Weight loss

Diet and Doterra

    I'm so grateful for Doterra.  It's what got me started on this journey. When I started drinking these essential oils in my water, it made me want to eat better. It helped with cravings,  gave me energy,  and alkalized my body.  Then I made the choice to start eliminating chemicals from my life. Just making these small changes has made a tremendous difference in my life. 

    I know sometimes I may sound like a broken record,  but I will continue to share my experiences because it's working.  And I want to help make others feel as good as I do!

It's so awesome to see how fast things are changing. When I first started talking about oils,  people gave me a weird look. Now, people are joining me with this movement.. they are taking their health into their own hands and not only changing their lives,  but the ripple effect is happening and it's helping others too! It's is so amazing to be a part of this movement.

The weight loss in these photos were from diet and doterra alone. I am in the process of adding weight training to my new lifestyle.

Peppermint

Order peppermint

Scentsy replacement

     I know those scentsy melts smell amazing, but sometimes it seemed like mine would lose their scent. So,  for a refresher, I add my essential oils to them.  Helps to make them last longer, or I can create new scents!
     Or you can just put coconut oil in your warmer and add whatever you like to that! Right now I'm loving cinnamon bark and wild orange!

Butternut squash

I never liked squash as a kid so it's pretty weird how much I love it now. This is one squash cubed up and put in the crock pot. Add 2 tbs coconut oil and set on low for 6-7 hours.
Turn off the crock pot and add 2-3 drops of cinnamon bark. Mash by hand or put in the blender.
I like grilled chicken thighs to go along with the squash.

Lemon

So many ways to use lemon but I will just start with a few favorites of mine. 
      Lemon will remove anything sticky: gum, sap, grease. It is simply the best when cleaning your bathroom or kitchen.  I put 20 drops in a 2 oz spray bottle to spray whatever I need it.
     It will remove that hard water build up in the shower. I keep a jar of lemon baking soda to add to my laundry, or pour on my shoes for a deodorizer.
    I also drink it in the morning to alkalize my body.

Mashed cauliflower

I am a little obsessed with cauliflower because I have a hard time eating my vegetables.  I'm loving all the ways I can make it.  I will be adding to this post more recipes as I go. The first favorite is rosemary garlic mashed cauliflower.
As the picture shows, I use tooth picks to ensure I don't get too much! I used one big bag of cauliflower from Costco.  It's already cut up so I don't have to worry about more prep.
~steam cauliflower
~put in blender,  add butter and garlic
~add 2 toothpicks of rosemary asks swirl     around
Tah Dah!! That's it ;)

Doterra dog care

Essential oil uses

Frankincense: anxiety, colitis, inflammation, infections, bites insect/snake, tumors, warts

Oregano: bronchitis, colds, MRSA, ringworm, strep, staph, infections

Lemon: anxiety, electrolyte balance, immune boost, infections, lymph function, claw strength

Lavender: abscesses, allergies, anxiety, burns, inflammation, tumors, vertigo, wound care, conjunctivitis 

Peppermint: asthma, bronchitis, diarrhea, fever, heatstroke, inflammation,  muscle pain, ulcers

Balance: Anxiety, displasia, joint issues, stress

Digestzen: allergies, diarrhea, digestive parasites, ulcers, vomiting

On Guard: abscesses, colds, flu, immune support, MRSA, oral health, parasites, 

Tooth problems

Put 8-10 drops of On Guard in a 2 oz glass bottle and fill the remainder of the bottle with fractionated coconut oil. Apply to gums and teeth morning and night.

*Because my baby is small and has sensitive skin I always dilute with fractionated coconut oil. I either put on location or on the pads of her feet.

Homemade Deodorant

I was getting really freaked out when I learned that people were saying that antiperspirants in our deodorants may be linked to breast cancer. Then I got even more freaked out once I started to pay attention to what I was putting in and on my body. I mean have you ever read the ingredients to some of your favorite lotions and skin care products?? Why the hell is Petroleum in almost everything?? I don't know about you but I'm tired of putting crap on my skin that can be absorbed into my body. Especially when it's a byproduct of gasoline!!

So needless to say I've come up with my own deodorant recipe. You will need:

• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/8 cup bees wax
• 1/4 cup baking soda
• 2/3 cup arrow root (or corn starch works too)
•  10-30 drops essential oils of your choosing (depending on how strong you want the scent)

melt 1/4 cup coconut oil on candle warmer.

Then melt 1/8 cup of beeswax

Then mix them together

add 2/3 cup arrow root and 1/4 cup baking soda

Then mix everything together until it is even. It will be like a very thick cream consistency.  Take off of the warmer and add essential oils at this time.I prefer lavender, serenity, or whisper.
Pour this mix into the container of your choosing. I like to save my empty deodorant containers to reuse them. Put it in the refrigerator to chill. Then you are done :) 

Holiday Spray!!

       I'm way too excited that the holidays are right around the corner so I'm all about my cinnamon bark essential oil. Now, if you already have cinnamon essential oil then you know how potent it is and how you can easily over do it. That is why I put mine in a spray bottle so it can disperse easily. My other favorite thing is to slice up an apple and bake it at 350 for about 10 min, then when I take it out as it is cooling I will spray this on. It is my healthy version of apple pie. It is great on fresh apples or apple sauce too!

• 10 drops cinnamon bark
• 5 drops wild orange
• fill with water

P.S. I stopped using store bought cinnamon a while back when I found out that they were using something close to cinnamon, but not real cinnamon. Apparently your getting cassia when you get the powder cinnamon. So I really like the fact that I can feel confident that I'm getting real cinnamon essential oil from Doterra. If you want Cassia, they have that too. But they are labeled correctly. 

Cleaning my dishwasher

I was noticing this gross scum that was in my dishwasher around the edges. It grossed me out so I put 5 drops of purify in with the soap.  Not only did it clean the dishwasher,  it smelled great too! I love finding new ways to use these oils!  Order here

Seasoning

2 drops lemon
2 drops lime
2 drops cilantro
2 drops rosemary
2 drops basil
Add water (2 Oz bottle) shake and spray!!

Quinoa and black beans salsa

2 cups quinoa in rice cooker (I used red and white for fun color)
4 cups water
Bring to a boil then let simmer 15 min
For the last 5 min I add 1 can black beans. And one drop each cilantro and lime essential oil. I let cool a little before I add the oils,  then add salsa and eat over lettuce or with chips!  Easy and yummy!

Spaghetti squash

I loved this when I made this so I thought I would share.

~preheat to 450°

~Cut the the squash in half and take one drop of oregano, basil and rosemary in the center of each half. Put the two halves cut side down on a cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil. 

~ bake for 35 minutes then take out to cool. 

You may choose to cook your ground turkey while this is in the oven, totally optional.

~ once the squash is cool enough to touch , take a fork and scrape out the insides into a bowl. They will be stringy like noodles. Add sauce of your choice along with ground turkey.

Prom hair

Here are some pictures of prom/dance hair I've done over the years.

Weight loss

This is a year difference. 

Before: (left) Ate wheat breads & pasta, processed food, occasionally fast food. Never made time to cook. At my heaviest after my car accident.

After: (right) real food, prepping all my meals myself 90% of the time/10% gluten free pizza or burger or cheetos.

I   have also been taking Doterra essential oils daily. Lemon, lavender, and peppermint in a capsule. I also alternate with slim and sassy oil.

I just want to motivate others to take their health seriously. It's very hard in this fast passed world we live in to slow down and savor every moment. It took me a long time to figure out how to take care of me. I'm just so glad that I have my oils to make life easier.

Becoming a Self Care Advocate

Self Care Advocate

I'm on a mission; it started as my own mission, but now it is much bigger. I am not only trying to reinvent healthcare, I'm promoting self care. In this busy world we live in, we forget to take care of ourselves. We put so much on our plates that there are just not enough hours in the day do get it all done. I used to make so many excuses as to why I was unhealthy. My excuses went as follows:

 "I wish I could cook all my meals but I just don't have time"

 "I would go to the gym if I wasn't so busy"

 "I wish I could grow my own veggies but that's too much work"

"I'm just big boned"

Why the hell are we too  busy to take care of ourselves??

We are too busy because our priorities are all off. I had to make a list of my priorities, and my work was number one... and I wasn't even on the list. That is when I knew things had to change. I know many people who wouldn't put themselves as a priority, and I want to know why? For me, it was that I didn't love myself enough to think that I deserved it. That was a hard reality that hit me. Think of an object that you absolutely love.. like a car for instance. You sure as hell make sure to park farther out so no one can hurt it. You put expensive fuel in it because it's only the best for your baby. Make sure the oil is changed on time.. etc. Some of us are treating inanimate objects better than our bodies. That needs to change. Why do we have to wait to get sick in order to get better? Can't we just do better? Learning to love yourself is a very difficult thing for those who don't. But it has to start there. Learn to love yourself so much that you only use the BEST fuel.

So this is me trying to spread the love. I spend my money on my oils because I deserve the best. I cook all my meals because I am choosing to put the best fuel in my body. I make the time, because I am worth it!

Ph balanced water

I was drinking tons of water but my skin was so try. I couldn't understand why I couldn't keep hydrated. Well, the problem was that my water was acidic. Not only was I drinking acidic water, I was eating acidic foods. If you would like to know more check out acid/alkaline diet for a list of foods. So here I was thinking I was being all healthy by drinking water and eating healthy. I was so wrong... my body hurt, I was gaining weight, wrinkles, dry patches on my skin, bladder and kidney problems... all sorts of Crap. So this is why I love my oils. When I put them in acidic water, they balance the ph!  I started by drinking peppermint oil in my water to ease the heartburn that I got from acidic water.
Acidic water is:
   Bottled water
   Filtered water
   Distilled water
If you drink it alone it is acidic, but you can make it more alkaline by putting a couple drops of lemon or peppermint oil in it. Or a pinch of baking soda works too! I like to alternate between the three... Even tap water has a ph of 6 so it's neutral.

Now I am not a doctor or a dietician. This is all from personal experience and what has helped me. I encourage everyone to get their own ph testing strips and test your urine to see how acidic you are. Mine was very acidic so I balanced with alkaline. So, get some ph testing strips from super supplements or where ever and do your own study. Test everything you drink, you'll be amazed. 

Cucumber noodles

I like to peel the cucumbers before I run them through the noodle maker.
Every Monday I grill up a bunch of chicken breasts just to have on hand.
This recipe is just tomatoes, cucumbers, and grilled chicken in balsamic vinegar.. I like to add essential oils for different flavors such as cilantro and lime. Serve cold and enjoy!!

My healthy KFC mashed potatoes bowl

This is my healthy version of the KFC mashed potato bowl. I use cauliflower instead of potatoes.

Steam the cauliflower until it's soft, then put  in the food processor and blend it to look like potatoes

pour into a container that can go in the oven.

Bake your chicken. These are frozen chicken tenders I bake at 350 for 45 min

cut chicken into bite size pieces and place over cauliflower

add cooked corn to the mix. I prefer to use celery instead of corn. But to make it more authentic we did corn. Then add cheese over the top and bake at 400 for 10 min

Take out and enjoy.

I made gluten free beef gravy to go over top because my husband thought it came with gravy.. I couldn't remember.

journey to health

before  and during

       With the help of my essential oils I've been able to make better food choices and begin my journey to health. I found out gluten was making me sick so I stopped eating it. But is still ate processed foods for a few more months to help with the transition. I would still eat gluten free chips, cookies, and breads. Then I realized there were a lot of unnecessary ingredients in "foods" I was eating. So I started preparing everything I ate and drank my essential oils in my water to start. I started with the peppermint and lemon alternating which made me drink more ph balanced water throughout the day.

       Before I knew it, 7 months had gone by and I had dropped 25 lbs! I was pretty miserable with all sorts of aches and pains. But things are looking up! I'm still on my journey to health but this is a good pit stop.

aloe and coconut oil

1/2 oz aloe vera

1/2 oz coconut oil (fractionated)

1 drops of castor oil

3 drops serenity essential oil from doTerra

I made some new favorite skin cream for my skin. It makes my skin feel baby soft, while not feeling heavy and greasy. I’m so in love with this combination. I just used an old glass container for previous skin care. Shake it before you apply. I love that it comes out like a cream when you shake it up. I apply this to my face because it's so light. 

Homemade chapstick

I use a candle warmer with a metal measuring cup to melt my ingredients together. Then pour into an empty chapstick container and enjoy!!

1 tbsp coconut oil 

1/2 tsp of beeswax

1 drops melaleuca 

1 drop peppermint

This has a cooling sensation on your lips which I love, but you can play around with other oils too. Lavender is next on my list :)

Lavender icecream

I'm craving lavender icecream ever since I made it!! One drop Doterra lavender oil per bowl of vanilla icecream. Oh man, it's heavenly. I didn't even like the smell of the lavender oil when I started using it. That's why I'm so amazed at how much I love it now; especially enough to crave it. Time to drift off to sleep dreaming of my icecream.

Coconut oil treatment

Every Sunday I put coconut oil in my dry hair, toss in a messy bun, then run around doing my errands. I just let it melt in my hands before applying to my hair midshaft to ends. I don't have a need for applying it to my scalp although I'm sure that would work well, I just don't want to run around looking like a grease monkey at Costco :-). When I'm ready to unwind for the day, I'll take a nice hot shower, wash and condition it out. My hair feels amazing and it doesn't take up space in my day.

The good ole days..

I was talking with a friend today about how we used to eat. Like how we used to lie to ourselves about french fries counting as a veggie for the day. Bread and pasta was the most important food group because it was biggest on the food pyramid. Or how switching everything to wheat was supposed to make everything better; wheat bread, wheat pasta etc.

Ignorance is not bliss, it is killing us.

Not knowing that our bodies can't even process the wheat that is grown now. GMO's are everywhere. Don't even get me started on the antibiotics that are in the dairy products. So this is me trying to get educated on nutrition. I've started my journey by cutting out all processed foods. I only eat it if I make it. I don't have dairy milk anymore; however, I'll allow cheese a few times a month instead of every meal like I used to eat. I never had time to cook before, but I'm making time. It is absolutely vital to make your health a priority. I've made social sacrifices so that I can prep my meals, and that's ok. It's just how life is now.

On Guard toothpaste

This is my before and after. I used the on guard oil on a qtip and applied it to my teeth 1 time; they were whitened immediately. Now I maintain my whiteness with the on guard toothpaste. 

I love this toothpaste. Now, I'm not a fan of cinnamon, at least I thought I wasn't. Turns out, I love real cinnamon. It's the artificial stuff I don't like. However, this toothpaste isn't just cinnamon flavor, it had just the right amount of mint too. Leaving your mouth feeling so fresh and clean. Plus, cleaning your toothbrush at the same time! I'll never use another toothpaste again.

Frankincense Salad dressing

Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Lemon essential oil
Oregano essential oil
Frankincense
I don't measure really, but it's generally half and half with the balsamic and olive oil. Depending on how big the container would depend on the drops of essential oils. I do it till it tastes good to me, I know that's not very helpful but this is a great combination.

*olive oil not pictured.

Deep Blue Rub

I just got this one in the mail for free after my order and I must say, I don't know how I ever lived without it!! I have the bottle of the deep blue oil, and that works just as great. But there is something about how smooth this goes on; I don't have to worry about using too much. The smell is so so good! No more stiffness for this girl. I put this on my neck last night because it was hurting so bad; oh it felt so good. I'm in LOVE :-)

Dry shampoo

My little recipe for dry shampoo. I also recommend using lavender. I just love using my homemade dry shampoo better than any store bought.