“Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.” Harriet Van Horne
Have you seen the movie Burnt ?
Ironically, at the time of writing this post, its Rotten Tomatoes critics score averages 4.8/10. Ouch ! Audiences are somewhat kinder with 3.5/5, so if it appeals, I say head out and watch it anyway. And if you’re a Bradley Cooper fan, observations of ‘overdone clichés’ and ‘an unsavory main character’ will be water off a duck a l’orange’s back.
It’s intense ! It’s high drama !! It’s riddled with exclamation marks !!! And it makes me very glad I’m pottering around in my own kitchen at my own pace. Ah, the serenity.
Not so in the pressure cooker of a professional kitchen. It’s serious business!
So today’s post is on essential oils for chefs, cooks and the kitchen in general. Not only are oils indispensable for tending to clumsy accidents with pots, pans and knives, they are great for the feelings that can boil over or go awry. All of the blends mentioned here are formulated by industry experts Young Living. You can check out my video here on why I love them so much.
This will also connect you up with The Good Oil Team for our personal support and coaching. We'd love to help you on your journey to vibrant well-being the natural way!
Any questions? Please get in touch via our Contact page.
Patience and Concentration
Long hours chopping a sea of spuds requires patience and focus. One moment of distraction can see you racing up to the emergency ward with a finger in a bag of frozen peas ! Now is not the time to be choosing an essential oil that will make you too mellow. Young Living Clarity™ alternated with Present Time™ can help keep your mind on the job at hand. If you think chopping and dicing is a lowly thing to do (even if it’s just as part of your home chores), a bit of Humility™ will take the edge off that nicely. Wax on, wax off.
Cranky Pants
Throwing a tantrum just creates a mess to clean up in more ways than one. If you find yourself wanting to sweep dishes off the counter like Bradley Cooper’s character in the movie, it’s probably stemming from frustration of some kind. Maybe you’re angry with something or someone (including yourself) ? Forgiveness™ is a great starting point.
Stress, lack of quality sleep and eating poorly at odd hours could be taxing your liver. You know that expression about having [bleep] on the liver when cranky? It’s no accident. If you suspect that’s contributing to your mood, regularly massage a couple of drops of JuvaFlex™ into the palm of your right hand, about an inch below the base of your pinkie finger, and consider doing a healthy detox.
Recipe Conception and Execution
Recipes are an alchemy of chemistry, ingredients and creativity. If you love coming up with new ideas or pressure has you feeling blocked, crack open the Inspiration™ and inhale directly from the bottle. Sandalwood makes an effective single-oil alternative.
Being in your happy place while cooking is guaranteed to put the secret ‘love’ ingredient in all your dishes. Joy™ makes the job easy.
“Cooking is like painting or writing a song. Just as there are only so many notes or colors, there are only so many flavors – it’s how you combine them that sets you apart.” Wolfgang Puck
The Aftermath
Crank up your diffuser if the range hood hasn’t taken care of the cooking smells. Citrus Fresh™ has a cheerful fresh scent and it’s 100% natural so you aren’t disrupting your mind and body by inhaling synthetic fragrances. A blend of orange and eucalyptus will work a treat if you’re looking for a DIY blend of singles. When it comes to washing up and wiping down the benchtops, Young Living Thieves® Cleaner has all your bases covered: undiluted on a sponge or cloth for heavy duty, diluted in a spray bottle for light cleaning.
Collateral Damage
If you have any painful incidents, your trusty favourite essential oils reference books will steer you in the right direction. At a pinch, remember true authentic lavender (lavandula angustifolia) is known as the Swiss Army Knife of essential oils. Be sure to choose a good one, then as long as you’re following the usual guidelines for safe use, you can’t really go wrong.
If you’re having a movie weekend at home and whipping up some air-popped organic (non-GMO) popcorn drizzled with a bit of extra-virgin olive oil and a handful of grated parmesan with a crack of black pepper: bon appetit ! And here’s a taste of Burnt to take with you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiGJlUVQDGk
