Elderberry Syrup

Back a decade ago when it was just me and a baby I didn’t have a clue on how to care for, I discovered the secrets of our ancestors for coughs and colds. There are generations that had gone before me raising babies without tv’s, car seats, and used plants for healing! Go figure! So I ditched the car seat, unplugged the tv and started making Elderberry Syrup!

Kidding…! people who make potions in their kitchen aren’t completely ignorant to safety rules and love a good thirty minute babysitting tv sesh. But this plant healing thing… I was on board! It took one suggestion for my hacking baby to use cough syrup for me to find an alternative that wasn’t going to have side effects. ODLY ENOUGH, later on in 2008 the FDA retracted and said OTC cough syrups should NOT be given to kids under 2. Glad I went with my Momma gut feeling!

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Enter Elderberry Syrup! Y’all, I cannot tell you that this will cure anything or prevent anything. Not a doctor or a scientist. But here’s some research for you to check out on the efficacy and effectiveness of using elderberry.

Oil Infused Elderberry Syrup

-2/3 cup dried organic elderberries (purchase from a local health food store or Amazon)

-3 1/2 cups of water

-1 cup of raw local honey

-8 drops Cinnamon Bark Vitality

-6 drops Clove Vitality

-4 drops Ginger Vitality

Directions: 

1. In a medium saucepan add your water and elderberries.

2. Bring to a boil.

3. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer for about 45 minutes or until the liquid is reduced by half.

4. While your berries simmer, mix your vitality oils into your honey.

5. When your syrup is reduced, remove from heat and let cool enough to handle.

6. Mash berries with a spoon and pour through a strainer. You can also use a cheese cloth to strain the juice from the berries. Discard the berries.

7. When no longer hot, stir in your honey (you can add bee pollen too).

8. Store in a mason jar in the fridge.

HOW TO USE: Kids will take a teaspoon as needed when not feeling well or when around others that are sickly.

How much should you use? That’s up to you! I’ll personally use a tablespoon a day starting… yesterday. #ragweedseason

Why add oils? Flavor! Plus the extra benefits they add to our immune system.

No oils in your cabinet? Get 24% off using my referral link.

Order your elderberries online or buy locally. Just make sure they’re organic and dried!

Detox Baths

Let’s be specific with a self care practice that really helps your body heal, maintain, and protect as it was made to do.

*Skip to the bottom if you’re just here for the recipes! But I really just can’t tell you what to do without a little background info. Detox baths have been a great weekly practice for our entire household. What’s easier than dumping a cup of something into the bath and letting kids play by getting health benefits?!

BENEFITS OF A DETOX BATH
Detox baths are a great way to:

• Support the immune system
• Promote relaxation and sleep
• Flush toxins from the body
• Promote healthy circulation
• Increase concentration

What do you think of first when you hear “detox”? Most people will answer “weight loss”. But detox goes way beyond weight loss. If you are having a hard time losing weight have you considered it could be toxic overload in your body? Pesticides, fragrances in skin care products and in your environment that you breath in, and PCBs (industrial chemicals not allowed to be used today but are still present in our every day environment). Eliminating these toxins are good through clean eating and ditching toxic skin care products.
BUT… we can’t exactly undo what’s already been added to our environment by industrial use (breathed in) or pesticides used on or near our foods.

Detox simply means purifying the blood. Your blood is like a freeway of elimination between your organs. Most specifically your liver, but also your kidneys, intestines, lungs, skin, and lymphatic system. We can’t exactly cleanse our blood, but we can institute wellness practices that hurry along this elimination process.

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Before you fly to the store shelves to purchase a bath bomb to soak in, ask yourself if items containing artificial dyes, fragrances, or PEGs are what you want soaked into your skin? If you’ve done your research, your answer is NOPE! The goal with a detox bath is to HELP your body, not hinder it’s natural processes. Here’s a briefing:

•Artificial Dyes- Entering your bloodstream which can lead to allergy like symptoms and skin irritation or more.
• Fragrances- known link to endocrine aka hormone disruption and an umbrella term for 3,000+ ingredients that are not disclosed and most likely are not safe
• PEGs- petroleum based ingredient that is a known carcinogen/cancer causing

Bath bombs and bubble baths aren’t detoxing your body! But minerals found in their most natural state are.

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Your Choice of Addition:
1. Epsom Salts: make sure they’re labeled USP.
2. Seaweed: seems strange, but I prefer this.
3. Apple Cider Vinegar: local on tap at Earth Fare or online.
4. Baking Soda: great choice for kids.
5. Mineral Salts: most effective if we already aren’t feeling well.

Besides cost, consider how you feel in a bath with your choice from above.

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These baths aren’t to treat symptoms necessarily. Think of them as preventative. For kids, do a weekly detox bath. Working to support a certain body system, work your way up to nightly detox baths.

PRO TIPS:
• Skip the soap and shampoo on detox bath nights. Let the oils and minerals/salts do their work without adding on products to their skin.
• Sip on water throughout your soak.
• Since the bath will help relax, these are best done at night to promote sleep.

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Now, the fun part! Adding in essential oils to your bath for maximum benefit.

• Nighttime- Lavender and Cedarwood
• Calm- Tangerine or Lemon
• Winter Wellness- Peppermint, Thieves, or Rosemary
• After Workout- PanAway or Valor
• Chill, Momma- Stress Away
• Breathe- Eucalyptus or Peppermint
• Clear Head- Rosemary or Roman Chamomile

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Young Living is always my preferred choice of essential oils. I have used them for many years and help others walk into the ease of aromatherapy use in their daily life. If you’re wanting to purchase with me as your mentor, I would be happy for you to follow my link to order. Choose “wholesale” for 24% discount and your choice of oil kits with diffuser + option to order anything you want with your continued discount.

Thieves Laundry Soap Hack

From making my own detergent six years ago to buying the most expensive, ready made laundry detergent, has been an adjustment! No, a money tree didn’t sprout up and no, I didn’t decide to sacrifice safe ingredients for whatever the fad was. I learned a hack that saved me time and money! Double win for a Mom on a mission.

After seeing how my baby’s skin reacted to traditional detergents bought form the supermarket, I said “Tootle loo!” to toxins in our laundry routine. At the time, I was far from someone who cared what ingredients were in my home. That was until the rashes just wouldn’t go away. I watched precious baby skin turn angry and fragile.

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Someone spoke up and said “Fragrance in cleaners can do that.” I didn’t get offended, I was relieved! So far the only suggestions were to use this cream or that prescription. But that was the surface level. Deeper than the eye can see, the ingredients in our topical and airborne household products seep in.

Do yourself a favor. Look up the Environmental Working Group (EWG). Search their site for the ingredients in your products. You might be surprised to find your detergent doesn’t even have an ingredient list. Yikes! What are they hiding?!

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Have you been convinced? Could the rashes, coughing, allergies, headaches, and hormone issues in your home be from products you’re using?

I was shocked. Took me a while to get over the “WHAAAAT am I allowing in my home?!” freak out to subside. Then, I took it one step at a time. Come to find out the homemade detergent that I was using wasn’t as clean as I thought. I ditched it and switched to Young Living’s Thieves Laundry Detergent!

But I didn’t love it at first! As someone who stands behind the company as a distributor, I thought for sure I would be a liar if I said “Oh, this is the best detergent ever!” So, I didn’t lie. I figured out a way to make it work for us.

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Thieves Laundry Soap Hack #1

• Pour 16 oz of the Laundry Soap into a glass jar with lid.

• Add 3 tablespoons of Thieves Household Cleaner to the original detergent.

• Fill with water and swish around.

• Use as directed on the label for your washing machine.

You will double the cleaning power of the Thieves Detergent and save double as well! From $0.25 cents a load to about $0.15 a load for a front loading HE washer. That’s pretty good!

A wholesale member pays $29.50 for a bottle of laundry detergent. See now why I said it’s the most expensive I’ve ever bought?! BUT, as is, the detergent will wash 64 loads for a normal washer and 128 for a HE washer.

Use the hack above, do some math, and you now are able to wash 128 loads for a normal washer and 256 for a HE washer! Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity dog! All the frugal Mommas just did a dance!

EDIT! The above recipe worked great, so I wanted to see if I could stretch it further!

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Thieves Laundry Soap Hack #2

• Split an entire Laundry Soap between 3, 32 oz glass pump bottles.

• Fill the now empty container with water and pour one each into the glass jars.

• Add 2 tablespoons of Thieves Household Cleaner to each jar.

• **Special Treat! Add in your favorite oil! I used 25 drops Citronella into each jar.

• Use 2 pumps per load of clothes.

Ready for this, frugal friend?! $0.08 per load! For a plant based, all the frills, non toxic, smells GREAT detergent!

I haven’t been this excited about a deal since Target $1 spot was actually everything a dollar!

<<Purchase your detergent>>

I’ll add you to Your Wellness Tribe community groups, give you access to our team app, send you some goodies, and be ready to help you make some more healthy switches in your home!