One thing I love about the holiday season is that it provides me with the opportunity to create herbal gifts for people that are special to me. Everyone loves receiving handmade gifts tailored to their lives, and it’s personally rewarding to create items that are both practical and enjoyable.
This year I decided to focus on salt, a particularly cleansing and flavorful addition to anyone's life.
One of the easiest gifts to make is custom bath salts. They are a luxurious and economical gift for those who enjoy long soaks in the tub. I prefer to make a big batch of a basic bath salt recipe and then add custom ingredients to each jar based on what I think the recipient might enjoy.
equal parts Epsom salt, Dead Sea salt, Himilayan pink salt, and baking soda.
Depending on how many jars I want to create, I will usually mix one or two cups of each of these salts and store them in a large glass container until I am ready to use them. Fancy additions to bath salts can include dried flower petals, seaweeds, as well as nutritive and essential oils. The combinations for herbal aromatherapy baths are endless!
Here are a few of my favorites:
The Rose Bath is a beautiful, calming, and moisturizing bath that can be taken when you want to access feelings of love and sensuality. There is nothing better than relaxing into a tub full of rose petals! Here is the recipe:
1 C basic bath salts
1/4 oz dried damask rose petals
20 drops rose scented essential oil (you can use rose geranium, rose attar, rose maroc, or any scent you enjoy within the rose family)
2 teaspoons glycerin
2 teaspoons jojoba oil (The jojoba oil and glycerin give the bathwater a silky feel and moisturize the skin at the same time)
Mix the oils together first and then incorporate these into the salt and rose petals. Store in a glass jar.
When you're ready for your bath, add 1/2 cup into your bath water once the bath has been drawn. It is important to add anything with essential oils to your bath just before you enter the bath, as the oils will quickly evaporate. Draw figure 8's in the water with your hand until all the salt has dissolved -- this both mixes the ingredients into the water and potentizes the water with the energy of the rose flowers and oil. You can also put the mixture into a muslin cloth bag and swish it in the tub, if you prefer not to have to clean rose petals out of your tub at the end of your bath. I like to enjoy this bath while drinking a cup of Uplifting Spirits tea, a custom blend Gathering Thyme makes.
Another enjoyable bath is a stimulating Rosemary Mint Bath, which is perfect for mornings when you have a hard time waking up, or any time you crave mental stimulation.
1 cup basic bath salt
1/4 oz dried mint
1/4 oz dried orange peel
10 drops rosemary verbena essential oil (or any rosemary E.O.)
6 drops peppermint essential oil
4 drops lemon essential oil
Mix all ingredients thoroughly and store in a glass container. In addition to adding these salts to a bath, you can also rub your body with the bag of herbs to facilitate cleansing and detoxification. Try this bath with a cup of Peppermint tea.
The Seaweed Detox Bath is another favorite of mine. I like to take this bath when I am feeling tired and rundown, as it helps to cleanse my system and the lavender oil is particularly relaxing.
1 cup basic bath salts
1-2 ounces powdered bladderwrack, kelp or a combination of both (Gathering Thyme can powder these for you)
20 drops lavender essential oil
4 tablespoons bentonite clay
Blend thoroughly and store in a glass container. Mix 1/2 cup into a hot bath (as hot as you can stand), and soak for 20-30 minuntes. Make sure to rinse off with soap in a quick shower afterwards, so you don't reabsorb the toxins you just released through your skin. Drink plenty of water during and after this bath, as well as with all baths taken. You can add fresh lemon juice to your water for extra detoxification.
If a bathtub is not available to you, or you simply don’t enjoy baths, a Salt Scrub is another way to cleanse you body, facilitate detoxification, and rejuvenate your spirits. Any of the above recipes can be altered to become salt scrubs instead of salt soaks. Replace the basic bath salt with 1 cup fine grain dead sea salt, add 4 ounces almond oil, and mix in 1 ounce jojoba oil, 2 tablespoons glycerin, and your favorite essential oils. Lavender is a great essential oil for a scrub, as are sweet orange, grapefruit, vanilla, or jasmine. Mix 12-20 drops essential oil per cup of scrub. Please be aware that some essential oils can cause skin irritation, so always research your oils before adding them to any preparation that has direct contact with your skin.
Another salt product that I really enjoy is Flavored Herbal Salts, which add such wonderful accents to meals. When herbal salts are corked in fancy bottles they make beautiful and impressive gifts for the foodie in any family.
Herbs de Provence mixed with the Celtic Sea salt are a great addition to eggs, chicken breasts, pork tenderloin, grilled zucchini, or my favorite, mushrooms.
1 C coarse or finely ground sea salt (grey salt is preferable for its high mineral content and unique flavor)
3 tbl. oregano leaves
3 tbl. thyme leaves
1 tsp. basil leaves
1 tsp. sage leaf
2 tbl. marjoram
2 tbl. lavender
1 tsp. rosemary.
Mix thoroughly and store in tightly sealed jars. Add a pinch of this salt at the end of cooking, or season your meats or veggies with the salt before searing or baking.
If you or your loved ones are on a low salt diet, you can make a Flavored Herbal Sprinkle instead. Herb sprinkles are especially good when added to freshly cooked rice, salads, potatoes, or anywhere a little extra flavor (and nutrition) is needed. This recipe is very nutritive; the dulse and nettles are both high in essential minerals, and sesame seeds are very high in calcium.
1/2 cup dulse flakes
1/2 cup nettles
3/4 cup toasted sesame seeds (you can toast raw sesame seed quickly in a cast iron skillet on medium high heat -- just make sure to stir constantly as the burn quickly).
You can add any spices you like to this basic combination; some spices I enjoy are basil and oregano, or cumin and cayenne pepper.
Put all ingredients in a Cuisinart or a coffee grinder that has never been used to grind coffee (otherwise your mixture will taste like coffee grounds!), and pulse a few times. You want the mixture to be the consistency of course sand. Fill up a spice jar with a shaker lid attached and enjoy! Yum!
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