gardening

Easy Refrigerator Dill Pickles

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Don’t want to wait days or weeks to enjoy homemade pickles? Easy Refrigerator Pickles are a quick version ready to eat in just a matter of hours! Made with a mixture of vinegar, garlic, turmeric, and other traditional pickling spices, Easy Refrigerator Pickles are packed with fabulous flavor. — And whipping up a batch takes hardly any effort at all.

If you’re like me you will soon have a bunch of garden-fresh cucumbers coming in that you’re looking for tasty ways to enjoy? Then give this super easy Refrigerator Pickles recipe a try!

A batch of tasty Refrigerator Pickles is super easy to make — truly requiring hardly any effort at all. Simply thinly slice a bunch of cucumbers, and layer the slices in a large glass bowl with thinly sliced onions. Then heat a simple vinegar-based brine and pour the hot brine over the cucumbers and onions. That’s it!

Let the brined pickles cool to room temperature, then chill them in the refrigerator for 4 hours. — After this brief brining time, you’re ready to dig in and enjoy their deliciousness.

This Refrigerator Pickles recipe has two components: 1. the pickles themselves, and 2. the vinegar-based brine. To whip up a batch you’ll need:

For the pickles:

  • Pickling cucumbers – Picklingcucumbers are the ones that are shorter and stouter than regular cucumbers. They have thinner skins, a crunchy texture, and smaller seeds, all of which are characteristics that make them perfect for pickles. — Think Kirby, Boston Pickling, and most homegrown cucumbers, just to name a few. If you don’t have your own homegrown, pickling cucumbers can be found in most grocery stores.
  • Onions – Bring flavor, and get pickled right along with the cucs! Any type of onion can be used, however we usually use sweet Vidalia or mild white onions.

For the brine:

  • White vinegar – Forms the base of the pickling brine. We recommend sticking with white vinegar rather than using other vinegar varieties, as white vinegar provides a more straightforward “cleaner” flavor base for the other pickling ingredients in the brine.
  • Fresh garlic – A key ingredient in creating a true pickle flavor. Thinly slice fresh garlic cloves (rather than leaving them whole) to fully release their flavor in this quick-pickle method.
  • Sugar – A bit of granulated sugar tones down and “smooths out” the vinegar flavor in the brine.
  • Salt – Enhances the flavor of the finished pickles. In a true canning process, salt also serves as a preservative for the pickles. Since Refrigerator Pickles are stored in the refrigerator for only up to 4 weeks, instead of in jars for a significantly longer period of time, salt serves soley a flavor role in this recipe.
  • Mustard seeds – A traditional pickling spice, mustard seeds bring that signature sharp, zingy flavor to the pickle brine.
  • Dill – You can use fresh dill (my preference) or dried dill. The more the better in my opinion!
  • Celery seeds – A spice made from the seeds of wild celery plants, celery seeds are also a traditional pickling spice. They add a strong, distinct flavor to pickles that is difficult to replicate with any other ingredient.
  • Turmeric – Brings a distinctive earthy flavor and the yellow color to these Refrigerator Pickles. Ground turmeric is a spice made from the roots of the turmeric plant, and is generally bright yellow in color but you can also use turmeric essential oil! What a punch of flavor!
  • Black pepper – Enhances the pickles’ flavor, bringing its signature peppery flavor to the mix.
  • Crushed red pepper – Crushed red pepper flakes bring the heat to the brine and finished pickles. The full 1/4 teaspoon called for in this refrigerator pickles recipe makes finished pickles that are quite spicy. If you don’t want spicy pickles, use just a pinch. If you don’t want any “heat” at all in your refrigerator pickles, omit the crushed red pepper altogether.

How to Make Easy Refrigerator Pickles:

It takes hardly any effort at all to whip up a big bowl of Easy Refrigerator Pickles. And what’s even better than that, is you’ll be enjoying their deliciousness in just a few hours after they’re made.

To get a batch going, start by thinly slicing about 6 cups of cucumbers and about 2 cups of onions. Layer the cucumber and onion slices together in wide mouth mason jars.

Next, heat up the pickling brine. — Combine some white vinegar, sliced garlic cloves, sugar, salt, mustard seeds, celery seeds, ground turmeric, black pepper, and crushed red pepper (if you like some heat in your pickles!) in a small saucepan, stirring them together until they’re well mixed. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat and cook everything together for 1 minute.

Immediately pour the hot vinegar mixture over the cucumber/onion mixture in the bowl — do not stir the cucumber and onion layers, just leave them be. If the hot vinegar mixture doesn’t completely cover and submerge all of the cucumbers and onions when you pour it over them, don’t worry. — As the cucumbers and onions sit and soften in the vinegar mixture, they will all eventually be submerged.

Let all of this cool to room temperature. Then place lids on jars and chill the pickles for at least 4 hours before serving.

When ready to enjoy, give the pickles a little stir to mix the cucumber and onion layers together. At this point, the Refrigerator Pickles can be enjoyed immediately or stored in the refrigerator for up to 8 weeks.

May Inspiration

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May, more than any other month of the year, wants us to feel most alive.

– Fennel Hudson

It is hard to believe just how fast this year has already flew by and here we are embarking on a new season. Spring is in full season and yet Mother Nature has been quite active this spring giving us many days of wind and learning to lean into patience. The seeds are planted in my garden and now I watch and wait. There is something so exciting knowing that there are little seeds in the soil coming to life and will soon produce some amazing things to eat.

In Colorado the weather can change often this time of year. I recently read a passage in a book about how we interpret, and perhaps even how we have been trained or conditioned to view something that really is neutral. She uses the example of rain (or in Colorado’s case, snow) and how we might habitually complain about the gloom and doom of rain, when instead we could feel happiness that the flowers are being watered and rejoice in the sound and fresh fragrance. Rain is neutral, it is how we choose to view it. Another example is how we have been accustomed to dreading Mondays, when really it is a neutral and naturally occurring event. Rather than say, “ugh, its Monday”, try shifting your thinking to seeing a Monday as a whole new experience that you get to create a week of productivity, learning, joy, and love.

I love when I am called back to the simplicity of choice. I encourage you to look at your thoughts and when a neutral event occurs (rain, Mondays, traffic), shift your immediate thought that is usually negative into an opportunity to create a beautiful new experience. Ultimately we get to choose how we react, or respond to the events and experiences around us.

This month I will be offering yoga classes that focus on the energy in the body, specifically the divine feminine energy. I also have some fun offerings in-person and online to deeper your understanding of yourself and how to live the healthiest life you can (mind, body, sprit). I am passionate about how we can learn to go back to nature for our health, how we choose to clean our spaces and a general sense of natural living. I would love to share with you! You can learn more about these things here.

And finally, remember to honor the Mom’s and other lucky ones who have nurtured you. It is so important to acknowledge those who give so much love to others, and have one of the hardest (and most rewarding) job in the world. And don’t forget about the grandmothers out there–we are extra special people!

Photo by Polina Kovaleva on Pexels.com

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The Honeysuckle

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This little lady gave me quite a smile this morning when I sat out on my back porch for coffee. The color! This beautiful honeysuckle was a last minute purchase about a month ago since the gardening season is just about over here in Colorado. When I walk between classes near one of the group homes I teach at there is a house with a few growing along the fence and I decided I needed one. ?

I didn’t realize that honeysuckles can be so pink in color—I have only seen yellow or orange ones, and I didn’t know they would keep blooming past springtime.

I did some digging and this is what I found out about them—

The honeysuckle is a symbol of pure happiness. In addition, it conveys messages of sweetness and affection, thanks to the sweet smelling aroma it gives off. At its heaviest interpretation, the honeysuckle represents the flames of love, and the tenderness for love that has been lost. The honeysuckle will literally cling to whatever it is growing next to, resembling a lover’s embrace, and therefore giving the appropriate symbolism.

Honeysuckle can be used for abundance, learning, concentration, affection, protection, devoted love, wishes, wealth, intuition, clarity, clairvoyance, fidelity, attraction, divination, physical ability, prosperity, secrets, calm, change, confidence, creativity, the mind, peace, generosity, destiny, breaking hexes, honesty, inspiration, and balance.

I’ll take it! What a sweet surprise!

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Lessons from a Sunflower

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If I were a flower… I would be a sunflower. To always follow the sun. Turn my back to darkness, stand proud, tall and straight even with my head full of seeds.

Sunflowers are by far my favorite flower. I anxiously await this time of year when they open into all their glory. I find their patience to grow tall and magnificent to be a great lesson for me. Nature amazes me over and over.

Lessons from a sunflower-

1) DREAMS START SMALL. I held a sunflower seed in my hand and felt the beauty inside wanting to come out. I want to believe this is true of most people — that there is a beauty inside that wants to come out.

2) FACE THE SUN. I know that the best way to grow is with light and love. I reminded myself that facing the sun, or the light, is a good way to ensure I’m taking actions that are aligned with my higher purpose.

3) GROW BIG. The way a sunflower grows is this: She grows from the stalk — her neck. The only way a sunflower gets big is by literally sticking her neck out again and again and again.

4) LET MYSELF BE BEAUTIFUL. I’ve never heard a sunflower complain about a bent stem, petals too long, or a center too fat. I asked myself to let myself shine, shine, shine!

5) CENTER MYSELF EVERY DAY. A sunflower grows on one side of her stalk and then on the other side of her stalk. Often at the end of a day, one side of her stem is longer than the other. This is why a sunflower can be bent to one side. For me, I take this to mean making time to breathe, sleep, eat good food and be still.

My favorite for sure.

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Growing Your Food

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Do you garden? When I first started growing veggies I didn’t have any confidence in my abilities so I started super small. I mostly grew things in pots and it was easy and fun. Each year since then I have expanded into more and more and now have a full size garden that grows many, many things.

There is truly something magical about growing your own food! Today I am going to freeze some beans, make pesto, pickle cucumbers and make salsa! How fun is that?

It is also in gardening that I feel so so connected and relaxed. After a long day of work there is just something so good about getting my hands in my plants, even if it’s just to check the progress. I also have found that still have a tendency to think in terms of scarcity and “not enough” mentality, so I over plant and thinking things won’t grow and end up with a crowded overly abundant garden. In some ways the garden reminds me that that I can continue to work on my thinking and personal development. Also, this year the raccoons have been enjoying digging things up which has been a little frustrating but the bounty is still coming in.

If you have not ever gardened, I say give it a try! A simple google search for you area or a handy book from your local library can get you started!

I have found that not only does spending time with my plants help my stress it also has an array of other benefits.

Planting flowers and vegetables can reap bountiful bouquets and delicious harvests for your dining table. But did you know gardening also can do wonders for your well-being? Here are eight surprising health benefits of gardening. Check this out:

1. Gardening can build self-esteem. 

Maybe you don’t think you were born with a green thumb, but after tilling, planting, nurturing and harvesting plants, you might see a slightly different person in the mirror: a person who can grow things and is a little more in tune with the earth. 

It always feels good to accomplish new tasks, and if you can grow a garden, what can’t you do?

2. Gardening is good for your heart. 

All that digging, planting and weeding burns calories and strengthens your heart. 

“There are physical benefits from doing the manual labor of gardening,” says UNC Health internal medicine physician Robert Hutchins, MD, MPH. “It’s hard work to garden, and it provides some cardiovascular benefit.”

3. Gardening reduces stress.

Gardening can help reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. 

“Gardening gives you a chance to focus on something and put your mind to work with a goal and a task in mind,” Dr. Hutchins says, “which is helpful especially now with so much illness and death and talk of death, just to see things growing and things thriving.” 

4. Gardening can make you happy. 

Getting dirt under your nails while digging in the ground can make you pretty happy. In fact, inhaling M. vaccae, a healthy bacteria that lives in soil, can increase levels of serotonin and reduce anxiety. 

5. Gardening can improve your hand strength.  

All that digging, planting and pulling does more than produce plants. Gardening also will increase your hand strength. What a great way to keep your hands and fingers as strong as possible for as long as possible.

6. Gardening is good for the whole family.

Gardening can be a solo activity or an opportunity for bonding with your family and friends. The happiness and stress relief that gardening provides is a great thing to share with loved ones. Also, gardening has special benefits for kids. Early exposure to dirt has been linked to numerous health benefits, from reducing allergies to autoimmune diseases. Plus, when they pull a carrot from the ground for the first time you will see pure happiness and awe.

7. Gardening can give you a boost of vitamin D. 

A healthy dose of vitamin D increases your calcium levels, which benefits your bones and immune system. Exposure to sunlight helped older adults achieve adequate amounts of vitamin D. Just don’t forget your sunscreen.

8. Growing your own food can help you eat healthier. 

If you have a vegetable or herb or fruit garden, you’re getting fresh produce that you know hasn’t been treated with pesticides.

“It’s essentially as farm-to-table as it gets,” Dr. Hutchins says, “if you’re eating what you’re growing.”

Are you ready to start planning next seasons garden?

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August is Abundance

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According to the Cambridge dictionary, abundance is defined as an amount that is more than enough.

Have any of you noticed how much nature reminds us of that same bounty that is available? The constantly changing and growing plants tell me that the same extraordinary potential exists within me. I see how the animals gather and forage what they need and this reminds me that everything I need is right here. I am grateful for the rain and the amazing colors that surround me. My garden is a perfect example to me of “more than enough”– the green beans and cucumbers this year may just feed the neighborhood! Oh, and I made my first ever batch of chokecherry jelly and it is amazing.

For years I have focused on creating a more abundant life and the ways in which that has all happened marvels me on a daily basis. Some may think of abundance as simply financial bounty, but I have come to see it as so much more.

For me abundance shows up in the random acts of kindness I receive, the support I consistently have for my classes, my friendships, the magnitude of joy in my life, colors everywhere, laughter that fills a room, a belly full of food, and enough money for me to live happily and generously.

As we come into the long, and usually hot month of August, I encourage you to look for the bounty in your own life that exist all around you….Simple things like lemonade, lazy afternoons in the hammock, delicious ice cream, sunflowers, sweet watermelon, a basket of veggies, the feel of a breeze against our cheek, the laughter of children chasing the ice cream truck and much more.

When we recognize all that truly IS, we can shed the notion that there is not enough.

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Grilled Garden Veggies

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I honestly can’t wait until this time of year despite my often endless complaints about the heat. I balance out my intolerance for long summer days of high temperatures with plenty of time to play in my garden and marvel at the bounty of goodness that comes with a little time and patience.

Usually by this time of year I am also getting a little bored with variations of salads so it is always a thrill to find the first few summer squashes or yellow crook neck zucchini’s because one of my favorite summer foods is grilled vegetables. I also love to grill peaches, drizzle with honey and top with fresh ice cream!

I usually pair grilled vegetables with a juicy steak or a grilled chicken breast but these are also delicious just on their own. Simple, fresh and super tasty.

Here is how easy it is:

Preheat an outdoor grill to high heat. (I have also been known to use my indoor grill if I am in a hurry or it is the middle of winter and I am craving some summer flavors). Cut three zucchini or crook neck into thin lengthwise planks. Brush with one tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. I also love to use garlic salt instead of plain salt. Arrange on the grate with plenty of space between. Grill until tender, lightly charred or about 3-4 minutes per side (unless you’re using an indoor grill that closes it would be just 3-4 minutes total). Transfer to a plate. In a bowl mix together cherry tomatoes and one tablespoon olive oil, apple cider or balsamic vinegar and I love to add some fresh chopped mint or rosemary. Stir up the tomatoes, smash a few for a splash of juice and pour over the grilled veggies.

Delicious!

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Easy and Fun Chokecherry Jelly

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Ever since I started gardening a few years ago I have gotten a huge thrill out of watching something grow from a tiny seeds into something that sustains me. Nothing beats fresh produce right out of your own garden. I love the constant growth and it is such a good reminder to me of having patience, providing loving presence and attention to something and enjoying the abundance that always comes.

Trying new things has always been one of my strengths. I rarely shy away from learning new skills and when it comes to trying FUN new things, I am all in. I have two really large chokecherry bushes along my back fence and for the last three or four years I have muttered to myself that I should try making chokecherry jelly. Somehow each year that thought remained just a thought.

Until this year. Last night I grabbed a bowl and off I went to pick. A great memory I have is my sweet grandmother talking about making chokecherry jelly. While I was picking I felt her spirit as my hands got sticky and red. I had no idea how many cherries I needed to pick to get enough for jelly, but I kept picking. I ended up picking three pint size mason jars and told myself that if it was easy and fun to make jelly, I can always pick more.

Making the jelly was easy and fun. So much so that as soon as my batch was cooling, I took off with a bigger bowl to pick more!

The first thing you do is make the juice. After rinsing and discarding leaves and big stems (don’t worry about the little ones attached to the cherries) cover your cherries with water and boil for 30-35 minutes. You can use this right away for the jelly, or you can freeze it for later. To make the jelly, just follow this simple recipe!

Chokecherry Jelly

Ingredients:

  • 3.5 cups chokecherry juice
  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon butter or margarine
  • 1 pkg dry pectin 1.75 oz
  • 4 1/2 cups of sugar
  • Optional—I added two drops of wild orange essential oil! Bam!

Instructions:

  1. Pour juices in kettle.
  2. Add pectin, stir.
  3. Bring to a boil, add sugar.
  4. Boil and stir for 2 minutes.
  5. Remove from heat, skim.
  6. Ladle into jars leaving 1/2 inch space. Add the top and the ring, twist just finger tight (not super tight).
  7. Process in hot water bath for 10 minutes. A hot water bath is when you add filled jars to pot of simmering water that covers the jars.
  8. Remove from bath and cool undisturbed for 24 hours.

Besides being fun and easy it is also gorgeous to look at! I cannot wait for a little toast and jelly with my coffee while sitting on the patio tomorrow morning. There is something SO satisfying about making your own food…and even more fun actually picking the ingredients to feed your people. Plus, how amazing will these little jars be for neighbor gifts come holiday time?

** update to original post. After making this two years in a row, I have some measurements that may help. You’ll need approximately 10 cups of berries to yield 4 cups juice. This recipe that calls for 3.5 cups juice yields 7 jars of jelly.

You can find some of my favorite DIY supplies and follow me for more inspiration below!

Benefits of Cucumbers

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It’s gardening time and I am so excited to get my seeds in the soil! Last year I planted a few cucumber plants hoping I would get a couple cucumbers for salads. My green thumb must have been extra green because I had so many cucumbers that I made jars and jars of pickles. I am so excited to grow these amazing plants again this year.

Cucumbers have so many benefits and uses.

And to think all these years I’ve only been making salads with the cucumbers.

  • Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.
  • Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B vitamins and carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.
  • Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror. It will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.
  • Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.
  • Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes. The phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!
  • Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!
  • Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.

And more!

  • Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don’t have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe. Its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.
  • Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge. Voila, the squeak is gone!
  • Stressed out and don’t have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water. The chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber will react with the boiling water and be released in the steam. This creates a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.
  • Just finish a business lunch and realize you don’t have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath. The phytochemicals will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.
  • Looking for a ‘green’ way to clean your taps, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean. Not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won’t leave streaks and won’t harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean.
  • Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing. This also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!

Benefits of Gardening

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I love to garden.

Planting flowers and vegetables can reap bountiful bouquets and delicious harvests for your dining table. But did you know gardening also can do wonders for your well-being?

Beginning my day with an easy stroll through my gardens helps me start my day from a place of quiet groundedness. You might even hear me whisper good wishes to the plants that they have a beautiful day of growth. The first place I go when I am done with work is back to the garden. Being there helps with me unwind after a long day and provides me with a different kind of being productive, but also much needed quiet time.

I have found that not only does spending time with my plants help my stress it also has an array of other benefits.

Check this out:

Gardening can build self-esteem. 

Maybe you don’t think you were born with a green thumb, but after tilling, planting, nurturing and harvesting plants, you might see a slightly different person in the mirror: a person who can grow things and is a little more in tune with the earth. 

It always feels good to accomplish new tasks, and if you can grow a garden, what can’t you do

Gardening is good for your heart. 

All that digging, planting and weeding burns calories and strengthens your heart. 

“There are physical benefits from doing the manual labor of gardening,” says UNC Health internal medicine physician Robert Hutchins, MD, MPH. “It’s hard work to garden, and it provides some cardiovascular benefit.”

Gardening reduces stress.

Gardening can help reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. 

“Gardening gives you a chance to focus on something and put your mind to work with a goal and a task in mind,” Dr. Hutchins says, “which is helpful especially now with so much illness and death and talk of death, just to see things growing and things thriving.” 

Gardening can make you happy. 

Getting dirt under your nails while digging in the ground can make you pretty happy. In fact, inhaling M. vaccae, a healthy bacteria that lives in soil, can increase levels of serotonin and reduce anxiety. 

Gardening can improve your hand strength.  

All that digging, planting and pulling does more than produce plants. Gardening also will increase your hand strength. What a great way to keep your hands and fingers as strong as possible for as long as possible.

Gardening is good for the whole family.

Gardening can be a solo activity or an opportunity for bonding with your family and friends. The happiness and stress relief that gardening provides is a great thing to share with loved ones. Also, gardening has special benefits for kids. Early exposure to dirt has been linked to numerous health benefits, from reducing allergies to autoimmune diseases. Plus, when they pull a carrot from the ground for the first time you will see pure happiness and awe.

Gardening can give you a boost of vitamin D. 

A healthy dose of vitamin D increases your calcium levels, which benefits your bones and immune system. Exposure to sunlight helped older adults achieve adequate amounts of vitamin D. Just don’t forget your sunscreen.

Growing your own food can help you eat healthier. 

If you have a vegetable or herb or fruit garden, you’re getting fresh produce that you know hasn’t been treated with pesticides.

“It’s essentially as farm-to-table as it gets,” Dr. Hutchins says, “if you’re eating what you’re growing.”

Are you ready to start planning next seasons garden?

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Gardener’s Hand Balm

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This gardeners hand balm is a traditional balm; it is firm in the jar and will melt into the skin as you rub it in (salves are usually softer in consistency).  If you prefer the consistency of a salve vs a balm, you could lower the amount of beeswax in the recipe.

Gardeners hand balm soothes dryness, heals cracks and generally helps tired hands.

If you garden or work outside you know how hard the dirt, sun, sweat, etc can be on your hands. This is a great balm to put on after you get inside. But you’ll find it hard to keep everyone out of the jar because it just feels so good on the skin.

The gardeners hand balm isn’t just for HANDS – elbows, knees, heels; anything that needs a little extra hydration and healing.  It can also be good for those with eczema.

These little jars are great for gifts too – just wrap some raffia or a pretty ribbon around it.

Easy Peasy!

GARDENERS HAND BALM RECIPE WITH HEALING LAVENDER

  • 2.5 oz of Beeswax
    ~Firms the balm and adds a layer of protection to the skin when applied.
  • 2.5 oz of Shea Butter
    ~Healing, protecting, fights aging and deeply moisturizing to the skin
  • 5.5 oz of Coconut Oil
    ~Naturally moisturizing with antibacterial and anti-fungal properties
  • 2.5 oz of Sweet Almond Oil
    ~Filled with Vitamin E, monounsaturated fatty acids, proteins, potassium and zinc
  • 30 – 40 drops of high quality Lavender Essential Oil
    ~Known to clean and soothe cuts. burns and other skin irritations. The scent is also calming to the mind and body.

GARDENERS HAND BALM RECIPE – DIRECTIONS

  1. Prepare your double boiler
  2. Add your Beeswax to the double boiler and melt completely
  3. Add Shea Butter to the Beeswax and allow it to melt completely
  4. Add in Coconut oil, I stir with a fork that I only use for making balms, lotions, etc
  5. Add in Sweet Almond Oil, stir
  6. Once everything look completely meshed together remove from the heat and allow it to cool for 2 – 3 minutes
  7. Add in your essential oil, optional
  8. Pour into your containers—I love these.
  9. Allow it to harden for a few hours – or put it in the refrigerator, like I do, to speed up the process

Your Gardeners Hand Balm is now ready to use.  Keep some for yourself and share as gifts. FYI, I often keep a jar in the fridge because I find it extra soothing in the summer heat.

Enjoy! To learn more about the many uses of essential oils, check out this free gorgeous ebook.

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