10 ways to cook with essential oils
Essential oils are highly concentrated extracts from plants – depending on the oil, they can be extracted from their leaves, bark and roots. Essential oils have long been used for food preparation, beauty treatment, and health-care practices. Just make sure the brand of essential oils you use are suitable for internal use (not all are, some are just for aromotherapy). I have been cooking with essential oils for a number of months now and here are some of the ways I’m incorporating them into my cooking.
1. Make a cup of tea
… Or enhance an existing tea. Add a drop each of cinnamon and ginger oil to a pot of chai tea. I also like to add a drop of fennel oil to my evening tea which already has fennel in it but it just makes it pop. 1 drop of peppermint oil is equivalent to 28 cups of peppermint tea, so that might be a bit too strong, particularly in boiling water as a cup of tea ( but great to clear the airways as an inhalation… Just close your eyes!). I will often add some oils eg lemon or a metabolic blend called ‘Smart & Sassy’ into my water bottle and sip on it throughout the day.
2. Bulletproof coffee
…. Have you heard of it? Bulletproof coffee is basically where you add a healthy fat source to your coffee (eg grass fed butter). I LOVE making my cappuccino with 1/2 tsp coconut oil and 1 drop of cinnamon oil.
3. Flavour bomb your bliss balls
…. Add 8-10 drops of peppermint oil to a batch of Chocolate bliss balls, or lemon oil to a lemon macadamia ball, or wild orange, ginger and cinnamon. Need a base bliss ball recipe to start with, try this one with step by step instructions.
4. Make your cakes pop
…. I’ve made both citrus cake (lemon, orange and lime oils) and a pear ginger cake (ginger and cinnamon oils). Also think orange-poppyseed cake, choc-mint brownies, gingerbread, tarts etc
5. Homemade chocolate
…Need I say more? See this post for lots of ideas….
6. Seriously good in soups
… Try adding ginger oil to pumpkin soup, fennel oil to a potato and leek soup, basil & oregano to a tomato soup.
7. Spice up your salad dressings
… Lemon or Wild Orange oil work well in a basic salad dressing with olive/macadamia oil, a little vinegar, salt & pepper. As does lime or lemongrass oils if you’re looking for an Asian twist. The options for dressings go on… ginger/cilantro/basil/thyme….
8. Mayonnaise
… Lemon and lime works well in mayonnaise anyway, why not add a couple of extra drops of the essential oil to help bring out that citrus flavour. Here is my back to basics mayonnaise recipe.
9. Boost your herby pesto
… I will often make pesto with a mix of leafy greens like celery leaf pesto, or I’ll use spinach or kale to bulk it out if I don’t have a lot of herbs in the garden. Adding a few drops of basil oil (and/or cilantro) will help boost the herb flavour without the herbs!
10. The humble roast gets a makeover
…. I have used lemon & wild orange essential oils in a brine for roasting a chicken and also to rub on the skin before roasting. You can also mix a drop or 2 of lemon /rosemary/thyme with macadamia/olive oil to roast your vegetables in too. Yum!
If you want to know more about how I am using my essential oils in my cooking follow along on Facebook/Instagram and join my Facebook group: What Annabel Cooks: Essential Oils Group.
Want to get cooking with essential oils?
To buy Annabel’s top 6 essential oils as a personalised kit of oils, please contact me directly by email, annabel@whatannabelcooks.com. They can be purchased as a personalised kit retail at AU$243.34 + shipping or wholesale for AU$217.50 + shipping (including wholesale membership worth $35 and then you can buy every other doTERRA oil/product at wholesale prices). doTERRA essential oils can be purchased from most parts of the world, contact me for more info.
Or here is a different combo!
If you want to mix and match to suit your cooking needs, please ask me to quote on a personalised package for you.
* If you buy doTERRA essential oils either retail or wholesale through me, I receive a commission. Thanks for your support, it’s very much appreciated.
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