"Fun" fact of the week

Did you know it takes 60 lbs of Lavender flower tops to products 16 ounces of therapeutic grade oil? Isn't that crazy?

Lavender is well known for its calming properties.  It is a wonderful oil to start with if you are interested in starting with EO's. 

It is important to make sure the oil is pure, not synthetic. If you have questions about EO's, please Email Me

Bug Bites Got Ya Down?

I don't know about any of you, mosquitos LOVE me.  I do have a insect repellent reciepe but I am making some tweeks to it so I will post that next week. 
In the meantime however, I wanted to share what I have found works for my family.  Remember taht EO's work differently for each person- so you may need to try different combinations before finding something that works for you. If you have questions about EO's please contact your doTerra Wellness Advocate.  If you do not currently have a Wellness Advocate please feel free to Email me or Visit My Website

Cleaning with EO's

We had some family over on the 4th and I decided to clean a bit with some Essential Oils. 

We recently got a new puppy, Zoe  Zoe is 5 months old and was born in the shelter. Her mother was surrendered to the shelter while she was pregnant.  Our big problem is potty training.  She won't poop outside so lately our house has not been smelling too great! We are working on it though, and look at that face- how could you be mad at it?

I found a recipe in one of my doTerra facebook groups.  I altered it a bit-here is what I ended up using.  This covered our whole family and dining rooms.   I did this 4 times to make it more manageable and because I was unsure how much I really needed. This is what I ended up using.  

Here is what you will need :
2 cups baking soda
do Terra Purify Cleansing Blend
do Terra On Guard Protective Blend
1-2 Essential Oils of your preference for scent-I used Eucalyptus and Cedarwood, as I let my hubby pick!


Like I said above, I did this 4 different times because I wasn't sure how much I would end up needing.  Each time I did it, I added the below:

1/2 C baking soda
5 drops Purify (cleansing blend from doTerra)
5 drops OnGuard
10 drops each of Eucalyptus and Cedarwood

I did each oil separetely and used a fork to mix it into the baking soda. I covered the bowl with a paper towel and left it for about 30 minutes and went to work on the toilets (that is below).  I sprinkled it all over the carpets and left it for an hour.  Then vacummed it up.  It was so nice to not have an overpowering smell and to know I wasn't using chemicals!  The smell of poop was completely gone!  (please note this was not used for stains- just an odor deotorizer- I will tackle the stains another day.)
My mom had been watching my son at our house this week and noticed the poop smell was all gone, I was so happy!

Now, onto the toilets!

I use Norwex cleaning cloths.  You need nothing but water for them- but my rep tells me its ok to use EO's with them.  So I made a cleaning solution of 10 drops each of Purify and OnGuard in a 10 ml glass spray bottle- Half filled with distilled water.  I used this and my norwex microcloth to wipe down the bathrooms and the outside of the toilets.  For the inside of the toilet, this is the process I followed.  You can do a search on you tube for different variations of this, but this is what I used:
1/2 c baking soda
10 drops On Guard doTerra Protective Blend
1/2 c white vinegar

Put the baking soda in the toilet, then the 10 drops of OnGuard (you could also use Melaluca or Purify- I just was borrowing Purify from another WA and didn't want to use a lot of hers).  Put the vinegar in and you get a little fizzy reaction (my 4 year old thought that was cool the first time, but after that was like, "ah, seen it" HAHA).  Then take your toilet brush and clean your toilet like normal. After I cleaned the toilet, I let the solution sit in there until I was done with the carpets.  My toilets came out sparkling.  And no harsh chemicals or nasty smells.

If you would like more information on doTerra oils and products, please either Email Me or Visit My doTerra Website
If you would like more information on Norwex please visit Bonnie's Norwex Site or April's Norwex Site

Cooking with EO's

Did you know you could cook with EO's? I had reservations about using them for cooking.  I watched a few videos about it so I tried a couple of recipes. 

I found an Orange Chicken recipe on Pinterest here: Skinny Orange Chicken
I had all the ingredients but 2.  I didn't have Sesame Seeds or Orange Juice.

2 years ago, my mother in law was battling cancer and going through chemo.  She drank a ton of OJ during that time. After she passed away, my husband has a hard time drinking or seeing OJ as it reminds him of that horrible time.   So I don't keep OJ in the house.

But I really wanted to make this recipe. (with rice).  So I thought- I wonder if my oils would work here?  I don't particuarily care for the smell of Wild Orange so its one of the bottles still pretty full.  So I got to work!

Instead of the sesame seeds on the chicken, I added about a tablespoon of sesame oil.  Instead of the OJ, after I mixed the rest of the ingredients I added in 1/2 cup of water and just 2 drops of essential oil.

Success!!!  Now cooking with EO's over heat will take away some of their healthy properties, but I was in a pinch and it was very successful!  Hubby loved it! The kids were not so crazy about it-but they are picky eaters and any type of sauce on chicken they don't particularily care for!

I also added 1 drop of Oregano to some ground turkey to give it a little flavor (Oregano is a very hot oil- one drop will do!).  I made deviled eggs for the 4th yesterday and added one drop of Dill. You could totally taste it.

I will definitely be checking into other recipes with EO's and am excited about this!   Keep checking back for more suggestions!

Lemon Oil

The next oil I want to share is Lemon oil. 

I diffuse lemon for an uplifting boost throughout the day.  Lemon is good to help fend off depression and stress.

I have a rollerball with lemon, peppermint and lavender for my son and his allergies. I put this on the back of his neck, on the tips of his ears and the bridge of his nose to help clear his nasal passages.

I put lemon on the bridge of my nose so I don't snore at night.

Lemon can be diffused, used internally in water or veggie cap, or topically.  However, your skin will be sensitive to the sun-so if you put it on any exposed skin, place extra sunscreen on that area.

Oils you can diffuse with lemon: Eucalyptus, frankincense, geranium, peppermint, sandelwood or ylang ylang

Peppermint Oil

My second favorite oil is Peppermint.  I use this for stomach upset, even with my kids. I also use it for headaches.  I have both in rollerbottles. My kids know now to ask for it with stomach upset and I give a small vial or the rollerbottle to my daughter when she goes on overnights.

Peppermint can be applied neat however, it can cause some some heat on the skin.  Diluting it would be best.  Peppermint is also an oil that you can become desensitized too if you use too much neat-so using a carrier oil with it will assist with that.  

Below I have 10 uses for Peppermint oil.

I got these reciepes from other Wellness consultants.

For tummy upset:
in a roller bottle, 20 drops of peppermint plus 20 drops of carrier oil

For headaches/migraines:
20 drops of peppermint, 20 drops of lavender, 30 drops of carrier oil

The above information taken from mydottera.com/nikkidewitt and Modern Essentials Volume 6

Lavender

I thought I'd start off with talking about some of the oils I started with and what I use them for. 

One of the first oils I purchased was Lavender.  Lavender is a very versatile oil.  The smell was different than what I thought- and to be honest at first, I was not thrilled with it!  But now I use it quite a lot.
I have made a list of 10 uses for Lavender (see below). I also diffuse lavender a few nights a week to help me sleep.
I made my niece who is expecting her first child some DIY diaper rash cream with just coconut oil and lavender oil.
This week my daughter had a band concert and was a little nervous about it. I put some lavender on her neck, and gave her a small vial of lavender to keep in her pocket.  She opened it and inhaled it before she went on stage to calm her nerves.

Lavender can be applied "Neat" meaning without dilution. You can diffuse it, put it on topically or take it internally in some tea, honey or a veggie cap-however for children you should not have them take internally, especially not for children under 6.  Caution should be used for children over 6 and should definitely be diluted.

I highly recommend Lavender as one of your first oils if you are just starting out. Its a very universal oil and is thought to go where the body needs it.

** My information is taken from Modern Essentials Volume 6**