What is Bouquet Garni?
Bouquet garni is a fancy word for a simple, useful concept. It refers to a seasoning bundle of herbs tied together with string or placed inside a square of cheesecloth, with origins in French cuisine as a way to flavor sauces, soups, stews, and other simmering pots. Tying the herbs together is a clever way to…
Looking for Natural Flu Remedies? Woad Works!
Worries about influenza, Ebola, and measles are making headlines. As herbalists, we have many natural flu remedies in our toolkits, including a repertoire of immune boosters, cold remedies, and digestive aids to help with viral symptoms. Wouldn’t it be helpful if there were other plants, like elderberry, that work at the cellular level to prevent…
6 Health Benefits of Quinoa
Quinoa is a seed that has been cultivated in the Andes mountains of South America for over 5,000 years. One of the benefits of quinoa is unique in that it contains more high quality protein than any other seed or grain. In fact, quinoa is the only vegetable source recognized by the UN Food Association…
9 Herbal Remedies for a Toothache
If you’ve been plagued with a sore tooth or swollen gums, you know that the pain it can cause is often completely unbearable. Toothache or not, life goes on, making pain relief a necessity. While over-the-counter painkillers are the most popular form of pain relief for many, there are a variety of herbal remedies for…
Treating Fevers Naturally
Because there is such a huge interest in natural wellness for family health, specifically children’s issues, we just have to share with you one of our favorite new ebooks! This is a must-read for new mommas. Meagan Visser’s book Treating Fevers Naturally reads like a good friend who came in through the back door and put the tea kettle…
Natural Homemade Lip Balm for Kids
Do you remember Lip Smackers? I can remember a time in my life as a kid that I had a necklace full of lip balms of every different flavor and color of the rainbow. It was the cool thing to have all your favorites on hand and my mom, always wanting to substitute real gifts…
Comfrey Uses + Soothing Comfrey Cream Recipe
I started growing comfrey a couple of years ago, but my reasons were NOT strictly altruistic. Don’t get me wrong, I love all of my herbs, but I particularly love perennial herbs like comfrey that are well suited to a pot and can be brought indoors during our cold Kansas winter. There is Comfort in…
Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Cashew Queso
Superbowl munchies might be over now that the Pats are officially champs, but fun, game-day food should be enjoyed all year long! Perfect for any sporting event, Sunday fun day, or just a creative, beautiful appetizer to serve when you’re hosting a party, these Southwestern stuffed sweet potatoes are easy to make and a healthy…
Love It Up With Herbal Aphrodisiacs
In herbalism, aphrodisiac herbs aren’t just a means to an end! Aphrodisiac herbs nourish the nervous, heart, and reproductive systems on both physical and energetic levels. Physically, they tonify the body and support balanced function, enhance physical desire (libido), and improve performance. Energetically, they balance and love up the heart and sacral chakras and increase…
Can You Be Green and Glamorous?
Editorial Note: This is the first part of a two-part post exploring the realities of the cosmetics and personal care product industry. The first part focuses on animal testing and cruelty-free alternatives. The second post will delve deeper into natural products and environmental impacts. As human beings, we are multi-faceted creatures. But what happened when…
