Roasted Dandelion Root Tea Latte (Vegan, Herbal, Refined Sugar Free)

I love fall! The crunch and smell of fallen colorful leaves under foot. Pumpkins. Spices. Chilly nights and...warm cozy drinks. So far this is my favorite. It has a great nutty, roasted flavor that makes it a great alternative to coffee. Don't get me wrong, I love me some coffee, but coffee is very acidic, and when consumed in large quantities can cause inflammation within the body. Dandelion root tea has the exact opposite affect. Plus it's delicious. I love adding Young Living essential oils to enhance the flavor and nutritional benefits. I love Traditional Medicinals herbals teas, and right now there on sale at the grocery store for $2.99 each! Woot! 

Some of the benefits of Dandelion Root:

• Helps aid in healthy digestion
• Helps aid and improve liver function
• Purifies the kidneys
• Helps reduce inflammation within the body
• High in antioxidants which help to fight off free radicals protecting DNA from damage
• A natural immune booster

This drink is super delicious and easy to make. Here's how!

Ingredients:

2 Roasted dandelion root tea bags ( Traditional Medicinals is my favorite)

1 cup boiling water

1 cup hot almond milk

4 drops liquid stevia

1 drop of Young Living essential oil (Cinnamon Bark, Nutmeg, or Clove)

Directions:

Pour one cup bowling water over tea bags. Let steep for 5-8 minutes. Add 4 drops of liquid stevia and 1 drop of YL essential oil. Heat almond milk. I used this to make the milk frothy. You can also use a whisk to make the milk foamy. Add milk to your steeped tea and enjoy. 

August Young Living ER Order

I received my ER order from Young Living last month. I thought I would share the products that I purchased and how I plan on using them. I Have loooved getting more serious with my essential oil use over the past few months! 

(Informational source: Essential Oils Pocket Reference)

Rosemary - This is an awesome oil! When I received My ER order, I couldn't remember why I had purchased this oil. So glad I did! I've used it so many times over the last month. I have diffused it in combination with orange essential oil (Amazing combo!), made a salve that included rosemary, and used it to treat wounds. You can also cook with this oil.   

Cedarwood - This is hands down "one" of my favorite oils! It smells so good! It's also one of the least expensive oils, it's only about $11 bucks. That's cheaper than getting it a the health food store! I loving diffusing this oil in combination with lavender or bergamot in the evening before bed and using it for promoting healthy skin. 


EndoFlex - I was so excited to get this oil blend! I wanted to purchase it last month, but it was out of stock. I have been using this oil everyday as a support for my endocrine system. I use one drop per day by rubbing over my thyroid gland, and rubbing the residual oil left in my hand over my liver and adrenals. 


Lime - Lime is awesome! I have been diffusing in with peppermint and StressAway, as well as drinking it in my water. Lime, as well as other citrus oils has awesome detoxifying properties.

Fennel - This oil smells like licorice. Yum! I have only used this oil twice since receiving it, but for this times I did use it (for girly issues...) it worked incredibly well! This oil is also great for oral health. If you like oil pulling or making your own toothpaste, this would be a great oil to incorporate. 

Oils are AHHH-MAZING! Such simple beneficial ways to promote a healthy lifestyle for you and you family! If you are interested in checking out the incredible benefits of essential oils hit me up! 

(Email correction to above ^ heyholisticgirl@gmail.com)



*The content of this blog (except comments made by others) is the opinion of the author only. It does not reflect the views of any other business, organization, or individual. The content of this blog is for educational purposes only and is not meant to diagnose, treat, prevent, or heal illnesses. The author is NOT a medical professional and the information here should NEVER REPLACE the advice or guidance of a licensed medical practitioner.  Always consult your doctor before taking any new supplements, beginning a new exercise routines, or undergoing any other treatments. 

September and Smoothies

Can you believe it's September!? I can't. I love the carefree feel of summer, but the anticipation of autumn excites me! It makes me want to buy school supplies (even though I haven't been in school for a while now) and break out my boots and sweaters (even though today is a "chilly" 97 degrees). So in honor of the quickly approaching autumn season, I created this deeeeelicious Chai Spice Smoothie. Tastes like fall, but with a cool, creamy, and refreshing summer twist. It contains chia and hemp seeds which are rich in calcium, omega 3's, and fiber, cinnamon which helps to control and balance blood sugar, then all blended up and made with love. 

Chia Spice Smoothie

• 1 1/2 cups almond milk
• 1 banana
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 heaping tablespoon hemp seeds 
• 1/2 scoop protein powder 
• 1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• black pepper to taste 
• pinch of sea salt
• splash of vanilla extract 
• 5-6 ice cubes

Blend it up then sip it up!

Tequila-Lime Shredded Chicken Tacos

Do you love tacos? 

'cause I love Tacos!

And these are amazing tacos! 

Ingredients:

• 5 Organic Chicken breasts
• 1 Onion, rough chop
• 3-4 Jalapeño peppers, chopped
• 4 Garlic cloves, peeled and whole
• 2 Large tomatoes, diced or 1 16 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 4 oz. Can green chilies
• 1 Cup organic chicken broth, or enough liquid to just cover ingredients
• 1/4 Cup lime juice (1/3-1/2 cup if you aren't using tequila) 
• 1/3 Cup tequila (for flavor, but totally optional)
• 3 Teaspoons cumin
• 3 Teaspoons chili powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Place all above ingredients in a crock pot. Set crock pot to 6 hours high. After cook time is up, remove chicken from the crock pot and place in a bowl. Using two forks shred chicken, return to crock pot, and place crock pot on warm. Build your taco using corn tortillas, and your favorite toppings i.e. shredded lettuce, cilantro, more jalapeno peppers, avocado, sour cream, greek yogurt etc. 

You are going to love these. Promise.

Parmesan Crusted Cauliflower

I love vegetables, but lets face it, sometimes they can be a little boring. So I'm always trying to find fun creative ways to prepare them. I've been eating tons of veggies lately, I mean, it is that time of year. I'm particularly addicted to roasted veggies. The flavor is just so amazing! Plus they can be prepared very quickly. These roasted cauliflower florets are so delicious, and they'll add a little sumpin sumpin to your evening fare. Much more interesting than mushy steam cauliflower and believe it or not it's done in about the same amount of time. So make these asap, and you will be loved by all, even the "not so sure about cauliflower" diners. You're welcome. I know you'll love it! 

Parmesan Crusted Cauliflower Florets

Ingredients:

1 Head cauliflower

1 lg. *egg, beaten (you may need 2 depending on how large your cauliflower is)

1 cup (or more!) **Grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive Oil

Directions:

Preheat oven 425 degrees.

Wash cauliflower and cut into florets. Place florets in a bowl, and pour beaten egg over, tossing until completely coated with egg. Place cauliflower into another bowl; season with salt and pepper. Then add the cheese. Toss cauliflower with cheese until completely coated. transfer to a parchment lined baking pan, and drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes until golden and yummy. 

*Don't do eggs? To make this dish egg-free, toss cauliflower with olive oil.

**Don't do dairy? Replace parm with nutritional yeast. It will give you that great cheesy flavor!

Peace, Love and... Young Living Essential Oils

So...I decided to stop messin' around and get serious about my essential oil use. I had used a plethora of different oils over the years, including Young Living. But I wanted to figure out what would be the BEST option for my health and my wallet.
For over a year I have been researching essential oils and essential oil companies, trying to decide if there really was a difference between a $10 bottle of peppermint EO from my local health food store versus a $20 bottle from some of the more well known essential oil companies.  Through hours and hours of researching articles and doing comparison tests of oils, it is my opinion that there is definitely a difference! 
I also discovered through my research that there are these "oil wars" that seem to be going on between two essential company's about who has the best oils...let me just make it clear that I'm not looking to participate in that, nor was that type of marketing a deciding factor in my final choice. :)

Over a year ago I started researching 4 different essential oil companies; Young Living, doTERRA, and two other smaller companies. One of the smaller companies had AWESOME prices, and since I love a bargain, I decided to order from them and enroll in their affiliate program. That decision was short lived because when I went to pay for my purchase I realized why they had such awesome prices...they were making up for it by charging astronomically for shipping. Seriously! The shipping was about half the price of my entire order. Sheesh! I emptied my cart, and moved on to the next company. They had pretty good prices and the shipping was fair, but it still wasn't what I was looking for in a company. My ultimate decision would be made between Young Living and doTERRA; two great companies with stellar products. How was I ever going to decide! After watching and reading review after review after...well, you get the picture, I made my choice.  It was a brutal decision because I liked them both! But at the end of the day I decided to enroll with Young Living. It's just what I thought would work best for me. So how did I decide? 

Here were my top 5 deciding factors:

1. I really like that Young Living owns many of their own farms and that they source their plants indigenously. I liked their commitment to the environment, and their farming practices. 
2. Young Living has a large variety of essential oils and essential oil blends to choose from. Many of the blends I was interested in purchasing were very specific to this company.
3. I knew that enrolling with an essential oil company would be an investment; I wanted superior products, and also something that was more budget friendly. Young Living's Premium Starter kit (their largest enrollment kit and pictured above) was an awesome value! It comes with 10 oils plus a bonus oil, a diffuser and a variety of samples, a $300 value for $150!
4.  I also liked that there is no yearly fee. You only need to purchase a minimum of $50 a year in product to maintain your wholesale membership. Which means if you purchase an enrollment kit you don't have to purchase anything else for an entire year, but I think you'll want to. ;) 
5. Plain and simple? I'm familiar with Young Living Oils.  I have been using their Thieves essential oil blend for years with great results! As well as some of there other popular blends such as Stress Away and Valor. Not to mention two of my all time faves Peppermint and Lemon! 

So there you have it! There are many other little things that influenced my choice, but these are the big ones. Young Living pioneered the essential oil movement and has 20 years of expertise in the the industry! In the end I just went with what worked best for me. I have love love loved diving in and using my new oils and I am already seeing results from using them! So cool! I really see this as a positive investment in my health. It's a win win y'all! If you are interested in learning more about essential oils let me know. I would be happy to help you discover the best option for you! 

XO,

Jess

Green Smoothie Love

I heart green smoothies. I mean, seriously love them. And honestly who couldn't?! They're so fresh, help promote detoxification of your liver, and beneficial for you skin. It also gives you an excellent amount of chlorophyll which is important for healthy cell regeneration (Blood of the plant people!) and also to keep your DNA healthy. So without further ado, I'd like to share a little green smoothie love with you.

Check out more about chlorophyll and it's awesomeness here!

Green Smoothie Deliciousness 

You will need:

• The juice of 1 lemon
• Enough water added to the lemon juice to make 1 3/4 cups
• 2 large handfuls of spinach
• Frozen peaches (enough to equal one peach)
• Frozen pineapple (about 1-1 1/2 cups)
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1-2 teaspoons unrefined coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons raw honey
• Blender

Directions:

Place ingredients in a blender in the order from above. Blend and enjoy!

...in a mason jar, with a stainless steal straw.