How to Use Einkorn and Vitality Essential Oils to Support Healthy Habits

Simple and Effective Ways to Support Healthy Habits and Nutritional Needs

My personal "calling" over the last three years has drastically changed. It is truly empowering to know how far I have come with my own awareness and knowledge in a short period of time, which speaks to how incredible this wellness journey has been. I think it’s important to share all my lifestyle habits that play an important role in my overall health goals, because it's much more than using essential oils.  Trust me, I DID NOT DO THIS ALONE (read on to find out how I learned from some top level mentors).

My husband and I work toward wellness together which has helped me immensely in changing my lifestyle for the better.  We have really gotten to a good place with our nutrition. We do occasionally slack off a bit and have a few "cheat" meals every now and again.

Having the support and accountability from my husband through this journey has truly brought me to a place that I have never been before. When we are both working toward similar goals, there are less distractions to get in the way of wellness.

Over the years, I have turned my lifestyle focus to the idea of longevity and increasing our life span. We attempt to structure our daily habits with the goal of supporting healthy aging. As some of my readers already know, my husband and I always maintained a relatively healthy lifestyle. We were both athletes throughout college and maintained a healthy weight. We also believed our nutrition was fairly good (looking back it was not great as we believed in the big pasta dinners before sporting events). 

Many close friends and family members have asked us what motivated us to change. They will often say "you guys were already pretty healthy". Our catalyst came after both of our undergraduate college days when we began a journey towards personal growth and development. We began reading more often and podcasts instead of TV or radio became the norm. We took in all the information that we could handle. We actually still do that to this day. During that time we gained a much deeper understanding of nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress and the overall holistic concept of health and wellness.

I was listening to Vani Hari (a.k.a. “The Food Babe”) on a recent podcasts discussing her recent book Feeding You Lies: How to Unravel the Food Industry’s Playbook and Reclaim Your Health. Hari is very impressive and works diligently toward changing the food industry via petitions and lobbying against the major food companies for them to change their ingredients. Hari's book is an excellent read and a highly informative look into the workings of the food industry. 
​
Another major influence on my journey to wellness is none other than Dr. Rhonda Patrick. Dr. Patrick has a Ph.D. in biomedical science,  Bachelor’s of Science degree in biochemistry/chemistry, and has participated in extensive research on aging, cancer, and nutrition. Patrick is joined by influential figures in the health and wellness industry such as Matthew Walker, Dr. Valter Longo, Dr. Satchin Panda, and Dr. Ruth Patterson to name a few. Listening to the extensive podcast discussions have certainly been life changing.  You learn more about her and discover her incredible podcast at www.foundmyfitness.com . 

The Best of the Best

​Listening and following people such as Dr. Rhonda Patrick, Ben Greenfield, and Dr. Andrew Weil has reinforced my choice to use Young Living products. The community at large is seemingly not aware that Young Living is more than just an essential oil manufacturer. Young Living offers great alternative products for practically all your routine household needs. Examples include: Thieves household cleaning products, personal care products, Seedlings baby products, Ningxia Red wolfberry products, Savvy Minerals makeup, Kidscents products, Animal Scents products, they even have supplements and Einkorn flour products too.

Young Living allows us to use our time more efficiently by creating a one-stop-shop for most of our health and wellness needs. In our first few years, we have largely converted to utilization of essential oils via personal care products, mineral makeup, Thieves household cleaners, and Ningxia Red products. These changes came on the heels of putting time and focus into learning about optimizing wellness through food and nutrition and becoming wary about what we are putting in and around our body. Young Living takes the guesswork out of finding the best products and natural ingredients for our body and also adds trust through their Seed to Seal promise.

Young Living is now our go-to resource for supplements and natural health food ingredients! I have become increasingly aware of how difficult it can be to find products with all natural ingredients at your local store. Young Living's Vitality Essential Oils, Einkorn products, and Ningxia Wolfberry products all support our nutritional goals while helping us make cooking in the kitchen a little simpler. These choices all come WITHOUT without the added sugar, synthetic additives, modified ingredients, and artificial flavors.

The best part about utilizing making the switch to Young living products is how short the learning curve is. Those before us have created incredible resources and we are hoping to add to an already incredible body of work. Personally, I have found that using my vitality essential oils in the kitchen was made so simple by keeping a few critical resources handy at all times. 

• Essential Oil Cookbook by OILYCHEF - Healthy Cookbook including Young Living Essential Oils
• Essential Gluten-free Recipes

Let us review the products that Young Living offers to support healthy cooking:
Vitality Essential Oils
Young Living’s dietary supplement essential oils, also known as the vitality essential oils, allow us to add flavor to foods or drinks without worrying about unwanted ingredients that could negatively impact our bodies. There are over 40 Vitality essential oils that can be added to all types of recipes.

In December, I bought the Young Living Vitality Set which included an awesome culinary cookbook, healthy cookware, and six essential oils (peppermint vitality, orange vitality, oregano vitality, lavender vitality, rosemary vitality, and cinnamon bark vitality).  The culinary set has turned into a great resource for using my vitality oils because of the conversion chart included in the cook book. Now there is a little less chopping, mincing, zesting, juicing and less money spent on herbs and spices that have a shelf life. We add vitality essential oils to main dishes, breakfast, side dishes, desserts, drinks, and marinades.

Vitality essential oils that we use often in the kitchen include Lemon, Peppermint, Cinnamon Bark, Basil, Black Pepper, Clove, Ginger, Nutmeg and Oregano. Here are a few ways we use them in our recipes:

• Lemon- add a drop to chicken, fish , or salad
• Peppermint - add a few drops to a homemade brownie recipe
• Cinnamon bark- add a drop to oatmeal, pancakes, cookies, apple pie, or your morning smoothie
• Black Pepper- add a few drops to a greek yogurt coleslaw

The citrus vitality essential oils like Lime, Lemon, Orange, and Grapefruit are my favorite to add to Acai bowls, refreshing cold water, and other drinks in the summer. Remember to use these in glass containers because citrus oils may break down plastic.

Einkorn Products:
With the goal to remove sugar and refined carbohydrate, we have found Einkorn to be a big help in replacing unhealthy choices in our home. Einkorn is the original “staff of life” grain and is one of the oldest varieties of wheat known to man. Einkorn has a primitive genetic code of 14 chromosomes and has unhybridized genetics, which makes it much more compatible with the human body than other modern, highly hybridized wheat (which has about 42 chromosomes).

Einkorn products are stone-ground ancient grain with no preservatives, no artificial flavors or colors, and they are non-GMO ingredients. Einkorn products are also known to be low in gluten and high in nutrients such as: protein, vitamin B6, riboflavin or Vitamin B2, and vitamin A. Personally, I take that as a win.

Each year, Young Living continues to expand as a well rounded company. The products continue to grow in number each year, last summer alone they added about 5 new Einkorn products! I have tried the Einkorn flour, cereal, spaghetti, pancake & waffle mix, granola, and really yummy einkorn crackers! I love all of them! 



Here’s a complete list of Gary’s True Grit Einkorn products and some ideas on how to use the products:
Gary’s True Grit Einkorn Flour
First off, Young Living has Einkorn flour which is really great for those looking to replace refined or processed grains with ancient grains. The Einkorn flour can be used for all your cooking and baking needs. It’s really easy to use and basically can be a substitute in any recipe in a 1:1 ratio.  Cooking and baking with Einkorn does take some getting used to because you may need to reduce the liquids in the recipe when baking. With the support from a few of the cookbooks above, I have had no trouble switching traditional recipes to include Young Living Einkorn and essential oils.

You can use the Einkorn Flour for baking desserts like cookies, cakes, bars or you can also use it to bake breads and noodles. Be sure to share your favorite recipes with us!



Here are Some of My Favorites

Einkorn Wolfberry Muffins

• 1 cup Dried Organic Wolfberries
• 4 cups Gary’s True Grit Einkorn Flour
• 2 ½ baking powder
• ½ baking soda
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 3 large eggs
• ½ cup dark brown sugar
• 1 ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons blue agave

Directions for Einkorn Wolfberry Muffins: 

1. Preheat the oven for 375 degrees and line the baking pan with paper liners.
2. I then blend all the dry ingredients first: flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt so that I can sift together.
3. In a separate bowl, I stir the eggs until they are smooth, then mix in brown sugar, almond milk, unsalted butter, olive oil, and blue agave.
4. Once the liquid mixture is blended well, I pour it into the dry mixture and blend them together.
5. Then add Dried Wolfberries and blend them into the batter.
6. Once everything is blended, I spoon the batter into the lined cups on the baking tray. I fill the cups about ¾ the way full so that the muffins have room to rise as they bake. I bake the muffins on 375 degrees, for about 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from the center of the muffins.

You can really make any flavor muffins or breads that you desire, simply replace the wolfberries with other healthy fruits or nuts that you enjoy.I have even added a few drops of cinnamon bark vitality to the batter because it makes for delicious muffin with coffee in the morning.  

​

Gary’s True Grit Einkorn Rotini Pasta and Gary’s True Grit Einkorn Spaghetti
These two are family favorites. Marrying into an Italian family, pasta has always been one of my husbands' favorite meals. Unfortunately refined white pastas are not the type of foods we are looking to eat, so we were excited to find that Young Living had a nutritious option to keep these yummy meals. These pair perfectly with a big bowl of salad.



Gary’s True Grit Einkorn Berries
Not exactly talking about fruit berries here, einkorn berries are a great option in the cold winter months when you're looking for a warm breakfast option. We prepare einkorn berries very similar to oatmeal or rice. The einkorn berries are really special because it offers the whole kernel, bran, germ, and endosperm. You can read more of the benefits and the product at Young Living.

• After I prepare the Einkorn Berries by the direction on the box, I like to add a drop of vitality cinnamon bark, walnuts or pecans, and fresh fruit such as blueberries, raspberries, banana slices, or apple slices for a warm and healthy breakfast.

Gary’s True Grit Einkorn Granola and Gary’s True Grit Einkorn Flakes Cereal
Whether you enjoy granola or cereal for breakfast, dinner, or late night snacks  these two products are awesome options for the whole family. They offer the crunch and cold cereal options that people love, plus they are lightly sweetened with Coconut sugar.   I can’t believe how much sugar can be found in cereal on the shelves. It’s basically like eating a box of cookies for breakfast. If you get a chance to read, “The Food Babe’s” book, you will also start to learn how to make informed purchases based on ingredients too.

I like to add some Einkorn Granola to top my yogurt, cereal, and acai bowls because yummy cluster of natural sources of grains, nuts, berries, seeds, and Wolfberries that provide long lasting energy. If you really wanted to make a healthy treat you could even drizzle a little Ningxia Red, Ningxia Berry Syrup, or Elderberry syrup on top.


​
Gary’s True Grit Einkorn Pancake and Waffle Mix and Gary’s True Grit Gluten Free Pancake and Waffle Mix
Even though pancakes and waffles do not fill well into a wellness regimen, an exception can be made when using Einkorn pancake mix. I understand it is tough to break away from unhealthy habits, especially when they are such a big part of social gatherings. We typically celebrate holidays over breakfast which might mean pancakes and waffles galore. Fear not, Einkorn to the rescue!

Admittedly, when we vacation in the mountains during the summertime, there is nothing like a large breakfast before heading out to a day on the boat. In the past those large breakfasts were mostly filled with sugar, refined pancake flour, whipped cream, and dessert toppings. Now that I am making more informed decisions I make conscious choices about what I eat instead of giving in to sugar cravings. I now understand that the effects of sugar and refined foods have many detrimental health effects, not to mention a bunch of empty calories! It is nice to occasionally enjoy some comfort food but we should do so without sacrificing health if possible. Einkorn products allow me to keep my health and fitness goals over the entire year.

We make the recipe straight from the box with local eggs and unsweetened almond milk. Occasionally we include fresh fruit, such as banana or apple slices, followed by a few drops of Cinnamon Vitality oil. 

 

Other Healthy Snacking Options:

• ​Dried Organic Wolfberries- These little guys are pretty versatile. I like to top off my yogurt with them or add them to my trail mix when on the go. For the dogs, I soften the berries by soaking in water for about 15 minutes. This is a great source of antioxidants. For us, I have even made a cup of Ningxia wolfberry tea by soaking the berries in hot water, and adding a little bit of Ningxia as a finisher. 
• Slique bars -  Young Living has an entire line of products to support people with weight management. These bars have been crafted by Young Living with fruity flavors and formulated to support feelings of satiety.  

Other healthy cooking ingredients:

• Gary’s True Grit Ningxia Berry Syrup - This syrup is made with blueberries, plum, sweet cherry, aronia and pomegranate but doesn’t include the high fructose corn syrup or artificial flavors that most syrups are made from. It makes the perfect healthy topping for desserts, pancakes, and waffles.   
• Yacon Syrup - If you do need to have a sweetener for things in your life, this is Young Living's natural alternative sweetener. When we are looking to swap out our local honey as a sweetner, we choose Yacon Syrup. ​

​
Young Living Cookware:
Seriously, I love that I can even buy my toxin free cookware from Young Living. Have you been interested in updating your cookware? Since watching a few Netflix series I realized it was time to replace the old cookware we have gotten from family. It was a great time to just ditch one thing at a time through Young Living Essential Rewards. My husband and I did some research on safe cookware and everything pointed back ordering the ones from Young Living. Your options are a frying pan, saucepan, high rim frying pan, steamer, and glass lid.

In Conclusion
I must admit, a lot of these items are NOT "everyday items" for us. We personally eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole foods than anything else. My belief is that we should always look for better options and for those not willing to completely give up on some of the food groups that include refined carbohydrates and refined grains, then these Einkorn products are an excellent substitute. We use Einkorn approximately once per week.

These Einkorn products are delicious, healthy, and relatively economical compared to their store-bought counterparts. Buying these products through Young Living actually allows me to save more because I am earning reward points and receiving free gifts from Young Living monthly. I know exactly what I am getting when buying through Young Living. Remember, Y.L. members always get 24% off!

If you are new to essential oils and do not have any of your own, consider a premium starter kit from Young Living. This is widely regarded as the simplest way to get started with essential oils. When signing up for your first kit, you will have the opportunity to choose one of our leaders. This is an important step as they will provide you with ongoing support for the lifetime of your Young Living journey at no added cost to you! You can do this simply by visiting the our team page and selecting the individual you would like as your direct upline.

Further, by signing up as a member you will also receive exclusive promotions and updates regarding future developments within the company.
 
If you have not done so already, please subscribe below for the latest updates, offers, and promotions exclusive to our essential oil community!

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Young Living products are not intended to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent any disease. Please see our disclaimer.