I write frequently about intuitive eating, eating disorders, dieting being the gateway “drug” to disordered eating and self love. I write it. I live it. I embody it. I am happy in my skin, in my clothes and in my life. I don’t own a scale. I don’t care what size jeans I wear. And I certainly am not looking at ways to lose weight, despite the media constantly pushing diets in my face.
So, what do you think happened when I lost weight?
It hurt. It confused. It triggered.
People mean well. I’m sure most people think it’s a compliment to say, “Wow, you’ve lost weight!” But, really? It’s a judgment. Especially if it comes with the attitude that the weight loss is a good thing. I mean, are you going to say in that same voice, “Wow, you’ve gained weight!”? Probably not. So, what makes us think it’s okay to comment on someone’s weight?
I’ve heard:
“You’re a lot smaller.” “You’ve lost so much weight!” “You’re skin and bones!” “You look like you’ve lost weight!” “You’re so skinny!”
And then I’ve said, “Unfortunately, yes, I have.”
Silence.
Ummm, unfortunately?
Yes.
When you walk in self love and you enter a time in your life filled with sadness, grief, anxiety, and illness and the weight falls off of you even though you’re trying to eat, it’s not a happy weight loss. It’s certainly not something to celebrate. And when someone says, “Wow, I wish I could get a bit of that so I can lose some weight”, I just cringe. You can have the weight loss, just give me back the joy, confidence, health and energy I used to have. It reminds me of when I started to speak up about my eating disorder and someone said, “I wish I could be anorexic for like a month just to lose some weight!” I didn’t laugh. It’s not funny.
I want to share what’s been going on with me. I really do. But I’m not ready. For now, I just want to say, other people’s weight is not our business.
Weight loss is not something to celebrate.
Weight gain is not something to mourn.
There is not a place where these comments are appropriate. The times I’ve felt comforted by weight-related comments are those of love, such as when a friend who knows my struggles said, “I’ve noticed you’ve lost weight. How are you feeling about that?”
Thank you. Thank you, friends, for knowing me so well. Thank you for knowing that how I feel about my weight loss is so much more important than how you feel about it. Thank you for not assuming this was desirable. Thank you for knowing my heart and asking how I was feeling. Thank you for caring about me, and not my size.
I’ve been waiting and waiting to make this hand soap!
First, I needed to wait for my foaming hand soap container to be empty! That took awhile. Once it was empty, I ran out of Thieves oil!
So, then I had to wait for my oil shipment with more Thieves.
Finally, everything I need is here and I have made the soap. I love it! It’s super easy to make and I hope you love it too!
DIY Thieves Foaming Hand Soap
In an empty foaming hand soap container add the following in this order:
2-3 TBSP of castile soap 5-7 drops of Thieves essential oil blend Filtered or distilled water to the top (add slowly)
Put the top back on the soap, turning the bottle over a few times to mix the ingredients and pump until the foam soap comes out.
ENJOY!
Need Castile Soap? (Affiliate Link Below)
Ready to try Thieves oil for yourself?
Go here and enter the Sponsor ID and Enroller ID 1414775. Enter your personal information, select Wholesale (it will save you 24% off the retail price), and choose the Premium Starter Kit. You’ll receive Thieves as part of the Premium Starter kit, as it contains the Everyday Oils Collection, a diffuser, and more! You can bypass the Essential Rewards Kits (they’re optional) and you’ll be well on your way to experiencing all these benefits and more! (If you do decide to do Essential Rewards, you can sign up at any time, spend $50 a month and save on shipping while earning points toward free products and gradually building your medicine cabinet arsenal for every ailment imaginable).
Read more about why we use ONLY Young Living in our home here.
For the week of September 29, 2014. It’s been pretty quiet around here as I’ve been dealing with personal and debilitating health issues. I’m sure as I figure out my path back to wellness, I’ll be sharing more about that with you all. For now, I’d like to share that food has been the LAST thing on my mind. I haven’t wanted to think about it, eat it, deal with it, or prepare it. I’ve walked away from the table more times than I can count, because I just couldn’t stand to be around food. What helps, though, is knowing that even though Mommy isn’t feeling well, Daddy and the babies have really healthy food going into their tummies. At least, that’s what I’m telling my kids. Meal planning, again, has saved me and my family from a horrible fate of processed, packaged foods and I will continue to say it: Meal Planning Rocks! I’m not religious about it. I’m not unwavering. I give in to cravings and I change my mind. But overall, having the ingredients for all the meals for a week at a time, ready to go, is INCREDIBLE! Try it! Let me know what you think! Monday: Tilapia #9, quinoa and broccoli (I swear Monday is a boring dinner night for us, almost every week!) Tuesday: Chicken curry with vegetables, served over rice Wednesday: Meatloaf (using GF oats instead of bread crumbs), potatoes and roasted asparagus Thursday: Pizza on the BEST Gluten-Free pizza crust! I usually top with spinach and leftover veggies, like broccoli and red onion.
It’s tempting sometimes to throw planning to the wind and say, “I’ll figure it out later!” But, when 5 o’clock rolls around and you don’t know what you’re doing for dinner yet, it can get a little harried. That’s how I’m feeling this week, like meal planning is the least of my concerns and yet, I know it will become a big concern if I don’t do it! Hopefully, my meal plans will inspire your meal plans and we can all have easy, ready-to-eat meals in front of our family each evening! Have a great week! Monday: Almond flour crusted chicken fingers (individually wrapped Nature’s Promise chicken breasts are $8.99 a bag this week), cauliflower poppers and rice (new recipes!) Tuesday: Roast salmon, cooked kale, and quinoa Wednesday: Beef and cabbage in the Dutch oven (new recipe) Thursday: Gluten free mac n (goat) cheese (yogurt cheese for the family, just yogurt and spinach for me) Are you following me on Pinterest? Facebook? Please, do! I’ve had a giveaway running for awhile now, giving away a 5mL bottle of Young Living Citrus Fresh on my Facebook page. Check it out!
You know how to make pizza, right? You don’t need me to tell you how to make sauce, or shred cheese, or add the toppings you love! The key to a good pizza, though, is the crust!
I may be a little biased, but I love bread and all things bread-y, so I know a good pizza crust when I taste one. Domino’s gluten-free crust? Not so much. I need to bite IN to something, not ON to something… Sure, the gluten-y texture is always going to be missing but we can do better than cardboard! So far, this is my best crust ever!
The first thing to note is that the dough will be fairly wet and sticky. I’m not a big rolling-pin person, so I use some kind of plastic wrap or parchment paper to ease my struggles. I also coat everything with olive oil, including my hands! You’ll end up with 2 pouches of wrapped dough waiting to rise. Like this:
The second thing to note is that I use a bread proofer (which my husband affectionately calls “the poofer”). I never needed one before I started making gluten-free breads, but I have had issues getting the dough to rise and ending up with harder breads. The proofer creates the warm, moist environment for the dough to thrive and rise in. It’s not necessary! Some people use a microwave (I don’t have one). Some use an oven that’s been warmed (this hasn’t worked for me). Give yourself a chance and try a few different methods and let me know what works for you. If you’re really interested in making gluten-free breads, try the proofer! You won’t be sorry! It folds up flat and can be stored anywhere. The affiliate link for the Broad & Taylor Folding Bread Proofer and Yogurt Maker is below:
Best Gluten-Free Pizza Crust Yields: 2 large pizza crusts Ingredients 3 3/4 c all-purpose GF flour ( the flour is HUGE; I only use Jules for baking bread) 2 tsp salt 1 c milk (I use coconut milk beverage) 1/2 c water 2 packages of yeast (not quick rise) 4 tsp sugar 4 large egg whites lightly beaten 6 TBSP olive oil (plus more for hands, rolling, etc) In a stand mixer, whisk the flour and salt together.
In a small saucepan, heat the milk and water over medium heat until the temperature is warm, but not hot. Then add the yeast and sugar.
To the mixing bowl with the flour, add the warmed liquid mixture, plus the egg whites and 4 TBSP of oil. Use the paddle attachment and beat on medium for 5 minutes. Add more oil if necessary, or flour. Remember, it should be sticky and wet.
Divide the dough in half (with oily hands) and place on 2 sections of plastic wrap. Loosely fold up the edges and place in your proofer until it doubles in size. I usually leave mine in for an hour or until I’m ready to bake.
Preheat your oven to 400*F.
I don’t have a pizza stone or baking peel, so I use 2 round cookie sheets with parchment paper on top. When you’re ready to bake, transfer the dough to the pans and using oily hands spread out the dough, as seen here:
Bake the crusts for 5-10 minutes, or until the underside is firm and crispy.
Add your toppings and brush the crusts edge with the remaining olive oil (this stops it from drying out).
Broil pizzas 5-10 minutes, until crust is golden and cheese is bubbling.
When I was new to Young Living (I guess I kind of still am), I heard all this talk about Valor, a blend of oils that was hardly ever available because the end result wasn’t exactly what it should have been. I was proud that Young Living was a company that cared more about quality than they did about making money by selling something “less than”. Still, I didn’t really know what Valor was!
Valor is made of Spruce (Picea mariana), rosewood (Aniba rosaeodora), blue tansy (Tanacetum annuum), and frankincense (Boswelia carteri), with coconut oil as a base. This combination is said to have helped Roman soldiers before going into battle. It’s used for empowerment, confidence, energy balance, increasing feelings of strength, self-esteem and courage while facing adversity.
When I received Valor in the Everyday Oils kit, I immediately put a drop on my wrist and was surprised that it was blue! Of course when my 3-year-old looked at the oils she grabbed that bottle (most likely because it’s dark purple, her favorite color), and demanded to smell it. I couldn’t help but think, “Honey, you don’t need any help in the empowerment, strength and self-esteem category!” Still, she continues to seek that bottle out of all the rest and says, “Mommy, I want to feel strong.” You can use it like I did, on your wrists. Or you can rub it on the back of your neck, behind your ears, behind your neck or over your heart. I have found it extremely uplifting when my anxiety is high. Valor is known to help greatly with anxiety and panic attacks, as well as depression. Just the scent of it helps me breathe deeply. And breathing deeply promotes calm. So, this is what I knew. But here’s what I didn’t know: The many gifts of Valor: Animals’ nerves – diffuse and put on hands, petting the oil into their fur Arthritis – apply to joints Attention – children and adults can benefit from valor diffused or applied Bruising – apply to injuries Calming children – apply to big toes (try it for yourself, too!) Chiropractic adjustment – it’s not as good as the real thing, but they do call it chiropractor in a bottle! Try using it before an actual adjustment! Confidence – rub over heart, behind ears and on wrists Sciatica – rub on the area Scoliosis – rub on the spine Sleep apnea – apply to big toes Snoring – apply to big toes Stiff neck – rub on neck Tension headaches – rub on the area of the head that aches TMJ – apply to jawline
Ready to try it?
Go here and enter the Sponsor ID and Enroller ID 1414775. Enter your personal information, select Wholesale (it will save you 24% off the retail price), and choose the Premium Starter Kit. (Valor comes in the Premium Starter Kit because it is part of the Everyday Oils Collection!) You can bypass the Essential Rewards Kits (they’re optional) and you’ll be well on your way to experiencing all these benefits and more! (If you do decide to do Essential Rewards, you can sign up at any time, spend $50 a month and save on shipping while gradually building your medicine cabinet arsenal for every ailment imaginable).
Read more about why we use ONLY Young Living in our home here. The Essential Oils Pocket Reference is just that: Essential. If you sign up through me with the purchase of the Premium Starter Kit, I will send you this book as a Welcome Gift. You may also purchase it through this (affiliate) link below:
DISCLAIMER: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
For the week of September 15, 2014. Here we go again, another week filled with times and dates and appointments and routines! Phew! I’m sure, as my kids get older, it will only feel more wild! Meal planning saves me every time, because I just glance at my list and know exactly what we’re having. No stress! Monday: Wild scallops (on sale at Martins), broccoli, quinoa Tuesday: Pot roast with beef broth and lots of vegetables Wednesday: Easy roast chicken with lots of vegetables and potatoes Thursday: Black bean tacos with lots of toppings
I’ve made zucchini lasagna and I love it. I’ve sliced the zucchini and set it out on paper towels, sprinkled it with salt and allowed it to sit while the juices ran out. I’ve flipped them and done it again. I’ve cooked ground beef and onions and set myself up for an afternoon of layering. It’s beautiful and tasty. Some days though, time is not on my side! On this particular day, I had a HUGE harvest of zucchini and cherry tomatoes from our garden. It was vegetarian night, so I wasn’t going to cook beef, and I did not have time to salt and spread out the zucchini slices to sit. Hence the invention and beautiful creation that is: Ladybugs on a Log (or Zucchini & Cherry Tomato Bake).
I had returned from our trip to Texas and there was very little food in the house, but I certainly didn’t want take-out after traveling. Thankfully, our garden was producing more food than I knew what to do with and there were copious amounts of cherry tomatoes and gigantic zucchinis! I used one giant zucchini for a 9×13 pan. Basically, this is a “use what you have” recipe and I swear you can’t go wrong, not with cheese and tomatoes and zucchini! Ladybugs on a Log (Zucchini & Cherry Tomato Bake) – 1 Giant Zucchini (or several small ones) sliced lengthwise as thin as possible – several cups of cherry tomatoes, halved – 10+ oz chevre (goat cheese) or other soft cheese – 2 eggs – salt & pepper to taste – Italian seasonings (I used oregano, basil and parsley) – 1 cup of shredded cheese (we use yogurt cheese with garlic) Coat the bottom of your 9×13 glass pan with coconut oil (or other high heat oil). Place one layer of zucchini slices down on the bottom. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and Italian seasonings. Mix the chevre and eggs together until it forms a creamy cheese. Add spices to the mixture. Spread about a third of the mixture on the first layer of zucchini and top with halved cherry tomatoes. Repeat until your last layer on top is cherry tomatoes. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top. Bake 45 minutes at 375* covered with foil. Remove foil for 15 minutes. Prepare for liquid at the bottom of the pan. Perhaps a lot! I actually tipped my pan on its edge over the sink and drained what I could carefully without dumping my creation down the drain. This is the price I paid for quick and easy. Also notice there’s no jarred sauce. The cherry tomatoes provided all the juiciness needed. I’m sure marinara sauce wouldn’t hurt, but we didn’t need it. Let me know if you try it! 🙂 Are you following me on Pinterest? Facebook? Please do!
You know I love Young Living products and that their therapeutic grade essential oils are the only oils I use for myself and my family. (Read why, here!) I would be remiss, though, if I didn’t share the information I’ve acquired about the presence of gluten in several of the products Young Living offers. I’m not saying gluten makes these products ineffective. Surely, there are so many people with testimonials about the benefits of many Young Living products. This is not to devalue their experiences or yours, but to educate and inform for those, like me and my daughter, who cannot include gluten in any of our food, supplements or skin care products.
I originally signed up with Young Living to get their Tender Tush diaper rash cream for my youngest. It wasn’t much better than other creams, but essential oils mixed with coconut oil were definitely more effective. I didn’t think about it then, because honestly, it never crossed my mind that there could be gluten in a diaper rash cream. I know better now.
As I’ve been leading essential oils classes, I’ve included information about the Young Living supplements and skin care line. Because I want to provide as much real life information as possible, I started looking into some supplements to try myself so I could report back with results. My first purchase was going to be MultiGreens. I researched the ingredients and noticed Barley grass juice concentrate. My years of gluten research had alarm bells ringing in my head. I immediately wrote customer service. Here is their reply:
Hello Theresa,
Thank you for your email and for your patience in our reply to your inquiry. Multigreens are not Gluten free, I have also attached to this email a gluten content list.
If you have additional questions or concerns, or if we can assist you in any way, please feel free to contact us via telephone at 1-800-371-3515, fax at 866-203-5666, email at customerservice@youngliving.com, or our Live Help feature at www.youngliving.com.
If you are gluten intolerant, gluten sensitive, or allergic to gluten, like me, please read the following list carefully, to make sure you are not inadvertently putting gluten into your body and stimulating an immune response.
The essential oils themselves have NO gluten in them. However there are massage oils that do, as well as the V-6 oil used for capsules to swallow and diluting oils applied to the skin. The oils that contain gluten are:
Dragon Time Massage oil Ortho Ease Massage oil Ortho Sport Massage oil Relaxation Massage oil Sensation Massage oil V-6 Enhanced vegetable oil Cel-Lite Magic Massage oil (The gluten in these products is in the form of wheat germ oil.)
The following are supplements that contain gluten, including what form of gluten it is:
Allerzyme (Barley Sprout Powder) Balance Complete (Barley Grass Juice) Ecuadorian Dark Chocolessence (Contains quinoa, which may contain gluten-like proteins) Essentialzymes-4 (vendors have been unable to confirm gluten-free) ICP (oat bran) Juvapower (Barley Sprout Seed) Juvaspice (Barley Sprout Seed) Kidscent Mightyvites (Barley Grass) Multigreens (Barley Grass Concentrate) OmegaGize 3 (“none to our knowledge”) True Source (Barley Grass) Ultra Young + (“none to our knowledge”)
As I said before, the diaper rash cream came as a shock to me, but a LOT of Young Living personal care products contain gluten. They are listed below:
ART Creme Masque (Oat kernel extract) ART Day Activator (Tocopheryl acetate is sourced from wheat germ) ART Night Reconstructor (Tocopheryl acetate is sourced from wheat germ) ART Renewal Serum (Oat Protein) Bar Soaps (Oat kernel meal) Boswellia Wrinkle Cream (Barley Extract – Hordeum Distichon) Copaiba Vanilla Shampoo (“we cannot guarantee the reformulated hair care products as gluten free”) Copaiba Vanilla Conditioner (“we cannot guarantee the reformulated hair care products as gluten free”) Genesis Lotion (wheat germ oil) Kidscent Bath & Shower Gel (wheat germ oil) Kidscent Lotion (wheat germ oil) Kidscent Shampoo (wheat germ oil) Kidscent Tender Tush (wheat germ oil) Lavender Foaming Hand Soap (Hordiam Distichon) Lavender Lotion (Hordiam Distichon) Lavender Mint Shampoo (“we cannot guarantee the reformulated hair care products as gluten free”) Lavender Mint Conditioner (“we cannot guarantee the reformulated hair care products as gluten free”) Lavender Volume Conditioner (wheat germ oil, hydrolized wheat protein) Lavender Volume Shampoo (wheat germ oil) Orange Blossom Face Wash (Hydrolized wheat protein) Prenolone + Body Cream (wheat germ oil + hydrolized wheat protein) Protec (wheat germ oil) Regenolone Moisturizing Cream (wheat germ oil, hydrolized wheat protein) Rose Ointment (wheat germ oil) Sandalwood Moisture Cream (wheat germ oil, hydrolized wheat protein) Satin Facial Scrub (hydrolized wheat protein, hydrolized wheat starch, barley extract, Hordiam Distichon) Sensation Lotion (wheat germ oil) Wolfberry Eye Cream (hydrolized wheat germ oil, hydrolized wheat starch, barley extract, Hordiam Distichon)
Thieves products are beloved by many and thankfully there aren’t a lot that contain gluten. However, it should be noted that the Foaming Hand Soap contains Tocopheryl acetate from wheat germ oil. I plan on making my own foaming hand soap when my September order of Theives arrives. Keep looking for that post!
The Animal Scent Ointment also contains wheat germ oil.
FAQ
Can you have a copy of this chart and e-mail? Most certainly! Use the “Contact Me” box on the homepage and I will get it right over to you.
Do I feel differently about Young Living now? I’m a little disappointed, but if I’ve learned anything from this process, it is ASK! Always ask. Don’t assume that because a company has high standards and superb products, that they’re allergen free.
Am I frustrated by the use of gluten in Young Living products? Yes, I am. I feel like I won’t get to try some of these products that people have experienced great results with. That said, thankfully their oils are gluten free and that’s what really matters.
Should Young Living change their product formulations? I wish! I wish Young Living would recognize that we are a society overburdened with gluten and that so many people are sensitive and allergic. I wish they’d consider that and produce a reformulation that included products without gluten. I also wish I knew how to get that ball rolling…
Should we avoid these products? You should avoid the products mentioned above if you are sensitive to gluten. Even rubbing products containing gluten on your skin can cause an immune reaction and we wouldn’t want that! I won’t ever get to try the MultiGreens, but perhaps I’ll find a blend I like for myself elsewhere and supplement with additional oils, separately.
Is Young Living still the best company for oils? I say yes. I say this is the only company that follows their oils from the very seed planted in the ground to the harvesting of the plant, from the rendering of the oil to the seal on the bottle. I think for me, the disappointment and “a-ha” moment came when I realized that just because they make awesome, pure, therapeutic grade oils, does not mean that they are a supplement company or can produce a product for personal care better than I could at home. It’s so easy to fall in love with a company and surrender to them, believing they are the only company for you, without double-checking the things you would anywhere else… That being said, my supplements will continue to come from Designs for Health and Apex Energetics, because these companies are GMP (Good Manufacturing Processes) Certified and I know every ingredient that goes into their products. Also, they never include gluten or dairy, corn or soy in their products, and I personally, need that validation.
Remember, for oils, Young Living is the only way to go, in my opinion. For other products, I may recommend heading elsewhere…
To sign up with Young Living, go here and enter 1414775 as the Enroller ID and Sponsor ID. Choose the Premium Starter Kit in order to get the most for your money and start enjoying your oils today!
Please, follow me on Facebook and Pinterest. Comment below if you have something to add. Contribute to Facebook conversations or check out my Pins. I look forward to hearing what you have to say!
You know I love Young Living products and that their therapeutic grade essential oils are the only oils I use for myself and my family. (Read why, here!) I would be remiss, though, if I didn’t share the information I’ve acquired about the presence of gluten in several of the products Young Living offers. I’m not saying gluten makes these products ineffective. Surely, there are so many people with testimonials about the benefits of many Young Living products. This is not to devalue their experiences or yours, but to educate and inform for those, like me and my daughter, who cannot include gluten in any of our food, supplements or skin care products.
I originally signed up with Young Living to get their Tender Tush diaper rash cream for my youngest. It wasn’t much better than other creams, but essential oils mixed with coconut oil were definitely more effective. I didn’t think about it then, because honestly, it never crossed my mind that there could be gluten in a diaper rash cream. I know better now.
As I’ve been leading essential oils classes, I’ve included information about the Young Living supplements and skin care line. Because I want to provide as much real life information as possible, I started looking into some supplements to try myself so I could report back with results. My first purchase was going to be MultiGreens. I researched the ingredients and noticed Barley grass juice concentrate. My years of gluten research had alarm bells ringing in my head. I immediately wrote customer service. Here is their reply:
Hello Theresa,
Thank you for your email and for your patience in our reply to your inquiry. Multigreens are not Gluten free, I have also attached to this email a gluten content list.
If you have additional questions or concerns, or if we can assist you in any way, please feel free to contact us via telephone at 1-800-371-3515, fax at 866-203-5666, email a customerservice@youngliving.com, or our Live Help feature at www.youngliving.com.
If you are gluten intolerant, gluten sensitive, or allergic to gluten, like me, please read the following list carefully, to make sure you are not inadvertently putting gluten into your body and stimulating an immune response.
The essential oils themselves have NO gluten in them. However there are massage oils that do, as well as the V-6 oil used for capsules to swallow and diluting oils applied to the skin. The oils that contain gluten are:
Dragon Time Massage oil Ortho Ease Massage oil Ortho Sport Massage oil Relaxation Massage oil Sensation Massage oil V-6 Enhanced vegetable oil Cel-Lite Magic Massage oil (The gluten in these products is in the form of wheat germ oil.)
The following are supplements that contain gluten, including what form of gluten it is:
Allerzyme (Barley Sprout Powder) Balance Complete (Barley Grass Juice) Ecuadorian Dark Chocolessence (Contains quinoa, which may contain gluten-like proteins) Essentialzymes-4 (vendors have been unable to confirm gluten-free) ICP (oat bran) Juvapower (Barley Sprout Seed) Juvaspice (Barley Sprout Seed) Kidscent Mightyvites (Barley Grass) Multigreens (Barley Grass Concentrate) OmegaGize 3 (“none to our knowledge”) True Source (Barley Grass) Ultra Young + (“none to our knowledge”)
As I said before, the diaper rash cream came as a shock to me, but a LOT of Young Living personal care products contain gluten. They are listed below:
ART Creme Masque (Oat kernel extract) ART Day Activator (Tocopheryl acetate is sourced from wheat germ) ART Night Reconstructor (Tocopheryl acetate is sourced from wheat germ) ART Renewal Serum (Oat Protein) Bar Soaps (Oat kernel meal) Boswellia Wrinkle Cream (Barley Extract – Hordeum Distichon) Copaiba Vanilla Shampoo (“we cannot guarantee the reformulated hair care products as gluten free”) Copaiba Vanilla Conditioner (“we cannot guarantee the reformulated hair care products as gluten free”) Genesis Lotion (wheat germ oil) Kidscent Bath & Shower Gel (wheat germ oil) Kidscent Lotion (wheat germ oil) Kidscent Shampoo (wheat germ oil) Kidscent Tender Tush (wheat germ oil) Lavender Foaming Hand Soap (Hordiam Distichon) Lavender Lotion (Hordiam Distichon) Lavender Mint Shampoo (“we cannot guarantee the reformulated hair care products as gluten free”) Lavender Mint Conditioner (“we cannot guarantee the reformulated hair care products as gluten free”) Lavender Volume Conditioner (wheat germ oil, hydrolized wheat protein) Lavender Volume Shampoo (wheat germ oil) Orange Blossom Face Wash (Hydrolized wheat protein) Prenolone + Body Cream (wheat germ oil + hydrolized wheat protein) Protec (wheat germ oil) Regenolone Moisturizing Cream (wheat germ oil, hydrolized wheat protein) Rose Ointment (wheat germ oil) Sandalwood Moisture Cream (wheat germ oil, hydrolized wheat protein) Satin Facial Scrub (hydrolized wheat protein, hydrolized wheat starch, barley extract, Hordiam Distichon) Sensation Lotion (wheat germ oil) Wolfberry Eye Cream (hydrolized wheat germ oil, hydrolized wheat starch, barley extract, Hordiam Distichon)
Thieves products are beloved by many and thankfully there aren’t a lot that contain gluten. However, it should be noted that the Foaming Hand Soap contains Tocopheryl acetate from wheat germ oil. I plan on making my own foaming hand soap when my September order of Theives arrives. Keep looking for that post!
The Animal Scent Ointment also contains wheat germ oil.
FAQ
Can you have a copy of this chart and e-mail?
Most certainly! Use the “Contact Me”box up top and I will get it right over to you.
Do I feel differently about Young Living now?
I’m a little disappointed, but if I’ve learned anything from this process, it is ASK! Always ask. Don’t assume that because a company has high standards and superb products, that they’re allergen free.
Am I frustrated by the use of gluten in Young Living products?
Yes, I am. I feel like I won’t get to try some of these products that people have experienced great results with. That said, thankfully their oils are gluten free and that’s what really matters.
Should Young Living change their product formulations?
I wish! I wish Young Living would recognize that we are a society overburdened with gluten and that so many people are sensitive and allergic. I wish they’d consider that and produce a reformulation that included products without gluten. I also wish I knew how to get that ball rolling…
Should we avoid these products?
You should avoid the products mentioned above if you are sensitive to gluten. Even rubbing products containing gluten on your skin can cause an immune reaction and we wouldn’t want that! I won’t ever get to try the MultiGreens, but perhaps I’ll find a blend I like for myself elsewhere and supplement with additional oils, separately.
Is Young Living still the best company for oils?
I say yes. I say this is the only company that follows their oils from the very seed planted in the ground to the harvesting of the plant, from the rendering of the oil to the seal on the bottle. I think for me, the disappointment and “a-ha” moment came when I realized that just because they make awesome, pure, therapeutic grade oils, does not mean that they are a supplement company or can produce a product for personal care better than I could at home. It’s so easy to fall in love with a company and surrender to them, believing they are the only company for you, without double-checking the things you would anywhere else…
That being said, my supplements will continue to come from Designs for Health and Apex Energetics, because these companies are GMP (Good Manufacturing Processes) Certified and I know every ingredient that goes into their products. Also, they never include gluten or dairy, corn or soy in their products, and I personally, need that validation.
Remember, for oils, Young Living is the only way to go, in my opinion. For other products, I may recommend heading elsewhere…
To sign up with Young Living, go here and enter 1414775 as the Enroller ID and Sponsor ID. Choose the Premium Starter Kit in order to get the most for your money and start enjoying your oils today!
Please, follow me on Facebook and Pinterest. Comment below if you have something to add. Contribute to Facebook conversations or check out my Pins. I look forward to hearing what you have to say!
