Results for Category: DIY
Nourishing Herbal Soup Seasoning Mix
A healthy immune system serves as your personal smooth-running militia, with the number one goal of protecting your body from pathogenic invaders. Especially these days, it’s so important to build a stronger immunity and there is a lot you can do so that it can work effectively when you need it. On a cold winter…
Damiana and Vanilla Cordial
Homemade vanilla cordial with damiana is a lovely introduction to using vanilla as a home herbal. While used widely as a flavoring...
Winter Wellness: Fresh Horseradish Recipe & Benefits
The cold, dry winter weather is here and so is sinus congestion. Prevention is the best approach, but there is also much we can do...
Herbal Throat Gargle Recipe: Triphala, Turmeric, and Licorice
One of the great things about this simple herbal throat gargle is that all its ingredients have multiple uses. So, if you keep these herbs in your travel kit, you may be able to use them for other purposes in addition to a throat gargle. Triphala (Emblica officinalis), a combination of three fruits, is a…
Stay Calm Adaptogen Syrup with Ashwagandha and Eleuthero
Provide your body with the tools it needs to improve its stress response through an adaptogen syrup. Adaptogens are those herbs found to promote the regulation of the hypothalamic, pituitary, and adrenal glands (Brusie, 2017). By reducing fatigue and enhancing focus, adaptogens promote a sense of overall wellness. A commonly used adaptogen, ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)…
Evergreen Forest Bath Salts Recipe with Juniper and Pine
As we head into the new year, winter has deeply enveloped many parts of the country. Most plants and animals are dormant or hibern...
Mushroom Immunity Broth with Astragalus and Calendula
Make your own mushroom immunity broth by blending nutrient-rich mushrooms with herbs that are well-known for their positive effect...
After-Dinner Tea Recipe: Chamomile, Fennel, and Orange
‘Tis the season for digestive problems and the perfect time to try making your own fennel tea with chamomile, orange, and bee balm. Help your body by harnessing the digestive benefits of fennel tea to combat the less than ideal side effects of a rich and varied diet. Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) seeds are renowned for…
Spiced Apple Cider Recipe with Orange, Ginger, and Cinnamon
We like to keep mulled cider warming away on the stove or in a slow cooker regularly during the winter months. The intoxicating scent of cinnamon (Cinnamomum spp.), allspice (Pimenta dioica), and apples wafting through our kitchens and throughout our homes is nostalgic and comforting. This spiced apple cider recipe is the ideal recipe to…
Cranberry Hot Toddy Recipe with Clove, Cinnamon, and Ginger
Hot toddy recipes are wonderful additions to your winter herbal cocktail lineup. Whether you are planning a holiday party video ca...
Chai-Spiced Apple Cider Mocktail Recipe
The flavor of chai is as festive as festive comes. This particular apple cider mocktail is a great make-ahead recipe if you’re u...
Winter Herbal Cocktails to Toast the New Year
What a year it was! With the ups, downs, twists, and turns of the last 12 months, we’re approaching 2021 head on and with fervent hope. To reflect on a year gone by and to anticipate a year ahead, we’re pouring ourselves some winter herbal cocktails and jotting down what we envision for this new…
Pine Needle Gimlet Recipe
The addition of a conifer simple syrup to any beverage adds a level of richness and earthiness to the recipe. The pine needle simple syrup added to this pine needle gimlet creates a cocktail that’s equal parts bright and decadent. More Winter Herbal Cocktails Cranberry Hot Toddy Recipe with Clove, Cinnamon, and Ginger Herbal Hot…
Herbal Hot Toddy Mocktail Recipe
While traditional hot toddy recipes feature dark liquor like rum, whiskey, or bourbon, you can still get the same warm, cozy effec...
Conifer-Infused Vodka and Simple Syrup Recipes
Evergreens not only provide a much-needed pop of color during the winter months, they are also a wonderful natural source of vitam...
Nettle Leaf Nursing Tea with Oatstraw and Alfalfa
Nursing tea, sometimes referred to as lactation tea, is an herbal tea blend thought to promote milk supply in nursing mothers. Nettle (Urtica dioica) leaf, alfalfa (Medicago sativa) aerial parts, and oat (Avena sativa) leaf and stem, known as “oatstraw,” are often found in nursing tea blends due to their nutritive properties. While many feel…
Adaptogen Cherry Bites
Adaptogen cherry bites are the ideal winter snack, blending good taste with good balance. This recipe calls for nourishing ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) root powder, immune-boosting eleuthero (Eleutherococcus senticosus) root powder, and tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum) leaf powder, which is highly respected in Ayurveda for its actions on the nervous and respiratory systems. Adaptogens are a category…
Homemade Nipple Balm with Calendula and Marshmallow
None can know the pain of cracked nipples from nursing, and the overwhelming relief of good nipple balm unless they’ve been ther...
Herbal Bath Tea with Chamomile & Rose
Herbal bath tea makes a wonderful homemade gift, especially if that gift recipient is you! By blending together botanicals known f...
2 Herbal Desserts Featuring Pumpkin: Brownies & Pie
Get ready for tasty, seasonal, and surprising combinations of herbal desserts! You may have heard of mint brownies or even lavender brownies, but read on for a unique herbal twist on a chocolatey favorite. Perfect for autumn and winter, this Pumpkin and Herbs Brownies recipe contains both fresh thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus,…
Stress-be-Gone Herbal Bath for New Moms
This relaxing herbal bath blend for the new mother is composed of three well-known aromatic nervines: chamomile (Matricaria recutita) flower, lavender (Lavandula spp.) flower, and linden (Tilia spp.) flower and bracts. Nervines are herbs and botanicals that have a direct effect on the nervous system in some way, including reducing stress and anxiety and bringing…
Mom’s Chamomile Tea Recipe with Lemon Balm and Linden Flower
Chamomile tea made from chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) flower with lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) leaf and linden (Tilia cord...
Best Herbal Oils for Homemade Soaps
In my five years of professional soapmaking, I’ve discovered herbal oils are a true luxury that adds vitality to homemade soap. ...
Mom’s Raspberry Leaf Tea with Lady’s Mantle and Mint
Raspberry (Rubus spp.) leaf mixed with members of the rose and mint families come together in this new mother’s tea recipe, making the most of herbs and botanicals that are known for their association with pregnancy and postpartum health. Mineral-rich and aromatically soothing, this raspberry leaf tea with mint (Mentha spp.) leaf and lady’s mantle…
Herbal Sugars for Baking
Winter means spending more time indoors, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the abundance from our herb garden long after the last bloom and the first frost. Many of us feel the need to surround ourselves with comfort when snow blankets the ground and the weather turns cold. Baking in the kitchen is one…
Overnight Hawthorn Infusion
Creating your own hawthorn herbal infusion is a great way to pack a powerful nutritious punch from this member of the rose family....
Soothing Herbal Sitz Bath for New Mothers
You can blend together botanicals celebrated for their relaxing aromas and cooling astringent properties to create a soothing herb...
Herb Stuffing Recipe with Sage and Thyme
A lot of folks wonder how to make stuffing with sage (Salvia officinalis) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris) in a way that maximizes the herbal properties of these two related plants and enhances the proteins in their main dish. Both sage and thyme belong to the Lamiaceae, or mint family (Ware, 2018), making them complimentary flavors…
Spiced Pumpkin Bread with Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Cloves
Spiced pumpkin bread offers an elevated flavor to a classic fall treat that contains nutrient-filled spices to warm the body and soul. Pumpkin is vitamin-rich, containing A, B2, C, and E vitamins, and, like the spices in this recipe, it’s a source of beta carotene (Raman, 2018). The human body converts beta carotene to vitamin…
Apple Cinnamon Stovetop Potpourri Blend
If you love the smell of freshly baked apple pie (honestly, who doesn’t?), then this Apple Cinnamon Stovetop Potpourri Blend is ...
