Amazing Oils!

Cold and Flu season is upon us! But this year I'm fighting back! A couple days ago I woke up feeling fine, but sometime after dinner it hit me like a freight train, "I don't feel good...." I whined as I plopped down on the couch. "what's wrong?" My husband asked me, I hadn't pin pointed it yet, but my head hurt and my ears hurt and I felt sick.  "I'm going to bed....." But before my head hit my pillow for the night I remembered all those pretty little bottles of essential oils I have sitting in my bathroom. I swear the hardest part of using oils, it to REMEMBER to use them! So I drug myself to my glorious collection of mis-matched oils. And started to ponder. My head hurt, so I grabbed the lavender oil. My chest felt heavy so I grabbed some peppermint and eucalyptus oils. Armed with my tiny bottles, a bottle of sweet almond oil and a toasty (The name my children gave to our numerous lavender and rice filled heat packs) I shuffled off to bed. I mixed a couple drops of lavender equal drops oils and applied it to my temples, neck and outside of my ears, and mixed the peppermint and eucalyptus oils with equal drops oil and applied to my chest. Tossed a toasty over my eyes and fell asleep----hard. And I woke up magically healed! No, not quiet. Actually, in my experience essential oils speed up healing, often by making your sickness come to it's ugly rearing head faster, but less severely. This is how I woke up the next day, my head still hurt and my body still felt sick-ish. So I got the kids to school and started 'operation: kill a cold' and it started with a large glass of water, then a mug full of warm broth (homemade chicken bone broth- seriously SO easy! Recipe at the bottom of the page) then the big guns. Oregano oil--- lots of Oregano oil. I had purchased Oregano oil capsules a while back because I had kept hearing all about how great Oregano oil is, "the natural antibiotic" I'd read. So I picked some up at my local hippy market (health food store)  I took a capsule every couple hours and drank LOTS of fluids. I also mixed up a essential oil shot-- I used peppermint, 4 thieves, and lemon 2 drops of each mixed in a shot glass with hot water. I plugged my nose and drank up... then I realized I may have made a small error. MORE WATER! Ahhhh....that's better. (That 4 thieves stuff is STRONG! *please note unless your oils say food grade-- do not ingest them. just use them topically, which after my gag experience with drinking them I think I'll stick to topical next time regardless.* Well, within 3 hours of waking up I felt less sick. "That's a fluke," I thought, but I kid you not, I'm not sick anymore! All day long I felt normal, maybe a small lingering head ache at the most. And today I woke up feeling completely fine! Essential oils for the WIN! :)

Bone broth (chicken)

Next time you want a chicken for dinner throw a chicken in your crock pot and let it cook. Toss in whatever you want to season it with. I usually use onion, celery, maybe a carrot, I've also used fennel. Salt and pepper, and let it cook.  Pull your meat off and toss all your bones back into your crock pot with your cooking juices and veggies, add a table spoon of apple cider vinegar, or juice a bit of lemon, you just need to add some acidic juices to pull the nutrients out of the bones. Fill your pot with as much water as it can hold and cook.......cook......keep cooking. I let mine go on low for a whole OTHER day! My broth cooked for nearly 30 hours, strain and save in containers. I used mason jars and kept mine in the fridge, I drink a cup everyday to help heal my gut from my food allergies. But you can freeze and use later for soup, freeze in ice cube trays for sauces, etc. get creative! I serve mine re-heated and add just a pinch of sea salt. Don't skim the fat! You want that! And don't be surprised if your broth gels as it cools, that's all that lovely healing gelatin that is doing that! When you warm it up it'll all mix in again and make a lovely, rich broth. Great for next time your sick and need some nutrients! 

Cheers and Health! 

Erin