Essential Oil Intro Kit Giveaway

I have a lot of essential oil giveaways planned for the rest of the year and even in the new year! We will even be starting a new Twitter chat coming soon and yes, indeed, there will be prizes!

I thought you would get bored if you had to read a bunch of jibberish about essential oils, ways to use them, blah blah blah, so, I decided to just share something that I make regularly, with essential oils and maybe you want to try it, maybe not. Either way, there is a giveaway at the end of this post so, be sure to enter!!

I love making body butters, whipped body butters to be precise! I make them to sell once in awhile and to add to gift baskets, donation gift baskets, and of course, teacher gifts! My little ones have a lot of fun helping with making lip balms, solid perfumes, incense, butters, scrubs, the only thing I haven't let them really help with just yet, are candles and wax tarts. Although, my 12 year old is getting really, really, really good at wicks for candles. (I am a nervous wreck when trying to quickly wick several dozen tea lights as fast as possible, but he's a natural!)

So, this essential oil intro kit giveaway post, will be about my favorite cinnamon body butter.

You will need:

Cinnamon essential oil
Ground Cinnamon or grated cinnamon sticks
Shea Butter
Coconut Oil
Cocoa Butter
A couple of drops of vitamin e oil
Jars or glass containers with lids
A hand mixer, a pot, and something to stir and scrape with.

I am not to keen on exact measurements for cooking, baking, or even making homemade products. I kind of eye it up and add if need be and of course, it also depends on how much you would like to make.

For roughly 4 4oz containers of whipped body butter, I use a little over 1 cup of coconut oil, 1/2 cup each shea butter and cocoa butter and about 40 drops of cinnamon essential oil. (I sort of just add 10 drops at a time until it seems to be enough.)

First, melt the cocoa and shea butter on low. Then add the coconut oil.
Once the butters and oils are all liquid, remove from heat and let sit for a few minutes.
Next, I add vitamin e. This isn't required, but, it adds to the benefits of this luscious body butter!
Then, the cinnamon essential oil.
The next part takes the longest but, you only need to whip every so often and check on the bowl every 15 to 30 minutes or so.
I put the bowl in the fridge to speed the process up and whip on high every 15 minutes for a few minutes.
I also add some sprinkled cinnamon for color and added scent.

Once you have your desired consistency, just spoon into jars and sprinkle some cinnamon on top!
I like to add ribbon and some cinnamon sticks or even wooden scoops when gifting! That's the fun thing about homemade products! You can make them your own, any way you like or make them to include labels for a charity, a friend, a wedding favor, baby shower, whatever you like. The possibilities are endless!

Why cinnamon?

Believe it or not, cinnamon doesn't just taste super delicious! It has many benefits for your skin too!

One of my favorite benefits, of course, is that cinnamon can be helpful for somebody dealing with pain. It helps remove stiffness in your bones and joints, thanks to it being an anti inflammatory substance.
Cinnamon works great for indigestion and is sometimes referred to as a digestive tonic.
Cinnamon oil is very effective in killing mosquito larvae. (This would be a great summer time body butter too!)
Cinnamon is said to help plump skin which in turn, would fill in lines. (Added bonus for all of us 40 somethings and even 30 somethings out there!) You don't have to just use cinnamon to plump up your skin but, it can also plump up your lips! One trick I use often, is, I keep a jar with olive oil and cinnamon sticks and just pull one out and use it as a lip plumper. Totally inexpensive and it smells lovely!
If you get cut, sprinkle some cinnamon on the cut and it will kill the bacteria! It is also said to be; anti septic, anti fungal, and anti bacterial.
Using cinnamon on your skin is also thought to help increase collagen, helps to enhance your complexion, and soothes dry and rough skin.

I could keep going but I know you are anxious to try to win some essential oils! But, if you would like to know more, or would like more ideas on how to sue cinnamon, please feel free to email me: busymommylist@yahoo.com. I will also be writing more about different essential oils and their benefits and since cinnamon is such a beneficial oil, I will be chatting about it again soon!

** Please always check with your doctor before making any changes to your medicines or treatments! Essential oils should not be used to replace medicines prescribed by your doctor without consulting with him/her first. Always test for allergies to oils. You can be allergic to cinnamon! Do not ingest essential oils without consulting to your doctor first! **

Good luck ;)



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We Fell in Love with WorldFoods Sauces

 I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms MeetSM program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms MeetsSM blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Medai Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.

I was more then thrilled to have this opportunity to try, WorldFoods Fusion of Flavors cooking sauces! 

I love to cook and try to attempt something new, whether it's a new style, flavor, food, as often as I can. (of course the kids sometimes end up giving new dinners just 1 or 2 stars) But, we're on a roll lately with our pile of, "Yes! Try again!" or "Yum! Add to our regular menu" recipes. 

So far, everything I've tried with, WorldFoods cooking sauces has been a hit!

We love Asian and Indian foods and I do use a couple of those awesome meal/ingredient delivery services. This is a fun way to try new recipes, not to mention, receive ingredients that I would otherwise have to drive an hour one way to purchase. 

They usually have a good variety of Asian dishes so we often end up making again and again and changing some of the ingredients to fit our family and eating style better. 

Our package of WorldFoods sauces arrived just in time to try that evening and all I have to say is, WOW!

We received a really cool little book to write notes and our favorite recipes and tips inside, (yes, it is almost filled! I love recipes and notes!)

Indian Tandoori marinade and stir fry sauce, Thai Galangai Lemon Grass stir fry sauce, Thai Green Curry cooking sauce and Malaysian Style Rendang Curry cooking sauce. 

As you can see from the photos, Indian Tandoori was our first choice!

I was already planning on chicken that evening, so I used olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper with the chicken and  waited until it was cooked through, then added, Indian Tandoori sauce. (I'm a bit of a messy cook, so of course a few drops landed on the counter lol!) I wanted more to spill after I tried it because it was definitely full of flavor and had such a sweet yet tangy taste!
I also made some couscous and added spinach with the couscous, during the last few minutes in boiling water, and VOILA! 

Genevive, our 7 year old, went absolutely nutty over this chicken! 
I even tried some of the sauces as dipping sauces when I make homemade fried chicken (baked, not really fried) and homemade chicken fingers. (Yes, I'm a dipper!)
Another quick and painless recipe we tried was just as yummy as our Indian Tandoori chicken.

I used Thai Green Curry cooking sauce for this fabulous chicken stir fry dish! (I added 2 tablespoons of peanut butter and some soy sauce as well)
I changed this recipe from an original recipe I used before and liked that I could use the Thai Green Curry sauce which has lemon grass already in it! It's rare I come across lemon grass at my "local" grocery store, so this was a blessing!
I stir fried yellow bell pepper and mushrooms with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and added kale with this, rather then noodles. 
Then I stir fried the cubed chicken with olive oil, salt and pepper and then added the Thai Green  Curry sauce, peanut butter and soy sauce.
The amount of real flavors in these sauces are just amazingly good. It really helps make your homemade meals taste more "gourmet" and is much better then take out or restaurant food. 
I can pronounce every ingredient and I know what the ingredients are. 
For instance, Indian Tandoori sauce has ;
water, dried chili, sugar, coconut milk, salt, garlic, lime juice, tapioca starch, dried birds eye chili, citric acid, cumin, coriander seeds, black pepper, cloves, turmeric and cinnamon.
I absolutely go crazy over brands that actually try and help people eat healthier and not have to sacrifice flavor. WorldFoods does just that!
The other reason we will be using their cooking sauces and marinades from now on, is because all WorldFoods recipes contain ;
No artificial colors, no artificial flavoring, no artificial preservatives, no cholesterol, no corn/maize, no egg, no gluten, no milk/lactose, no peanuts, no sesame, no soya and non GMO.
I also really enjoy their website where you can find tons of recipes!
We have some of these allergies in our house so WorldFoods is a perfect fit!

100-percent natural, fresh ingredients to create each of its unique flavors.

Currently the brand offers 65 different sauces, dips, and marinades all inspired by the tastes of Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, China, and India.

These sauces are perfect for individuals with dietary constraints. Each of their products are allergen and gluten free!

Free of added oil, trans fat, artificial ingredients, preservatives, or food flavor enhancers.

The retail price for WORLDFOODS sauces varies based on retailer. To find a store near your visit: worldfoods.com.my/wf/where_to_buy/index.php.