Days 7-10

Wow! This has been a crazy weekend! I had so many things going on, and it challenged me to the max to make grabbing my baggies and hitting the road a priority. I have to be honest. I succeeded about 40% of the time. But, let me tell you, I could tell a difference when I didn't take them. I just wasn't on my A game, my mind wasn't as clear and I didn't have the same energy. I hadn't noticed a difference really while taking them but as soon as I didn't take them it was evident. I am happy to report that I am back on track taking them at my usual times. Don't forget about the class that's being held June 16th! Check out the fb event here. And check out Joy's website here.

Days 4-6

I am feeling great! I haven't been able to stop taking my allergy medicine but I think that is just because I don't have the necessary oils yet! I have been taking all my pills 3 times a day and have been doing the oils only at night, but that is only because I haven't gotten in the hang of remembering to use them in the morning. I'll get it eventually. I continue to be amazed by how useful the Lavender is, at least for me! I use it so many times a day. It has helped immensely with my rashes and skin sensitivities! I am excited because Joy, (my friend I keep talking about) is coming to Virginia and she is going to teach a class about how essential oils can change your health, and it's going to be at my house! I'm so excited that she is coming up from Florida and is going to teach all of us more about essential oils! Click Here for information about the day and time. It's gonna be great and we will have snacks! Anyways, so far so good, and though my nutritional therapist weighs me everytime I see her, she doesn't tell me my weight, but she did tell me I had lost weight, and I totally attribute that to my use of the oils. Honestly I have found that knowing that I am detoxing and filling my body with things that fight the bad things, it makes me want to not eat bad things! And I drink so much citrus water- techincally its citrus fizzy water because it is my vice, (I haven't had a soda since September 4th) and it makes me want to make better choices about my health. It has been great, and I am excited to continue.

Days 1-3

Days 1-3 of  taking the recommended amounts of the essential oils was overall pretty good. I didn't feel any huge change yet. Really, the only noticeable difference was that I had a headache consistently for 2 days. I emailed Joy and asked her about it and she said it was probably because my body was detoxing. That made sense so I stuck it out. Joy actually recommended that I decrease the amount I was taking to see if that made a difference, but I decided to continue with the original amount and just get it over with. The next day I was back to feeling like myself again. Saturday (day 3) I was ravenous. Like the whole day all I wanted was protein. That was new but not necessarily connected to the essential oils. All in all it has gone pretty good with no noticeable changes though I am sure they are coming!
I've still been using the lavender for my rashes which now seem directly related to when I eat gluten, though the doctor has not yet come to that conclusion. I also have been putting drops of either Wild Orange, Lemon, or Slim and Sassy in my water multiple times a day.
These are the travel bottles I was talking about in my last post that you can buy from doTERRA.

More updates to come. 

Organization Shmorganization.

So, the past few days I've had to frantically find my list of things I have to take Morning/Noon/Night. It's long. So long I couldn't fit it into 1 photo.

 I am often at work for all 3 meals so I have to bring all of the things I have to take with me in the morning. This did not prove easy. It's all about finding a routine right? Well I decided that the best thing for me to do was to go get one of those crazy pill pack things that old people use. Looks something like this:

Well, these compartments didn't even fit half of the pills in it. So, there's that. On to plan b. Plan b consisted of tiny pill bags. These seemed to work much better. Once a week I will have to sit down and separate them out, but each morning I can grab the days bags and hit the road. They look something like this:

yup that's a lot of pill bags!

Now, on top of the supplements there a number of oils that I apply to the bottoms of my feet 2 times a day and a couple that I drink in my water and couple that I just put under my tongue. I have these in sample size vials that I carry with my in my bag, but those look like this:

So, now that I have gotten the organization down, my next posts will be about the differences I am or am not noticing in my body and the way I feel.

I can't wait to keep you posted. 

And may the (essential) oils be ever in your favor

Recently my friend Joy has gotten into essential oils. I have been "stalking" her on facebook as she has become more and more excited about them. She is a health nut and I tend to pay attention when she is excited about something. Eventually her excitement about essential oils caused her to pursue a career with doTERRA. After seeing how much she loves them and creeping on her website, I decided to ask her about it. She asked me what my health concerns were and then graciously sent me samples that catered to my needs. Then I watched her "Medicine Cabinet Makeover Class" video.  After watching that class, I was excited. Excited to be healthful, and cleanse my body, and excited about the research too. I decided to take the (588$) plunge and I called Joy and ordered doTERRA's "Natural Solutions Kit." Here's my unboxing photo.

This kit included the following: 15ml Essential Oils: 1 Lavender, 1 Lemon, 1 Peppermint, 1 On Guard, 1 Slim & Sassy, 1 TerraShield, 1 Lemongrass

5ml Essential Oils: 1 Serenity, 1 DigestZen, 1 Purify, 1 Melaleuca, 1 Oregano, 1 AromaTouch, 1 Frankincense, 1 Breath, 1 Balance

10 ml Roll-ons: 1 PastTense®, 1 Clear Skin, 1 Women’s Solace

1 Lifelong Vitality Pack, 1 Zendocrine Capsules, 1 TerraZyme, 1 Clear Skin Foaming Face Wash, 1 On Guard Toothpaste, 1 Deep Blue Rub, 1 Fractionated Coconut Oil, 12 Sample vials, 1 Lotus Diffuser, 1 Wooden Box

Joy also threw in a bottle of Wild Orange and the Modern Essentials book. Now that you know all of the things that I have, the first thing that I want to talk to you about is the diffuser. This is the one thing that came in the kit that I was like "yeah, I'm not gonna use that, I wish I could just not get it and get the kit 100$ cheaper" but seriously, it's AMAZING. No joke. I have used it every night at bedtime. I put doTERRA's "Serenity" blend in it and set the timer to 1 hour, and I sleep soooooo good. Really. The second thing that I was surprised to love was the onGuard toothpaste. I was wary. After using it the first time, I put my Crest away. This stuff is weirdly awesome. I have some trouble with my gums, no matter the amount of times I brush a day or times I floss, I always end up with bloody gums at the dentist. I have high hopes for this toothpaste. I had some inflammation in my gums when I started using it, and after the second day using this it is healing up! This usually takes weeks. Like I said, high hopes. The last early front-runner is Lavender. I have been getting daily rashes from everything, even my grocery bags gave me hives! I looked up in my (amazing) Modern Essentials book what to do for rashes and it recommended Lavender. I slathered a couple drops all over my rash and within minutes it was gone. Now, I use it everyday for this same purpose, and to make matters better, it smells divine!

Next, I had my 1 hour consultation with Joy over the phone. She asked me questions about my daily habits, concerns, and goals. Then, based off of my answers she recommend the things for me to take daily. The thing that has been then hardest for me to get used to is that you have to take them so often. Essential oils need to be absorbed in small amounts many times throughout the day. Finding the rhythm and routine has been tricky, but I think I have it figured out! (more on that tomorrow!)

All in all, I have been very excited and can't wait to document my progress and share it with you! Today is my second day with my morning/midday/evening routine and I will tell you all about it tomorrow!

Get Excited!

My First Guest Blogger Rachel Chambers!

I have known Rachel for like, geez, 10 years? She is an amazing person, a hopless romantic, with the biggest heart, and she is so beautiful, but foremost she is an excellent cook. I adore her in every way and was so excited when she agreed to guest blog for me!

From Rachel:

I love to cook, and I love my sweet friend Vanessa almost as much Her quest for healthy eating and the vegan lifestyle is a choice that I wholeheartedly support! I love creating new, delicious dishes that fit into her diet. I am a firm believer that vegans and vegetarians can be as satisfied, if not more so in the healthy food choices that they make; fall treats are no exception! Having been a vegetarian for a number of months, I know how hard it can be to BAKE as a vegan. The use of eggs, milk, and other crucial ingredients, makes it hard to come up with a perfect product. Cooking is different, because it's about preference, not science. But baking is all about the science. Leavening and texture cannot be compromised. And there is a challenge of changing age old recipes into something delicious and animal product free. I love butter, I love farm fresh eggs, I love the textures that they create. But, for my love of Vanessa and her appreciation for my food, I set aside my favorite ingredients to create this delish crumb cake! It was a winner from my first go! Enjoy!

Vegan Pumpkin Crumb Cake with Pecan Streusel Time: 1 hour 10 minutes. Pecan Streusel: 1/4 cup all purpose flour 3 Tablespoon brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon allspice 1 Tablespoon coconut oil 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans Cake: 1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin puree 3/4 cup almond milk 3/4 cup coconut oil 1 1/2 cup sugar in the raw 3 Tablespoon maple syrup 2 teaspoon vanilla 2 2/3 cup all purpose flour 1 Tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon allspice 1/8 teaspoon cloves Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease an flour an 12 inch round cake pan. For the streusel: In a small bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, and spices. Drizzle in the oil and mix with your fingertips until crumbs form. Add the chopped pecans and mix. For the cake: Combine the pumpkin, milk, oil, sugar, syrup, and vanilla. Mix well. Add half the flour, the baking powder, salt, and the spices. Use a fork to fold everything together. Add the remaining flour and mix gently until combined. Don't use a hand mixer for this, as pumpkin can get gummy if it's mixed too aggressively. Fork blending maintains texture. Pour batter into the prepared baking pan and spread evenly. Scatter the streusel on top as evenly as possible. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until a knife inserted through the center comes out clean.

And she is correct! It was just so frickin good. It is definitely a must cook!

Vegan Soft Pumpkin Cookies with a Maple Glaze

I told you, all things pumpkin. All day.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup vegan margarine, softened or 1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened
• 2 cups Libby's canned pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease baking sheets.
3. Combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove and salt in medium bowl.
4. Beat sugar and Earth Balance in large mixer bowl until well blended.
5. Beat in pumpkin, applesauce and vanilla extract until smooth.
6. Gradually beat in flour mixture.
7. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.
8. BAKE for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are firm.
9. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes;.
10. Put on wire racks to cool completely.
11. Drizzle glaze over cookies.

Glaze:
 Combine 4 Tbsp Maple Syrup, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract

Now these were just ok. I think these would rank at "Zombie Grumbles." They were not nearly pumpkin enough. I would maybe go so far as to double the pumpkin. They were very cake like so I think adding more pumpkin would make them more dense and more delicious. The glaze also needed some work. It didn't harden up the way I was hoping so that could use some tweaking. I was thinking next time I may roll them in Maple sugar instead of having a glaze. 

Anyways, play with this recipe and let me know your results!

Enjoy!