Nickie’s Nook: Oils and Books

I love Christmas Time! There’s so much to enjoy during the time around Christmas or any other wintertime holiday you might celebrate. I love the music, the gifts, the food and the cozy feelings all around. That said, as I deal with all of my chronic pain and physical and mental illnesses, I’ve found it’s harder to get into the spirit of the season and doing all of the little things people did to dress up the dullness of winter when I was younger is harder to do for myself. So I look for simple ways to add a festive touch to the season that I can do without expending so much physical or emotional energy that I lose the benefits of the activities. I’ll be talking about some of those ideas throughout the next month, but let’s talk about a simple one today.

An easy way to dress up the winter is to have a nice cup of hot chocolate. If you’re like me, you remember the joys of coming in from playing outside or picking out a Christmas tree and having your Mom make you a nice cup of hot chocolate. I also remember skiing and then enjoying a cup of cocoa afterward. I still love having a nice cup of cocoa at this time of the year. That said, pain can be worse during the wintertime, so it’s important to conserve energy and pace ourselves during any painful activities.

Fortunately, Using either a microwave or making an individual cup by using a Kurig can make life easier. It’s still possible to cuddle up with a nice cup of cocoa. That said, a thin mix of powdered chocolate and hot water isn’t what I remember from when I was a kid. Thankfully, it’s possible to make a great cup of hot chocolate without expending too much energy. Here are my favorite tips for making a great cup of cocoa by adding essential oils!

Just Add Some Kind of Milk!

I know not everyone likes or can drink standard milk, but adding some type of milk or substitute like oat, coconut or almond milk can have many benefits. One of them is that it will make your chocolate thicker or creamier. That’s going to feel more substantial and enjoyable. The other benefit is important for my other tip. Adding milk means you’re adding a bit of fat makes it easier to mix in your essential oil(s). Essential oils cling to fats. That’s part of why they work so well: our body contains a thin fatty layer around each cell. Since essential oils are attracted to fat, they actually get into the cell more easily than water soluble substances which is why they can absorb more effectively than other substances. Anyway, the essential oils won’t mix well with water. If you’ve heard the expression “those two mix like oil and water”, you’ll understand what I mean. Adding in the milk or substitute, will make the essential oil mix well throughout your entire cup of hot chocolate and stay mixed evenly.

Oils Aren’t Essential, But They’re Beneficial And Yummy!

Please note that when I talk about internal use of essential oils, I’m only referring to Doterra essential oils. I say this not to badmouth other brands but because I don’t know about the quality of other brands and whether they can be used internally. Buying some other brand of oils doesn’t necessarily mean they’re safe for internal use. Even with Doterra oils, you want to make certain that they say that they can be used internally. Also, note that these statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and these products are not intended to diagnose, prevent, treat or cure any disease. Here are some of my favorite oils to add to my hot chocolate and the reasons other than taste for why I might use them.

If you’d like to try any of these oils, visit my Doterra website. If you have questions and would like to contact me, visit my Linktree to contact me directly and I’ll be glad to answer anything I can.

• Spearmint: Many people might choose peppermint, but I don’t always tolerate peppermint due to its stronger cooling properties. Spearmint or peppermint blend well with chocolate. They may also help soothe occasional stomach upset.
• Wild Orange: People often mix orange and chocolate. It has a positive aroma. It can promote healthy levels of inflamation.
• MetaPwr: Pronounced Meta Power is Doterra’s metabolic blend. It contains lemon, grapefruit, peppermint, ginger and cinnamon. Many of these flavors go well with chocolate separately and I’m happy to say that I like the blend in my hot chocolate. The blend can help promote healthy metabolism and contains oils which can help ease occasional stomach upset.
• Lavender: Different people feel differently about consuming lavender or any flower. When I first heard about eating lavender, I didn’t think much of the idea. That said, I now love eating things containing lavender, mostly candy, baked goods and drinks like lemonade or hot chocolate. Doterra uses lavender in the Serenity Sleep Soft Gels and Adaptiv Calming Blend Capsules. It can promote a calmer state of mind.

There are many other oils which can be used, but these are the ones I use in my hot chocolate the most. I’d love to hear which oils you try and like in your hot chocolate!

Add Toppings!

When you make hot chocolate, it’s always better with toppings like whipped cream, chocolate chips, candy canes, a cinnamon stick or whipped cream. Of course you’ll want to customize your choice of topping based on which oil you’re adding. Still, adding toppings and oils makes the hot chocolate extra special. Having the oils and toppings on hand and close by can make it simpler and less time and energy consuming.

So what are you waiting for? Grab your hot chocolate, a book, movie or Christmas music and curl up with a blanket. Enjoy your Christmas or other holiday!