Essential Oils

My most recent "wow" experience with the oils came just as we were preparing to move to Southern California. My two year old was stung by a bee on his foot. I'm pretty sure he stepped on it. This was the second time in two weeks he had been stung. I immediately scraped off the stinger and began applying the essential oils. I applied 1 drop of basil oil, 1 drop of lavender oil, and 1 drop of cleansing blend to the sting. I continued to apply the oils every 15 minutes for the next 2 hours. I would have continued to apply them beyond the 2 hours, but it was bedtime. 


                                              This is his foot the day of the sting.

                                                           Red and swollen

                                                             One swollen foot

In the morning, the swelling had gone down quite a bit and walking didn't seem to bother him. I applied the oils every hour for the day and by evening his foot looked normal again. 

                                               24 hours after the sting. Swelling is reduced.

                                   24 hours after the sting. Redness and swelling reduced.

I am so thankful for essential oils. To learn how essential oils can help your family please contact me at OneDropForWellness@gmail.com

Emergency Food Bar

I was looking for lighter and easier food options for my 72 hour kits. I bought a couple emergency food bars to test and see if the family liked them before I bought a lot and filled our kits. I bought the Mainstay Food Bar and the S.O.S Food Bar.

They both came vacuumed sealed in a mylar bag. They both have a 5 year shelf life. And they both have a 'tear here' notch making them simple to open with no tools.

S.O.S Emergency Food Bar 1200 calorie

The SOS bar has 3 individually cellophane wrapped 400 calorie bars. Making it very easy to have a bar a meal. When I first opened it, I was very skeptical about how it would taste, but I was quite surprised. It tastes slightly of coconut and has the texture of a cookie or dry biscuit, without being dry. There is a slight grit to the texture, but it is pleasant. There were a few crumbs, but breaking a bar was simple and nearly crumb free. I had a bar for lunch and found that I was satisfied and didn't need to drink a gallon of water after. In fact, I didn't even have a drink with that "meal".

Mainstay Emergency Bar 2400 calories

The Mainstay bar was not sealed inside the mylar bag, but was portioned out. Breaking a square off was simple and relatively crumb free. The description says a 'pleasant lemon flavor'. It must be very mild, as I didn't notice lemon at all. It was like biting into a sugar cookie. It was very rich and turned slightly creamy as you chewed reminding me of cookie dough. I had intended on having this also for a lunch (on a different day), however after the second bite I started to feel like I had eaten too much raw cookie dough and couldn't finish eating it. I didn't feel hungry or thirsty though. It was too sugary/rich for me.

Then came the real test- The kids

                                                       WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!!

                                  The SOS food bar was the clear winner for the kids.

The Mainstay bar was much thicker than the SOS and the kids couldn't get their small mouths around it. They had to bite the corners and that made for a lot of crumbs.

Both of the bars had great taste, but the S.O.S 3600 calorie is the bar that will be joining our 72 hr kits. I will be putting them inside a ziptop bag to keep them from getting wet or lost once opened.

Dehydrating Frozen Vegetables

I'm always looking for ways to preserve food and save money. I like to save the freezer space for items that can't be preserved to be shelf stable.

                            I picked up a bag of frozen peas and diced carrots

                               

                                   Placed them directly from the bag onto the dehydrator.

                                 A few hours later, I have dehydrated peas and carrots.

                                      I was so excited I tried it with a bag of mixed vegetables.

                                               Four cups of frozen vegetables.

A few hours on the dehydrator....

I am left with 1 cup of dehydrated mixed vegetables.

I sealed them with my Food Saver and now they can sit on the shelf.

To reconstitute, add enough warm water to cover desired amount of vegetables. After a few minutes vegetables plumb back to normal and are ready to be used in your meals.