Grace & Lightness

Finding Comfort. Making Mental Health Cool.

Mood Recipes

Easy Calming DIY Lavender Body Butter

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This homemade DIY body butter is perfect for giving your driest parts a little extra love during the coldest months of the year.

Comfort and self-care is extremely important for mental wellbeing in the winter. This easy calming DIY lavender body butter can be an essential part of any wellness routine, especially if you are someone who suffers from dry, sensitive skin. Plus, this body butter is so easy and fun to make! (Especially when you’re cooped up indoors during inclement weather.) It’s also vegan and cruelty-free.

Our DIY body butter combines shea butter, coconut oil, lavender oil, and healing Vitamin E to make a rich, moisturizing winter salve. It also makes a lovely, low-cost gift– perfect for holidays and housewarming parties.

Studies show that lavender aromatherapy is effective at quelling mild stress and anxiety. We include lavender essential oil in this body butter recipe to give it added relaxation properties, but you can easily swap the lavender for rose oil, sweet orange oil, lemongrass oil, or another essential oil in your preferred scent.

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup raw, unrefined shea butter
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil
  • 7 drops vitamin E oil
  • 30-40 drops lavender essential oil

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Method

  1. Melt shea butter and coconut oil over a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler, make one by placing a glass bowl over a sauce pan filled with 1-3 inches of water. Bring water to a boil first, and then reduce to a simmer and place glass bowl on top. There should not be any gaps between the bowl and the saucepan; the glass bowl should rest comfortably on top.
  2. Remove the bowl of melted coconut oil and shea butter from the heat and let cool for 30 minutes. Stir in 30-40 drops of lavender essential oil and 7 drops of Vitamin E oil. Then, place bowl in the freezer for 35 minutes to thicken up.
  3. Mix the body butter together and scoop into a clean glass jar once it looks like whipped butter. Viola! For best results, apply to the body post-shower, when skin is slightly damp.

Notes

For best results, store this lavender body butter at room temperature for up to 2 years. Keep away from direct heat or sunlight. Enjoy!

Fun Fact: Vitamin E is a powerhouse ingredient in this DIY body butter formulation. Not only does it help mitigate wrinkles and fade scars, but it also acts as a natural preservative. It keeps the shea butter and coconut oil stable for longer, without adding chemicals.

Experiencing chronic stress or anxiety? Consult our Comprehensive Anxiety Toolkit— a one-stop archive of the most effective science-backed methods for calming an anxious mind.

Healing Hazelnut Beet Salad

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Every year when winter rolls around, I find myself lamenting the onset of cold weather while simultaneously celebrating the arrival of one extremely seasonal fruit: blood oranges.

This healing hazelnut beetroot salad celebrates the flavors of the season, and frankly: it’s gorgeous! Composed salads make a beautiful addition to any holiday meal; this one will have guests talking and marveling over how simple and delicious it is. This salad is an easy dinner option whenever you want to treat yourself, but it also makes a delicious lunch item. Most importantly, it’s super nourishing for your body and mind.

Blood oranges are a lovely winter staple, rich in anthocyanins that help fight free radicals and inflammation. (This specific antioxidant is only present in blood oranges, not regular oranges– this is the source of the fruit’s bright pinkish-reddish hue.) Because they require a specific, somewhat low temperature to ripen, blood oranges are harvested in the winter.

Naturally occurring nitrates in beets can help stabilize blood pressure and improve blood flow to the brain. They’re also a rich source of folate– a water-soluble B vitamin that is thought to improve mood. Folate is currently being tested as a possible antidepressant, as depression is often linked with folate deficiency.

Hazelnuts, meanwhile, are rich in folate, magnesium, calcium, and vitamin B6, which is a necessary vitamin for energy and brain health. Like folate, B6 helps regulate mood and ward off mental fatigue. Unheated olive oil is rich in brain-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, and the fat helps the body absorb other fat-soluble nutrients in the salad, like Vitamins A, D, K, and E.

Suffering from a pesky case of the winter blues? Power salad to the rescue!

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Healing Hazelnut Beet Salad Recipe

This colorful, impressive-looking composed salad is ideal comfort food during the dark winter months. It’s full of anti-inflammatory brain-boosters that help fight the three F’s: fatigue, free-radicals, and fog (brain fog, that is).

  • 8 beets, trimmed (ideally 4 gold beets and 4 red beets, for presentation)
  • 2 blood oranges, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup hazelnuts
  • 1 cup labneh*
  • olive oil for drizzling
  • fresh rosemary for garnishing**
  • sea salt + pepper to taste

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Method

  1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Toast hazelnuts in a glass pan for 15 to 20 minutes or until aromatic and slightly golden brown.
  2. Place beets in a large saucepan and cover with water. Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar to keep the beets from bleeding. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for ~45 minutes to an hour or until fork tender. Allow to cool until just slightly warm, then rub the skins off under running water and cut into quarter sections.
  3. Create a base for the beet salad by spreading the labneh on a flat serving platter. Start by spooning the labneh onto the center of the plate and then use the back of the spoon to spread it out, creating a smooth edge– think of how moms spread JIF in peanut butter commercials.
  4. Place quartered beets on top of the labneh, then layer the citrus and hazelnuts on top of that.
  5. Drizzle generously with olive oil, garnish with rosemary, and sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste. Enjoy!

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Notes

* If you can’t find labneh in your local supermarket, you can make your own by mixing 2 cups yogurt with 1-2 teaspoons of salt and straining through a cheese cloth overnight.

Place cheese cloth on top of strainer and place the strainer in a bowl. Spoon yogurt-salt mixer on top of the cheese cloth and gather into a bundle. Seal with a twist tie and allow to strain in the fridge for at least 6-8 hours. Labneh will be ready to use when it is thick and smooth, e.g. the consistency of soft cream cheese or quark.

** Rosemary is just for garnishing. It will impart flavor in as little as 20 minutes, but should not be eaten as it will be bitter (but if you’re into that, go for it).

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In need of a gentle mood boost? These foods can help ease the Winter Blues. Or, you can make this Stress-Busting Turmeric Popcorn.

Stress-Busting Turmeric Instant Pot Popcorn

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This easy Instant Pot Popcorn packs all the flavor and freshness of homemade popcorn without any of the fuss. It takes only 10 minutes to prepare and combines several anti-inflammatory spices to maximize health benefits and taste– which is why this is my favorite homemade popcorn recipe, ever.

Made with stress-busting turmeric and black pepper, this popcorn also features dulse flakes and nutritional yeast– two powerhouses of flavor that help balance nutrient deficiencies in the body.

Curcumin, the principle antioxidant in turmeric, specifically targets inflammation markers in the brain that are correlated with stress, anxiety, and depression— an effect that is enhanced by black pepper, which is why we include a healthy portion of it in our seasoning.

People also crave carbs when they are stressed, and this healthy, buttery-tasting popcorn is a low calorie way to satisfy that craving. (And since you’re making it yourself, you can avoid the chemicals found in microwave popcorn.)

Nutritional yeast has a delicate “cheesy” flavor that combines with ghee to yield a buttery flavor that reminds me of Smartfood. But the health benefits of nutritional yeast are also well documented: it’s high in Vitamin B12 and B6, which have been shown to ease symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder, depression, and chronic fatigue. Dulse seaweed, meanwhile, has a natural umami flavor that is said to reminisce of Bacon.

Because popcorn is gentle on the stomach, this is an excellent snack to eat when you are feeling nervous. I like packing it as an airport snack because it’s lightweight, TSA compliant, and flying makes me anxious. Prepare it for a movie night at the end of a stressful work week, or make it for picky eaters as a way to sneak in extra nutrients. The possibilities are endless when the recipe is this easy.

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Instant Pot Popcorn Recipe

This yummy, Instant Pot popcorn is full of anti-inflammatory spices that help combat the symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression.

  • 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
  • 2 Tbsp avocado or coconut oil
  • 3 heaping Tbsp ghee, divided (For vegan version, use Nutiva’s buttery-flavor coconut oil)

Seasoning

  • 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
  • 1 Tbsp dulse flakes (or any style seaweed flakes)
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (about 50 turns from a grinder)
  • 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
  • 1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger

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Method

  1. Select “Saute” on the Instant Pot and wait for it to say “HOT”. Add oil and 2 Tbsp ghee to hot pot and then mix in popcorn kernels, evenly coating them with oil.
  2. Rest the IP cover on top of the pot, but don’t close it or lock it in.
  3. Let pop for up to 8 minutes OR whenever the popping stops. You should hear popping after a minute or two.
  4. Lift the lid and stir. Not all of the kernels will pop, but about 70% of kernels should. Use salad tongs or a large slotted spoon to transfer popcorn into a large mixing bowl without carrying over the un-popped kernels.
  5. In a small bowl, thoroughly mix together all of the seasoning ingredients.
  6. Pour 1 Tbsp melted ghee over the popcorn then sprinkle on the seasoning mixture. The oil will help the seasoning adhere.
  7. Stir with a wooden spoon or toss the popcorn with your hands to evenly coat with seasoning. It’s best to do this when the popcorn is still warm so that the flavors can meld. (Once popcorn is thoroughly coated, extra seasoning may pool in the bottom of the bowl. Leftover seasoning mixture can be used again or saved for other cooking).
  8. If desired, add more salt to taste and enjoy!

Storage

Store homemade popcorn in an airtight container with a tight-fitting lid, like a mason jar, pyrex, or glass flour canister. You can also use a ziplock bag, but something rigid is better.

Popcorn is best consumed within 3-5 days– but mine usually doesn’t last that long. 🙂