Winter is a season for comfort foods and drinks, and adding oils is a great way to increase health benefits at the same time...for all recipes. Simply heat all ingredients, except the oils, in a pot over the stove, until just hot. Don't boil. Remove from heat, add the oils and stir to combine. Serve in your favorite mugs and top as desired. Easy peasy!
Spiced Cinnamon Cider
A steaming mug of hot cider is the perfect remedy to cold, wintry days. Serve it after a day of sledding or hiking to warm up from the inside out, or just enjoy while you are curled up with your favorite book or playing games with the crew.
- 8 cups apple juice or cider
- 4 cups orange juice
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- 9 drops Cinnamon Bark Vitality
- 6 drops Cardamom Vitality
- 4 drops Clove Vitality
- 4 drops Nutmeg Vitality
- 3 drops Citrus Fresh Vitality
- Sliced oranges
- Cinnamon sticks
- Add all ingredients to a large pot and stir to combine. Heat until simmering. Simmer for 30 minutes. Serve warm in a mug. Garnish with sliced oranges and cinnamon sticks, if you are fancy like that. ;)
Maple Cinnamon Latte
- 12 ounces brewed, strong organic coffee
- 1/4 cup milk of choice
- 1T organic maple syrup (add more to taste)
- Organic ground cinnamon for dusting
- 1 drop Cinnamon Bark Vitality essential oil
- 1 scoop Inner Beauty Collagen
- Optional: Electric milk frother
- Grab your favorite coffee mug and line the bottom with about a tablespoon of maple syrup.. Pour the brewed coffee on top and stir gently to mix. Add the milk and essential oil (if using) to the frother, hit the button once, and wait while it warms. When ready, pour the milk into your coffee, top with a sprinkle of cinnamon and a small drizzle of maple syrup or a small sprinkle of raw sugar if desired!
Homemade Hot Cocoa
Wind down and warm up with your favorite mug brimming with homemade hot chocolate. You can add any Vitality oil to your recipe, but these three are favorites - Lavender Hot Cocoa and Peppermint Hot Cocoa! Or how about Mexican Hot Cocoa for a festive twist?
Lavender Hot Cocoa
- 4 cups milk of choice
- 8 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 tsp honey, or more to taste
- 4 drops Lavender Vitality essential oil
Peppermint Hot Cocoa
- 4 cups milk of your choice
- 8 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 tsp honey, or more to taste
- 2 drops Peppermint Vitality essential oil
Champurrado Mexican Hot Cocoa
- 4 cups milk of your choice
- ½ cup honey or agave
- 2 Mexican chocolate tablets
- ¾ cups masa harina (corn flour)
- 2 drops Cinnamon Bark Vitality essential oil
- 2 drops Orange Vitality essential oil
What's your favorite winter recipe??
Hey, hey, my friend!! Thought we'd learn together from Dr. David Stewart’s The Chemistry of Essential Oils Made Simple, and talk flames, candles, hot beverages and what if your oils freeze…
You already know that the temp inside your car on a hot day won’t damage your YL oils, but the heat of a candle will damage any oil. We are talking about 300-400F, which is well above distillation temps, and causes much of the oil to decompose or even burn completely.
Diffusers that work by putting oils on a ceramic or metal tray with a candle flame or other heat source underneath will vaporize some of the oil intact, but will actually destroy most of it, including any therapeutic value it had. You may get a smell, but you won’t get much therapy. Let candles and flames be recreational aromatherapy, not a means for serious healing. If you want to fill a room with a smell and candle light, burn scentless candles while diffusing your favorite oils, or grab some battery operated candles. My answer?? The Lantern diffuser on candle flicker mode, right??
When it comes to fire, you should also keep in mind that all essential oils will burn. They are not explosive or highly flammable, but in the presence of a flame, they can catch fire. They become dangerously flammable only if they have been diluted with an alcohol, like methanol, ethanol or propanol as is done in some countries like Taiwan. Another reason it is so important to know your source and the purity of your oils...
So, what about using oils in your favorite drinks? I love using them in all my drinks! I use grapefruit and lime, vitality of course, daily, and now that tea and cocoa season is coming back around, we will be using the peppermint, orange, lemon, cinnamon, clove and others…
Remember, one drop of oil can represent the concentrated essence of a large volume of leaves or plant matter. It has been said that a drop of peppermint equals the flavoring potency of more than 20 peppermint tea bags…that's more than a box of tea bags in most cases...so use it sparingly! You can always add more…but you can’t take it out…
But the question we are answering is if the heat of your tea or other hot drink will destroy the qualities of the oils and the answer is no. The rule is simply that if it is not too hot for you to drink, then it is not too hot for the oil either. However, when you add oils to a beverage in a pot heating over your stove, try not to let it come to a boil, but don’t worry if you forget and let it boil, just drink it anyway. No harm done.
Using oils in your drinks benefits your digestive tract; you get to enjoy the flavor and smell; and they are absorbed directly into the sensitive tissues that line your mouth as well as through your nose, going straight to your lungs, brain and emotional center. This time of year is a perfect time to add a drop of cinnamon or cassia vitality to your hot apple cider…you can thank me later…
Always make sure the oil you want to use is GRAS – generally regarded as safe – for internal use. Read labels or look at your desk reference. Common sense and moderation are key. The white vitality labels make it super easy, but not all oils that are safe for consumption are in our vitality line yet, so hop on google or grab your desk reference and look them up!
We’ve talked heat. Now let’s look at cold. If you live in Maine like I do, some of your oils are delivered in the freezing cold of winter and have been outside in the back of an unheated truck all day. I have received some that are a little thicker than usual or even partially frozen.
No worries! Even in the extreme, cold never hurt any oil, regardless of whether it is essential, expressed, absolute or a carrier blend. If your oils are ever chilled to the freezing point, don't apply any heat to thaw them out. Just keep the lids on and let them warm up gradually to room temp and they will be just fine!
74 days. What happens in 74 days? Yup...you guessed it. LOL Are you a "shop early and get it all done" type of person, or a "scrambling at the last minute" one?? Next week, YL will be having a week long sale full of favorite products, bundles and I'm even hearing talk of a new diffuser like you've never seen before...so mark your calendar and be watching your email and in Intentional Wellness for updates and products! Not sure what to get "that" person we all know and love? I do offer gift certificates! These can be used for Ionic Foot Detoxes, Raindrop or Vitaflex sessions, Wellness plans, or product. One size fits pretty much anybody! LOL
Ready to schedule your session so you know what a blessing it will be for someone else?? Hit reply and let me know!
