Non Toxic Natural Bug Spray - Bugger Off! An Essential Oil Bug Spray Recipe

Promised Land State Park, PA

We love camping. Especially when I don't end up with hundreds of welts from bug bites. I am not a fan off the commercial sprays with their dangerous chemicals and I have been wanting to make my own spray. I tried out a new recipe for bug spray and it worked like a charm! I call it Bugger Off. 

Here are the details of my concoction. Feel free to adjust to your liking.

First off I started with Citronella essential oil, I bought it in bulk so I would be set for the summer. 

Next I gathered some Lemongrass essential oil, this stuff is amazing and very versatile. Nice to have it in your collection.

Lastly, I made sure I had a couple of amber glass scary bottles available. I think the next time I make this recipe  I will buy a larger glass spray bottle since I tend to go through this spray faster than other varieties that I make.

Bugger Off! 

1 1/3 cups Purified Water

1/2 cup Witch Hazel

20 drops Citronella Essential Oil

30 drops Lemongrass Essential Oil

First add the water to the glass bottle, be sure the bottle is clean. Add the Witch Hazel. Dropper in your 50 drops of essential oils. Swirl around a few times. Store in a dark cool place. Apply every couple of hours as needed. I spray it directly onto my clothing and have never had issues with the oils leaving stains.

Options: There are plenty of other oils that work well as bug repellents. Feel free to vary the oils used, but I would recommend adding a total of 50 drops for this amount of spray. A few options: Rose Geranium, Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Tea Tree, and Clove.

I hope you enjoy the recipe and stay welt free this summer! 

Hormone Reset Shake Recipes

Hello friends!

After winter the hubs and I both have our winter weight that we are looking to melt away. I also have some hormonal issues as well as food allergies that make dieting a little tricky. I did read "The Hormone Reset Diet" by Sara Gottfried.

Click here to purchase.

It was a good read. A lot of insight into 7 hormones that can really mess with your energy levels and weight loss. I wanted to try it because of my history with out of whack hormones. The hubs wanted to try it because Dr. Sara states on the cover that you can lose 15 pounds in 21 days. 

The book takes you through the 7 stages of reset for each hormone, and a big part of the diet are protein shakes. But you cannot have whey or grains on the diet so my search for an acceptable, yummy, and less expensive option was on. Dr. Sara sells a shake mix on her website, but its almost $70 for 30 servings. Of course I wanted to find a more frugal deal! 

After much research the best item I could find was cheapest on Amazon: Sunwarrior Warrior Blend Raw Vegan Protein. It comes in Natural, Vanilla, or Chocolate. It is sweetened with Stevia and is very high in protein and low carb. I love that it is so easy to make and to add other items to. Tastes yummy too! It currently costs $41.61 for a carton that has about 40 servings. It's the frugal choice!

Purchase here!

Ingredients list

The following are a few of our favorite recipes. Please note that on the later stages of the diet you cannot have fruit until you add it back in at a later time. The mix still tastes yummy mixed blended with some nut milk and some ice. 

PB Banana

Serves 2

2 scoops Warrior Blend Vanilla

2 T. natural peanut butter (no sugar)

20 ounces almond or cashew milk (see my post on how to make homemade nut milks)

1 frozen banana (peeled of course)

1 T. chia seeds (optional)

Blend until smooth, in a Vitamix about 30 seconds. 

Strawberry Flax

Serves 2

2 Scoops Warrior Blend Vanilla

1/2 c. frozen strawberries

20 ounces almond or cashew milk

1 frozen banana

1 T. golden flax seeds

Blend until smooth, in a Vitamix about 30 seconds.