Aromatherapy for Christmas (or anytime)

Here are the cast of characters:

Reed sticks ( mine were from an old aromatherapy set I had, but 

                      I've seen these at Michael's)

Cute jar       (again mine was an old one)

Fractionated coconut oil

Essential oil (I used Wild Orange)

This is how you make Christmas gifts that take minutes:

pour fract. coconut oil in container of your choice, add about 5-7 drops of essential oil.  Voila!  You are done.  

If you are interested in Doterra Oils, call me, or message me.  I order for myself before the beginning of every month.  Or, look to the right of this post, on the side bar, and you can click and order some all by yourself.  I love learning about the ways to heal with natural oils and use them everyday with my family.  They work!

In harmony,

Leslie

What are essential oils and how do they work?

Essential oils are natural aromatic compounds found in the seeds, bark, stems, roots, and flowers of plants. They can be both beautifully and powerfully fragrant, eliciting profound emotional responses. Yet the use of essential oils goes well beyond their fragrant appeal. Used throughout history for their 
medicinal and therapeutic benefits, essential oils can be used as natural alternatives in holistic self-care practices. Their unique chemistry allows them to be used aromatically and applied topically to the skin, while other essential oils can be used as dietary aids to promote vitality and well being.

Here are a few personal experiences:  my daughter had chronic walking pneumonia.  Since using On Guard, she hasn't gotten that deep, rumbly cough that scares a mom to death.  Yes, she still gets colds, but they don't last for 2 months, yahoo!

Every morning I put LLP (lavender, lemon, peppermint) from a roller bottle on the back of my neck for allergies.  It helps me not only feel good, gives me energy, and keeps my allergies at bay.  If people are sensitive to oils, they'll walk by and say "what is that good smell?  It's not perfume; it's better.  It smells happy."  I carry sample sizes with me, then I put the oils on them and they experience the same feeling.  Anything that is natural and makes me and people I meet feel good, I believe in.  It's uplifting.

I like Doterra oils.  Let me know if you would like more information to help healing yourself and your family. I love talking about them, as I am still learning about their many uses.  Just today, I was substituting in an elementary class and I gave a little mini-'smelling' lesson on oils because the teacher's aid and students wanted to learn about why I smelled so good.  

Essential Oil diffuser- great price

Mist Spa Diffuser

Over at Puritan's Pride, they have my favorite small diffuser back on sale for $24.99.  This is the lowest price I've ever seen.  Diffusing action lasts about 2-3 hours with 2-3 drops of oil for a strong scent in one room.  I have traveled with this and was very happy to be able to bring my oils with me and the calming effects of diffusing.

Herbs- MVP for the night!

Last night was a girls night out- or rather- girls class out!  That's right, we outclassed everyone because we were learning about gardening with vegetables and flowers and herbs!  In my humble opinion, I think we all had fun and learned a lot.

First, I'm coping with the fact that my gardening escapades are near failures compared to my friends, but like I told my walking buddy this week, with cooking and gardening, as frustrating as they can be at times when you are always experimenting, I am choosing NOT to give up!  That would mean defeat from the cooking/gardening gods and I refuse.  Whatever successes I do have in those areas I hold them up like trophies!  They are my glory!  Aha!

So, I shared about my love of using herbs in the kitchen at the class tonight with my lady friends. When I use herbs,  I get that 'clean' feeling that I've been talking about. Using god-given plants to enhance my food, now that's a winner!  Here is my little list that I presented tonight:

rosemary: make your own herbes de provence- use on chicken or swiss steak
               use in homemade gyro meat recipe

mint: use in chia pudding, homemade tea, desserts

chives: use in scrambled egg recipes, or with cream cheese spreads

basil:  ok- just about anything with basil is a bit of heaven, but the obvious, pesto, pizza, etc

tarragon: salad dressings!  Can we hear a woot, woot!  I could drink this stuff.  Just do your basic
             dijon vinigrette with tarragon blended in with it.  Gold sauce!

I know you foodies out there can talk about more herbs forever. We need your legacy of knowledge, so please add to the list in the comments below.

In harmony,
Leslie

Essential Oil blend- Deep Blue



Doterra has some great blends.  At our house, one of our faves is Deep Blue.  My husband has had a pain in his shoulder for a few months.  When he uses Icey Hot, no results, no relief.

Ah, but when I use Deep Blue on his aches- he sighs in relief.  He feels something and its a penetrating warmth that helps the healing process.  My daughters who are into sports also use it for shin splints and sore muscles after work outs.  Great results!

If that's not enough of a testimonial, my mother-in-law has severe arthritis in her back and sciatica.  She came over and couldn't decide if she should sit or stand because of her pain.  She was at that pain threshold of gritting her teeth and heavy breathing.  I gave her 10 drops of Deep Blue to rub on the painful area, then we put an ice pack on her.  Within 30 min. the pain had subsided enough and she was able to relax enough that she had a small nap in her chair.

This stuff is a must at our house- it's earned its place in our family emergency kit.

Try it. You can purchase Deep Blue blend and any other essential oils here.

Orange Chia seed Pudding

photo credit

 

 

 

This stuff is amazing.  For me its more of a yogurt-drink-type consistancy.  Chia pudding is a great snack or even breakfast. Boss Moss, who grew up with tapioca pudding, loved it.

 

If you have tried my healthy truffles/chia balls you know why chia seeds are good.  But there is more- the technical stuff:

 



Chia has more omega 3′s than a 4oz piece of salmon. In fact, if you had Chia for breakfast, you could skip your fish oil supplement that day

12g of fiber (real stuff, not that fake processed stuff that has been infused with inulin to boost the fiber content – ummm like Kashi cereal )

Chai is a natural appetite suppressant.

Same amount of protein as one egg

Gluten free and dairy free

Rich in B vitamins and magnesium (nutrients required to counter stress)

Travels well

Egg substitute (Whaa?)

The fun part of chia, when you are out of eggs and you are making, say gluten free muffins, just whip up 1 tbsp. of chia seed with 2 tbps of water and voila, you have substitute egg with a vitamin punch.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tablespoons chia seeds
• 1 cup coconut milk (So Delicious is GF)
• juice of 1/2 orange
• pinch of fresh vanilla bean seeds
• pinch of sea salt
• 1/4 tsp orange zest
• 4 mint leaves, torn(maybe from your garden)
• 3-4 drops of Wild Orange Essential Oil

DIRECTIONS   Add chia seed to a small bowl. Pour coconut milk over chia seed. Stir. Let it sit for 15 minutes (or overnight).
Pour fresh orange juice over chia seed. Stir again.
Add ground vanilla bean, sea salt, orange zest and fresh mint. Serve or chill.  I doubled this batch for my family.  Servings: 6-7

Homemade All Purpose House Cleaner (just like Mrs. Meyers)

Cast of Character for 'Mrs. Moss' Cleaner"
 



I am super excited about this new recipe I came up with.  Here's the behind the scenes scoop.

I'm normally a Mrs. Meyers user.  Fave fragrances: lemon verbena, basil, lavendar (in that order).  The large 32 oz. bottle lasts forever, and I usually get it using double coupons so it costs me less than $5 for said bottle.  Today I was out of the large bottle and needed to refill my spray bottle.

Went to my store, sans coupons because there are not any coupons out for Mrs. Meyers at the moment, and the price was now $9 for the 32 oz. bottle.  Well, I bit my lip and put the Basil cleaner in my cart.  Cruising through the aisles, hardly focusing on my list, I turned around and put the bottle back, determined to find a way to make my own.

After a little searching, the cleaning soap bar review is excellent.  The All Purpose Cleaning review is less than stellar- from what others are saying it's just fancy water, not so much a disinfectant.  Lol!**funny story

Back to the chemistry lab to make an better version, I concocted "Mrs. Moss' Cleaner". (Seeing my name like that in print makes me feel old). I like to think this cleaner is new and improved. It's easy to make and you should have everything on hand.  If you need oils, contact me.

 "Mrs. Moss' Cleaner"

2 cups water, very warm
1 tsp baking soda
2-3 tsp Borax powder
3-4 drops of dish washing soap, Dawn is good
5-10 drops essential oil, (I used Wild Orange)

Directions:

Find a container to make your cleaner in (I used my old Mrs. Meyers bottle- looks great huh?!). Warm the water in microwave til it's very warm, almost hot, but not boiling.  Add 1 tsp. baking soda, then stir til dissolved.  Add 2-3 tsp. Borax powder then stir til dissolved.  Then add 3-4 drops of grease cutting dish washing soap. Don't add too much.  You don't want this to be sudsy.  Add in your fave essential oil.

Start cleaning baby!

**
Years ago, like over 15 years ago, Boss Moss and I built a house (as in had a contractor, picked all the insides and outsides/all custom new, so fun).  We had been in the house about 4 months with our 3 girls, one being 6 months old.  We started getting really, really sick.  One day I noticed that when I turned on the hot water at the sink, the water was cold, and vice versa.  I called the contractor to come fix it.  Lo and behold... the plumber had plumbed the sink and dishwasher backwards; meaning we had been "cold bathing" our dishes in the dishwasher that whole time.  I blame the whole oversite to being sleep deprived.

Essential oil- Oregano

Oregano is so unusual.  My go-to oils are wild orange, breathe, on guard, and peppermint!

But I've been hearing about Oregano lately.  It's great when you feel the flu is coming on and for sore throats.  And, read here about how this oil can help your chickens- you lucky people that have them (I really want backyard chickens but can't in my neighborhood).

My husband took it straight in water and didn't work for him.  I'll have to get him gel capsules next time.  But I'm a straight kind of person ( I can handle straight, pure cranberry juice! Oh, yeah!).

So enjoy some oils- on the bottom of your feet, or around your neck, in some water!  It's an everyday regime.  Gotta love it!

In harmony,
Leslie

How I eat

photo credit

You are wondering why I would tell you how I eat.  Fare question?  Most people don't ask "Hi, may I ask how do you eat?"  Of course, that's a ridiculous question.  But, since I brought it up, let's talk about it.

I am gluten free and have been for about 4 years.  I also have a low blood sugar problem and feel better when I eat small meals often.  Do I cheat?  You bet your boots.  I only cheat when I've been good for several weeks.  However, I usually regret it, and get back on the 'wagon' again without complaints.

What are my gluten symptoms?  I get extreme migraines and brain fog, low energy and aches.  My neighbor has the stomach kind of gluten intolerance.  My niece is celiac.  She needs a dedicated toaster for her diet. Yikes!

Do I buy gluten free foods?  I'm generally not a processed, boxed food kind of person.  In a pinch, I will buy gluten free pasta or bread, but generally I find other cheaper, live food options. I rarely eat pasta or Udi's etc.

 I've done lots of reading. There's Dr. Christopher's diet, www.greensmoothiegirl.com, the french diet, low blood sugar diets, Victoria Boutenko's books, and the paleo diet. I don't consider myself a fanatic about any of these "methods"- if you call them that. I pick and choose what I like and realistically know what I can do.  Over time, I've tried to incorporate some of the more "difficult" changes into my diet.  Some stick, some don't. Basically, with the time and energy that I have I  eat more whole foods, use grains and corn tortillas for my 'breads', and cook from scratch what I can without going crazy.  There are limits people!

Here goes....this is what I eat:

Breakfast:
              Water with  essential oils upon rising.
              When I feel hungry ( about 1/2 hour to 1 hour after the water) green smoothie shake

Mid- morning snack:
               Piece of fruit

Lunch:
               Salad, or corn tortillas with deli meat and lettuce, or left-over soup, red potato with    
               chicken.

Snack:
              popcorn with melted coconut oil, dates, or celery and almond butter

Dinner:
              salad, meat, and potato or other starch vegetable ( no breads or pastas)

About 98% of the recipes I show here on www.simplymusicwise.blogspot.com
are gluten free, so these are what I use.  I also can't do much oatmeal anymore;  rats, my body just feels all mucusy (sorry, is that a word?) afterwards.  Maybe
I've eaten too much oatmeal over the years.

Another thing I've been doing to mix up the starchy vegetable idea is eating different grains.  Lately, I've been in love with quinoa, kamut, pearly barley, millet, and spelt.  They really pack a punch in my diet.  So, don't feel like you need to buy packaged foods on a gluten free diet.  There are options!

Thanks for hanging in there and reading this long post.

In harmony,
Leslie
           

Essential oils in your cooking

pinch of yum- brussel sprout salad

I made this yummy salad tonight for dinner with garlic mashed potatoes. I bought oranges especially for this salad.  But I forgot to do my usual 'hide that special ingredient away so no one uses it' trick. This morning the orange was there.  When I went to make the salad at 4pm, it was gone.  Quoi fare?  Essential oils to the rescue.  They are pure, you know!  Why not try them in food- most of them come from already edible sources.

So this recipe calls for pure juice of orange.  I used my Wild Orange EO from DoTerra.  It tasted fabulous.  Not sure why I doubted myself, I make Herbes de Provence from scratch using lavender from my garden.

This salad is excellent in my humble opinion and easy to make- plus these are 'go to' ingredients at our house.

In harmony,
Leslie

Essential oil- after workout rub

photo by drop of this

Essentail oils really work.  Here are a few people that I have helped recently.

One friend had a bad sinus infection: we made a mix of on guard, breath, and frankincense.  Infection gone in 4 days. Normally, with medication, takes 2-3 weeks to sort of get better.

A co-worker had gout. Yuck- one of the worst things.  Her blend: frankincense, wild orange, and melaleuca.  What a blessing, 3 days to heal.

My daughter has had pneumonia 3 years in a row.  This year none, because I diffuse wild orange, rub breathe on her chest, and on guard on her neck and spine.

I don't get sore throats because of 2-3 drops of wild orange in water every day.

My dog chews on himself until he bleeds.  I put a few drops of melaleuca on his spots.  Whammy! no more chewing.

need I say more?

In harmony,
Leslie

(thanks +Venea, for the link)