Sustainable Holiday Treats

It’s really here. Look outside, smell the air, it’s winter. With all the joys of winter comes the opportunity to share. Share food, share gifts, share the light that makes this season shine. And, to do it all in your own special way. Human care and earth care come in all kinds of packages - some feel great on the outside and some will warm you on the inside.

These are our favorite gift ideas and then, we will offer you a recipe to feed yourself and the people you love. And, here’s a secret hint that has worked really well for us - go back through the blogs and search “recipes.” There are so many good ones. A great gift could be a selection of Pangea skincare and bodycare products and a collection of recipes – on recycled paper of course.

Top 5 gift ideas:

1. Superfood Smoothie Mask. Feed your skin and your spirit with our Superfood Smoothie Mask. Our Superfood Smoothie Mask is an antioxidant-rich, multi-tasking miracle that helps remove impurities, gently exfoliates, works to unclog pores, and visibly improves tone and texture while balancing skin’s moisture levels. Gift it, but buy one for yourself. You’ll be jealous if you don’t. It’s one of those gifts that’s hard to give away.

Our Founder & CEO, Joshua Scott Onysko’s Superfood Smoothie Mask holds a special place in his heart:

Byrdie ranked us #6 on the list this year with our Superfood Smoothie Mask. This product is really special to me, as it was one of the first products I developed at home in my kitchen, incorporating the superfoods from my diet into a topical skincare product. Friends started requesting it at dinner parties because the results were so instantly transformational; dinners then became opportunities to create self-care masking moments.

Fast-forward to 2022 - I had the pleasure of harvesting the three types of regenerative seaweed in our formula with our partner of many years, Nature Spirit Herbs. I'm so honored that a product that started with such humble beginnings has become one of our most requested bestsellers; the formula is unsurpassed, and our new aluminum tubes are both beautiful and infinitely recyclable.”

2. Peptide-Rich Eye Cream. This winner is packed with powerful, plant-based antioxidants and peptides to improve the appearance of visible signs of aging. Richly hydrates the eye area and works to protect from environmental aggressors, for brighter, firmer-looking skin. Send it with a note saying that the Eye Cream helps support financial independence for the women from the Eudafano Women's Cooperative, while providing continuity and sustainability for future generations. It will brighten more than their eyes.

3. Give this luxurious set. Our Clean Luxury Duo provides the ultimate self-care daily cleansing ritual. The highly concentrated yet gentle hand soap is infused with skin-soothing aloe to richly cleanse and hydrate hard-working hands. Nourishing and soothing body wash is infused with aromatics of fresh pine, sage, lavender, and clove for an energizing start to your bodycare routine. Our best-selling Canadian Pine & White Sage scent is a proprietary essential oil blend – inspired by the Rocky Mountains that surround us. All Pangea products are proudly created with plant-based ingredients, 100% sustainable packaging, and provide human care for all.

4. Feed body and mind. Our Ultimate Glow Duo provides a luxurious daily glow-up, for face and body. The Egyptian Geranium & Bergamot Body Oil is a floral and citrus-infused blend of five rich organic oils for deeply nourished, smoother skin, and a naturally healthy-looking low. Our Super Antioxidant Glow Oil is packed with a powerful blend of six plant-based active oils and antioxidants for rich hydration, brightening, and an instantly youthful-looking glow.

5. Moroccan Cedar & Sandalwood Hand Cream. For someone whose hands work hard to make the world a better place to be, give a ritual. Our Moroccan Cedar & Sandalwood Hand Cream is a luxurious, exotic, spice-infused handcare ritual. Created with soothing Calendula, nourishing Green Tea, and anti-aging Reishi, this rich cream offers deep replenishment and self-care for hard-working hands.

A holiday recipe to share with the people you love.

These cupcakes are pure, edible love. Packed with antioxidants, omegas, and protein, you don’t need to wait for a special occasion to whip up a batch. They’re gluten-free, not too sweet, and make for a pretty great quickie breakfast or afternoon pick-me-up. The addition of some of our favorite essential oils enhances the depth, complexity, and richness of the chocolate without overpowering it.

Frankincense has been used in both ceremony and medicine for thousands of years. It contains more than 200 molecular compounds, giving it a complex, earthy, and deep fragrance. It has an uplifting effect on emotions and promotes spiritual connection.

Lavender is calming, relaxing, clarifying, and stimulating for the mind, and soothing, purifying, and cooling for the body. It adds a soft, smooth, sweet, and floral fragrance.

Chocolate Avocado Cupcake Ingredients:
- 3 organic, free-range eggs
- Flesh of 3 ripe avocados
- 3 cups bittersweet, organic chocolate chips
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup coconut or avocado oil
- ¼ cup filtered water
- 1 tbsp. organic coconut flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- 3-4 drops lavender essential oil

Cupcake Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Blend avocados and eggs in a blender until smooth.
- Heat coconut sugar, water, salt, and coconut (or avocado) oil in a large saucepan until hot, but not boiling. Add chocolate chips.
- Add to the saucepan - the avocado mixture, coconut flour, lavender essential oil, and baking soda. Stir until smooth.
- Fill the cups of a lined cupcake tin with mixture and bake 35-40 minutes.
- Allow to cool before frosting.

Frankincense Frosting Ingredients:
- 3 cups raw, organic cacao powder
- 2 cups maple syrup
- 1/8 cup coconut oil + 1/8 cup coconut butter melted together over low heat
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 6 drops frankincense essential oil, or to taste (start with 3 and see what you think)

Frosting Instructions
- Pulse dry ingredients in a food processor to mix.
- Blend wet ingredients together in a separate bowl.
- Add wet ingredients to dry, then mix together in the food processor until creamy and smooth.
- Frost cooled cupcakes with desired amount of room-temperature frosting.
- Place frosted cupcakes in the refrigerator and allow frosting to set; remove from refrigerator ½ hour before eating.

Enjoy your Lovecakes and those you love!

*Internal use of essential oils for therapeutic purposes should only occur under the close supervision of a certified aromatherapist. That said, look for essential oils that are organic and food-grade. Using food grade essential oil sparingly in appropriate cooking and baking recipes can be delightful and perfectly safe. These oils are highly concentrated, and typically only a drop or two is required to achieve the desired effect.

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