SKIN PIGMENTATION: TIME TO REVAMP YOUR SKINCARE ROUTINE


SKIN PIGMENTATION

TIME TO REVAMP YOUR SKINCARE ROUTINE
This post is contributed by One Drop member – Alice Pang.

Pigmentation means coloring. Skin pigmentation disorders affect the color of your skin. Your skin gets its color from a pigment called melanin. Special cells in the skin make melanin. When these cells become damaged or unhealthy, it affects melanin production. Some pigmentation disorders affect just patches of skin. Others affect your entire body.

If your body makes too much melanin, your skin gets darker. Condition such as pregnancy, Addison’s disease, and sun exposure all can make your skin darker. If your body makes too little melanin, your skin gets lighter.

Hyperpigmentation occurs when melanin is overproduced in certain spots on the skin.

Hyperpigmentation results in flat, darkened patches of skin that are light brown to black in colour, and can vary in size and shape.

There are many types of hyperpigmentation, but the following are the most common:

Pigment spots such as age spots are caused by sun exposure. For this reason, they appear mainly on body parts that are frequently exposed, such as the face, hands and arms. They tend to be small, darkened patches of skin.

Melasma or chloasma is often referred to as “the mask of pregnancy”, as it affects 90% of pregnant women. It occurs as a result of hormonal influences such as pregnancy and birth control pills, and causes dark and irregularly shaped areas on the face or arms that can be quite large.

Freckles are caused by sun exposure, and commonly appear on the face.

Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation occurs when a skin injury or trauma heals and leaves a flat area of discolouration behind. It’s commonly found among acne sufferers, and can also be caused by cosmetic procedures such as dermabrasion, laser treatment and chemical peels.

There are other factors that can cause patches of skin to become darker – such as scarring, birthmarks, solar or actinic keratoses and skin cancers – but these aren’t considered to be forms of hyperpigmentation.

To combat or reduce the appearance of hyperpigmentation, we usually turn to whitening products. But whitening skincare range usually contain Retin A, Retinol, AHA or hydroquinone. Products who these ingredients will get you very fast result but skin will be very thin and red and prone to flakiness.

Hydroquinone decrease the formation of melanin in the skin. Hydroquinone is usually used to lighten area of the darken skin such as freckles, age spots, melasma (also known as chloasma faciei).

Hydroquinone could be cancer causing according to FDA, and you can only get it from prescriptions through doctors in Singapore. But it is not restricted or controlled in other countries. It is banned in Europe and most countries but we can still find products using this because of the quick result.

Contrary to belief, Pigmentation does not come and go. It’s inbuilt under the skin and we can only prevent it from getting worse.

We cannot stop or escape from pigmentation but we can prevent it from getting worse.

How do we prevent hyperpigmentation?

First of all, we should start protecting our skin from UV rays. We should start as soon as possible. Young Living Mineral Sunscreen is a very important to introduce to our skincare regime. We have to start protecting our skin from UV rays as soon as we start getting exposure from sunlight.

Do note that for schooling children, they face a higher exposure to sun due to schooling and outdoor time. We have to start protecting them early even though pigmentation and not surface for them yet.

Tip: Apply the sunblock 20 min before you leave the house, to let the sunblock have sufficient time to work on the skin.

Add carrot seed or myrrh to enhance the result of sunblock but be mindful this is up to individual skin condition.

Secondly, make-up is one of the causes. The color pigment from blushers can stain the pigments and make it worse. Switch to natural make-up like Savvy Minerals blusher can help to prevent.

If you’ve used products containing the above-mentioned chemicals like Retin A, Retinol or AHA, or if you’ve done peeling before. Be mindful if you’ve used those products before or your skin had gone through 5-20% peeling before. Your skin will take some time to adjust to the switch to use of essential oils. Some skin might not adapt to it well and irritation may occur. There will be conflict between oils and the toxic initially and initially, the skin may protest and seem worse. But overtime, they will make peace and healing will then take place.

So we have to settle the irritation first by switching our skin care to something to toxic free skin care.

You may consider the ART series by Young Living.

And here’s how to use them:

Step 01 Remove Make-up
  • Cleanse away skin oil with toner first, then use cleanser, then tone. *Additional step for Oily Skin
  • Remove make up with Mirah Facial Cleansing Oil first.
Step 02 Cleanse
  • ART Cleanser
Step 03 Tone
  • ART Toner – Toner is very important. Double cleanse with toner on cotton pad wiped around the entire face in a firm but gentle movement.
Tip: Use a spray and spray toner over face, then pat dry with hands after double cleansing with toner on cotton pad.

Step 04 Eyecream
  • Wolfberry Eye cream dab around eyes or alternative dab Frankincense essential oil around the eyes
Step 05 Serum
  • DIY Facial Serum
Step 06 *Day time Care
  • Young Living Mineral Sunscreen
Note: Cleansing is required even if we don’t wear make-up as we are exposed to dust and dirt constantly.
 
DIY Facial Serum for Pigmentation
Pick 2-3 essential oils from the list below, in a 10-ml dropper bottle, drop 10 drops of oils each (2-3 essential oils) then top it up with V-6 Vegetable Complex Oil or Grape Seed oil (Oily or Combination Skin) or Argan Oil (Dehydrated or Dry Skin)

Essential Oils list for pigmentation:
  • Rose
  • Frankincense
  • Sacred Frankincense
  • Lavender
  • Lemon *photosensitive, use at night only
  • Sandalwood
  • Carrot Seed
  • Geranium
  • German Chamomile
  • Manuka
  • Bergamot *photosensitive, use at night only
Top up with Carrier Oil:
  • Carrier Oil V-6 Vegetable Complex or Grape Seed (oily, combination) or Argan (dehydrated, dry) Oil
You are welcome to contact me for my private class details.

Tip:
Myrrh is good for brightening.
Gentle Baby for super dehydrated skin.
Use Young Living Seedlings Wipe as a effective make up remover.
If you like Alice’s articles and would like to purchase the Young Living oils or have further clarifications, please contact Alice here. If you are ready to sign up as member to purchase, you can click here to join Alice and her team.


BLENDING OILS AND CRYSTALS


BLENDING OILS AND CRYSTALS

This post is contributed by One Drop member – Faith Teo

Recently I have been playing with blending oils and crystals together. While the concept isn’t brand new, I noticed that there wasn’t much info on how to pair oils and crystals together.

So here’s some fascinating info about crystals before we dive into choosing the crystals for the blends you want to make:

Do you know that crystals are also found in watches? Crystals are used to regulate the movements of the watch mechanism hence this is where the term “quartz movement” is coined. Clear quartz vibrates at 32768 times per second and ensures your watch is always accurate on time. High end watches have gems like Sapphire!

In the past i have used crystals to “store data”. I call crystals, Mother Nature’s thumb drives. 😉 When we hold crystals and meditate, or even just holding and thinking of stuff, the crystals respond. This is why when you buy crystals from shops, the staff will always place them in a “singing bowl” to reset the “data” or cleanse the energy within as crystals before you start using them. I’ve also held crystals (Amazonite, Clear Quartz, Milky Quartz, Honey Calcite) as I speak to my downlines over the phone to help me communicate with clear intention and sense my downlines’ unspoken state of mind / feelings too.

In our mothers and grandmas’ times, many Chinese women wear jade bangles and report that the longer they wore, the prettier and more translucent the jade gotten. Chinese believe that our body’s energy or qi has been absorbed into the jade and thus transforming it. This is especially apparent if you do Tai Qi exercises and wear a jade bangle – you may find that the bangle is glowing!

When choosing crystals, touch and hold them and let your intuition guide you. Get the ones you naturally gravitate to THEN google for the benefits of that crystal. You may be amazed to find out that HOW PERFECT that crystal is meant for you!

When I create an essential oil blend, sometimes I wanted to intensify or amplify the effect of it especially when I want to gift it to people who really needed that extra boost. In our oily world, you could add Copaiba but given that I prefer not to disrupt the blend in its original eo ratios, I add clear quartz chips in the bottle instead. 😉

In the photo are the crystal chips I have picked and here’s a brief rundown on what each crystal is for and what oils you can pair with. You can Google too to get the full write up of the benefits of each crystal and of course you are not limited to the ones I have picked.



CLEAR QUARTZ

I use these as an amplifier to any oils I add this to. Clear quartz also promote clear thinking and clears the mind of negative thinking as well. This is the MASTER of all healing crystals as it ALSO amplify the benefits of other crystals as well. So you could add other crystals + clear quartz with your oils.

Suggested oils – Any singles or blends really! I like to pair it with Transformation, Believe and Clarity as well.

GOLDEN QUARTZ

Similar properties as Clear Quartz but has the additional properties of assisting healing at all levels – mental, emotional, physical and tunes the body to recognise what it needs to recover.

Suggested oils – Sacred Mountain, White Angelica, Idaho Blue Spruce, Northern Lights Black Spruce, Sacred Frankincense

ROSE QUARTZ

The crystal of love! Self love, romantic love, any kind of love.

Suggested oils – Joy, Jasmine, Rose, Lady Sclareol

AMETHYST

Comforts people in grief, enhances creativity, passion and intelligence. Also helps refines intuition and thought processes.

Suggested oils – Trauma Life, Live Your Passion, Inspiration, Frankincense, Motivation

AMBER

Remember amber teething necklaces that help babies to relieve teething discomfort? Amber while strictly is not a crystal but a resin, has properties that help alleviate pain and discomfort ANYWHERE.

Suggested Oils – Hahha for compliance reasons, I can’t say but look at your eo book or app to search for the appropriate oils. 😉

PERIDOT

Fantastic for respiratory support, eyes, stomach, thyroid and liver. Peridot also alleviate anger, fear, nervousness and jealousy.

Suggested oils – For the first part, please look up your eo resources for the suggested oils for the same areas. For emotions, Stress Away, Transformation, Valor, Tranquil

CITRINE

This is the crystal that stimulates mental power and helps to focus. It brings happiness, joy, and positivity in life by eliminating the negative energies and vibes. Citrine is one crystal that does not accumulate or hold negative energy, in fact it transforms negativity into positive energy. One of the rare crystals that do not require cleansing and is also the crystal you want to have for financial prosperity!

Suggested oils – Abundance, Brain Power, Clarity, Joy, Live With Passion

‐—————
Do you use crystals in your daily life? What is your favourite crystal? 🙂
Faith is a member of OneDrop. She and her team supports oil users via their facebook group – Let’s Add Oil and their blog – School of YL. If you like Faith’s articles and would like to purchase the Young Living oils, please feel free to get in touch with Faith or sign up directly here.

NEW OILS FROM DOWN UNDER


NEW OILS FROM DOWN UNDER

This post is contributed by One Drop member – Ranna Seah.

Young Living had been busy in Australia. So it is time to flash some highlights on some of our newest oils from Down Under!

Australian Ericifolia (single oil)

Was launched on 6th April 2019 during LYPR.
Facts from Young Living’s Chief Science Officer Dr. Michael Buch
This oil, also knownas Rosalina or Lavender Tea Tree, is from another unique tree native to south-eastern Australia and Tasmania. The ancient people of this region used the plant in medicines and they also used the flowers to make a tea with a calming aroma. Our oil is steam distilled from the Melaleuca ericifolia tree leaves. A local name for this tree is the swamp paperback, because it tends to grow in very wet areas and the bark resembles paper. The essential oil contains linalool, 1,8 cineole (eucalyptol), alpha pinene, gamma terpinene, and aromadendrene to name a few. This unique collection of constituents provides an oil with properties similar to Tea Tree combined with Lavender. Australian Ericifolia oil has a lemon-like, somewhat floral fragrance that is (I think) fresher than Tea Tree oil. This oil tends to be calming (like lavender), and it also has the respiratory and skin benefits of Tea Tree and Eucalyptus globulus oils, with a distinctly different aroma. This oil blends nicely with lemon, lavender, and other essential oils that are somewhat “herbaceous”. It’s another unique single to keep in your arsenal!

Benefits included:
  • Calms everyday skin irritations
  • Combine with Lavender and Rosemary to keep your hair looking healthy
  • Great aromatic companion to enjoy outdoor activities
  • Combine with eucalyptus for a soothing and revitalizing experience
  • Diffuse for a refreshing environment
Catch the promo video here.

Australian Kuranya (blend)

The term “Kuranya”, the Aboriginal word for “Rainbow”, perfectly represents this Australia-sourced essential oil blend – a synergy of oils that creates something more beautiful than the sum of its parts. From the luscious, green Tasmanian islands and other vast northern deserts, the oils in the Australian Kuranya™ blend features a pleasing, earthy aroma with skin-loving benefits that can help cleanse and enhance your natural radiance. It contains Lemon Myrtle, Kunzea, Blue Cypress, Sandalwood, Fennel, Australian Ericifolia, Eucalyptus Radiata, and Tea Tree essential oils.
Australian Kuranya is the first product to carry the D. Gary Young Research Institute seal on its label. Formerly Young Living’s Research and Development team, the D. Gary Young Research Institute adopted its new name to honor Gary’s memory and legacy. Many of the highly trained scientists in the Research Institute worked side-by-side with Gary in the lab and have absorbed his approach, wisdom, and intentions when it comes to developing new products for Young Living. This seal is an assurance that Gary’s tradition of quality and innovation has been upheld through the development and production of every new Young Living product.

Benefits included:
  • Helps reduce the appearance of blemishes
  • Conditions and moisturizes skin
  • Promotes healthy, glowing skin
  • Includes the naturally occurring constituents geranial, alpha-pinene, eucalyptol, and alpha- and beta-santalol
  • Promotes a stimulating and rejuvenating atmosphere
  • Has air-purifying properties
  • Provides an uplifting and grounding aroma

Kunzea (single oil)

(launched last year during APAC on 12 March 2018)
Facts from Young Living’s Chief Science Officer Dr. Michael Buch
A farmer in Tazmania where Kunzea grows wild, noticed that his fences wasn’t rusting when the fence was strung through the kunzea bushes. And fences are always rusting severely everywhere else. And that’s a strong indication that kunzea has a lot of antioxidant in it. Cos rust is just natural oxidation. That made him looked at kunzea and began to extract the oil.
Actually, the native aboriginals, about a few thousand years before the farmer already noticed, that when they slept under the kunzea bush, they don’t get any insect bites. That’s why the local name for Kunzea right now is ‘Tick bush’ in Tazmania.
One more thing the native aboriginals noticed is that when they rub kunzea on their skin, it really helped with sore muscles
It’s wonderful for sore muscles and for skin – it really helps with the appearance of blemishes.
What made the Kunzea so special?
It is very high in many compounds that we see in many oils. For example, it is high in Alpha-pinene that is found in Pine oil. It has 1,8 Cineole (Eucalyptol) which is found in eucalyptus oilIt also has a compound called Berita Flora that is also found in Peppermint and Sacred Frankincense. It also contains Bicyclogermacrane that is found in both Oregano and Hyssop.
It is also very high in alpha terpineol which is a fragrance very similar to lilac.
So, imagine a pure essential oil that contains the key components of Pine, Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Sacred Frankincense, Oregano and Hyssop, all with a hint of Lilac. Kunzea is one of nature’s miracle. It’s almost as if this plant knows how to blend its own oils. It’s Dr Michael’s favorite oil now. 

Benefits included:
  • Helps soothe fatigued muscles
  • Reduces the appearance of blemishes
  • Purifies the air from unwanted odors
For the full video sharing on Kunzea by Dr Michael Buch, please here.

Manuka (single oil)

I wanted to skip this oil since it had been released a couple of years ago but haiz…one does not talk about Australian oils without talking about Manuka! I was pleasantly surprised when my husband asked me what did I put on that’s smelling so nice? Now…you have to understand my thrill because he is sensitive to scent and this is like the first and only oil he said NICE!
With a warm, gentle fragrance and numerous skin care benefits, Manuka essential oil is the perfect addition to your daily wellness and beauty regimen. (I will add it to my pure honey to get Manuka honey!) Add it to your favorite skin care products to support the appearance of healthy-looking skin and reduce the appearance of blemishes. (I am fine with applying it neat on my face as the oil is thick like Myrrh)
You can also enjoy its sweet aroma by diffusing it, adding it to household cleaners, and massaging it into tired feet. Manuka includes the naturally occurring constituents leptospermone, copaene, and isoleptopsermone.
 
Benefits Included:
  • Has a warm, calming aroma
  • Is cleansing and soothing when applied topically
  • Reduces the appearance of blemishes and supports the appearance of heathy-looking skin
  • Can be applied to feet or toenails to keep them looking healthy
Hope you’ve enjoyed this article and our new oils.
If you like my articles and would like to purchase the Young Living oils or have further clarifications, please drop me a message here or email me at fabulana@gmail.com. If you are ready to sign up as member to purchase, you can click here. I would love to support you in using the oils for yourself and your loved ones.


CLEANING WITH THIEVES


CLEANING WITH THIEVES

This post is contributed by One Drop member – Claryn Neo.

Thieves Household Cleaner

This is Mama’s favourite multi-purpose household cleaner! A multi-purpose, all rounded cleaner for the entire house. From toys, play mat to toilet 🚽 and tiles, kitchen table top, stove, floors and anywhere at home!

It smells so good and make our house squeaky clean. Just one cap to one pail of water 💦 and it is enough for me to mop the entire floor, including washing the children’s toys.

I will also pour half a cap of Household Cleaner into a spray bottle, top it up with water, and it can be used for cleaning of kitchen tops after cooking, table tops, shelves, windows, mirrors and even quick cleaning of play mats.

For children’s toys , I used 1/2 cap to one bucket of water , dump the toys in and give it a gentle wash and transfer them into another bucket with clean water, then transfer them out for drying.

My ratio for mopping is one cap to one bucket of water. While general cleaning of shelves and table etc is 1/8 cap to a small pair of water.

During Chinese New Year Spring Cleaning season, we engaged a spring cleaning company to do a thorough spring clean and they used chemicals everywhere at home. We can feel the effects of the chemical when we stepped onto our toilet floor and we can feel our soles felt dry and showed signs of cracking.

The staff of the spring cleaning company informed us that they could not clean off the rust from our dish drying rack, despite the harshest of chemicals they’ve already used on it. I was very upset as the rack is for utensils for cooking and refused to give up!

💡💡 I suddenly got an idea to try using the following products:
  • My favourite Thieves Household cleaner
  • Baking Soda
  • All time kitchen favourite: Lemon 🍋 essential oil
  • A small brush that I bought from Japan Home (if I remember correctly)
Amazingly it worked! 😱😱😍😍 (See image)

The Cleaning Trio


Before

After

 
Another amazing result using chemical free method! Even my husband couldn’t believe it.. 😂 

Thieves Laundry Soap

I use them for our laundry at home. Adding few drops of preferred EO (Lemon/ Tea Tree/ Eucalyptus Radiata/ Thieves/ Purification/ any citrus oils) + Baking Soda to enhance the washing
  • 1 full load of laundry
  • 1 cap of Laundry soap
  • 1 -2 tablespoon of Baking Soda
  • 2 drops of preferred EO
Thieves Dish Soap 

Many people told me they are not able to wash off oily pots and utensils with the Thieves dish soap and I’ve found that there are ways make it generate have more bubbles.

My way of doing it –
  • 1/3 dish soap
  • 1 ½ tablespoon baking soda
  • 400ml ml foaming bottle
  • Thieves HHC (optional)
  • Lemon EO (optional)
Mix all in the bottle and shake, let the chemical reaction take place and for the baking soda to dissolve.
Note: Make sure the sponge itself is washed as I noticed the grease is always on the sponge that makes away the grease cleaning difficult because you are using a dirty sponge to clean.

Tips on cleaning the sponge – soak sponge in hot water with a drop or Lemon EO.

Thieves Foaming Hand wash

I find that the foaming hand wash is very concentrated hence to maximise the use of it, I split 1 bottle of the Thieves foaming hand wash into 2 bottles and top it up with distilled water (or tap water if you prefer).

Thieves Fruit & Veggie Soak

1 cap of the fruit and veggie soak in a big tub with water, I am using it to soak all my fruits and vegetables that I want to cook / eat for the day.

That’s all the Thieves cleaning tips for now. If you have any tips or tricks, do share in the comments below.
If you like my articles and would like to purchase the Young Living oils or have further clarifications, please drop me a message here or email me at theoilingplace@gmail.com. If you are ready to sign up as member to purchase, you can click here. I would love to support you in using the oils for yourself and your loved ones.

SPICED CHICKEN SERVED WTIH RATATOUILLE AND SPINACH

COOKING WITH DANGER MAN

SPICED CHICKEN SERVED WTIH RATATOUILLE AND SPINACH
This post is contributed by One Drop member – Johnathan Oh

Chicken is one of the most delicious ingredient to cook and does not require much imagination to make it good but with imagination, you can make hundreds of dishes out of this humble bird. This Spiced Chicken served with Ratatouille and Spinach recipe will definitely impress your guest(s) as the chicken is bursting with flavour and the ratatouille pairs wonderfully with the flavourful fat from the chicken. Its no wonder that this poultry is the most consumed meat in the whole world. Don’t be intimidated by the long list of ingredients, save this recipe for your special occasion!

Happy cooking, eating and eating well!

Ingredients (Chicken + Marinade)
  • 2-3 whole chicken leg
  • 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon of cumin powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon of ground white pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon of smoked paprika
  • Salt
  • EVOO
  • Butter
  • 2 cloves of crushed garlic
Ingredients (Ratatouille)
  • 2 medium sized aubergines
  • 1 whole carrot – peeled and cubed
  • 1 cup of ripe Roma tomatoes – roughly chopped
  • 1 cup of butternut squash cut into cubes
  • 3 cups of spinach
  • 2 shallot – peeled and finely diced
  • 2 cloves of garlic – minced
  • 4 Tablespoon Apple cider
  • 2 Tablespoon of Tomato paste
  • 1 cup chicken/vegetable stock (I usually use Marmite)
  • *A pinch of fennel seed
  • *1/2 teaspoon thyme and oregano
  • A pinch of coriander powder
  • Ground black pepper (to preference)
  • Salt
  • Sugar
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
    *Essential Oil: Lemon, Fennel, Thyme and Oregano
Directions:
  1. Wash and pat dry the chicken leg.
    TIPS: If the chicken is still wet, it will not marinade well. So pat it as dry as possible.
  2. Mix all the spices in a bowl. Add a generous pinch of salt to the mixture.
  3. Rub the dry chicken leg with the spices. Make sure the chicken is well covered with spices. Place the chicken in a zip lock bag and let it marinade in the fridge for 15 minutes.
  4. Heat up a non-stick pan. Do not add any oil.
  5. Wash and halve the aubergines lengthwise. Place them into the hot pan to sear till caramelised on both sides. Add some water into the pan, put a lid over the pan and off the fire. Let it steam/rest for 5 minutes and remove onto a plate.
  6. Using the same pan, add EVOO and shallots to fry. Add the garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar for caramelisation.
  7. Add the apple cider to de-glaze the pan.
  8. Add the carrots into the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes.
  9. Add the butternut squash, chopped tomatoes, fennel seed powder, coriander powder, dry oregano and thyme into the pan. Stir and mix the ingredients together for 2 minutes.
  10. Add the tomato paste and stock to the pan. Season with pepper and salt. Bring to boil and then turn down heat to cook for another 5 minutes before you turn off the heat and continue cooking with the residual heat.
  11. Heat up a separate pan. Add EVOO and the chicken leg. Sear skin down around 3 minutes or until golden brown. Turn to sear the other side and add the garlic and 2 knobs of butter into the pan. Baste the chicken with the oil.
  12. You can either place the chicken in the oven heated to 200C for 5-8 minutes. Don’t have an oven, scroll down a bit to get other method of cooking.
  13. For the spinach, you can either serve it raw or blanch it with hot water (I did the latter). Dress it with tahini or Kewpie sauce.
Assemble the dish onto a plate and serve.

How to use Essential Oil (EO) for cooking:

First and foremost, please check and ensure that the essential oils that you intend to use are safe for ingestion. I got mine from here, so I know that I could use them with a peace of mind.

I use Lemon, Fennel, Thyme and Oregano Essential Oil for this dish. In order to use the EO to cook, please try to adhere to the following:

  1. DO NOT use EO from unknown, unspecified and unverified sources (Can’t stress this enough)
  2. DO NOT drip the EO directly on your dish
  3. DO NOT use EO on direct heat to avoid destroying the benefits of the EO
This is how you SHOULD do when using the EO for cooking this recipe. Pour some EVOO into a small bowl, then mix (dilute) the Essential Oil into the EVOO so that you can add the EO evenly and safely to the dish. By the way, dripping the EO directly on the dish will not cause you to die from EO overdose BUT it will definitely destroy your dish.

For this dish, I use ONE drop of Thyme and Oregano, a SWIPE of Fennel and TWO drops of LEMON Essential Oil diluted in 2 tablespoon of EVOO. I only add this mixture into the Ratatouille at the end of cooking and mixing them into the dish in residual heat
Photographers always say that “the best camera is the one in your hand”, it is only true if THAT camera is the only one available to you. The saying by no way negates the importance of having the right equipment on hand and most professional photographers will never go out on a subpar equipment. The same is true in cooking. While we try to make do with what we have in order to cook, it is important to have the proper equipment whenever possible so that we could achieve more. Yes we can improvise, but the results often does not turn out the way it was intended. Get your oven, it will help you create so much more delicious food for your family.

If owning an oven is not an option, you can either put a lid on the pan, turn down the heat and continue to cook the chicken for 8-10 minutes, then remove from the heat with the lid on to let the chicken rest (which may cause the chicken to dry-out and potentially looked un-appetising as well) or you can add 1/4 cup of water into the pan, close with a lid to steam the chicken for 5-8 minutes, then remove from the heat with the lid on to let the chicken rest (this will cause the nicely seared skin to become soggy and the chicken to lose some flavor to the steaming water).

While preparing the ratatouille, I usually have another pot of boiling water for cooking the spinach. Once the water boils, I will add all the spinach into the hot water and turn off the heat immediately. The spinach should be cooking in the residual heat less they become too soft and soggy. This speeds up the cooking time and I could also use the cooking water to add into the ratatouille when the liquid has started to dry out.

If you like Johnathan’s articles and would like to purchase the Young Living oils or have further clarifications, please email Johnathan here. If you are ready to sign up as member to purchase, you can click here to join Johnathan and his team.


 
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