Tag Archives: essential oils

Creamy Potato Dill Soup

21 Thursday Feb 2019

Posted by in Food

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Saturday night my husband and I went out to a nice local restaurant, which is known for its seafood, to celebrate Valentine’s Day. I already knew I was going to stray from my vegan diet for the night. I love seafood and I told myself that every once in a while it is perfectly okay to fall off the diet, especially for special occasions like celebrating love LOL!

I ended up choosing a shrimp and scallops dish with sautéed veggies, mashed potatoes and a creamy potato dill soup. I had never had this kind of soup and was pretty excited to try it as I recently discovered how much I actually love dill. It’s become somewhat of an obsession and if you haven’t tried Dill and Black Pepper Popcorn, hit me up and I will hook you up!! I was nervous about indulging in this soup because I wasn’t sure how my stomach would handle the cream in the soup and the milk and butter in the potatoes. When my soup came I dug right in. OH MY! It was so delicious, I was in heaven and I am ecstatic to say that I had zero tummy problems the next day!!! This vegan diet is doing wonders for me!

I knew right away that I HAD to learn how to make this at home, but a vegan version. A day or two later I grabbed the almond milk soup base from my pantry to see how I could use it. I ended up grabbing it two weeks ago from the grocery store in the off-chance I might need or want it for a new recipe. Low and behold, right there on the carton is a recipe for creamy potato soup! I also decided to use my handy-dandy tool, Pinterest to see how adding a dill component would work. I didn’t look too long though, instead I just looked through my cabinets and came up with something I thought might work. Enter……my Young Living Dill Vitality essential oil. *insert happy dance here*

Now here is the part where I wanted to say how amazing my soup was and how jazzed I felt to have recreated such a yummy dish. I really wanted to do that. But I’m not going to and this is why…I’m not a chef. Nor am I a food blogger or recipe developer. I’m not even a veteran vegan. I am just an okay home cook trying out a vegan diet to improve health and wellness and who really enjoys cooking meals for my family, when they actually eat them, and who loves the satisfaction of making things from scratch. Not only that, but I don’t want to mislead you or be fake. I had a real life experience and I want to share that not some glorified version of what happened in hopes you will follow me. I still hope you’ll love what I’ve provided you, but I what I really hope is that you’ll appreciate the honesty and maybe even help me out with some tips to make my dream soup even dreamier!!

With that said, my soup came out okay. Not amazing, but okay. Even though I simmered the potatoes for the time suggested, they weren’t cooked all the way through and didn’t mash all the way. I didn’t mind them not being completely mashed because I like a chunkier soup but it ended up being a thinner soup than I was anticipating and I think that’s why. I did try to thicken it up with some cornstarch and it helped a little but still not creamy like I was wanting. As far as spices and herbs, the dill was PERFECT in my opinion. However, I had too much garlic and it made the soup a little darker and heavier than I had anticipated. I didn’t think my garlic press was working so I dumped some garlic powder in. For whatever reason I retried the press AFTER I already dumped in garlic powder and it worked so…I added the minced garlic in as well. I should have left it out but I always hear, “you can never have too much garlic”. Apparently that isn’t always true. My soup could have had a lighter, brighter taste with a thicker, creamier texture but I am so happy I experimented with it!

I want to touch on Dill Vitality essential oil from Young Living. I ordered it for a popcorn recipe and I was somewhat skeptical about it but it was easy enough to make so I went for it. From the moment I opened the bottle I was hooked. Just smelling it makes me happy!! To my surprise Dill Vitality essential oil has more uses than just being used for recipes. It can help aid in digestion and it can also help with weight management. If you rub some on your wrists, or simply smell it straight from the bottle like I do, it can help curb those cravings that get in the way of a healthy diet!

Honestly, I didn’t do anything special, aside from adding the Dill Vitality oil and some dried dill, I just followed the recipe on the almond milk soup base box. I did use a vegan butter rather than a cow’s milk butter to make it vegan. As far as the Dill, I added 2 drops of oil and about a half of a tablespoon of dried dill right after I added the vegetable broth and let it simmer. Once that was done, I added the soup base and another drop of dill vitality oil. At the very end I used some dried dill for garnish. I paired the soup with a fresh garden salad and fresh homemade drop biscuits. The meal was almost fully vegan, I had to use cow’s milk butter in the biscuits because I didn’t have enough of my vegan butter…wah waaaah.

 

And now what you’ve been waiting for…the recipe!!

Creamy Potato Dill Soup

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 onion, finely chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 cup vegetable broth
  • 2 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk soup base
  • 3 drops Young Living Dill Vitality Essential Oil
  • Dried dill for seasoning and garnish

Directions:

  1. Melt butter in large pot. Add onion, salt and pepper. Cook for 2 min.
  2. Add potatoes and garlic. Cook 1 min.
  3. Add vegetable broth and 2 drops of Dill Vitality oil and dried dill. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes.
  4. Mash potato mixture to desired consistency.
  5. Gradually stir in almond milk soup base and one more drop of Dill Vitality oil. Bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste and dried dill for garnish.

The soup wasn’t perfect but it was easy and there is promise for a better version…I definitely find beauty in that!!!

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Potty Training Blues

14 Thursday Feb 2019

Posted by in Home

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Before I go too far into it here are a couple of things I know already. I know that it could sometimes take a child up until they are four years old to be potty trained. I know that my child is still considered a little young to be potty training. Finally, I know that every child is different and will potty train at his or her pace. With that said, I don’t need to be told “he is too little” because he has already been trained…mostly. That is why I am writing this post.

Just after Gavin turned two I decided we should see where he is at with the potty training. My husband thought I was nuts but he was showing signs of being ready. For instance, he would tell me when he would pee and poop in his diaper. He also wanted to watch us use the bathroom, as well as the older daycare kids who were being potty trained at the same time. I figured, why not!?

I went into it with the mindset that it was just a check in. If he didn’t get it at all then we would back off. Surprisingly enough, within a few days he was staying dry all day. Within two weeks of being taken potty regularly and staying dry throughout the day he was telling us he had to go potty! I was so happy…shocked!

When my older kids were potty training I did what everyone else did, I used Pull Ups for them. My oldest was trained by the time he turned 3 (it was a nightmare because I was a first time mom and clueless). My daughter had a harder time and it wasn’t until around 5 years old that she was staying dry throughout the day. But with Gavin I decided to follow a tip from the of the mom of a boy I took care of. The advice was actually prompted by his Montessori School and I was completely on board when mom asked if I would be okay with doing the same thing. It’s simple, no Pull Ups. That’s right. Go straight from diapers to undies. That little boy was potty trained in less than 2 weeks!!! It was amazing. I strongly urged another family to try the same thing with their little girl as she was pushing the four-year old mark and once we all got on board she was trained in about a week as well. Of course because they were little, there were some accidents but we had what I would call potty training success pretty quick. So when it came time to try it with Gavin I said no to Pull Ups. Like I said, it didn’t take long at all before he was staying dry and then asking us to go potty.

Fast forward about 6 or so weeks….REGRESSION. ????? Why does this have to happen??? So while Gavin was asking to go pee on the potty, he still wasn’t going poop on the potty. He refused and started a pattern of going early morning, or right as he was waking up from nap, while he still had a diaper on. I was fine with that because I know that part of training takes a little longer. Then all of a sudden he started having TONS of accidents, stopped telling us he had to go pee pee, and became constipated. I decided to back off because I didn’t want him being constipated. My daughter had issues with constipation and it has been a really hard road for her where that is concerned. So after putting Gavin back in diapers to avoid pooping problems he absolutely refused to go back to peeing on the potty.

It’s been a few months since being back in diapers and recently he is showing signs of being ready to be trained again. For instance, he will pee in his diaper and then tell me he just did it. He has woken up a few times recently with a completely dry diaper in the morning and at nap time. And he will TELL me when he is about to go poop, then go into the foyer to do his business. His current pattern though is the most frustrating. The last few weeks he has been pooping right after I lay him down for nap, or shortly after. It’s been brutal because after I change him, and hope with will go to sleep, he stays up. My kid will not nap anymore. I’m lucky if I get one nap a week out of him. I’m losing my mind!!! Okay, back to business…this post is about potty training and not my depression over my kid not napping!

Because he has been showing the other signs of potty training, and I’ve seen this pattern of pooping, I’ve decided to use it to my advantage. I’ve started putting him on the potty to poop right before nap time in hopes that he will go because it’s around the same time he has been going. NOPE. He waits me out and then poops as soon as he gets into bed. I’ve been told and I’ve read that a drop of peppermint essential oil in the potty could help. I’ve tried it a few times and I can tell it’s starting to work and then just like that he closes up shop…the little turd! I really thought I was more stubborn than he is but he is proving me wrong. After two attempts today, one before lunch and one after lunch, totaling about an hour and twenty minutes, I put a diaper on him and laid him down. This was after all of the things I tried to keep him calm and relaxed and encouraged to go…essential oils (peppermint in the toilet and Digize on his tummy), hand holding, switching potties three times, Dinosaur Train, Monkey Potty (YouTube it, it’s ridiculous), and some classical music. He passed right out today but the kid was exhausted from waiting me out and holding it in…and because I put a sleepy blend on him during lunch because dammit if he’s not gonna poop on the toilet then he is at least going to sleep!

I’m really trying to find the beauty in potty training…I’m guessing it comes when they are actually trained LOL…but for right now I’m struggling.

 

Why Essential Oils?

10 Sunday Feb 2019

Posted by in Domesticated Oils

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Essential Oils are all the rage these days and after having my own success with oils I fully know why. Most of my friends and family know my love of oils but they don’t all know why I have chosen to start using them or start working the business.  This blog isn’t a chance for me to educate you on essential oils or explain my business. It is however about me, my story, and my journey.

WHERE IT ALL STARTED…Peppermint oil was my first experience with oils, about 7-8 yrs. ago. A Co-worker offered it to me while I had a migraine. I was surprised a few minutes later when my pain had started to ease up. After that, anytime I had a headache I went to her to “dose” me up with her peppermint oil. Slowly I started hearing more and more about oils and started buying some and experimenting, not paying attention to quality and not even knowing that it mattered much. In March of 2016, when I was pregnant with my third baby, I was about to take a flight with my older 2 kids and had a lot of anxiety. I couldn’t drink or take any Xanax to take the edge off and so naturally I whined about it to my friend.  She suggested this calming blend you could buy at Walgreens. I bought it and used it. I was pleasantly surprised that I did notice a difference. During the next year I continued to use drug store brand essential oils and even started diffusing them. I still didn’t know a ton about how oils worked, where they came from or how to be safe with them.

THE TURNING POINT…I have GERD, along with some old injuries that lend to my body feeling pretty crotchety at times, and anxiety. By May of 2017 my GERD had started getting really out of control and I spent the next 10 or so months feeling MISERABLE. I had eliminated what seemed to be ALL of the food. I think I was down to eating oatmeal, eggs, toast, fruits (but not all) and veggies, rice,…you get the idea. My stomach hurt ALL of the time and I was always afraid of eating my next meal. I had a lot of headaches, my joints hurt, and I wasn’t sleeping well.  I had taken turns eliminating gluten and dairy and when I eliminated dairy for the first time I saw small results and I lasted about 4 or 5 months. I did not see any difference when I eliminated gluten. I was taking obscene amounts of anti-acids and too many OTC pain relievers for my headaches and pain. I lost a lot of weight in a very unhealthy way between July and November of 2017, my anxiety was through the roof that summer.  In March of 2018, after a day out with a friend, we ended up back at her house having some dinner and wine and we started talking about essential oils. I was super surprised that she used Young Living essential oils because by now I had heard of the company, but she didn’t seem the “type” to “buy into this stuff”, meaning a direct sales company. Yes, I was Judgy Mcjudgerson. BIG TIME. I had resigned myself to never buying into another direct sales company again. She explained her simple routine and how much relief she had gotten in a short amount of time. I was pretty intrigued and when I got home I started researching essential oils and GERD and became excited that there might be something out there that could actually help me, and it wouldn’t be a pharmaceutical. And not only could they help my digestive system but maybe I’d find help with my anxiety and pain as well. I’m a little bit of a hippie and love all things natural so this was right up my alley! The only reason I decided to do some research and start believing in the possibility of these oils and this company is because while my friend told me her story, she wasn’t trying to sell me. She doesn’t even work the business. She uses the oils in her daily life to help improve her health, simple as that. That spoke volumes to me. So, after a couple of days of doing some research I sat and talked with my husband and said “hey I want to try this and this is why”. I broke down the pricing, what I would get, the benefits and how it all worked. He said, “okay! But only if you promise to not make it a business”…So, I promised. In April of 2018, I got my premium starter kit and within 2 weeks of starting a routine for my GERD I had stopped taking almost all of the anti-acids I had been for almost a year and started EATING again. It sounds drastic but I will never forget the day I decided to celebrate those two weeks of feeling awesome with a piece of Portillo’s chocolate cake! I might have jumped the gun a little on that celebration because I paid for it the next day, but I quickly recovered and got back on track. Have I regressed here and there? Yes.  I am human and to tend to eat when I’m bored and give in to cravings way too easily. Am I currently still on an anti-acid? Yes…however, one a day. If I over indulge then I may have to have a back-up, but I usually get back on track with my oils first before reaching for an OTC. My ultimate goal is to be medication free! Speaking of OTC’s…Advil and Tylenol. I rarely take any these days. The only reason I might take an OTC these days is because of a headache. I get terrible headaches but thankfully not nearly as often as I used to, maybe once or twice a month, and I have yet to reach a point where I don’t need a little extra help in headache relief. Body pain? Yes, I still have pain, but it is so much more manageable and I reach for the oils first and avoid the OTC’s. My anxiety? Almost completely under control now. I still have some moments of panic and anxiety but they aren’t as frequent and they don’t last as long. I will add that about 9 months before I started using the oils I was hypnotized for my anxiety and I saw tremendous results, but for me the oils are what help me maintain and keep myself spiritually and emotionally in check. Since October I have added CBD oil to the mix, as well as a vegan diet shortly after that. A quick FYI – Young Living has announced they have partnered with a company to provide a quality CBD oil that is infused with Young Living essential oils and I cannot wait until it’s released! Between the essential oils kick starting my journey to a healthier body, the CBD oil, and the vegan diet I’ve had a huge amount of progress in under a year!! It hasn’t happened overnight but it is happening and I am so thankful to experience it first hand. I’m actually excited to eat…not only to eat but to try new flavors. I’m not afraid to work out because I don’t want to have to use pain medication the next day which will then in turn hurt my stomach. It’s been an awesome journey so far and I know that I still have a lot more to experience with essential oils. Wanna know my favorite part of this process, aside from how great I feel?? My whole family, husband included, ask for essential oils. It took a few months but the first time my husband said, “What oils can I use for this and can you show me how to use them?”, I practically did cart wheels through the house! To have him on board and really understand the power that these little bottles hold was very exciting for me. My teenagers ask for oils as well for anything from pain to needing some motivation to finish up their homework. I love having my whole family on board and learning about the natural way to help improve their health!

THE JOURNEY IS REALLY JUST GETTING STARTED…I didn’t start working my business until November of 2018, just a few months ago, six months after incorporating essential oils into my life. Remember, I promised not to! Because I have had such great progress I decided that I wanted to share essential oils and hopefully teach as many people as I can how to utilize something so pure and natural. My husband and kids have been so extremely supportive making this process so much more exciting! Early on in my essential oil journey I started making roller bottles for myself and my family. Eventually I started making them for friends and now it has snowballed into an Etsy store that will be open very soon!!!

Now that you know my story I hope you are encouraged to do some research on essential oils and what they can do for you. I hope you are inspired to start your own journey to a more natural, less chemical filled, way of life. Finally, I hope that you remember everyone has something they’re dealing with and while it might not seem like it in the moment, there is beauty lying there waiting to be seen.