Cooking with Essential oils is SO much fun and a great way to incorporate the therapeutic properties of the oil into some serious deliciousness for the whole family.

There’s a couple of pointers we need to be mindful of though so let’s run through those quickly shall we-

• Never ever think about cooking with essential oils you have purchased from your chemist or health food shop. They are not guaranteed to be pure and often contain preservatives and fillers such as multi purpose liquid or mineral turpentine. The oil extracts themselves are often synthetically derived and made in a lab not by nature. We use doTerra’s essential oils only because they are certified pure therapeutic grade. Basically they are the beez kneez of purity and we trust them inherently.
• Essential oils are 40-70 x stronger than the dried herb/ spice/ flower. Unlike dried herbs, which lose up to 90% of their healing nutrients and oxygen molecules, essential oils do not. There are approximately 60 drops of essential oil per teaspoon while this may not seem like much it is important to remember this example – just “one” drop of peppermint oil equals about 28 cups of peppermint tea. They are exceptionally concentrated and a little goes a very long way. You can totally kill your favourite cake by adding in 1 tiny extra drop of Clove oil for example. Sometimes dipping a toothpick into the bottle to add LESS than 1 drop is a very wise move.
• There are several essential oils you should never cook with. These are Wintergreen, Cypress & Arborvitea. Personally I would steer clear of any oil derived from an evergreen tree because they generally have a strong analgesic affect and in general their natural chemical composition just isn’t conducive to ingesting.
• Many essential oils are listed as GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) by the FDA for oral consumption. These include Basil, Bergamot, Rosemary, Roman Chamomile, Cardamom, Cinnamon Bark,  Clove, Dill, Frankincense, Ginger, Grapefruit, Lemon, Lime, Lavender,  Black Pepper, Oregano, Spearmint, Peppermint, Orange, Lemongrass and Thyme. In general, stick to your common herbs, spices and citruses.
• Heating the oils will destroy their therapeutic compounds. Always add them at the end of the cooking process and allow some time for heat to dissipate.
• Always stir really well! Essential oils can be stubborn or hard to disperse and are best combined with an oil or milk prior to adding to the rest of the batter/ mix. This will make sure no one gets a whole mouth full of black pepper.

Now let’s get down to some recipes for you to try!

 Jessie’s Awesome Balls

Ingredients:

1 cup raw walnuts/ pecans or macadamias

10 medjool dates- seeds removed

2/3 cup desiccated coconut

2 tablespoons raw cacao

1 scoop of your favourite protein powder if you want-

(our favourite is Prana Om Primal)

Pinch Celtic sea salt

Dash organic, pure vanilla essence

5 drops doTERRA peppermint  or wild orange essential oil

Method:

In a thermomix or high power blender, blend the nuts on high (speed 9, for 20 seconds if using Thermomix).

Add all other ingredients and blend speed 9, 20 seconds. Roll into balls into desiccated coconut. Refrigerate and enjoy!

To make green, peppermint centered balls, mix one scoop of Terra Greens with one cup of softened coconut butter and 5 drops of peppermint oil. Roll into mini balls and freeze till hard. Simply stuff in the middle of your ball base.