Author Archives: KR

Rosemary & Thyme Roasted Veggies

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roasted veggiesThese are SO good. I never thought I’d get this excited about veggies, but seriously these are really that good….and easy.

1) Take whatever veggies you have in the fridge. I often like to use carrots, celery, tiny potatoes, grape tomatoes, onion, red peppers, okra, broccoli, etc etc. Remember: eat the rainbow! The more color and variety the better!

2) Chop them into bite sized pieces.

3) Spread them out in a large baking dish (the flatter the better) and coat them with my all time favorite rosemary & thyme infused olive oil. Toss them around until they are coated and lightly salt them with sea salt.

4) Bake at 400 for about an hour or until they are slightly toasted and crispy. You’ll want to shake them up and make sure they get really well cooked (I like them slightly burnt). Drizzle a tiny bit more of the rosemary & thyme oil on at the end and salt to taste. ENJOY!

Even the kiddos gobble these up. They’re the perfect way for anyone to devour a pan full of veggies, even if they supposedly don’t like veggies 🙂

the airstream:: in the beginning

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Some people have asked how we decided to randomly buy and renovate an airstream and travel the country. Short answer is….we didn’t. Now that we have been through counseling and I am hopeful that our marriage will no longer dissolve over this issue, I’ll post a bit of the back story…

Have you ever had one of those ‘maybe one day’ conversations with your spouse that you casually mention dreams or ideas that might be cool to do at some time in the way distant future, but isn’t even on your radar or in the scope of reasonable possibility at the time? So I thought we were having one of those the day Erin said, ‘Oh I saw an old airstream for sale on ebay.’ Fast forward (I’m omitting the part where I snapped back and said, HECK no) and by summer 2013 we were the new owners of a 1973 piece of rolling aluminum that came complete with the hantavirus.

Lesson here: not everything advertised on ebay is as it seems. picking it up

Fast forward a few more weeks and we were now the new owners of a Toyota Sequoia because our previous vehicle was not even able to tow the aforementioned ebay purchase. OH MY!!!!! Once we got the new ‘find’ home I was told I could actually not step foot in it for health and safety reasons (I was super preggo with baby 3) and even from a distance I knew why. GROSS {insert several weeks of marriage counseling over the disagreements on making this ‘investment’ at a time in our life where I was a frazzled mom with soon to be 3 kids 3 and under who was lucky if I got a shower once a week and CERTAINLY had no time or energy for a renovation project}.

So after much counseling and debate, I finally caught a glimpse of the vision that E had for a longer term dream he had for our family. With his love for adventure, activity and desire for our boys to grow up experiencing the outdoors as much as he did as a kid, he knew something like a camper could come in handy (not to mention we had to move 9 times in 5 years and this would have been super convenient in those transitions). I fully agreed, though the means by which we got to the end would have been very different if I’d had my way. But we were at where we were at, so we agreed to keep the crazy thing….rats and all.

Life threw many curves at us just a few short months later and we found ourselves in the midst of a lot of changes. Our 3rd child was born in October, we moved to a new house across the neighborhood in November, and by January learned we were making an unexpected move to the middle of nowhere, CA. Thing were a bit busy to say the least. 10 months after we had purchased it, once I was no longer carrying a little human inside me and could get away long enough to actually shower afterward, I was allowed to set foot inside our airstream (with hazmat gear, of course). April 2014 E and I ripped out all of the old ‘insides’ in about a day and it was NOT pretty. These are the first publicly released images of what we saw:

 

{DIY} laundry detergent

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About the time I had started using essential oils, I came across a killer deal on a super green cloth diaper friendly laundry detergent, so I bought a TON of it. I was so proud of myself for scoring that deal. Since then I have wanted to try making my own several times, but just had no need for it! I FINALLY (after almost 2 years) have run out of my stash, so this was my project! My first attempt I followed a traditional recipe that used borax and that was a big NO GO on my little ones sensitive skin. I made a massive batch, and had to give most of it away!
laundry_detergentMy REVISED detergent is now borax FREE and it seems to be working quite well so far. Here are the ingredients that I have switched to for our homemade laundry detergent
  • 2 cups washing soda
  • 1 cup baking soda
  • 1/2 cup of course sea salt or epsom salt
  • 1/2 cup of Biokleen oxygen bleach
  • 1 bar of castille soap finely grated (a cuisinart with a finer grater attachment works great to do this quickly)
  • 10 – 20 drops each of lavender and wild orange essential oils (I’ll change this up each time just for fun)

Dump it all into a container, mix it up, add in the essential oils, and there you go! Use about 1-2 Tbsp with each load, add in white vinegar with 2 drops of essential oil as the liquid fabric softener and run the load!

 

 

almond crusted pork loin with cranberry apple chutney

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Ok so my husband and I have started the Paleo diet in an effort to reduce our intake of processed foods and refined sugars and improve our health and lifestyle. We are 1 week into it and not only am I feeling better and losing some weight, but I’m enjoying the fresh foods and planning recipes for our week in one sitting. I have stretched out of the box and prepared new dishes this week that will definitely be some of our family favorites from now on. I thought I’d share one on here and will post several for my own reference. Please forgive the vague measurements but I was ‘improvising’ as I went so I will have to refine the amounts next time I try and re-create this dish. The spiced Chutney makes a wonderful flavor for the holiday season!
Almond Crusted Pork Loin

  • 1 package of thin cut boneless pork loin chops (much thinner than regular pork chops)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 c. coconut milk
  • 1 Tbsp honey
  • about 1 cup whole raw almonds
  • thyme, rosemary, black pepper, parsley

combine beaten egg, coconut milk and honey in a shallow pan

grind almonds in mini food processor until finely chopped, add spices to almond mixture/

sea salt and pepper the pork loin if desired

dip pork loin in egg wash, then coat in almond mixture

place coated pork loin on greased foil lined baking sheet and bake at 450 for appx 15-20 min (cooking time may vary so do not overcook)

Cranberry Apple Chutney

  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 granny smith apple, cored and finely chopped
  • white cooking wine
  • white vinegar
  • balsamic vinegar
  • ground ginger, allspice, cinnamon, cloves

 while pork is cooking, heat about 1 cup water in saucepan and bring to low boil

add cranberries and apples and cook until tender

while cooking, add some (appx 2 Tbsp each) white wine, white vinegar & balsamic vinegar along with a dash of all the spices

when apples are tender, pour mix into food processor and blend to desired consistency

spoon chutney onto almond crusted pork loin and serve

I served this dish with olive oil roasted asparagus. Let me know if you try it and love it as much as we did!
 
 

Rosemary & Thyme ‘cheesy’ popcorn

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This is addictive. I am warning you. I am a popcorn fanatic and this is hands down my favorite ‘recipe’ for popcorn to date.
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Here’s how to make the popcorn:

1) start out with a good quality popcorn kernel. Make sure you choose organic NON-GMO popcorn since most ‘corn’ out there is not. I like this organic popcorn from Arrowhead Mills (affiliate) from Amazon and can get it on subscribe and save delivered straight to my door whenever I want (my love for that service is documented in another post).

2) pop the popcorn on the stove

**For those who have never done this, here is a how-to on popping over the stove…
Get a nice large stock pot with a lid and cover the bottom of the pot with an oil of your choice and pour in kernels until the cover the bottom and are coated in oil (don’t skimp on the oil – make sure it sufficiently coats them all). Many people love using organic coconut oil. I have still had better results with a good quality extra virgin olive oil, but to each his own.

Have a large bowl ready and sitting next to the stove so when it starts popping you can quickly transfer it out. Cover your pot (a see-through lid is excellent for this process so you know what’s going on inside) and turn it on high heat. Let it sit until the popcorn starts rapidly popping and make sure to lift it slightly off the heat and shake it vigorously so as not to burn the bottom and let the unpopped kernels fall to the bottom. If the pot fills up, carefully (as not to burn yourself) lift part of the lid…just enough to let some of the popcorn fall out into your bowl and then keep going until it’s all popped. This can take some practice, so don’t give up if it isn’t perfect the first time. It is an art worth mastering!!

So dump all the fresh popcorn into your large bowl and now we can move on….

3) butter and salt the popcorn to your liking. Again, the quality of ingredients makes a big difference, so if possible use real, organic butter and a good quality sea salt. If you’re worried about the calories rising before your eyes, you can skip the butter step and go straight to the rosemary & thyme olive oil. If not, the flavor is amazing with both 🙂

4) take your rosemary & thyme infused olive oil (if you don’t already have this on hand, see instructions below) and drizzle it liberally on the popcorn. Toss it and do it again. Take a few pieces just to make sure it’s delicious.

**Since you’ll want to make this popcorn regularly (and I use this infused oil on just about every dish that leaves the kitchen now), do yourself a favor and make sure you have a batch of my rosemary and thyme infused olive oil stocked in your kitchen. Trust me – you’ll want this on hand. You can make it up in single use batches, but you’ll kick yourself for not making a whole vat of it. Just drop about 8 drops of each into an 8 oz GLASS container of EVOO.

**DISCLAIMER** You can NOT ingest many essential oils on the market. I don’t want you to get really sick, so don’t try this with any that are not safe for internal use. For more information on getting your own essential oils, feel free to contact me on the about page.

5) grab your nutritional yeast and start shaking it on. By this time you’ve already buttered and salted the popcorn to your liking so this is just icing on the cake. I like to coat and toss the batch several times so that each piece has it’s fair share of nutritional yeast 🙂 I like this Braggs Nutritional Yeast (affiliate), but there are some other good ones out there too.

Nutritional Yeast has a delicious ‘cheesy’ flavor and is loaded with good B vitamins which are essential to our health. For vegans (or those like us who are allergic to dairy and can’t enjoy and real cheese), this gives an excellent flavoring option. You can learn more about the benefits of Nutritional Yeast here.

6) this is entirely optional, but I love to crush fresh dried herbs on top just to make it that much more beautiful and delicious. I have had an abundance of dried cilantro lately and it gives a nice compliment to the flavors. You can sprinkle on any dried herbs that you’d like.

7) go hide in a corner so that your family doesn’t completely devour the entire bowl and leave you without. haha. j/k but be prepared to make another batch. it goes fast!

Beef Bone Broth

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OK so I have made my own stock before with chicken and turkey, but I was more intimidated to make beef bone broth. With the chilly temps today and a few little ones needing an extra immunity boost, I knew it was time to just jump in and get this going! Our pediatrician highly recommended that we incorporate homemade bone broth into our diets on a regular basis, so here we go! I followed a lot of the steps from this recipe from Nourished Kitchen https://nourishedkitchen.com/beef-stock-recipe/

I started out with 9 lbs of assorted organically raised beef bone parts. I consulted the farmer directly on this since I figured he’d be a pretty good resource. I had a bag of oxtails, a few feet (cross-cut), several split marrow, a hefty beef shank with a little meat on it, and a few other things I should have written down. So I pulled out my massive roasting dish, set the oven to 400 degrees, drizzled olive oil down and put all that in the oven for a bit.

The best thing is to save a bag full of veggie ‘scraps’ for your broth as you chop veggies for meal prepping. I hadn’t been saving them up to this point, so for my first attempt I just chopped a few bunches of organic celery and used the ends and leafy parts, threw in a bag of organic carrots, several organic onions and about a pint of organic mushrooms. Roasting veggies makes them taste AMAZING, so why not do that with the stock, right? I threw all these chunked up veggies onto the top of the bones and let it all roast together. I left them in for about an hour and a half (until I knew I had to move on to the next step and still make it to bed at a decent hour).

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This is the part I don’t have an exact science for, since the bones and amounts that I have are so different each time. I have a massive stock pot so I pulled that out onto the stove and then got out my large crock pot as a back-up simmering station.

I divided all of the roasting pan goodies into the stock pot and crock pot, filled them both up with water and brought it to a boil. Once it was boiling, turned it down to a simmer and added in 2 Tbsp of organic apple cider vinegar and a dash of cinnamon (because I cannot make a beef dish without it lately). I’m obsessed with cinnamon.

Do NOT add salt to your bone broth, as it will condense down and can become too much as the stock thickens. Better to add it to the final dishes as needed when you actually use the broth.

So it has been there on a low simmer all night and the house smells yummy.

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Can’t wait to sip some of this for our lunch today! It is good straight up with a dash of seasoning, or I add it as the base for ALL of my home made soup recipes which we make frequently…especially in these chilly months! Let me know how yours turns out!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

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Nothing says Happy Halloween like a fresh pot of homemade roasted butternut squash soup!

The more I have learned of the evils of candy (sounds dramatic, but seriously most of the stuff is SO dangerous and wreaks havoc on our systems and especially the kiddos) the more I want the fall festivities to be focused on family, real food and great memories! So Halloween will be dressing up creating costumes, and enjoying our bowl of delicious butternut squash soup while passing out glow sticks to our friends and neighbors.

No sugar highs, no tummy aches, no neurotoxins flooding their bodies, just good real food and fun! They really don’t care about the candy if it is not made to be about that, so for now we’ll go with this!

Delicious homemade butternut squash soup is SO easy with a little advanced prep. The key is to roast the butternut squash a day or two before you need it.

Here’s the recipe:

About 4 small organic butternut squash

To roast, cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds and roast face down on a baking sheet greased with olive oil for about an 30 min to an hour at high heat (400). Roast until soft. Then scoop the squash out of the skin and discard the skin.

3-4 organic onions, chopped
3-4 tbsp olive oil
32-48 oz organic chicken broth or stock
2 Tbsp chopped garlic
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1-2 cups milk of choice (I used flax seed milk)
2 Tbsp rosemary and thyme infused olive oil (made with essential oils)
Fresh organic dried parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

If you have pre-roasted the squash and just stored it in the fridge, this could not be easier.

Chop the onion and sauté it in the olive oil until caramelized.
Turn burner to low.

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Add 1 large box of chicken stock and the garlic and throw in all the roasted butternut squash.

At this point you can use an immersion blender, or transfer it in batches to a vitamix and purée it all. I add in 1-2 cups of milk and extra stock through this process to get all the good squash purée off the sides of the blender.

Once it is smooth and creamy, add ground cinnamon, drizzle a few Tbsp of the rosemary and thyme olive oil over the top and stir it in. This stuff is liquid GOLD for flavoring all my homemade soups.

Add in salt to taste and grind fresh pepper over the top. Crumble some fresh dried parsley on and enjoy!

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Simplified Parenting:: listen to the whale story

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We are on a mission to simplify, and most days are failing miserably. We get caught in the cycle of never ending to-do lists. One more message, one more call, one more errand, one more chore. Even days when I just set out do to the ‘basics’ and get us all ready, dressed, fed and put together long enough to actually go DO something, the day is 1/2 over by the time we get to that point. With three active boys 4 and under, I’m convinced there is no such thing as ‘the basics.’ Nothing can happen simply without an incident or massive event around it.

Today I put a little more effort than normal into making a ‘special’ family day since daddy was able to stay home on what otherwise would be a ‘work’ day. We had yummy GF homemade apple peach cake for breakfast, played with magnet blocks, went on scooter rides around the neighborhood and stopped at all their favorite playgrounds, let them watch their favorite show, jumped on the trampoline, etc etc….all the stuff toddler dreams are made of, right? After putting the baby to bed tonight and thinking the boys were fast asleep, my husband heard sniffling coming from under one of the covers. My 4 year old just wanted to see mommy before falling asleep, so I went in and snuggled with him for a few minutes.

While I was loving the snuggles, I desperately hoped that he would be content with a quick squeeze and tuck-in, and quietly drift off into an immediate deep sleep. My to-do list of the evening was still running through my head, and I was running out of steam quickly. He obviously was NO WHERE NEAR as tired as I was, and  immediately started in on one of his ‘stories.’ This particular one was about the robot whale that he will invent that is a thousand pounds heavy and as big as an entire ocean and lives in a cave that is larger than the ‘camping’ beach we go to. I then proceeded to get every. last. detail. that his little brain could muster up about his fantastic, amazing, brilliant robot whale and what it could do and where it would go, etc etc. My boy is NOT known for telling short stories and he has no lack of imagination. I was fighting sleep so hard my eyes were literally crossing and running with tears of exhaustion. I tried a few times to que him to wrap it up and end the story, but was met with ‘just one more thing, mom’ over and over and over until I just had to completely cut him off. “Ok now that part is done.” He said. and seemed to finally take a breath after what seemed like an eternity of whale robot adventures.

I tried to quickly change the subject as not to allow the ‘one more thing’ to jump back in. “So what was your FAVORITE thing you did today?”, I asked.

Without skipping a beat, he grinned and said “That, mommy. That was it.” “Telling you my story was my favorite thing I did ALL day.” He reached his little arms over and hugged me so tight, smooching my cheek and grabbing my hair just like he has since he was a baby. “I love you so much, mommy.” And then he was content to roll over, close his eyes and drift off to sleep.

None of the things I had filled their little day with had made his list. None of the things that I had thought so hard to try and DO for them. Just those last few moments where I (not so patiently) stopped long enough to listen. That was his favorite thing.

He taught me more right then than I learned in all my ‘busyness’ of the day. I need to remember this tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day. Keep. it. simple. and just listen. Those are the moments that make their memories.

Arborvitae

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There is a new essential oil on the block – one that is exclusively produced by dōTERRA, but an oil that you will all want to add to your repertoire as soon as possible.

The Giant Arborvitae {Tree of Life} grown in the lush forests of Vancouver is overflowing with benefits and strong, powerful constituents called tropolones that make this one of my new ‘must-haves’ especially when it comes to protecting against environmental and seasonal threats.

Methyl thujate, hinokitiol and thujic acid work together as primary constituents of this oil to really protect from environmental threats while supporting healthy cell function, which is the foundation of all our wellness. It also has natural preservation properties when applied topically to wood, and naturally repels insects both topically and by diffusing it in an area!

This is one I guarantee I will keep on hand at all times, especially given the environmental threats that are so prevalent right now! Love having access to this Giant ‘tree of life’ in such a practical and powerful way!

UPDATE: How do we use Arborvitae? This has definitely become one of our staples that we keep within arms reach!

~ Add a drop to the diffuser along with OnGuard to pull out the ‘big guns’ for protecting against environmental threats.

~ Arborvitae is a powerful cleansing and purifying agent, and we have had to grab it on several instances for topical application when we needed support in this area.

~ Add a drop to some carrier oil along with OnGuard + sofgels (puncture the softgel and squeeze it out) for a super powerful agent that helps boost immune function.

~ Add a drop to the diffuser along with Cedarwood, Juniper Berry, Douglas Fir and White Fir for an AMAZING relaxing and calming woodland blend!

Who wants better sleep?

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I am in a life phase that is going on 5 years now, called sleep deprivation. It is not that I can’t sleep or that I do not desperately want to sleep, but it all started about 5 years ago during the late stages of pregnancy where there just became no such thing as a full night of uninterrupted restful sleep. Anyone who has been 38+ weeks preggo knows that no matter how much people tell you to ‘rest up’ before the baby arrives, it just is a cruel statement that can not exist when you are the size of a whale and can’t move to even roll over in bed without shaking the entire room. Thankfully that phase transitions to the next one of even LESS sleep, called life with a newborn! My kids have never been those 12 hour sleepers…..ever. They just don’t want to miss a thing. Needless to say, 5 years later I am still up with a baby (though my 2 toddlers have finally outgrown that stage and are restfully sleeping through the night). JEALOUS? yes, I am.

There are studies after studies that have been done on the health benefits of getting enough restful sleep. From improving memory, to body detox, to cellular repair, boosting metabolism, lowering inflammation, sharpening focus, boosting immunity, and even extending the years of life that you have, sufficient restful sleep is critical…and something that most of us grown Americans are not getting!lavender fabric softener

All this to say, I’m all about some relaxation when I can get it! We have been using essential oils for over two years now, and have seen some really amazing life altering things that they can do for serious sleep challenges, but for just feeling relaxed and happy, we have a blend for calming that is a must have! With calming oils like Lavender, Roman Chamomile, Ylang Ylang and Sandlewood you really can’t go wrong.

This blend is fantastic diffused next to the bed at night, or for deep and restful sleep I recommend applying it to the bottom of your feet. For even more intense sleep challenges, try layering a drop of vetiver essential oil on the bottom of each big toe in conjunction with this blend of calming oils.

For daytime relaxation (which I think we all agree we would LOVE to have more of), try layering this calming blend with some other oils known for calming like spruce, frankincense, blue tansy and blue chamomile on the back of the next or a drop on each wrist and feel the worry and stress melt away. It really is that great. Grab these calming essential oils and get some rest!

Certified Health Coach

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I’m happy to announce that after many long hours, studying and hard work, I am officially a Certified Health Coach with the Sears Wellness Institute!

certified-logoMany of you know that we have been learning from Dr. Sears as our pediatrician for a few years now, and have LOVED their natural, common sense and more holistic approach to health and wellness. With my son’s health issues and food allergies, we have been on a path toward clean eating with real foods for quite awhile, and this was just a great fit for pushing our lifestyle further with more formal education on lifestyle, exercise, attitude and nutrition. I have learned so much through this journey that has pushed us to make even more changes in our habits, and continuously move toward our wellness goals.

I look forward to sharing this knowledge and coaching many of you on your journeys as well. Feel free to message me with any questions that you have, or just keep following along, as I will also be striving to post more regularly here on the blog now that we are finally settled in to yet another new home and community 🙂

IQMega

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Omega 3 is so essential to healthy development in children, and this awesome stuff contains 1000mg (combo of EPA & DHA) Omega 3, flavored with wild orange oil. This is the perfect Omega3 supplement to add to the kids’ morning smoothies! My 3 year old even asks for it in a spoon if he can catch me before I add it in!

Maybe some of you have toddlers that are jumping up and down to eat a plate of fresh wild caught salmon for breakfast every day, but for the rest of us….this stuff is golden! The Wild Orange oil paired with these essential fatty acids is a perfect combo to cover that ‘fishy’ taste and odor that is so common with Omega 3 supplements.

IQ Mega

IQ Mega

If you aren’t already aware of the immense benefits of Omega 3 fatty acids in the diet, see here why these are so critical for your children, and check out some of their other benefits. The typical American Diet is high in Omega 6 essential fatty acids (found in things such as vegetable oils, seeds, soybean, sunflower, etc) but generally people tend to be heavy in Omega 6 and deficient in Omega 3…both of which are critical to healthy growth and function.

There have been impressive studies that show marked improvements in children’s attention, learning and behavior with no other changes than adding in Omega 3 to their diet. It is also amazing for healthy skin. Since strictly controlling his diet and adding in some key supplements, my 4 year old has healthy and soft skin for the first time in his life. I’m still learning so much that the skin is an outward sign of internal wellness, so rather than just masking the symptoms, how great to have things that can help soothe from the inside-out.

In addition, the IQ Mega
• Promotes healthy cardiovascular, nervous, and immune system function.*
• Supports healthy joint function and comfort.*
• Provides important modulating nutrients for healthy immune function.*
• Protects against lipid oxidation and supports healthy function of the brain and eyes.*

Always consult your pediatrician with any medical questions, but I hope this stuff can help your family as much as it has helped ours!

disclaimer

Cedarwood Essential Oil

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So I learned something today that makes me super excited about Cedarwood essential oil!

20140502-083644.jpgYou all know how much we love and use vetiver around our house, and the properties and chemical constituents of Cedarwood are VERY similar! These oils are both very high in sesquiterpenes in their chemical composition which makes them very effective at getting in and relaxing your mind, assisting with sound and deeper sleep. People are using Cedarwood in sleep blends with fantastic results and since the cost is lower than vetiver this could be a good ‘substitution’ for people to try.

Many have mixed it with lavender alone if they just have the basic oils, or I would try combining it with either serenity, or my favorite blend of roman chamomile, ylang ylang, frankincense, lavender & clary sage or marjoram.

Not to mention the added benefits of Cedarwood…

• Before exercising, massage one to two drops into
your chest to maintain vitality throughout your
workout.
• After a difficult day, diffuse Cedarwood to relax
the mind and the body.
• During your facial routine, add one to two drops
of Cedarwood to your facial toner or moisturizer
for added clarifying properties.
• After noticing a fresh skin imperfection, directly
apply one drop to affected area to immediately
improve the appearance.
• Place a drop on a cotton ball and place in closets,
storage boxes, or other areas to keep moths at bay.
• Add to mulch or topsoil to naturally repel insects.
• When a child wakes up scared, apply to the
bottom of feet to return a peaceful feeling.
• Take internally to promote relaxation.*
• Naturally repels insects

With Father’s Day just around the corner, Cedarwood is a favorite among the men for it’s woodsy, musky smell and with its skin benefits, it is an excellent choice for shaving and facial creams for the guys!

Going to use a little Cedarwood on the boys tonight and catch up on some good sleep 😉

disclaimer

Road trip!!

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Ok, so I have a whole new level of appreciation for my oils thanks to the road trip we have embarked on today.

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First of all….packing up toiletries/meds/first aid stuff was AWESOME! I grabbed my little 4ml spray bottles of our daily used oil blends, a few soft gels (just in case), and my little keychain of 8 oils I thought we might need. I put everything in a makeup bag, and it was still mostly empty! In the past it took 3 bags to bring along all the ‘stuff’ we thought we might need!

Simplifying is a beautiful thing!!

The biggest win has been having the oils on hand while on the road. They have saved the day FIVE times within the first 60 miles!!

  • Kids hungry and hadn’t washed hands….no problem! We have a powerful blend of oils like clove, cinnamon, melaleuca, rosemary, eucalyptus and orange to the rescue!
  • 2 year old started crying of a ‘really really bad tummy ache’ thanks to car motion…..a blend of awesome oils like peppermint, ginger, caraway, fennel, anise and coriander saves the day! I mean seriously. Handed the little vial to my toddler and he ‘sprinkled’ it on his tummy, rubbed it in, and within 2 minutes was back to laughing and not crying. The blend of oils I have that supports healthy digestive system is amazing. Didn’t even have to pull the car over!
  • baby starts screaming (this one usually sends me over)….instead pull out lavender oil and stick it under his nose! He gets distracted, relaxes and we’re all good!
  • pull off for a pit stop and above mentioned 2 year old wipes out while ‘racing’ down the sidewalk…all better (and disinfected) with owie spray!!
  • 4 year old removes shoes in front of the air vent….WHAT!?! How do 4 year old boys already have stinky shoes!?! Wishing I would have grabbed the disinfecting and odor-be-gone spray (it is now on my ‘to pack’ for any future trips), but instead whipped out a blend of spruce and woodsy oils and smelled fresh trees instead of stinky shoes

Not sure what I did before we had these, but we will certainly NOT be leaving home without them!

If you don’t have any of these oils yet, shoot me a message and I can give you more info about where to get them!