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How-to Make Infused Olive Oil {+ Video}
Infused Olive Oils make really great and beautiful gifts for the food lovers in your life! They are also great to have on hand in your own kitchen for your own cooking adventures. The flavor possibilities are endless and it is truly a fun and unique gift.
There are lots of great options for simple homemade gifts here on TY: Healthier Hot Cocoa Mix, Homemade Chocolate Bark, Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix in a Jar, DIY homemade Vanilla Extract, Essential Oil Holiday Room Sprays, Crock Pot Pumpkin Butter, Coconut Butter, Nut Butters, Candy Cane Hot Cocoa Mix, Chai Concentrate, just to name a few of my favorites.
A handmade gift, made with love, packaged up sweetly with beautiful custom labels and a thoughtful note, to me, is what the season is all about. Sharing something you created with your own two hands, especially for the person receiving it.
There are so many various ways you can infuse olive oil and there are just as many posts floating around the web telling us about them. Some heat the oil, while others just throw it all together in the bottle and call it a day, some leave in the ingredients in, others strain them out before bottling. I have done a lot of reading and no matter what method you choose, there are a few concerns we have to take into account when making infused olive oils.
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Grain-free Pumpkin Pie with Gingersnap Macaroon Crust and Cinnamon Vanilla Meringue
Don’t send a Thanksgiving lynching mob after me, but I generally don’t care too much about pies. I am already not a huge dessert person, but if I am going to have a little something sweet, I’d probably always opt for chocolate. Gimme this Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Tart and I’ve got everything I need. But, I am fully aware that pies are part of holiday spreads for a reason, pies go with Thanksgiving like peanut butter to jelly. I am currently also painfully aware of baking’s ability to heal and it’s important role in relieving stress, something I have personally been in great need of since the election. So here we are, with an epic pumpkin pie that will change the minds of even the greatest pie skeptics.
I have always loved the idea of a pumpkin pie, as I am a big fan of pumpkin-spiced everything, but generally I find many pumpkin pies to be just a tad lacking. First, it’s just your standard pie crust, nothing too special there, not a ton of flavor, then the pumpkin filling gets a little spicing and maybe you top it all with a little whipped cream. To me, it just always feels like it’s missing a little something. It lacks a little dessert flair. I also find that when you add adequate spices and a sweetener with some depth, beyond just standard refined white sugar, the color of a finished pumpkin pie just ends up pretty drab. Beigy brown toasted edge crust, a orangey-brown filling. I dunno, I feel like we can do better than this you guys!
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Stay Hydrated // How-to Make Infused Spa Water at Home
We all know how important it is to stay hydrated, yet somehow water is still THE most common nutritional deficiency in our culture. Good news is, it’s a super simple one to remedy! There are plenty of varying formulas from all different sources in regards to how much water to consume, but it’s best to know that whatever formula you subscribe to, just like the nutrition from food and the dietary guides that we each subscribe to, we are highly bio-individualistic beings and there is no one definitive firm answer out there. Listen to your body and pay attention to what works for you.
As a guideline, I recommend to my clients that they shoot for half your body weight in ounces every day. For example if you weight 150lbs, shoot for 75 ounces of water daily, taking into account the need to rehydrate additionally for the consumption of diuretics like coffee, tea, fruit juices, alcohol and sodas or excessive perspiration. I also subscribe to the idea that we don’t want to be consuming too much more than 100 ounces of water daily, as too much water can also have negative affects, like diluting/flushing our electrolytes and causing mineral imbalances.
The best practice to follow is to slowly and mindfully sip on high quality filtered water throughout the day, all day, every day. Drink water before you start feeling thirsty – as thirst is a sure sign you are already on your way to dehydration.
Did you know that every single cell in the human body needs water to function properly? Much like the plants in your garden, your cells, too, can perk up immediately upon watering. It’s that simple.
“Chronic cellular dehydration of the body is the primary etiology of painful degenerative disease.” – Dr F. Batmanghelidj, M.D.
What Roles Does Water Play in the Body?
Water Helps Your Body with the Following:
- Improves oxygen delivery to cells
- Transports nutrients
- Enables cellular hydration
- Moistens oxygen for easier breathing
- Cushions bones and joints
- Absorbing shocks to joints and organs
- Regulates body temperature
- Removes wastes
- Flushes toxins
- Prevents tissues from sticking
- Lubricates joints
- Improves cell-to-cell communications
- Maintains normal electrical properties of cells
- Empowers the body’s natural healing process
Excerpt from “Water the Ultimate Cure”
Tips for Drinking More Water:
- Drink a glass of water as soon as you wake up in the morning (I prefer mine warm with a little lemon).
- Carry a dedicated bottle or container with you are all times, at work, at home, even if you are just out running a few errands.
- Use an app on your mobile phone to track your water intake or simply set an alert on your phone to remind you.
- Choose water at restaurants instead of other beverages. not only will you save on calories while simultaneously hydrating yourself, but it also saves money.
- When you are hungry, start with a glass of water before you reach for the snack. sometimes feelings of hunger are actually your body telling you that it’s thirsty. it may just curb the cravings.
- Drink before you eat. 16 ounces 30 minutes before every meal can actually keep you from over indulging. make this a regular practice and you might even find yourself losing weight.
- Infuse and flavor your water.
BONUS: Add a pinch of high quality sea salt to your water, it adds trace minerals and helps to balance electrolytes
Today, I am sharing with you one of my very favorite ways to stay hydrated…
INFUSED SPA WATER!
Infused water is not only a tasty way to stay hydrated but it is nutritional, healthy, fresh and all-natural!
How-to Make Infused Spa Water at Home:
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Fig Vanilla Bean Almond Milk
Summertime’s sweetness comes in many forms. From the delicious, in-season and abundant produce, to the lush and vibrant flora and foliage and many hours of beautiful sunlight.
I haven’t maintained a vegetable garden for the past few season’s, mostly due to the incredible amount of time that a garden requires and I don’t always have. But I am also so incredibly lucky that our home has several low maintenance fruit teas, the fig tree being the largest and most producing of all of them.
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Spice-Infused Winter Sangria
Removing my trip to Mexico last week and that day I had too many margaritas at lunch, this lady does very little drinking these days. My body just doesn’t love it. I enjoy a glass of wine now and again, don’t get me wrong. That being said, 1) I am all about balance and enjoy the holidays and 2) it just wouldn’t be the holidays without a signature cocktail for Tasty Yummies.
One of my all-time favorite winter and holiday indulgences is a steamy hot mug of mulled wine. However, living in California, a toasty mug of booze isn’t always what the weather gods have in mind, so I decided to get crafty and combine my summertime favorite, sangria, with the wintery, holiday flavors of mulled wine.
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Honey Lavender Vanilla Bean Simple Syrup and Martini
Homemade simple syrups have become a staple in my kitchen, much like homemade nut milks, nut butters and even sprouts. It’s a simple treat that you can easily make with your favorite fruits, herbs and/or botanicals. Occasionally, I will make them with organic raw sugar, but since I really adore the lovely the depth of flavor that you get when you use good local raw honey, I usually opt for that instead.
The possibilities are really endless for flavors, you can experiment with whatever you like best and expand your flavors and combinations from there. This particular flavor combination is one of my absolute favorites. Lavender and vanilla bean together are what dreams are made of, add in the honey and just forget it. It really doesn’t get any better.
Sweet, fragrant, earthy and unique. A few teaspoons of this syrup is wonderful topped with sparkling water for a refreshing non-alcoholic beverage. You can also use it as a traditional syrup, pouring it over yogurt or ice cream, cereals and granolas you can even add it to a homemade almond milk latte, which I am telling you – is life changing!! I am kind of obsessed.
