My family has been using essential oils for years. My husband prefers to diffuse them while I usually use them topically or in recipes. Essential oils have saved me from a cortisone shot in my hip, numbing elbow pain and countless sore throats.

If you’re interested in purchasing DoTerra essential oils use this link for up to 25% discount off retail prices: https://referral.doterra.me/2152480

Melaleuca (Tea Tree):

• When my daughter was younger and lice was a thing, we used to add Tea Tree to her hair gel every morning before school to keep the lice away. It does dry the hair, but it also kept the lice out of the house.
• My son used to suffer from bad ear infections so to soothe him, we would put a dab of Tea Tree and Lavender behind his ears (not inside the ear canal!).
• Now that my daughter is in her teen ears, the unfortunate pimple creeps up, so we tab a little tea tree oil on the unwanted pimple. This has really helped her – she even has her own bottle in her room.

Rosemary:

• My tendonitis has gotten worse over the years, especially now from all the pickleball I play. A little Rosemary on the elbow really helps ease the pain – along with Lemongrass. When I use essential oils like this, I usually them to a lotion so I can spread it evenly.

Onguard (Doterra Brand):

This stuff is great!

• When we have a sore throat, we add 2-3 drops of Onguard and Lemon to a spoonful of honey and take it like cough syrup. This shouldn’t be done too many times a day – we keep it to 2x a day. This is very soothing.
• We pop a few Onguard beadlets whenever we start to feel like we are coming down with something.
• Doterra makes an Onguard cleaning concentrate which I put in a spray bottle along with water. I usually add some Lemon and Peppermint to the cleaning spray. This cleaning spray lasts and is great for cleaning grease off the stovetop.

Frankincense (This is a pricy oil):

• I had bursitis on my hip – I was doing some weird ballet exercises at the time and working muscles I probably shouldn’t have been working so aggressively. The Dr told me that I needed to get a cortisone shot in the hip. This sounded awful to me, so I did a little research. Frankincense and Rosemary soothed the pain, and I was able to get through the bursitis without any needles.

Cooking with Essential Oils:

You can’t cook with every essential oil so do your research, but below are a few I use in my kitchen. You usually don’t need too many drops – one drop can add a lot of flavor to a dish. I prefer not to actually cook the oils but use it more at the end like a garnish. Lemon is great in tuna salad or green salad – you really only need one drop. I’ve found when using essential oils in broths or in recipes with long cooking times, it’s best when added at the end of the cooking time – it really makes the dish pop with that flavor.

• Lemon
  • drinking water
  • marinades
  • tuna salad
  • pancake batter
  • cake batter
  • green salad
  • chicken
  • seafood
• Oregano
  • marinades
  • soup
  • chicken
  • use sometimes in my bagel chip recipe
• Orange
  • drinking water
  • cake batter
• Grapefruit
  • drinking water
• Thyme and Rosemary
  • marinades
  • chicken
• Peppermint
  • I don’t LOVE the taste of peppermint, but I have put it in chocolate for Christmas treats
  • peppermint and lemon along with local honey are supposed to be great for allergies

It’s important that the essential oil is pure, especially when using them internally. There are a lot of essential oil companies, so do your research. I prefer DoTerra oils for topical or internal use. They harvest their oils from regions of the world where the plant is flourishing and when the plant is at its peak. They take great care when processing their oils and I find DoTerra to be of high quality. When diffusing oils, I ask my husband to use the cheaper brands because he uses many drops in the diffuser and DoTerra is not cheap!

I’ve made and sold essential oil holders that can be hung on the wall or placed on a tabletop. These holders make it easier to organize the oils room by room. If you’re interested in a custom essential oil holder, please reach out to me.