Essential Oils -- Essential for Winter

 

Seasonal Essential Oils and Four Seasons

By Cal Orey

Seasonal Essential Oils and Four Seasons

Did you know? Essential oils—including eucalyptus, peppermint, rose, and tea tree-are nature’s ancient medicine, abundant with therapeutic effects. The latest scientific research shows that many popular essential oils and aromatherapy can boost your health and well-being,

            

Also, specific essential oils are often more popular during each of the four seasons. Here, take a look at how the comfort and calms of scent can help you enjoy Earth’s changes year-round. You can use these oils in different forms, including: Air sprays, candles, cleaning products, diffusers, beauty and hygiene items--and even in cooking foods and beverages! Read on--from The Healing Powers of Essential Oils...

WINTER

It’s the Season: Shorter days, longer nights and often chilly temperatures call for hot, comfort food. During the holiday season, festive food, like hearty casseroles, soups, muffins, breads, puddings, and pies are commonplace. Then, when the New Year arrives it’s not uncommon to want to eat clean food and get a fresh start. Immune-enhancing, mood-boosting, warming aromas are scents that come with winter-time. They can be found in plant-based salads, vegetarian casseroles, and soups, with lighter desserts.

Healing Winter Recipes: Biscotti, breads, cakes and scones are popular foods to warm you up, and essential oils can give recipes extra flavor, especially when seasonal citrus or herbs are not available.

Winter Culinary Essential Oils: Anise, clove, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and peppermint.

SPRING

It’s the Season: As the days are longer, the weather is warmer, spring fever hits home. During the springtime it’s commonplace to get a burst of energy as well as want to eat less, move more. And that’s when our diet changes along with fresh fruits and vegetables. Energizing, floral, and herbaceous are the scents that welcome a renewal of a season after winter.

Healing Spring Recipes:  Herbal teas, salads, and pasta plates are lighter fare than winter cuisines. These foods, many water-dense, can help you rejuvenate, energize, and detox your body.

Spring Culinary Essential Oils: Geranium, jasmine, lavender, lemon, orange, and rose.

SUMMER

It’s the Season: Longer days, warmer nights call for a change in meals. Lighter meals, outdoor eating to fit the celebration of fun and sun. Cooling, energizing, floral, light fragrances are part of summertime.

Healing Summer Recipes: An array of fresh fruits and vegetables entice us to eat more of a plant-based diet. That means more salads, cheese plates, continental breakfasts or brunches, and fresh fish on the grill.

Summer Culinary Essential Oils: Chamomile, lemon, lavender, orange, sage, and spearmint.

FALL

It’s the Season: Autumn is a time of change and the foliage is a reminder, with leaves changing color, the sun is setting earlier, and fall cleanup and nesting is all part of the time of year. Spicy, warming, woody scents blended with citrus notes are perfect for fall.

Healing Fall Recipes: Warm dishes like hot cereals, pancakes, and waffles with maple syrup, hearty soups, vegetable casseroles, and fruit cobblers are part of the fall harvest.

Fall Culinary Essential Oils:  Basil, cinnamon, ginger, lavender, nutmeg, and orange.

Ummm! What Smells So Good?

Cooking with Essential Oils: For Safety’s Sake

Take precaution when using essential oils. Some oils should be diluted. Also, I have learned using the savvy toothpick method—dip a toothpick into an essential oil vial—instead of using drops. It is safer to monitor how much oil you put into an edible recipe.

Cooking with essential oils is controversial among essential oil proponents. However, some top aromatherapists do encourage using raw essential oils for cooking and baking. It is advised to dilute food-grade essential oils with carrier oils such as olive oil or coconut oil in savor cuisine; maple syrup or honey for sweet fare to disperse the essential oil well.

When cooking with heat, it is recommended to add essential oils last to a recipe. This way, you’ll preserve the flavor of the oil and it will not be over processed—helping to reap some of its antioxidants. 

Administration offers an online published list of essential oils (solvent-free) that are “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) to consume in beverages and foods.

Also, it’s best to dilute the essential oils just like you do for therapeutic, beauty, and cleaning recipes. I recommend for most food recipes to pair your essential oil with olive oil, part of the Mediterranean Diet. Other liquids you can use to dilute edible essential oils include vegetable oils, water, juice, and honey.

A variety of food-grade essential oils can be edible. (These can be found at health food stores and online. Some good brands are Young Living, LorAnn, and doterra.) However, it’s essential for you to know that less is more, because the taste can be very potent.

Excerpt from The Healing Powers of Essential Oils: A Complete Guide to Nature’s Most Magical Medicine, by Cal Orey, published by Kensington, 2020, © www.kensingtonbooks.com  Available at all fine bookstores online and at your local bookstore.