Month: May 2017

This must be the first thing I have ever done with non diluted essential oils. I got the idea from an allergy inhaler recipe I saw on the interweb. I keep a small jar of lavender in my desk to smell when I have a slight headache and don’t want to take anything and I thought this would be a nice alternative.

Despite the heavy lavender use the chamomile is quite forward. I added the eucalyptus primarily to open up the nasal passages.

2 inhaler tubes

30 drops lavender essential oil
15 drops chamomile essential oil
2 drops eucalyptus essential oil

Mix all drops, then use the absorption core that comes with the inhalers (or a refill) to soak up the oil. Use tweezers to move the soaked core to the inhaler tube and then cap it on the bottom.

I was looking for a gentle easy to sip herbal tea that would be universally appealing and easy to make. Based upon what I had in the cabinet and what I like to sip I made the following very simple tea.

I like it best when steeped from 7 to 10 minutes.

Peaceful Pleasure Tea
2 parts Lemon Balm
2 parts Raspberry Leaves
1/2 part Lavender Flowers

A friend expressed concern over taking Advil for her chronic back pain and was looking into a herbal solution. I suggested Ashwagandha as her pain is along the spine and  any joint related pain is often a swelling and inflammation issue. I choose the chamomile because of it’s analgesic properties but also it’s nervine affects. We can all use a little calm in our lives. The choice of the lemon was driven in part by the need to smooth out the flavor of the Ashwagandha.

1 part Ashwagandha Tincture
1 part Lemon Tincture
2 parts Chamomile Tincture

It took some trial and error to work out the best way to incorporate the the honey into the lip balm so it did not simply form drops of honey on the surface. I’ve now used this method several times with success but it’s also gone pear shaped once or twice.

Your mise en place will be very important. Once of the trickier parts is finding a bowl that will hold the less than one cup of lip balm, be deep enough to use the immersion blender on and easy to pour into the lip tubes. I use a small pyrex measuring cup with quite a bit of success.

Tools:
Double boiler
Immersion blender
12 lip tubes or other small containers

2 Tbs Shea butter
6 Tbs Calendula oil
2 Tbs Bees Wax
1 Tbs Honey
up to 20 drops of preferred essential oil

This recipe will yield 12 tubes of lip balm. In a double boiler, melt the shea butter, bees wax and blend with the calendula oil. Once the three are incorporated remove from the heat and add the honey. Stir then honey in and notice that it will form small droplets in the mixture. The next step will make those droplets event small so they can be suspended throughout the lip balm. Use an immersion blender to blend the mixture. This will break up the honey and also begin to cool the lip balm. Once well blended (it only takes 30 seconds or so) add in your preferred essential oils. Some suggestions are below.

Honey lemon: 15 drops of lemon
Honey basil: 15 drops of basil
Lemon basil: 10 drops lemon 5 drops basil
Cinnamon: 5 drops vanilla 5 drops cinnamon

My most widely used product is the Dreamtime Tincture. The remedy is used to help a person fall asleep. It has gone through many iterations and now even has several different formulas based on the different needs. Below is the receipt for the basic tincture.

Ninja strength has me drooling on my pillow in only a few minutes and I wake up feeling groggy and achy.

Knockout Drops Ninja strength
6 parts Basic Dreamtime tincture
2 parts Valerian tincture
1 part Kava Kava tincture

I have never taken with Godzilla strength myself.

Knockout Drops Godzilla strength
6 parts Basic Dreamtime tincture
2 parts Valerian tincture
2 parts Kava Kava tincture

After my first early attempts with kava kava I found that the tincture was just overpowering in nearly any dosage. I now make the tincture in the typical way but always cut it 50/50 with un steeped alcohol to store and use.