For some reason, clean produce always pops into my head in the summer months BUT we know that clean produce is important year round!
When we are washing our produce, we aren't just washing away dirt. It is important we consider the pesticides and other contaminants that our fruit and vegetables may come home with.
You NEED more than just a quick rinse in water to tackle the above.
You know I love essential oils, and they are a great toxin-free option when it comes to tackling the grime and chemicals on our produce.
Normally, I DIY but there is a product that I love to purchase and stretch with the below hacks.
Thieves Fruit & Veggie Soak is a kitchen sink staple at the Huffman Household.
1. Because it's a toxin-free solution that works amazingly well!
2. The versatility of it makes it LAST!
Here are our favorite ways to use it:
Wash all at once!
-Add 1-2 TBSP of solution to a sink full of water and host a fruit & veggie bath when you get home from shopping.
Wash as you go!
-Add a capful of solution to a bowl of water and soak the serving you are working with.
Create a spray!
-Add 2 teaspoons to 8 ounces of water and spritz fruit and veggies. Work into your produce for several minutes and rinse.
Create a foaming fruit & veggie rinse!
- Fill a foaming soap dispenser.1/3 of the way with Fruit and Veggie Soak. Add warm water to the rest of the container. Wash the produce like you would your hands!
OR
Add 2-3 pumps to a bowl of water for a quick soak.
This also makes a great gift for your favorite chef or gardener! Gift them the concentrated bottle OR create one of the above solutions, add some twine, and you have a simple gift!
Grab a bottle HERE!
As we talk about hormonal support this week, it is important that we touch on the products we use in our home. You can be the healthiest eater and someone who exercises everyday, but if you aren't watching the products you bring into your home, you are still putting yourself at unnecessary risk for so much. The next topic can REALLY get me going 😊 Shall we dive in?
Paraben free, Dye- Free, SLS-free, Sulfate-Free, Phthalate-free….we are seeing all of our household and personal care products try to clean up their act! Why? People are slowly waking up. They want reasons for their health issues and they are starting to become aware of the long-term impact the products we use in our homes have on our health. Unfortunately, people wait for that reason or health concern to arise before they start to do their research and pay attention.
You know what you will not see removed from most of these products claiming to be clean? FRAGRANCE.
It is in everything! From the candles we burn, the air fresheners we spray, to our dish soap and make-up. (Seriously though, why do you need fragrance in your dish soap?) There are a little over 3,000 chemicals than can be blanketed in that term fragrance and guess what… some of them are harmful! Endocrine disruptors, chemicals linked to tumor growth, chemicals that can have an impact on the respiratory system, chemicals that have been linked to cancer, and more. We often see a “green” label or “clean living” being advertised and ignore the FRAGRANCE label that is listed right there in the ingredients. The worst part about this label is none of the chemicals under this umbrella being used in your product are required to be disclosed to you. It is considered proprietary information. You could have an allergic reaction to a product, and they do not have to tell you what is under that label.
Think of the air in your home. Especially, with the holidays approaching and people wanting anything and everything to smell like pumpkin spice. It doesn’t matter what kind of wax you are using, fragrance is fragrance and you are polluting the air in your home. If the word fragrance is written on the label of your candle/spray/wallflower, it is not clean ( even some aromas claiming to be essential oils are labeled as “fragrance”). Your home is the one place that you can control what your family is exposed to. Already, your body is having to process these chemicals that are in the air you are breathing all day long before you leave the house.
Then think of your skin care products, soap, lotion, make-up, dish soap, dishwasher detergent, and your laundry products!! Laundry products kill me. When I can smell your laundry from down the street while I am running, I get concerned for your health. On top of that, you wear and smell that fragrance all day long. You sleep with that fragrance! The smell of flowers does not equal clean.
I challenge you to look at your products. Even the ones you do not think would contain fragrance. Read that label! This is why we use oils! High quality oils from a trusted source (the regulation on the essential oil industry is an entirely different post 😊) This is why we use Young Living! You will never see “fragrance” listed under the ingredients. They tell you what ingredients are making you product smell so good. I do not have to label read and worry about transparency with them. The other thing I love, is how long the products last because they are not filled with all the junk. From the outside it may look a little complicated, but it is quite simple to do this on a budget with the right help and resources!
Here is one of my favorite recipes to replace those nasty aerosol sprays:
5 ounce continue mist spray bottle
1 capful Thieves Household Cleaner (
Add 15-20 drops essential oils of your choice
I like Northern Lights Black Spruce and Orange right now
Top with witch hazel or vodka
You now have yourself a continuous mist “clean” air freshener/spray
Add a cute Avery label if you wish 😊
Sleep troubles are the reason why so many of us dipped our toes into the world of essential oils. Whether it be racing thoughts, anxiety, restlessness, interrupted sleep, or even hormonal issues, the struggle is real. I think it is safe to say that we all have, at some point, looked for support in regards to healthy sleep patterns.
Sleep routines and support, involve so much more than a simple bottle of Lavender for some of us. There can be various contributing factors and the versatility of essential oils allow us to create personalized routines to meet our needs.
Before we dive into routines and recipes, let's chat about the oils we tend to think of when we think of a goodnight's sleep. Tree oils always come to mind! They are warm, cozy, and grounding. Some of my favorites are Northern Lights Black Spruce, Cypress, Pine, Cedarwood, Frankincense, Grounding, and Sacred Mountain. There are also some popular floral scents that tend to calm an anxious mind! Lavender, Valerian, Roman Chamomile, Clary Sage, German Chamomile, Ylang Ylang, and Geranium. Vetiver, Valor, Stress Away, Tranquil, Peace and Calming, Gentle Baby, and Rutavala. I always recommend picking 1-2 good blends and 2 single oils to layer and create a sleep routine with!
At our house, we TRY ( it can be hard), to promote a sense of calm before it is even time for bed! I tend to grab some comforting oils to diffuse right after dinner. A grounding aroma helps to signal the mind that it is the day's end and it is time to chill. This is great if you are prepping kiddos for bed, cleaning the kitchen, or just lounging and watching some TV. I like to call these our " After Dinner" diffuser blends. Here are a few that we tend to rotate between.
3 Peace and Calming, 3 Orange 3 Cedarwood
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3 Valor, 3 Frank, 4 Bergamot
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3 Rosemary, 4 Cedarwood, 3 Lavender
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3 Thieves, 2 Northern Lights Black Spruce, 2 Roman Chamomile
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3 Grounding, 3 Orange, 3 Bergamot
Do you see how I start with a few drops of a blend and then layer my singles with it? I have found that to be key in creating so many blends!
Next up, pre-bed.
Has it has been an REALLY long day? Do you have some kids that can't seem to stop bouncing off the walls? Are you worried about something or feeling anxious? Consider pausing your usual night time routine and taking some time for an Rest Easy Soak! You will need Epsom salt for this. If you want to take it up a notch, grab some baking soda while you are at it. ( thank you Jessica Davis for this recipe!)
Gift idea alert!
This is for a larger batch! Store it in a jar and have it ready to go for those nights when you don't have the energy to do anything extra :) If you find yourself scrambling, just grab 1/4 Epsom salt, add your oils (4-5 drops total), and soak!
1C Epsom salt
1/4C sea salt
1/4C baking soda
15-25 drops Essential Oils ( cut in half for the kiddos)
Favorite oil combinations for a relaxing bath!
Stress Away, Lavender, Orange
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Valor, Frank, Copaiba
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Peace and Calming, Lavender
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Roman Chamomile, Lavender
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Clary Sage, Vetiver, Orange
In preparation to lay your head down, I recommend creating a pillow/linen Spray! Another gift alert! This allows you to use your oils aromatically x2 if you also plan to run your diffuser. Not to mention, the oils can work their magic on anything that may be lingering on your sheets. For the kiddos, we call this "No More Monster" spray or " Sweet Dreams" spray. If you have never created one, you are missing out! Here is our favorite recipe:
2 ounce spray bottle (find here)
10 drops Lavender
10 drops Cedarwood
10 drops Orange
Top with witch hazel and spritz linens before bed! Tie a bow around the top and give as a gift. Have guests coming? Create one for them and leave by their bedside!
Time to prep that diffuser in the bedroom! I recommend doing this about 30 minutes before you hit the hay. This allows the blend time to make it's way through the air. Try using the same strategy as above when creating your blend. You will also want to turn the diffuser to the intermittent setting before you fall asleep to ensure that your diffuser runs all night long. Also, do not forget to turn that light on your diffuser off.
Favorite "Shut Eye" diffuser blends:
4 Stress Away, 2 Vetiver, 4 Bergamot
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3 Peace and Calming, 4 Bergamot, 3 Cedarwood
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2 Northern Lights Black Spruce, 2 Frankincense, 4 Lavender
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2 Clary Sage, 2 Cypress, 2 Cedarwood, 1 Vetiver
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3 Gentle Baby, 4 Orange, 2 Frankincense
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3 Valor, 2 Cypress, 4 Lavender
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2 Sacred Mountain, 1 Vetiver, 2 Northern Lights Black Spruce, 2 Bergamot, 2 Orange
Right before you lay your head down, grab a roller or your favorite calming oils and use them topically. There are some wonderful roll-ons available through Young Living, if you are not interested in creating your own. There is Tranquil, Valor, Peace and Calming, and RutaVala ( this one works really well for us). I recommend massaging your bedtime blend into the bottoms of your feet and the back of your neck. If I am really loving the aroma, I will often apply to my wrists. If you would prefer to create your own roll-ons ( another great gift idea), you can find the rollers here.
Favorite Bedtime Roll-On blends: ( top with liquid carrier oil once oils are added to the bottle)
10 Vetiver, 20 Lavender, 10 Bergamot
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20 Valor, 10 Orange, 10 Northern Lights Black Spruce
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10 Grounding, 10 Roman Chamomile, 10 Cedarwood
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15 drops Cedarwood, Lavender, and Orange
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15 Stress Away, 5 Vetiver, 15 Lavender
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10 drops Clary Sage, 5 drops Cedarwood, 10 drops Bergamot, 5 Northern Lights Black Spruce
And the holy grail of all the calming blends....LIQUID CHILL ROLLER
50 Lavender, 30 Valor, 30 Stress Away, 15 Patchouli, 15 Vetiver
Dilute with 40 drops of carrier oil in a 15 mL bottle are roller fitment cap.
The Thieves Fruit & Veggie Soak 🍇🍅🍏has been our go-to for clean fruits and veggies for a few years now. I was blown away by the difference in taste, cleanliness, and appearance after a good soak. Of course, there is always a good hack to go along with our Thieves products! Stay tuned for a helpful tip in cleaning your produce as needed instead of a big bath at the beginning of the week!
