Happy, happy Thanksgiving, my friend! Thought you might find some of these recipes helpful whether you are hosting family and friends this week, having a night at home with your family, or just want a little something fun and festive in your day...I know those peppermint brownies are screaming my name...LOL
Peppermint Brownies
This might be the simplest essential oil recipe ever... Just add 4-5 drops of Peppermint Vitality Essential Oil to your mix (or from scratch recipe!) after you add the wet ingredients and bake as directed. Once cooled - use your favorite holiday cookie cutters to create fun shapes. You could even top them with a layer of chocolate frosting (with or without a few drops of Peppermint Vitality...) or powdered sugar. Always fun to make for parties, neighbors or just because!
Peppermint Mocha
- 2 cups strongly brewed coffee or espresso
- 2 cups milk of your choice
- ¼ cup cacao powder (you can also use 2T cocoa powder + 3 oz dark chocolate chopped)
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup or raw honey
- 3-4 drops Peppermint Vitality
- Pour milk into a small saucepan and place over medium heat. Whisk in the cacao powder (or whatever chocolate you're using) and the maple syrup. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer uncovered for 5-10 minutes, whisking as needed until smooth.
- Remove from the heat and when slightly cooled add 2 drops of Peppermint Vitality (the flavor is bold, so start with 2 drops and add more if you want!). Place the peppermint cocoa mixture and the coffee in a Vitamix or other high-powered blender (or use a handheld frother), and blend on medium speed for 30 seconds until frothy. Divide into 4 mugs, top with whipped cream, marshmallows...or both!
Eggnog Chai
- Chai Tea Bag & water to prepare it
- ½ cup eggnog
- 1 drop Nutmeg Vitality
- 1 drop Cinnamon Bark Vitality
- Ground Cinnamon
- Prepare Chai Tea according to directions. Heat eggnog on the stove or in the microwave until it's hot to your liking. Once the tea is prepared the eggnog is heated, combine in a mug and let cool slightly, then add a drop of Nutmeg Vitality. Use a hand-held frother, blender or electric milk frother to combine.
- This serves one, so you can double or triple if you need to, top with a sprinkle of Ground Cinnamon and enjoy! You could easily make this with coffee and can add sweetener to taste like honey or maple syrup if you want.
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 - Pumpkin Spice Hot Cocoa, Lavender Hot Cocoa, and Peppermint Hot Cocoa! Or whip up some Mexican Hot Cocoa for a festive twist!
- Pumpkin Spice Hot Cocoa
- 4 cups milk of your choice
- 8 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 drop Cinnamon Bark Vitality essential oil
- 1 drop Nutmeg Vitality essential oil
- 1 drop Clove Vitality essential oil
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
For all recipes: Heat all ingredients, except the oils, in a pot over the stove, until just hot. Don't boil. Remove from heat, add the essential oils and stir to combine. Serve in your most festive mugs and top with whipped cream, marshmallows, a candy cane, or all of the above!!
Holiday Mocktails
If you're having a party this season, these mocktail recipes are sure to be a hit! Family and friends will be so smitten with their look and taste that they won't even miss the alcohol!
NingXia Red Rosemary Mule
- 2 ounces NingXia Red
- 6 ounces ginger beer
- 1 drop Rosemary Vitality
- Rosemary sprig
- Pour all ingredients into a copper mug full of crushed ice. Stir well to mix and garnish with a sprig of rosemary.
Holiday Mary
- Lemon wedges
- Sea salt
- 6 ounces tomato juice
- 1 drop Black Pepper Vitality
- Toothpick swirl of Lime Vitality
- Toothpick swirl of Celery Seed Vitality
- Toothpick swirl of Lemon Vitality
- 1 drop hot sauce
- Celery stick (optional)
- The toothpick method allows you to get a more subtle flavor with the Vitality oils. Simply dip a toothpick in the oil and swirl through your ingredients. Salt the rim of a highball or old-fashioned glass. Fill with ice and set aside. Squeeze a lemon wedge into a shaker and drop it in. Add tomato juice, Vitality oils, a dash of hot sauce to taste, and ice to the shaker. Shake gently to mix. Strain into prepared glass and garnish with celery or your favorite Bloody Mary toppings.
Cranberry Mojito
- Mint leaves
- 1 teaspoon honey or sweetener of choice
- 1 drop Peppermint Vitality
- 1 drop Lime Vitality
- Splash of cranberry juice
- 1 can NingXia Zyng
- Fresh cranberries
- Lime wedges
- In a tall, sturdy glass, place a few mint leaves, the sweetener, a squeeze of lime, Peppermint Vitality, and Lime Vitality. Use a muddler to crush the leaves & combine the flavors. Add ice to the glass. Pour a splash of cranberry juice and stir.
- Fill glass to the top with NingXia Zyng. Garnish with cranberries, more mint leaves, and a lime wedge.
NingXia Red Punch
- 1 bottle NingXia Red
- 4 cups apple cider
- 2 cups pomegranate juice
- ¼ cup honey or simple syrup
- Sliced apples
- Pomegranate seeds
- Cinnamon sticks
- In a punch bowl, pour NingXia Red, apple cider, pomegranate juice, and honey. Add fruit and cinnamon sticks. Mix well. Cover and chill in the fridge until ready to serve. The longer the fruit soaks in the liquid, the more the flavors will combine.
- Serve in short glasses garnished with more apple slices, pomegranate seeds, and cinnamon stick stirrers.
Spiced Cinnamon Cider
A steaming mug of cider is the perfect remedy to cold, wintry days to warm up from the inside out.
- 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.
Again, Happy Thanksgiving!! Enjoy every moment. Be present. Be good to you.
Hey, hey, my friend! With all the illness we are seeing all around us lately, how about some lifestyle tips to help keep you above that wellness line??
Sharing some simple strategies from one of my favorite coaches, Dr. Edie Wadsworth, a physician turned incredible coach and mentor. Click her name to find her podcast and let her help you create the life you want to live!
*1. Real food, food that nourishes you, nutrient dense food. Shop the perimeter of the store (who said math wasn't important? LOL) Real food doesn't come with an ingredient label...if you are reading labels, you are buying the wrong food. Take a great probiotic to keep your gut microbiome healthy. Have you tried microgreens?? Kefir or any other fermented foods?
Processed foods, sugar, food that's hard to digest, antibiotics, stress, medicines, lack of movement, all damage that gut microbiome, leading to leaky gut, setting you up for all kinds of other issues. The best way to heal your gut is to eat your way there.
*2. Movement is so important! The amount of lean muscle you have on your body is one thing that determines your longevity more than anything else. As you age, if you are not actively building muscle, you are losing it. Muscle is the tissue of longevity, it is how you boost your metabolism, how you keep from having insulin resistance, balances your hormones, helps you age gracefully and more. Put your body under enough physical stress to make itself strong. There is nothing you can do like it that gives you the same benefit. You can't take a pill for it. You can't slather it on or breathe it in. You simply have to "put in the reps". ;)
*3. Good sleep and true rest. Are you getting in good productive hard work and movement, and then truly resting at the end of each day? Or are you getting some weird kind of in between thing? Are you getting enough sleep? Oils, supplements, a good night time routine, blackout curtains, a cool room, white noise...what works for you? Above all, get outside in the sunshine. Getting sun during the day helps you reset those wake/sleep cycles. Even losing an hour or two of sleep a night consistently over years can take years off your life...hmmm...Not sure I want to even think about how much I've lost over the years! LOL
*4. Reduce your stress...Easier said than done, I know. That's part of the reason you want to listen to Dr. Edie's podcast and teachings...a whole new way of looking at things...There is nothing worse for your body than chronic stress. We even create it for ourselves! Tell me you have never created a problem in your mind, then stressed about finding a solution to it, yet it doesn't even exist, hasn't even happened and probably won't happen at all!? LOL
*5. Reduce the amount of toxins you are exposed to. Dr. Edie shares that she has earned a "Ph.D. in natural health" over the last 10 years on this YL journey. She didn't learn this stuff in medical school, my friends. She learned it doing her own research, learning about her own body, making changes in her lifestyle and what she was or was not using or doing. You can, too.
Look around you for a moment. What is surrounding you? We are swimming in a sea of toxins. The average woman uses 300+ chemicals a day...80-100 of those before she has even had breakfast. Newborn babies have over 200 toxins in their umbilical cord blood that were passed from momma.
Research those candles, room sprays, cleaners, warmers, dryer sheets. Research the toxins they fill your body with. You don't know what you don't know. Get curious and see where the adventure leads you! Reducing toxins is way easier than you think. You already know my easy button. YL for the win! ;) Check out the new online catalog here.
I challenge you to try one or more of these simple changes this week. What's the best that could happen?
To hear more strategies, join us in Intentional Wellness, my free online community.
See you there!
