Winter Citrus Salad

When I was building our Green Grocer box this week, I discovered that they offer a collection of citrus fruits.  I am not sure how I missed this before.  Ah!  I added it to our delivery and it did not disappoint.  It was over fifteen pounds of various beautiful, fresh citrus fruits and I am already obsessed.  It'll be a weekly add on for us for sure especially during the winter months.  I am always looking for easy ways to sneak in more Vitamin C this time of year.

I whipped up this salad quickly to have along side sourdough paninis for dinner last night.  It was light and delicious!  Plus, the added health benefits of the bee pollen and Ginger Vitality oil made our bellies super happy.

WINTER CITRUS SALAD

2 Oranges
1 Lemon
1 Grapefruit
2 tablespoons Local Bee Pollen
1 drop Young Living Ginger Vitality Oil (or 1 teaspoon grated, fresh ginger)

Peel the fruit and cut out the sections over a bowl so the juice falls inside the bowl.  Sprinkle with the bee pollen and add the Ginger Vitality Oil.  Stir well to combine and let sit in the refrigerator to chill and marinate for about ten minutes.  Enjoy!

DIY Shakers

I found these great glass shaker jars at a kitchen store while in Lancaster last weekend and knew immediately how I would use them!  These were easy to throw together and it'll be great to have them on hand.

CITRUS SCRUB

1/2 cup Baking Soda
8 drops Lemon YL Essential Oil
8 drops Orange YL Essential Oil

Add all ingredients to a small bowl.  Mix together well.  Using a funnel, transfer the mixture to a shaker jar and screw on the lid.  Pour into sinks, toilets and tubs to provide whitening power and a lovely aroma.

FABRIC REFRESHER

1/2 cup Baking Soda
8 drops Eucalyptus YL Essential Oil
8 drops Lavender YL Essential Oil
4 drops Tea Tree YL Essential Oil

Add all ingredients to a small bowl.  Mix together well.  Using a funnel, transfer the mixture to a shaker jar and screw on the lid.  Sprinkle onto mattresses, couches, carpets and rugs.  Let sit for ten to fifteen minutes and then vacuum it all up.

SHOE REFRESHER

1/2 cup Baking Soda
10 drops Purification YL Essential Oil
6 drops Peppermint YL Essential Oil

Add all ingredients to a small bowl.  Mix together well.  Using a funnel, transfer the mixture to a shaker jar and screw on the lid.  Sprinkle a tablespoon or so into closed toed shoes each evening for fresh smelling shoes in the morning.

Present Time & Lemon Chicken Marinade

I made a nice, healthy dinner for our family tonight and was really looking forward to sitting down to enjoy it together.  But when I called them in to eat, I was having trouble focusing on what we were doing... being present.  I was thinking about cleaning up the dishes and everything else I had to do tonight.  Determined to relax and be in the moment with them, I put a drop of this in my hand, rubbed my hands together and cupped them over my mouth and nose to breathe deeply.  I took a minute to pray that I would value them over my to-do list.  And it worked!  I felt so peaceful and was able to let go and make the most of the little bit of time the four of us have together on a Monday night.

Also... I made a marinade for the chicken and ended up using it as a dressing on the salad, too.  OH MY WORD. So good.  Enjoy!

LEMON CHICKEN MARINADE

1/3 cup Olive Oil
1/3 cup White Wine Vinegar
4 drops YL Lemon Vitality Oil
1 teaspoon Coconut Sugar
1 teaspoon Thyme
1 teaspoon Minced Garlic
1/2 teaspoon Ground Tumeric
1/2 teaspoon Salt (more to season chicken)
1/4 teaspoon Pepper (more to season chicken)
Dash Smoked Paprika

I poured all but a few tablespoons of the marinade into an oven safe pan and let the chicken thighs and breasts cook in that on the stove so the chicken would brown a bit,  Then, I threw it in the oven to finish.  I tossed the rest of the marinade in a simple salad and served both with a scoop of herbed whole-wheat couscous with toasted almonds.  It was a huge hit!  Easy, affordable, wholesome and super yummy!

Iced Slique Tea

I love making this and keeping it cold in the fridge to drink when I am tempted to stress (or boredom) eat or am craving sugar in the afternoons.  It's so refreshing and tasty.  PLUS... it helps to support my weight management goals!  

ICED SLIQUE TEA

6 Slique Tea Bags

2 T Coconut Sugar
3 drops YL Basil
4 drops YL Lemon
Fresh Mint (Optional)

Boil the tea bags in about 4 cups of water and allow to steep for six minutes. Remove from the heat, take out the tea bags and stir in the coconut sugar Allow to cool. Pour into a half gallon GLASS container and fill with cold water. Add the essential oils and mint. Store in the fridge to keep cold for up to a week. (Remove the mint after a day or two.)

NingXia Red Popsicles

Well... the NingXia Red Popsicles were a HUGE hit this morning! smile emoticon Joshua helped me make them before he went to bed last night. When he woke up this morning, he walked straight to the freezer. He was so excited! I modified the recipe a bit to use less of the NingXia Red (because, budget) but the popsicle mold that comes with the new gift set worked SO well! And, yes. When your popsicles contain this many oils, nutrients and antioxidants, your babies (and you!) can eat them for breakfast without Mommy guilt! 

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NingXia Red Popsicles
3/4 cup Water
1/2 cup Organic Apple Juice
1/4 cup NingXia Red
4 drops Orange Vitality Oil
4 drops Lemon Vitality Oil

Mix all ingredients together in a glass bowl and pour evenly into the silicone popsicle molds. Freeze for several hours. Run under hot water for about 20 seconds to help release the popsicles from the molds. Enjoy with LOTS of smiles! grin emoticon

(This gift set is in YL's new Spring Catalog. It is Item #5676 and comes with a silicone YL branded popsicle mold and a bottle of NingXia Red!)

Lemon Oil for Laundry Stains

I have heard about this trick before but have not gotten around to trying it. Until yesterday!

I bought this white dress for Lizzy for Easter. I know... rookie mom mistake. wink emoticon But the dress was just so precious that I couldn't help myself. OF COURSE within the first two minutes of Easter breakfast, she had strawberry juice running down the whole front of it. It ended up sitting on there all day and night because I forgot to soak it when we got home. SO... when I went to do her laundry yesterday morning, I put four drops of Lemon oil over some of the stains. Then, I just washed it with her clothes with Thieves Laundry Detergent, like always.

It came out looking brand new! Strawberry juice... that had sat there for like 36 hours. I was so impressed! Plus, it smells extra fresh and lovely and I don't have to worry about crazy chemicals from store bought stain removers are touching her skin.heart emoticon

I love how versatile, safe and effective essential oils are!

Why do we use NingXia Red daily?

In case you were wondering why we use NingXia Red daily (and why you should, too!), here is a graphic showing all of its amazing benefits! smile emoticon

We had been spending lots of money on many different supplements that supported various body systems. When we started taking NingXia Red daily several months ago, we felt so great that we stopped taking everything else. It turned out to be a great decision to use that part of our monthly budget for this instead. We have never felt better!

Bubbly Energy & Anti-Oxidant Drink

My husband left for a work trip really early this morning and won't be home until after the kids are in bed tonight. So, it's just me all day long with the babes and all the other things that need to get done! smile emoticon 

Needless to say, I needed an afternoon pick-me-up that would also elevate my mood and that wouldn't give me a crash in an hour. This was just perfect!  I was out of NingXia Zyng so I (sort of) recreated it here. Super yummy and very energizing!

Bubbly Energy & Anti-Oxidant Rich Drink

1 oz. NingXia Red
1 NingXia Nitro
2 drops YL Lime Oil
1 drop YL Black Pepper Oil
Seltzer Water

Put ice into a glass. Drop the Lime and Black Pepper essential oils on top of the ice. Add the NingXia Red and NingXia Nitro. Fill to the top with seltzer water and stir with a glass straw. Enjoy!

Black Pepper Popcorn & Orange Infused Chocolate Bark

The oil infused treats for tonight's intro class are all ready to go. It took me all of about fifteen minutes to get this together. It really doesn't have to be complicated! Here are the recipes!

BLACK PEPPER POPCORN

1/4 cup Oil
1 teaspoon Salt
2 drops YL Black Pepper Oil
1/2 cup Popcorn Kernels

Put the oil, salt and black pepper oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stir to combine. Add the popcorn kernels and stir again. Put the lid on the pot and allow it to cook over the heat until there are 2 to 3 seconds between pops. Remove from heat, pour the popcorn into a bowl and add extra salt if needed.

ORANGE INFUSED CHOCOLATE BARK

1/4 cup Sliced Almonds
1/4 cup Cashew Pieces
1/8 cup Sunflower Seeds
1/8 cup Pumpkin Seeds
1/2 cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
1/2 cup Coconut Oil
2 tablespoons Maple Syrup
1/2 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
3 drops YL Orange Oil
Pinch of Salt
1/2 cup YL Dried Wolfberries

Toast the nuts in a non-stick pan over medium heat for about five minutes, stirring occasionally so they do not burn. Add the shredded coconut to the pan. This will burn quickly so be sure to keep moving it around as it toasts. Remove the pan from the heat. Put half of this nut mixture aside. Add the coconut oil, maple syrup, cocoa powder, orange oil and salt to the remaining nut mixture left in the pan. Stir well to combine. Allow to cool in the fridge until it thickens enough to pour easily. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour the chocolate mixture onto it and allow it to spread out. Sprinkle the reserved nut mixture and wolfberries on top of the chocolate mixture . Put in the freezer to harden for about fifteen minutes. Remove from the freezer, peel off the parchment paper and break the chocolate bark into into pieces. Keep them frozen until you are ready to serve.

ENJOY! smile emoticon

Daily NingXia Red Shot

How are you starting your Monday?

I drank 1 oz. of NingXia Red with 1 drop of Frankincense and 2 drops of Lemon about an hour ago and am feeling GOOD!