Embracing the Silence of Winter With Intention
We are now in the heart of the winter season here in the northern hemisphere. With its shorter days, longer nights, and colder temperatures, winter has not always been a season I’ve enjoyed. The lack of sunlight can lead to winter blues, now known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and poor weather can leave us…
Herbal Academy Student Feature: Sarah Jaroch (@evidence_of_providence)
For this Student Feature, we interviewed Sarah Jaroch (@evidence_of_providence), owner of Yarrow Creative Copy, where she works as a copywriter for herbalists and as an online marketer to help herbal businesses grow and succeed. Sarah has completed the Business Herbal Course. HA: Please tell us a little bit about yourself and how you started your…
Herbal Wellness Routines On the Go For Travel and a Busy Schedule
Whether you are traveling, hosting guests, or taking a vacation or staycation, most of us experience some disruption to our daily routines during the holidays. It is quite normal for one’s wellness routines to become altered during these busy and festive times. However, in order to keep your balance and optimize your ability to enjoy…
Holiday Home Essential Oil Diffuser Blend Recipe
Whether we’re baking our favorite pies and cookies, decorating with fresh greenery, or making crafts and gifts using herbs and spices, we enjoy the special aromas that accompany these activities during the holidays. There truly is an enchanting, warming scent to the season. This Holiday Home Diffuser Blend recipe we are sharing below is another…
Homemade Eggnog Chia Pudding Recipe
There are some recipes that elicit a debate, and this, friends, is one of them… eggnog! Boasting a strong reputation– either you love it or hate it. A yuletide drink filled with sweetness, milk, cream, alcohol, and the infamous eggs. A classic holiday recipe that dates back to the medieval times. Variations have been enjoyed…
Easy Homemade Kitchen Spices Cough Syrup
The following excerpt is taken from our FREE Pantry Herbalism ebook, where you’ll find monographs and recipes for spices, foods, and backyard herbs that you likely already have at home. Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) aerial parts A close relative of oregano, thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is also rich in volatile oils. These constituents, especially thymol, are antimicrobial…
Herbal Support for Pregnancy Nausea
Pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting can affect up to 85% of pregnancies to varying degrees. Although a small amount of people do experience pregnancy nausea during their entire pregnancy (as in hyperemesis gravidarum), it normally starts around 4 to 9 weeks and usually subsides by 12 to 16 weeks (Romm, 2014). There are different theories as…
How to Make Holiday-Inspired Melt and Pour Soap for Easy Gift Giving
Pour out a batch of holiday cheer perfect for someone you think is very dear! This easy-to-make (and customize) melt and pour soap is an herbal gift everyone will enjoy. Simple ingredients, handcrafted techniques, and a touch of plant power make this herbal DIY a wonderful way to ring in the season. Soap Making…
How to Decorate Your Home With Fresh Greenery
Make your home come alive this holiday season by bringing the outdoors in with fresh greenery! The festive and cozy feeling that lush greens bring is enough to put anyone in the holiday spirit. With a little bit of planning and creativity, you can create stunning displays that you’ll find yourself wanting to repeat year…
5 Herbal Chocolate Bark Recipes for the Holidays
With a whole string of winter holidays ahead, the busiest gift-giving time of year is upon us. One of my holiday strategies is to keep a little stash of goodies I can grab on my way out the door to whatever gathering is on the schedule. I find that homemade gifts always make a good…
Herbal Academy Student Feature: Amrit-Sadhana Boyd (@theuntamedherbalist)
For this Student Feature, we interviewed Amrit-Sadhana Boyd (@theuntamedherbalist), owner of The Untamed Herbalist. As a trauma informed holistic anxiety coach and herbalist, Amrit-Sadhana applies extensive training and a lifetime of experience to provide her clients with a toolkit of modalities to help strengthen, nourish, and repair their nervous systems. She has completed the Introductory…
The Ultimate Herbal Gift Guide for Herbal Students, Entrepreneurs, Formulators, and More!
With the holidays right around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about gifts for the herbalist in your life! Or perhaps you are the herbalist and want to drop a few hints to your friends and family. Either way, we’ve got you covered with a comprehensive gift guide for herbalists of all levels and…
3 Foraging Inspired Recipes for Autumn
These mushroom burgers, mushroom tart, and walnut pie were inspired by a foraging outing in the woods. This particular walk in the woods was the first time I collected large parasol mushrooms. I used them for dinner (délicious!) to make mushroom burgers fried in buckwheat flour and black sesame seeds. I also incorporated the mushrooms…
Mood-Boosting Hot Cacao Recipe
The dark season is approaching, a time of inner reflection and tranquility. As the days become shorter, the decrease in daylight hours may dampen one’s mood. Especially in the months of late fall and winter, it is helpful to create rituals that promote our sense of strength and cheer. Even if it is not always…
Herbs for Health and Cheer During Winter
As we head into the darker, cooler months of winter, many of us look forward to the sights, sounds, and activities of the holidays. Some of us may pine for quiet snow days and the opportunity to turn within and reflect. Or, depending on where you live, winter may take on a slightly different flavor….
How to Correctly Identify and Use Evergreens for Internal and External Use
Attempting to correctly identify evergreen trees can be challenging. Evergreens get their name because the leaves, or needles, stay “green forever.” No matter the weather outside, you can always rely on evergreens to be green throughout the seasons. But if you plan on using some parts of the tree for herbalism, it’s important to correctly…
DIY Cold and Flu Bombs With Immune-Stimulating Herbs
We are all well aware of the looming cold and flu season that is approaching. As it inches its way closer, we are stocking our herbal pantries with strong allies like elder, echinacea, ginger, and thyme, among others. One option for utilizing these herbs is by making a simple recipe like these DIY cold and…
Herbal Oils for Acne Scarring
Few things can make a person feel as vulnerable and self-conscious as acne. While many chronic issues aren’t immediately obvious to others, the pimples and bumps associated with acne are on display for peers, love interests, and strangers to see. Frustratingly, even after the blemishes have resolved, they can leave long-lasting scars that can continue…
Herbal Academy Student Feature: Deema Al Huqail (@alkamicare)
Welcome to another installment in our Student Feature interview series! For this installment, we spoke with Deema Al Huqail (@alkamicare) of AlkamiCare where she creates hand-blended tea, flower essences, botanical skin care, and artisanal crafts inspired by the old and folk ways. Deema has completed the Botanical Skin Care Course and Intermediate Herbal Course, the Herbal Aphrodisiac Intensive, and…
Protect Plants Over the Winter: The Importance of Overwintering Your Garden
Preparing your garden to rest for the winter is just as essential as preparing your garden for planting in the spring. In fact, the work you put in at the end of the growing season can give you a jumpstart come spring. Overwintering is an umbrella term, under which there are several strategies for preparing…
Cannabis and Adaptogens for Stress
When it comes to modern-day living, it can seem like there is no relief in the frequency of life’s demands and the required fast pace to stay on top of things. This go-go-go way of living can wreak havoc on our nervous system. Over time, it can begin to rewire our brain to be in…
Chamomile Canna Bedtime Biscuits Recipe
With the launch of our new Canna+ Herbs Course, we’ve been exploring the many ways you can safely and responsibly invite cannabis (Cannabis sativa) into your herbal practice with intention and respect. One of our favorite ways to do that is to use cannabis-infused oils and butters in culinary creations. But before we dive into…
The Secret Network of Trees: Exploring the Important Relationship to Groundwater
The following book excerpt on the important relationship between forest trees and groundwater is adapted with permission of the publisher from the book The Secret Wisdom of Nature: Trees, Animals, and the Extraordinary Balance of All Living Things written by Peter Wohlleben and published by Greystone Books in March 2019. Available in paperback as The…
3 Simple No-Bake Vegan Cake Recipes
Working with botanical ingredients opens the door for creating recipes that are nourishing, tasty, and beautifully colorful. In this post, I share three recipes for gluten-free, dairy-free botanical vegan cake recipes: mango banana, raw cocoa, and lemon coconut. These cakes are not baked but are more of a cheesecake consistency. Each recipe is raw and…
Troubleshooting Fire Cider: Answering Your Questions
Fire cider is a beloved and potent wellness tonic known for giving the immune system a powerful kick. Made from a variety of herbs infused into apple cider vinegar, a classic herbalist’s recipe is easy to make, convenient to dose, and a delight to the tastebuds. Here at the Herbal Academy, we’ve been sharing our…
5 Autumn Spices for the Herbalist’s Kitchen
I adore autumn, and yet I find it a bittersweet time of year, being the harbinger of the cold, dark days of winter. Whether or not you welcome the transition from the heat of summer to the cool of autumn and winter, adjusting your foods, spices, and herbs to fit the season is one important…
Sanderson Sisters S’mores With Herbal Chocolate and Marshmallow Root Marshmallows
Create your own black flame chocolate, dripping in herbal goodness with a hint of rose flavor. Whip up homemade fluffy marshmallows made with the very ingredient they were named after — marshmallow root (Althaea officinalis). Sandwich them between two graham crackers and you’ll have the tastiest bite of s’mores you’ve tried yet! “Sisters, we’ve been…
How to Make a Culinary Fall Wreath Using Wild Grapevines and Herbs From the Garden
As summer dwindles and the first frost approaches, it’s time to start thinking about ways to hold over any garden surplus through the winter. Drying and freezing are two popular ways to preserve garden herbs. Crafting a fall wreath is one way of drying herbs which has become my absolute favorite this time of year….
Pumpkin Beer Bread Recipe With Homemade Herb Butter
I’m here to pass along a delightful crowd-pleasing recipe that could become a new autumnal tradition! It’s a mix of herbaceous goodness and a little hint of fall flavors. That’s right, homemade pumpkin beer bread and herb butter. The smell of freshly baked bread warms the kitchen as it bakes, the top crisping to…
Greek Olive Oil Traditions + How to Do an Olive Oil Tasting and Identify the Best Variety
Olive oil has a rich and magical history in Greece, where the landscape is dotted with millions of majestic olive trees. Derived from the pressing of ripe olives picked from the Olea europaea tree, this supreme food has been used for thousands of years in the Mediterranean region, Asia, and Africa. The magic of Greek…
