I will be selling these at my bodywork location over the holidays, but you can also make or tweak your own. Now, I have an old dehydrator that was created with dried fruit in mind, but you could also try to dry out your pieces via a stove, at about 200 degrees, for 3+ hours.
Things you can add in: cloves, cardamom, other fruits and spices you find pleasing.
Spices & Everything Nices
To use:
Put ingredients into a pot of water on your stove. Boil to start, then set to simmer. Add water when it gets low. Don’t burn your house down!!! Don’t leave it unattended, and don’t leave it on overnight.
Enjoy. Find immense happiness with the way your house smells.
Created with lots of love, and Reiki infused throughout the entire process!
I have officially been diagnosed with eczema, and as I think back over my life, of course this crud has been eczema. Every stinking winter it bothers me. While I have other skin issues–potentially the you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me-that’s-a-thing cholingeric urticaria–these little unpleasant bumps of itch and burn have been a part of me for a while.
They’ve also been a part of my kid’s life for forever. We call his DragonSkin, a name that evokes strength and purpose. But frankly, this most important organ of his, those burning red winter hands, really bother me. I’m feeling like it’s not a great sign to have the skin look and feel that way. Which, when he was a wee one, I played around with ingredients to create his own ointment.
And now, rather than putting on pure shea butter out of laziness for myself, or looking for my kid’s old eczema creams, I have decided to play and make a new blend!
The inter-webs proclaim that colloidal oats are a gift from the Gods–and I remember the kid’s oat baths–so I looked into it. Why does it work? How do I make it? Can I make it?
Gift from the Gods
Healthline says that the fine powder of oats–which is what colloidal oats are (not to be confused with oat flour)–is made up of minerals, proteins, vitamins, fats and other power-packing nutrients that is valuable for skin. With antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, it’s not surprising that studies support the benefits of these oats, nor that the FDA approved colloidal oatmeal as a skin protectant in 2003.
In layman’s terms, it softens the skin, soothes the itch, and helps create a protective barrier to that which may trigger an eczema assault. I can think of other things that create a barrier, like coconut oil, honey, aloe vera, castor oil, and jojoba, which I know from previous usage is easily one of the best oils for the human skin. The internet says things like calendula (oh yeah, I remember that), lavender, chamomile and evening primrose are good for the skin. Wait, what? Isn’t evening primrose for peri-menopause, too? Sure thing.
I inadvertently created a scrub along with an ointment. Do not eat the mixtures, no matter how tempting.
To Make Colloidal Oats
Grind up oats. If it mixes in with water turning it yellow, you’ve succeeded. It’s that easy.
Thank you, Mr. Ninja.Powderized!
Eczema Scrub
1 tbsp of colloidal oats
1 tbsp of coconut oil – not melted
1 tsp aloe vera gel
Mix it all together. Cover with plastic wrap. To use: Wash/Rinse hands as normal with soap. Using a small amount of the scrub, rub it onto your hands. Rinse off; pat dry. Your hands should be left oily. I would have added more aloe had my plant been more productive.
Do not eat! No matter how yummy it smells.
Eczema Ointment
1 tbsp of colloidal oats
1 tbsp of melted coconut oil
1 tbsp of melted shea butter
1 tbsp of honey
1 tsp of aloe vera gel
30 drops lavender oil
10 drops of evening primrose oil
Melt coconut oil and shea butter. Add the oats, honey, aloe vera. Again, I would have added more aloe had my plant cooperated. Once fully mixed together and slightly lumpy, add the lavender and primrose oil. Keep mixing until it is the consistency you like. Put in the fridge. Let harden. Now, after this, you can leave it out at room temperature, but I prefer the cold temp, so I leave it in the fridge. Otherwise it gets too melt-y for me.
Thoughts
I wasn’t a fan of the primrose oil by itself, but in the mixture, it was fine.
I have mixed feelings on the oats themselves–a little messy. I would grind them up even more next time I make this, or hell, maybe just use an oat oil to replace the oats for the ointment. I’m sure it exists. For the scrub, I would leave it.
I also have mixed feelings about the honey because, well, it’s so sticky. Just be prepared to be sticky, I guess, is the answer.
Next time I make some I will use other ingredients–like jojoba, castor oil, etc. Since eczema is an unending fiend in my life, I imagine I will have yearly attempts at creating the best concoction. If not for me, then for the Dragon Skin Kid.
Does this meet the swellness check? Absolutely. Our skin started healing as soon as we started to use this stuff, and it was certainly less itchy.
I wrote a book about a bodyworker. Scenes take place in yoga studios, dojos and meditation rooms. There are crystals, runes, reiki, and elixirs.
While the story itself was therapeutic to write, the fun came in describing the world we holistic health people know and love. I call BS when BS needs to be called, I call confusion when Destiny vs Free Will is on the mind of our characters, and sneak in some recipes at the back of the book.
I just scoured other blogs of mine to see if I had ever made a granola-recipe post — and as it turns out, I have. However, I can see there are some differences between what I did before, and what I did *just today*, and I assure you, today’s recipe is FAR. MORE. SWELL.
I can’t say it’s the healthiest, but it has to be healthier than the ones in the grocery store. Right?
INGREDIENTS
4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1.5 cups of nuts, seeds, etc.
2/3 to 3/4 cups of dried fruit
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
a smattering of spices: nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, etc.
some salt
topping of cacao nibs
INSTRUCTIONS
Crank that oven up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit!
Take a large cookie sheet (not a flat one) and line it with silicone.
Grab a bowl and combine oats, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, salt and spices.
I layered it first before mixing it; first oats, the nuts and seeds, then the fruit, and then the spices and salt. I used allspice, cinnamon, cloves, orange zest and nutmeg on top of dried Montmorency cherries, blueberries, golden raisins, sunflower seeds and unsalted peanuts. I scooped the mixture up, around, down and beyond with a rice spatula to combine the dry ingredients.
Pour in oil, vanilla and maple syrup. Using the spatula, continue to mix it up! Make sure the oats are all covered with wetness and spices.
Take the oat mixture and spread it across the cookie sheet. Smooth it over with your spatula, trying to make it an even, thinnish layer. (About 1/4 thick.)
Place it in the oven, set your timer for 11 minutes. Take the mixture out, and mix it up and around and down and over on the cookie sheet. Please don’t burn yourself. Place it back in the oven for 10 minutes. Take the mixture out again, mix it up again, and then place it back inside the oven for another 11 minutes.
Remove it from the oven. If you’re adding cacao nibs, let it cool for about a minute or so before taking the nibs all across the layer, pressing them gently into the mixture with your spatula. It should not melt.
Let it cool completely before storing it. It should have pieces that break off in clumps, and a bunch of looser pieces. I used glass storage for my mixture and will *only* put it in my fridge if I feel like it’s losing some of its freshness. Otherwise, I’ll keep it tightly secured on my counter until the entire amount is eaten! The next time I make this mixture, I will be freezing some for future use.
You can also use coconut flakes, other types of nuts, chocolate, pepitas — choose your own adventure, every single time.
This granola is great for a snack, for mixing with yogurt, or for whatever you need it for.
Upon writing my Color Therapy 101 – Yellow post, I realized you could actually PURCHASE infused gem essences–bottles with crystals already embedded inside to make your gem habit a little easier.
For this experiment, though, I decided to create my own gem essence water. First, I needed to find a citrine gem. As it turned out, I received some for Christmas!
Upon research about the citrine gemstone, though, I learned that lot of times citrine isn’t authentic–it’s actually amethyst that is heated in a kiln to be sold. “Real” citrine is still heated, but it’s heated within Mother Earth, and then plucked from her rocky sides as an already yellowish stone.
This article here pretty much sums up about how I feel about the whole debate: to each his own. While I would prefer authentically made citrine, let’s be honest–that’s simply my ego making a fuss. If the properties are exactly the same, the stone itself will not be changed. It’s only going to be changed because of my ego not accepting it.
There was no way to tell how my small stones became citrine, and so, I let the whole debacle go. After cold-water washing my little citrine gems, I placed a small handful inside of a glass.
I used my filtered tap water, and meditatively poured it into the glass. I was excited to do this; I’ve always wanted to try some, but never have. So I put forth all sorts of excited, healing energy as I poured my water. Then I got some plastic wrap covering, used a rubber band, and wished the concoction well.
I made sure to do research beforehand about any contraindications, and all I could really find was that certain gemstones can be toxic in water–especially ones that begin to dissolve. I didn’t feel that the citrine caused any possible harmful effects for my loved ones.
Let the citrine infusion begin!
I placed our friend outside in the waxing moonlight; the Snow Moon was just a few days away. I had read that the water should infuse for at least 24-hours, but no more than 48-hours. From there, it should be drunk within 24-hours.
So on that winter night, my lone glass soaked in the moon and chill, resting near my lavender plant. The next morning, I check on it; as the day wore on, it heated up to a balmy 60+ degrees, so I took my infusion and decided to get some sun energy, too. Why not? We’re approaching the Vernal Equinox, where the slowness of winter and the energizing spring begin to intermingle; a sort of yin yang approach.
That night, I put the concoction back out in the front, to soak up one more night’s moonlight.
The following day, I poured a glass for myself and my son. He was too afraid for some reason; I’m not sure if he thought I was poisoning him or what? Or maybe he thought he’d feel the effects too much?? (He’s only 7.) Since he wouldn’t drink it, I made my mom, who was visiting that day, to drink the other glass.
We both agreed; it was crisp as hell, and had undertones of Earthy refreshment. I’m not sure if it was the crystal elixir itself, or just the whole process, but that yellow stone definitely brought me some joy and happiness as I drank it.
While Hauswitch doesn’t offer a citrine essence, they do offer a variety of other ones. When I finally purchase one, I will report back!
Swellness Vibes 