed specifically for travel use in RVs and boats, the Camco Standard is an excellent choice for anyone road-tripping it in style.

While it does have some serious drawbacks, such as having a very small capacity when compared to models that are more accustomed to permanent installations, the ease-of-use of the Camco Standard puts it in contention for anyone who needs a compact, self-contained travel toilet.

Much like the Visa 268, the Camco Standard isn’t much to look at; it’s boxy and unremarkable. However, Camco does have a “Premium” version of its travel toilet that features an updated, curved front to give it a look much more reminiscent of the Thetford without sacrificing any of its functionality.

You’re not going to be winning any beauty contests either way, but your waste will be kept safe and secure until your travels come to an end.

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