Essential Oils Archives - The Mom Maven

Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Bars

cindy — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 11:00:00 +0000

My original plan for Thanksgiving was to make a peppermint cheesecake, but that plan changed. First, two of the people who were most excited about peppermint cheesecake were spending Thanksgiving in Michigan. Second, cheesecakes are more involved to make and as I took a realistic look at my schedule, it just wan’t going to happen.

I have a deep love for peppermint so I decided to create a simpler peppermint cheesecake bar with a chocolate fudge cake mix crust. This is much easier than making a cheesecake but you still get the creamy peppermint cheesecake flavor.

The trickiest part of this recipe was getting the cake mix. Ron does our shopping and I had put “chocolate cake mix” on the list. He said there were so many types to choose from he grabbed the first thing that said “milk chocolate” on it. When he got home and I was putting away the groceries, I noticed he had bought brownie mix not cake mix! I probably could have made this recipe with a brownie base but that’s not the consistency I wanted. The next day he came home with a chocolate fudge cake mix and that was perfect!

Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Bars Recipe

Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Bars

Perfect for any Christmas gathering, these Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Bars are simple to make!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cheesecake, chocolate, peppermint

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1 5

Servings 24 bars

Author cindy

Ingredients

1 18.25 oz Chocolate cake mix I used chocolate fudge
1 stick butter melted
3 eggs
2 8 oz packages cream cheese softened
2 drops Young Living Peppermint Vitality Essential Oils may substitute 1 tsp peppermint extract
1 cup Candy Canes crushed
2 cups Milk Chocolate Chips divided

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F
Grease a 13 x 9" baking pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
In the large bowl of a stand mixer,mix combine the cake mix, butter, and 1 egg on medium speed for 1-2 minutes.
Press the chocolate dough into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes.
While that is baking, clean the mixing bowl and paddle so you can make the filling.
Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, 2 eggs, and peppermint essential oil on high speed until smooth.
Fold in 1 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup crushed candy canes.
Pour the cream cheese mixture over the partially baked crust.
Bake an additional 24-26 minutes until just barely set in the middle.
Remove from oven and place on a wire rack.
Put the remaining 1 cup of chocolate chips in a microwaveable bowl. Carefully melt the chips by microwaving in 15 second intervals and stirring between each interval. Stop when the chocolate is smooth.
Drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of the cheesecake layer.
Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of crushed candy canes on top.
Once cooled completely cover and store in refrigerator until serving.

I love to cook using my Young Living Vitality Essential Oils. In this recipe I used Peppermint Vitality instead of peppermint extract. The choice is up to you which you use and I have listed both options in the recipe card above.

Other Peppermint Recipes for You to Try

I hope you enjoy this recipe and all of the easy recipes I share here on The Mom Maven. Please share them on your social networks. I just ask that you not copy and share the entire recipe with photos. Please use the sharing buttons below and share the link to this post. Thanks!

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Soothing Foot Soak with Essential Oils

cindy — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 11:00:01 +0000

I soak my feet at least once a week. I use my basin with a towel under it on the floor and enjoy a soothing foot soak while I catch up on my DVR’d shows on Sunday night. Why Sunday night? Well, Most Sunday mornings I serve in Kids Church at my church. Some weeks I’m in their one service and some I’m there both. The floor in Kids Church is stained concrete. It is pretty, easy to clean, and hard on the feet. I have tried all sort of shoes and the only ones that leave me not in pain are my Crocs. Unfortunately, Crocs don’t go with my Sunday morning attire.

By the time I leave church my feet are in pain and swollen. There are days I literally hobble to the car but, I’m not going to stop ministering to the kids so this is the price I have to pay. The others I lead with often leave in pain too. For Christmas I made them jars of my Soothing Foot Soak so that they could relax and help their feet too.

This soothing foot soak recipe only has 5 ingredients, which makes it super simple and each of them play an important part. The first is hot water. I like it as hot as possible because it is going to cool off quickly and you need to soak your feet 20-30 minutes so start as hot as you can.

Epsom Salt is ingredient number 2. Epsom Salt has been used for hundreds of years as a healing agent, pain reliever, detoxifying agent, and stress reducer. Epson Salt is a magnesium sulfate which is often used in baths or foot soaks to remove toxins which can cause inflammation and pain.

The next ingredient is Baking Soda. Baking Soda is a new addition to my foot soaks. I had started seeing it in several foot soak recipes so I decided to look into why. Baking Soda is also used to detox the body, relieve itching, irritation, and infections. It also acts as an anti-fungal, so it is a great addition to a foot soak for those who deal with toenail fungus.

I use two Young Living Essential Oils in this soothing foot soak. I only use Young Living because I know they are 100% therapeutic grade essential oils. To learn more about why I only use Young Living Essential Oils, click here. In this recipe I use Panaway which contains wintergreen, helichrysum, clove, and peppermint. It supports healthy circulation to accelerate healing, helps support healthy muscles, and supports healing. I also use Rosemary. Rosemary has a woodsy, evergreen scent. It’s used to support minor muscle aches and pains, and digestive issues, as well as improve memory. And if you are experiencing musculoskeletal pain, you may visit sites like https://www.hingehealth.com/blog/digital-health-benefits-musculoskeletal-conditions/ for assistance and treatment options.

Soothing Foot Soak with Young Living Essential Oils

This soothing foot soak is a great way to decrease inflammation and soreness while detoxifying at the same time.

Prep Time 5

Author cindy

Ingredients

3 cups epsom salt
3/4 cup baking soda
30 drops Young Living Rosemary Essential Oil
30 drops Young Living Panaway Essential Oil

Instructions

Add epsom salt and baking soda to a large glass or metal bowl.
Add the Young Living Essential Oils.
Stir well with a metal spoon.
Pour into 1 quart sized or 2 pint sized mason jars with lid.
Create a tag with instructions: Add 1/4 cups of foot soak to a basin of warm/hot water. Soak 15-30 minutes

If you want to more about how to order your Young Living Essential Oils, there are 2 ways to order, as a retail customer or as a wholesale customer. To learn more about these options click here to go to my Essential Oils website.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and all of the easy recipes I share here on The Mom Maven. I hope you share them on your social networks. I just ask that you not copy and share the entire recipe with photos. Please use the sharing buttons below and share the link to this post. Thanks!

The post Soothing Foot Soak with Essential Oils appeared first on The Mom Maven.

DIY Body Wash with Essential Oils

cindy — Thu, 14 May 2015 10:00:56 +0000

Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers.”The other day I realized I was just about out of body wash. `As I went to add it to the shopping list I thought, “I bet I can make a body wash that is better for my skin and at a comparable price.” So that is what I set out to do. I scoured Pinterest and some of my favorite Essential Oils Facebook groups and I read over 50 different recipes. Some were crazy complicated with ingredients I would have to order online. Some were just melted soap with essential oils mixed in and others said right up front, they were more expensive than regular body wash but better for your skin. I chose to take the middle ground for my first try.

While I was able to source my ingredients locally and I used Essential Oils that I already had on hand, you may not be able to do that. I will add links to where you can order each of the items used in the recipe.

DIY Lavender and Tea Tree Body Wash with Coconut Oil

This recipe makes one pint of body wash. Store your body wash in a glass container.

Ingredients

8 oz Dr. Bronner’s Fair Trade & Organic Castile Liquid Soap
8 oz Fractionated Coconut Oil
10 drops Young Living Tea Tree Oil
15 drops Young Living Lavender Oil

Directions

Pour all ingredients into a pint sized glass bottle or mason jar.
Shake well.
This body wash becomes a very creamy mixture. Just scoop out a bit and place it on your wash cloth or bath poof. It doesn’t lather a lot but it leaves my skin clean and moisturized.

It’s really that easy. I got my Castile soap and my coconut oil on sale so my pint cost me $7.98 which is about what I was paying for body wash and I have plenty of all 4 ingredients left for other recipes. Using the links above one pint would cost $13.28 which is more than my old drug store brand but at least you have the peace of mind that everything in this body wash is safe and good for your skin.

I also made a label for my DIY body wash. I printed it out and laminated it since it will live in my shower. Please click on the image below, it will take you to the downloadable label.

You can use any Young Living Essential Oils you would like in this DIY body wash. I would caution against the use of the citrus oils because they are photosensitive and you should avoid the sun when using citrus oils topically. I chose Tea Tree oil because it nourishes your skin and I chose Lavender for its balancing and relaxing properties.

If you don’t want to pay the retail Young Living prices listed at the links above, visit my Young Living page here on my site to learn how to become a wholesale member.

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