DIY Lavender Bath Salts

The holidays are now upon us and the next thing I know, I'll be watching the ball drop at midnight. Each year I have fabulous intentions of creating homemade gifts from my kitchen for friends and family, but somehow the time slips by and my good intentions rarely make it to reality.

This year is different. This year I am committed.  And this year I am starting early. As in, now!

If you've been wanting to get into the spirit of homemade gifts, I have just the thing: DIY lavender bath salts. These bath salts were inspired by my trip to the Sequim Lavender Festival this past summer.  I'm still working through my incredible stash of dried lavender and essential oil and needed to come up with a creative way to use up the rest of it. Bath salts to the rescue!

(These pictures were taken in Sequim in July and as I sit here wrapped up in two sweaters and three pairs of socks it seems crazy to see a picture of myself in a tee-shirt!)

Bath salts are simple and incredibly cost-effective to make, plus, who doesn't love a nice relaxing bath during a chilly winter?  If you are the crafty-type, you can even dye the salts different colors and make a nice label for your jar.

My bath salt recipe involves only four ingredients: epsom salt, sea salt, baking soda, and lavender essential oil. Epsom salt and sea salt are wonderful at relaxing the muscles and drawing toxins from the body while baking soda is fabulous for softening skin.  The lavender provides a relaxing fragrance, but you could also experiment with other essential oils like rosemary and peppermint.

DIY Lavender Bath Salts

Makes 3 cups (1 - 2 gifts)

Ingredients:

2 cups epsom salt

1/2 cup sea salt

1/2 cup baking soda

10 drops lavender essential oil

Directions:

Mix ingredients together and transfer to a container.

To use: add bath salts under hot running water to dissolve. Soak and relax!

BBQ Spice Rub and Vanilla Sugar

Remember the other day when I shared a recipe for citrus sea salt?  Apparently that recipe got a lot of you excited about making homemade gifts!  I have received quite a few emails the last few days asking about other cute gift ideas that can be given along with the salts.  

Lucky for you I have two other recipes to share.   These three jars make the perfect gift trio and will delight any foodie or kitchen novice alike. They also make the perfect gift for any party host or hostess!

I really like this spice mix rubbed onto roasted root vegetables for a little extra flavor.  I have also mixed it with a little oil and used it as a marinade for tofu or tempeh.  Since this is a gift for someone with more "traditional" taste buds than myself, I added the brown sugar in, but I don't use this in my mix at home.  Feel free to adapt this recipe to suit your tastes.

BBQ Spice Rub

Makes about 1 cup 

1/4 cup sea salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

2 Tablespoons garlic powder

2 Tablespoons dried basil

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon chile powder

1/4 cup paprika 

1/3 cup brown sugar (optional) 

Mix the ingredients together.  Pour into a decorative jar and gift!

I was originally thinking of gifting agave syrup infused with vanilla, but I knew my particular gift recipent would greatly prefer plain ole sugar so I went the basic route.  You could also use evaporated cane juice instead of sugar, make homemade vanilla extract, or even just give this cute jar filled with a few vanilla beans and let your recipient figure out how best to use 'em.  Lots of options, but a super cute gift nonetheless!

Vanilla Sugar
Makes 1 cup

1 vanilla bean
1 cup (vegan) sugar

Cut the vanilla bean in half and then slit it open.  Scrape out the seeds and mix them in with the sugar. Use the dull side of your knife to bruise the spine of the bean a bit and then toss in with the sugar. Shake it a few seconds and it's ready to go!  If you are using a fresh bean, it can be a little moist and will cause the sugar to clump. Just make sure to give the jar a good shake or stir every couple of days.

Citrus Sea Salt (and Holiday Gift Ideas)

You know what I love most about this time of year?  Clementines.  I could do without the freezing cold mornings, the crazy holiday shopping, and the same Christmas music on every radio station... but please, don't take away my clementines.  

This year, even more so than in previous years, I vowed to give people gifts that they would not only use and enjoy, but that promoted my values of health, delicious food, and compassion towards others.  I especially love giving homemade gifts from my kitchen that don't involve the typical holiday baked goods. Here are some of my favorite gift ideas this year:

1. Citrus sea salt (recipe below)

2. Caramel corn with sea salt

3. Olive oil granola

4. DIY body scrub

These are all pretty inexpensive gifts and rather simple to make.  When dressed up in a cute jar with a ribbon, who wouldn't love to be the lucky recipient of one of these?

If you're not into the homemade gifts then you could always give a box of local produce, pay for part of a CSA share, or donate to a local nonprofit in someone's honor.  

If you are on board with the clementines, I highly recommend making this citrus sea salt - whether or not you actually give it as a gift.  The clementine zest adds a nice natural sweetness and flavor to the salt that is perfect for roasted vegetables, stir fries, baked tofu, or in salad dressings.  Happy holidays!

Citrus Sea Salt

Adapted from Whole Foods Market

Makes 1 cup

1 cup sea salt

zest from 3 clementines (about 1 Tablespoon)

zest from 2 lemons (about 1 Tablespoon)

Preheat oven to 225 degrees F.  Mix salt with zest and spread evenly on baking sheet.  Place in oven and bake, for 2 hours until dry, turning once if possible.  Use spatula to break up clumps and store in air-tight jars.