Blueberry Chia Jam

 

Just made a super easy and extremely tasty jam!!

Add 3 cups fresh blueberries to a small saucepan and heat over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Add 2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup and using a fork or masher, mash up about half of the blueberries and cook 5 more minutes. (I believe I mashed mine too much. 🙊)

Then, whisk in 3 Tablespoons chia seeds. Taste and adjust sweetener if needed. The chia seeds will thicken the jam after time.

Allow to cool and enjoy! 🍯🍞🍇🍓

You know all the ingredients and it's all natural! Add to toast, smoothies, or yogurt!

Recipe from: https://www.savorylotus.com/easy-3-ingredient-blueberry-chia-jam/

Toxic-Free Waterproof Sunscreen

The very talented Kate Doubler has a DIY sunscreen recipe that I have been using the last 3 summers and it is very easy to make, effective, and not full of all those harsh chemicals!  All you need is a double boiler, Mason Jar, coconut oil, sweet almond oil, beeswax, shea butter, vitamin E oil, ZincOxide powder, lavender essential oil, and storage containers.

Add in a double boiler:

• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup sweet almond oil
• 1/4 cup beeswax
• 2 Tbsp. shea butter
• 1 tsp. vitamin E oil

Melt all then remove from heat and add liquid into a mason jar.  Add 20-30 drops of Lavender Essential Oil and 2 Tbsp. ZincOxide Powder.  Add the lid and shake (the reason for this step is so you avoid breathing in the zinc powder).

Pour into silicone containers or a glass jar.  I love these ones!

I store in the refrigerator after summer to help it last longer.  It works great and is even waterproof!

The first time I used it, I was pregnant and at the beach in Florida.  I was nervous thinking my hormones would whack everything up and the sunscreen wouldn't be effective, but I was wrong!  And an added bonus is the lavender oil as it is great for your skin and can help with burns.

ZincOxide has a natural SPF of 20 and Coconut Oil has an SPF of 10.  So this sunscreen is about 30 SPF.

Enjoy!!

xoxo ~K

Chapstick in a Jar

Since 7th grade, I have been a Blistex junkie.  I couldn't go ANYWHERE without it in my pocket.  My jeans even were faded from where I had it.  It was bad.  Needless to say, there have been studies done that prove addictive chemicals are added into chapstick to made it so addictive. 

Once I delved into the Holistic world, this was the first thing I wanted to make.  I got onto Pinterest and found some recipes.  They were ok, but not fabulous.  Then, my sister gave me some and it was FABULOUS! And it's only 3 ingredients!

To make, you will first need to get some empty chapstick containers.  I got mine on Amazon and they were cheap and nice.  You will also need 1/4 cup coconut oil, 1 Tablespoon and 1 teaspoon beeswax, your choice of essential oil, a large Mason jar, aluminum foil, a pot, and water.

Aluminum foil for Chapstick!?  Let me explain.....

When I first made chapstick, I'd spill most of it pouring it out of my large glass bowl used for my double boiler.  Then, I found a magical way to make chapstick.

Take some aluminum foil and fold into long pieces.  Add to the bottom of a pot and add a few inches of water.  Place your large Mason jar on the aluminum foil and bring the water to a boil.  Add the coconut oil and beeswax inside the Mason jar.  The aluminum foil acts as a barrier so the oil and wax does not burn.  Once the water is heated, it will melt the oil and beeswax. 

Once melted, remove from the pot and add 20 drops of your favorite Essential Oil.  I have used Peppermint and just recently used Eucalyptus and I love them both!  After the Essential Oils have been added, stir and then pour directly into the empty chapstick container. 

After cooled, add caps and enjoy! Makes about 13 tubes!

Body Butter Recipe

 
I was listening to my favorite Essential Oils Podcast and they shared a Body Butter recipe.  I was really wanting to make a moisturizer and everyone I had made so far, I have hated.  Well, this Body Butter recipe is the BEST!

If DIY-ing is scary to you, take a deep breath, and give it a try! If you find easy recipes, get a few items to use, and materials, you can make just about anything!! I have the following materials and have made a lot of stuff with them:

• Beeswax
• Shea Butter
• Cocoa Butter
• Coconut Oil
• A variety of other carrier oils (Sweet Almond, Jojoba, etc.)

To make the Body Butter, you will take 1/4 cup coconut oil, 1/4 cup sweet almond oil, 1/4 shea butter, and 1/4 cup cocoa butter and add to a double boiler. I use a glass bowl over a pan halfway filled with water.  Melt all of those then remove from heat.

I allow to cool about an hour then put it in the refrigerator.   This allows it to cool quicker.  If it was winter, I would have stuck it outside.  Around 2-3 hours later, take it out, mix around with a spatula and then add about 10-20 drops of your favorite Essential Oil.  I chose Peace and Calming because it's my favorite!

Then, use a hand mixer and whip away!!  Whip until stiff peaks.  And....viola!  You've made Body Butter!

DIY Foaming Hand Soap

This is by far the EASIEST DIY you will ever do!  You need a few ingredients that can be found at your local grocery store, co-op, or Amazon:

• Empty Foaming Hand Soap container (or reuse one!)
• Castile Soap (I prefer the Mild Baby so it's safe for even the littlest hands)
• Essential Oil of your choice (Get it here)
• Distilled Water

Simple add 1/3 cup Castile Soap to the Foaming Hand Soap container, then 5-10 drops of your favorite EO, fill almost all the way with distilled water, then add the top.  Leaving a little extra room will make sure it doesn't spill over.....which mine always does!  LoL.   But I just wash my hands with the spillage. 

That's it!! 

No need to shake or stir.  You could use regular tap water, but it would have a cloudy look.  The only key thing is to add the EOs to the Castile soap, because remember.....oil and water don't mix!

Enjoy and stay healthy!!

In good health,

xoxo~K

Essential Oils 101

My journey with essential oils began last school year.  I had a student wil a lot of behavior issues.  His parents were very supportive and willing to try anything.  His mom came across an article on how essential oils can help with students' attention and behaviors.  She bought a blend and began using it on him.  Within weeks, I saw HUGE improvments! 

This made me start to think....is there a way to heal our bodies without chemicals and with natural ingredients? 

YES THERE IS!!  Essential Oils are the answer!

I started looking on Pinterest (it's better than Google if you ask me) and found a lot of information.  My sister invited me to join a webinar about essential oils and I was so excited about the possibilities to naturally heal my body!

Did you know as women we put 500 chemicals in our body a day!  This can be through make up, medicine, hair and face products, as well as food.  I thought to myself, "I want to eliminate as many chemicals in my body as I can!"

So I signed up to get a starter kit through Young Living Essential Oils and was very excited to start using the oils.  In the Premium starter kit, I received 11 oils, a diffuser, and samples. 

Once my oils came, I started expermienting and am very happy with them!  I will be sharing about each oil in seperate posts. 

Essential Oils have the highest frequency (MHz) than anything else.  Which means there is a better chance for overall wellness.  A lot of essential oils are not 100% pure, but mixed with other carrier oils (coconut, jojoba, almond, avacado, olive oils etc.).  Young Living essential oils are 100% pure and a therapeutic grade.

Essential Oils can be used three different ways: topically, internally, and inhilation.

Topically
Oils can be applied neat directly to the skin.  They can also be mixed with a carrior oil and applied to skin.  Mixing with a carrier oil helps your oils last longer (which I learned the hard way...lol). 

One of the best places to apply oils is to the bottom on your feet. Your feet have a lot of pores and absorb oils quickly.  Your spine is another great place too.  If you are having issues with the top half of your body, apply from the bottom to the top of your spine.  If you are having problems with the bottom half of your body, apply from the top to the bottom of your spine.  Pretty much, you are pulling the oils towards the half of your body that needs it. 

Internally
Most therapeutic oils can be consumed internally (see labels for more information on oils- NOT ALL be consumed).  There are a few ways you can do this:

• Simple add it in a liquid (coffee, water)
• Make a capsule like these
• Add drops of oil on a spoonful of honey
• Add drops under tongue or on the roof of your mouth

Inhilation
The fastest way for essential oils to be absorbed into your body and bloodstream is direct inhilation.  When a drop of oil lands on your skin, it takes 2 seconds for it to be absorbed in your bloodstream. This can be done by:

• Breathing oils directly from the bottle
• Add a drop of oil on hands, rub together, and inhale.
• Using in a home diffuser and the starter kit comes with a great one!  The diffuser mixes water and the oils and creates a cool mist, almost like a humidifier.

How to get a Welcome Kit
Order a Premium Starter Kit as a wholesale member through my link and I will send you a welcome gift! Young Living is a referral business. Meaning that you have to order through someone’s link – someone that referred you! I would love it, if you purchased your oils through me.

As a thank you, I will send you an awesome welcome gift with some tools to get you started with your oils! If you sign up as a wholesale member with Young Living, you get 24% off all of your essential oil purchases! Often people are confused by the term “wholesale member”, not realizing that there is nothing required of them.

If you sign up as a wholesale member you have absolutely no obligation to purchase more oils or to sell the oils, ever! If you want to keep your wholesale membership, then you have to order 50PV (essential $50) worth of oils or products a year, that’s all. If you don’t do that, there is no penalty, you’ll just lose your 24% discount.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR YOUR STARTER KIT

The “Enroller ID” and “Sponsor ID” boxes should already be filled in for you. If they aren’t for some reason, my ID is 2073220, and you can fill both the boxes with this number.

The Premium Starter Kit (which is what I got) comes with:

• The 10 Everyday Oils Collection (5 mL bottles) Lemon, Lavender, Peppermint, Thieves, PanAway, Frankincense, Copaiba, Purification, R.C., and DiGize. 
• A home diffuser
• A bonus oil! 5 mL bottle of Stress Away
• Aroma Glide roller fitment turn your most used oil bottle into a convenient roll on
• 10 sample packets (I keep these in my purse for traveling and emergencies while out)
• 2 NingXia Red 2-oz. samples (antioxidant supplement)

When signing up, not only do you get amazing oils to use to help heal your body, but you also get a superb network of people.  There are Facebook groups and newsletters that give you ideas and help.  And the company is excellent!  They have a Seed to Seal guarantee.  Young Living was founded in 1993 and they only sell about 28% of the products they make.  The other 72% of their products are used as pesticide- talk about organic!!

Ok, enough rambling on and on about this great company and products.  If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at KrissySwango@gmail.com.  :)

In good health,

~Krissy

*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease. 

Meditation 101

Last month, I went to a Stress Relief workshop with Melita. She went over herbs to help relieve stress (Tulsi AKA Holy Basil, Chamomile, Lavender), Yoga practices (legs on wall, bridge), and meditation.  I never really considered meditating, but thought I would give it a try outside the workshop.  I have been really stressed lately, so anything that can help I would try.

I have been sticking to it for a month and have seen dramatic improvements!!  I have been more relaxed, less stressed, and patient (which is usually my mantra).  I have been meditating 3-4 times a week and I notice those days I don't meditate, I feel slightly off.  Which to me, that slightly off feeling lets me know that my body, mind, soul, and spirit need it. 

There are many great apps you can download to help you meditate.  I tried Headspace last year and it is nice with getting the foundations down.  Here is another list of great meditation apps. 

But here is how I meditate.  I may not be doing it right, but it is what works for me.  I will be researching more to find out other ways. 

1. Sit in a comfortable seat on the floor where it is quiet.
2. Close your eyes and relax your body, but keep your spine straight.
3. Be aware of your environment- sounds you hear, smells, tastes. Notice what is going on around you, so you will not be startled or come out of your meditation if you hear a noise (dogs barking, or in my case, a cat rubbing against me). 
4. Focus on your breathing.
5. Then, do a fill body scan- start at the top of your head to your toes.  Be aware of areas of discomfort.  Try to focus on those areas of discomfort and relax them or adjust your body to help alieviate any discomfort.
6. Alternate nose breaths- Begin by covering you right nostril and breath in through your left.  Then, cover your left and breath out your right and inhale through your right.  Cover your right and exhale out your left. This is one cycle.  Complete 11 more times for a total of 12 cycles.
7. Next, it is time for your mantra, which is a word or sound repeated through meditation to help keep your focus.   Mine is usually patience or strength.  The mantra needs to be repeated 108 times.  This is tracked by moving your thumb and middle finger along a bead on a mala necklace.  I made my own Mala from buying supplies at Michael's store.
8. After your mantra, it is time for prayer.  I start my prayer by recognizing people in need or who need extra thoughts.  Then, I give thanks for things in my life, or forgiveness.  While I am praying, I bring my hands together to my chest.
9. Last, I say an Om and re-state my mantra.  And finally, I say Namaste! :)

Meditation should be something that you look forward to and that should be done around the same time each day.  If your mind wonders to things during your meditation (to-do lists, something you forgot at work, what you will be eating for dinner), allow it, but then redirect it back to your meditation.  It can last 5 minutes by just taking breaths, or 15-20 minutes which is my usual length. 

 

This is the Mala I created from Michael's.  I used 108 beads, made my own tassel from thread, and attached an Om charm to it.  The beads are made of sandstone, and are usually very cold.  Which is quite refreshing after my 3 mile run.  I usually meditate after exercising. 

Om ॐ

My journey begins with Yoga.  I had done some Yoga videos at home and enjoyed it for an after work-out stretch.  I had always been interested in going to a class, but am very socially awkward about trying new things by myself.  In February 2014, my BFF Kori was down visiting one day and suggested we go to a Yoga class.  I knew of a studio right next to my school, BlissBlissBliss, and checked the website for a class.  We ended up going to a Restorative Yoga class, which was nice, but rather slow. 

I decided to ask a co-worker to go with me, since she had been there before.  She suggested a Hot Yoga class with a great instructor, Melita.  I wasn't crazy about being hot and doing Yoga, but gave it a shot. 

After the first session, I was hooked!  I loved it because no matter your ability or level, you can do everything!  There is always a modification, whether it is something easier or harder.  It would be a learning process, but I wanted to be involved.  And whoa what a workout!  My legs were killing me the next day!  #nopainnogain

I attended classes once a week, while continuing my normal exercise routines.  I was loving the flexibility and mind-body awareness. 

I began with a setting a goal and practiced to achieve that goal almost daily.  I decided on Crow pose - which is also known as crane pose or Bakasana - and is usually the first arm balance learned by Yoga students. Crow pose strengthens the arms, wrists and abdominal muscles in addition to stretching the upper back and opening the groins.  By May, I mastered it!

However, I took 5 months off of Yoga (!) and have lost it, but will continue working on it.  Life happened in the summer, and then school happened.  I know I shouldn't make excuses...But I will get my Crow back!

So with Crow flying away from me, as well as my Yoga classes, I decided to work on my headstands.  I have been able to do them, by rely heavily on the wall for support.  I have been praticing EVERY day (#yogaeverydamnday) and have mastered it without a wall!!! 

I am back on the Yoga class band wagon and very inspired by my sister who is not only getting her 200 hour Yoga certificate, but also attending a SUP Yoga Training.  (If only I was as brave as her and got my certificate...)