recipe

4 Ingredients to Relief: An All-Natural DIY Home Remedy for Headaches/Migraines

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Last week I shared an all-natural DIY home remedy for sinus congestion and colds that has been especially helpful to me during my pregnancy. Another issue I’ve had during both my pregnancies is migraines (I get them when I’m not pregnant too, but they are infinitely worse for me during pregnancy). My neighbor shared with me a recipe for an all-natural headache remedy and I wanted to pass it along to you.

In the last three or so years I’ve been dealing with migraines I’ve learned the hard truth that for me, there is no one cause, and there is no one right answer. So while this treatment was certainly helpful in easing the pain, it’s not the silver bullet I’ve been searching for (which I’m still hopeful I can find once I’m done with pregnancy and nursing). However, I have many “tools” in my arsenal against migraines, and I’m happy to add this remedy as one more thing I can use. If you have more of a “regular” headache this may be just the thing you’re looking for, and if you try it, I hope it helps you!

The recipe below will fill half of a small mason jar. Double the quantities to fill an entire jar. You can also adjust the amount of essential oils you use to suit your preferences.

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Ingredients

2 heaping tablespoons coconut oil

5 drops peppermint essential oil

5 drops eucalyptus essential oil

10 drops lavender essential oil

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Directions

In a small saucepan, melt the coconut oil. Add the peppermint, eucalyptus, and lavender essential oils. Stir a few times to blend the ingredients together. Pour the mixture into a clean mason jar. Allow the oils to cool and solidify (this will take a few hours so I recommend making this when you don’t have any head pain; if you make it while you have a migraine like I did you’ll be waiting awhile).

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Once the oil is solid, rub on your forehead, behind your ears, and between your shoulder blades. I also rubbed it on other sore spots where the migraine causes pain such as my jaw, temple, scalp, and around my neck. Again, it wasn’t a cure-all, but when used in conjunction with other migraine remedies it was quite soothing. A secondary benefit I noticed was the skin on my forehead looked and felt great where I had rubbed in the oil. The smell of the lavender oil helped me to relax which can be difficult when your brain feels like it’s caught in a red-hot vice grip.

I love coconut and essential oils so much; they have enriched and enhanced my life. Here are some more posts I’ve written about both that you may find useful:

4 Practical Uses for Coconut Oil

A 5th Practical Use for Coconut Oil

7 Things to Do for Yourself as a Mom

Baby Dude’s Banana and Strawberry Smash Cake

These Aren’t Your Grandma’s Cloth Diapers: Modern Cloth Diapering 101

Ever Hear of Telo Efflu? Here’s What You Need to Know…

Baby Dude’s Ultimate Teething Toolbox

What are your favorite ways to use coconut oil and essential oils?

5 Ingredients to Relief: An All-Natural DIY Home Remedy for Sinus Congestion

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I’m about six-and-a-half months pregnant with my second child as I write this, and am currently recovering from my third cold. Cold and flu season is no fun, and it brings a special kind of misery to pregnant women, as the options we have for medication are extremely limited. My husband recently discovered a natural home remedy he uses to relieve sinus pain. I’ve used it during the last two colds I’ve had with this pregnancy, and this time it was such an extra huge help I decided to write this post and share it with you. I highly recommend it if you have a cold, sinus infection or other sinus issues, chronic or not, pregnant or not. The relief it’s brought this mama is priceless!

Ingredients

Water

3-4 cloves garlic

2-5 drops each of rosemary essential oil, eucalyptus oil, and tea tree oil

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Fill a medium saucepan two-thirds of the way full with water. Press the garlic cloves into the water (you can also throw in the skins for good measure). Bring the water to a boil. Add the eucalyptus, rosemary, and tea tree oils. Stir a few times to blend.

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I like to sit at my kitchen table with the saucepan on a pot holder. Set a timer for 15-20 minutes and drape a towel over your head. Breathe in the steam as deeply as you can for as long as possible, and repeat until the time expires. It helps to have a box of tissues nearby while you do this. If you’re too clogged to breathe through your nose, breathe through your mouth. Close your eyes if you need to. It stings and it burns, but I promise you it’s worth it.

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I found it especially helpful with this most recent cold to do the treatment in the evening before bed (which I followed up with an Espom salt and lavender oil bath), and then another one in the morning. I found immediate relief after the treatments, and then a half hour to an hour later and throughout the day I found they had helped even more. The oils work in your sinuses afterwards and continue to improve the symptoms. I feel it’s helped me to recover faster and if you try it I hope it helps you!

Kale Avocado Wrap Inspired by Anna Gannon

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I found this recipe from Anna Gannon for kale avocado wraps on MindBodyGreen. It’s presented as a lunch recipe, but I made it for dinner one night, along with some Annie’s macaroni and cheese. The sandwich filled my husband up, which is impressive, especially for a meatless meal. Avocado is a wonderful meaty fruit that serves well as a meat substitute. I did, of course, tweak the recipe just a bit, due to what was already in my fridge. The recipe below is for 1 wrap.

Ingredients

1 cup shredded kale (I used fresh kale from our garden; kale gets sweeter after a hard frost and our kale is the last thing standing in our garden this year!)

1 tbsp olive oil (I love California Olive Ranch)

2 tbsp lime juice (or you can use the juice of 1 lime)

1/8 tsp salt (I like Himalayan pink salt)

1 tbsp hummus

1/2 sliced avocado (I used organic)

2 tbsp feta cheese

Wrap (the recipe calls for spinach wraps but I used Flatout Multi-Grain with Flax)

Directions

Mix kale, olive oil, lime juice and salt in a small bowl. Set aside for the second step.

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Shredded kale from our garden!

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The kale mixture

Spread the hummus on the wrap.

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Add the sliced avocado.

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Spoon feta cheese over avocado.

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Add the kale mixture.

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Roll it up and enjoy! It’s a quick meal to whip up around the holidays when you’re short on time. It’s also a nutritious option to help offset all the Christmas cookies I’m eating (ahem). Enjoy!

Buckwheat Peanut Butter Pancakes

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Buckwheat peanut butter pancakes topped with organic strawberries and real maple syrup

Buckwheat peanut butter pancakes topped with organic strawberries and real maple syrup

Two winters ago, my husband and I started making our own maple syrup from five trees in our front yard. We keep and freeze some and like to share and give the rest away. As a result, people have asked us for maple syrup recipes. This is the first in what I hope will be a series of recipes involving maple syrup.

Ingredients
1-1/2 cups buckwheat pancake and waffle mix (Bob’s Red Mill is my absolute favorite)

1 egg (lately we’ve been getting farm fresh eggs from Point Farm)

1 Tbsp California Ranch extra-virgin olive oil

3/4 cup cold milk (I used SO Delicious coconut milk, a tasty dairy-free option)

2 Tbsp peanut butter (I love Jif Natural Creamy Peanut Butter Spread)

1 cup (or more to taste) organic strawberries (I try and eat organic strawberries as much as I can, since they’re part of the Dirty Dozen)

Maple syrup (the real stuff) to taste, a generous pour

Directions
Blend mix, egg, oil, milk and peanut butter until just blended. You may need to adjust the batter with more mix or milk if it becomes too thin or thick. Preheat cast iron skillet or griddle with olive or coconut oil. To make pancakes, I scoop batter out of the bowl with a 1/4 cup and pour into the skillet. Cook on medium heat until until you see bubbles in the center and the edges begin to brown. Flip pancake, cook for less than a minute. Stack pancakes on a plate and top with strawberries and maple syrup. Yields about 12 pancakes.