Cooking with Essential Oils
You can incorporate essential oils into practically every area of your life. They can be helpful for relaxation and sleep, creating a soothing massage, cleansing surfaces around the home, beautifying the skin and hair, repelling insects naturally, and so on. One of the greatest benefits of essential oils is that they can be very useful in the kitchen. There are several benefits to using essential oils in cooking. Not only will essential oils provide any meal with powerful flavor, but they also allow the user to enjoy any internal health benefits that the essential oil may hold, as well as providing a safe, natural way to flavor your food and offering convenience when fresh ingredients are not available.
Frequently used for their internal benefits, essential oils provide a simple way to promote wellness in the body. Depending on the oil, you can use essential oils to promote healthy digestion, cleanse the body, support healthy function of the body’s systems, provide the body with antioxidants, and other internal benefits. When you add an essential oil to your food or beverage, not only will you experience the powerful flavors of the oil, but you can experience any internal benefits the oil has to offer. Cooking with essential oils provides a fun, creative way to use essential oils internally and reap the benefits they have to offer.
Remember that not all essential oils are created equal, and some companies will use fillers or synthetic ingredients in their oils. By using pure, therapeutic grade essential oils in your cooking, you can enjoy the benefits of natural flavors and ingredients.
Before adding essential oils to your food, make sure that each oil you intend to use has been approved for safe consumption and internal use. The following essential oils are considered safe for internal use:
- Basil
- Bergamot
- Black Pepper
- Cassia
- Cilantro
- Cinnamon
- Clary Sage
- Clove
- Copaiba
- Coriander
- Fennel
- Frankincense
- Geranium
- Ginger
- Grapefruit
- Juniper Berry
- Lavender
- Lemon
- Lemongrass
- Lime
- Marjoram
- Melissa
- Myrrh
- Oregano
- Peppermint
- Rose
- Rosemary
- Sandalwood
- Thyme
- Ylang Ylang
Often, even a single drop of an essential oil can be too overpowering, especially if the oil is particularly strong. When you first start experimenting with essential oils and cooking, it is best to use the toothpick method—dip the tip of a clean toothpick into the essential oil bottle and stir the toothpick into your ingredients. This will allow you to add the smallest possible amount of the oil, so that you don’t risk ruining the dish by adding too much flavor. After you’ve stirred the toothpick around in the dish, do a taste test to see whether you want to add more of the oil or not. This is the safest way to slowly add flavor to your dish without ruining it by using too much oil.
RECIPES
Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothie
It’s the skinny version of mint chocolate chip ice cream.
1 cup, almond milk
1 drop peppermint essential oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
stevia to taste
a handful of mixed greens, kale, or spinach
2 tablespoons cocoa nibs
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 frozen bananas
1 tablespoon chia seeds
Add ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. If you would like to have a chocolate banana peanut butter smoothie take out the peppermint essential oil and add one tablespoon of raw natural peanut butter and leave remaining ingredients.
Lavender Blueberry Banana Coconut Ice Cream Shake
1 pint vanilla coconut milk ice cream
1 frozen banana
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 teaspoon raw honey
2 cups, coconut milk
cinnamon to taste
4 to 6 drops lavender essential oil
If you do not like the taste of lavender, use lemon. Place ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.
Black Bean Fudge with Wild Orange Essential Oil
3 1/2 cups cooked black beans
3/4 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup white sugar or another sweetener
1/2 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 to 6 drops wild orange essential oil or cinnamon bark, or peppermint, or experiment with some of your favorite essential oils
Blend ingredients until smooth. Adjust sweetener to taste. Add wild orange essential oil and mix briefly. Spread mixture in an 8×10 pan, pressing down firmly. Refrigerate for one hour or until firm. Slice into squares and serve. Store in the refrigerator.
Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
5 tablespoons pure maple syrup
5 drops peppermint essential oil
a handful of spinach
Ground dark chocolate chips
Combine milk and spinach in a blender, use as much spinach for desired green color blend until smooth. Add cream and syrup in a blender and stir, slightly. Grind chocolate chips in a food processor. Turn on the ice cream maker and pour in milk cream mixture. Add chocolate chips. Ice cream will be ready in 15 to 20 minutes. The recipe takes 18 single scoops, or one quart.
Mushroom Basil and Lemongrass Risotto
Add ½ cup arborio rice
4 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup cheese
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 drop lemongrass essential oil
Olive oil
Drizzle olive oil over the bottom of a large saute pan and cook on medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook for three minutes, or until tender. Add garlic and stir. Add rice and just enough broth to cover the mixture, about one cup. Stir frequently as rice absorbs liquid slowly and add more broth. For best results, be patient and add a small amount of liquid at a time. Wait until absorbed to add more. Stir frequently. Turn down heat, if necessary. The result should be a creamy consistency. Remove from heat, add cheese, basil, and lemongrass essential oil. Serve immediately.
Crockpot Vegan Pinto Beans
2 cups dry pinto beans
4 teaspoons cumin
3 teaspoons paprika
2 tablespoons dried garlic flakes
1 to 2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons taco seasoning
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
2 teaspoons organic apple cider vinegar
1-2 drops, cilantro essential oil
1 to 2 drops lime essential oil
1 to 2 drops lemon essential oil
lime wedges to season
salt and pepper to taste
Put rinsed beans in a crock pot and add remaining ingredients except for lime juice and essential oil and mix. Put 4 to 6 cups of water into the crock pot. Water levels should be one to two inches from the top. Cook 12 to 16 hours on low or 6 to 8 hours on high. Add lime juice, lemon, lime essential oil and salt and pepper before serving. Serve over rice with bread, tortillas, corn chips, or by itself. For additional flavor add sour cream.
Broiled Lemon Asparagus
1 large bunch of asparagus
2 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil
3-5 drops lemon essential oil
sea salt
Wash asparagus and trim. Place on a large cookie sheet and sprinkle with sea salt. In a separate container melt coconut oil, lemon essential oil and stir. Drizzle mixture over asparagus broil on high for five to seven minutes, watching carefully to ensure asparagus does not burn. Serve immediately.
Artichoke Spinach Pizza
pizza dough
pizza sauce
1/3 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup white beans
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 drops rosemary essential oil
2 drops lemon essential oil
1 clove of garlic
salt and pepper to taste
Toppings:
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 leeks, cleaned and chopped
2 ounces fresh spinach, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dry Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
1/3 cup white beans
1 cup canned, 14.5 pounds quartered artichoke hearts
sliced fresh mozzarella
salt and pepper to taste
Prepare pizza dough, according to instructions. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place pizza stone on upper middle rock. Prepare sauce by adding ingredients into a small food processor and puree until smooth scraping sides as needed. Set aside. Tip: use milk to thin sauce if desired. In a cast iron or saute skillet, heat olive oil, add leeks and saute until tender. Add spinach and saute until wilted and assemble the pizza. Roll pizza dough out on parchment paper. Spread desired amount of sauce on top of pizza dough top with leek and spinach mixture sprinkled with Italian seasoning, Parmesan, white beans and artichoke hearts, top with fresh slices of mozzarella cheese.
Transfer pizza on parchment paper to pizza stone and bake for five to 10 minutes, or until crust reaches desired crispness and cheese is melted. Serve immediately.