Herbal Support for Menopause + An Herbal Formula for Dryness
While studying Ayurveda, our teacher emphasized many times that “menopause is not a disease.” Though there are often symptoms associated with the transition from the menstruating years to menopause, menopause is a natural biological process and is simply part of the normal life cycle. Some individuals are fortunate enough to experience a relatively symptom-free menopause….
Let’s Celebrate These 8 Plants That Are Associated With the Sun
As we slowly transition out of the depths of winter and, if we are fortunate, are blessed with sun-ray glimpses of spring, this can be an excellent time to celebrate plants associated with the Sun. If you are familiar with herbal systems that place a strong emphasis on the energetics of herbs, such as Ayurveda…
Let Your Winter Cares Melt Away With These Chai Spice Bath Melts
While many are familiar with the comforting experience of sipping a warm cup of chai, here at the Herbal Academy we have concocted another way to engage the properties of these herbs— chai spice bath melts. In this exploration, we will delve into masala chai herbs and learn how to create chai spice bath melts…
5 Common Spices to Use for Everyday Health
The following excerpt, 5 Common Spices to Use for Everyday Health, is taken from Spice Apothecary© by Bevin Clare. Used with permission from Storey Publishing. HEALTHY CONNECTIONS: SKIN, BONES, AND JOINTS Our skin is the organ that interacts most with the world. A dynamic and responsive organ, it contends with all kinds of impacts and…
Herbal Blood Sugar Balance Recipe
A hot topic that has been circulating lately is the importance of blood sugar balance. Glycemia, also known as blood sugar level or blood glucose level, is the measure of glucose concentration in the blood. This level fluctuates throughout the day and is affected by the food you eat, your lifestyle, hormones, and even your…
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….
Sitopaladi Churna: Sweet Cough Powder for Respiratory Support
With spring in full swing, consider yourself fortunate if you are not affected by seasonal allergies or other respiratory issues. On the other hand, if you do experience sneezing, wheezing, coughing, and other respiratory allergy symptoms, you may find yourself looking for new methods of respiratory support. Or, perhaps you simply want to have some…
How to Make Cinnamon Crème Chocolate Hearts With Reishi Mushroom Powder
The perfect balance between bittersweet chocolate and a rich and creamy cinnamon filling, these chocolate hearts are the stuff dreams are made of. Nourishing ingredients, and of course love, make these cinnamon cremes both healthy and pleasing to the tongue. Providing fibre, magnesium, and antioxidants, cacao is packed with health benefits. Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum syn….
Warming Herbal Foot Soak With Cinnamon and Magnesium
You’re going to want to step into this warm, grounding herbal foot soak with cinnamon and magnesium this winter. Long days of cold air can be taxing on the body and mind. During winter, a noticeable tenseness rolls through your limbs as you clutch your jacket tightly around your body. Even in climates without snow,…
How to Make a Simple Chai Syrup
I love any opportunity to share the richness of relationships with plants and have always felt that handmade gifts are the most precious. There’s nothing like gifting friends and family your time and energy, packaged up, with handwritten labels, just brimming with love. This is why for Christmas this year I am offering a little…
DIY Herbal Halloween Lollipop Recipe
It’s officially time to break out those cauldrons and brew up something sweet for a Halloween treat! This homemade herbal lollipop recipe is a delicious candy filled with rich flavor and simple ingredients. Watch the Golden Liquid Rise As the concoction bubbled and boiled, I felt like a Sanderson sister stirring up something on a…
Naturally Tinted Homemade Lip Balm Recipe
Autumn is here, showing its beauty again with warm and earthy colors and accents of red, yellow, and orange—which means time for cozy sweaters, colorful leaves, and final harvests from our gardens. The characteristic colors and flavors associated with this season are what makes it so wonderful. In addition to pumpkin pie, warming spices, and…
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 for you. With this delightful recipe simmering on the stovetop, your whole home will smell like a freshly baked apple pie—with only a fraction of the work! This dried blend also makes a wonderfully…
Holiday Stovetop Potpourri Recipe: The Smell of the Season
Stovetop potpourris, also known as “simmering spices,” have been used for centuries to fill homes with the comforting smells of local fruits, spices, flowers, and herbs. Unlike most store-bought candles, incense blends, and cleaning supplies, homemade stovetop potpourri is entirely natural and free of chemical additives and synthetic fragrances. This Holiday Stovetop Potpourri recipe features…
Easy Cinnamon Homemade Applesauce
A perennial favorite among children, homemade applesauce is simple to make. Adding cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) provides a nutrient-rich warmth that’s sure to help your batch taste and smell like harvest time. This is an easy homemade applesauce recipe that is a great opportunity to get the kids in the kitchen. Children are always more willing…
Make Your Own Apple and Pumpkin Pie Spice Blends
Creating the best apple or pumpkin pie spice blend for your fall desserts is a simple matter of blending together spices many of us already have in the pantry. Blended and placed in decorative jars, pie spice blends also make fabulous hostess and Secret Santa gifts. Whether you blend to share or blend to bake,…
Craft Your Own Delicious Hawthorn Berry Cordial
Harvesting hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) berries in late fall can produce a basket of sweet red berries ideal for a vitamin-rich homemade cordial (Harford,2020). Blended with seasonal favorites, including apple, rosehip (Rosa spp.), and cinnamon (Cinnamomum spp.), this hawthorn berry homemade cordial is sure to delight and soothe. The hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) tree offers many gifts:…
Herbal Spiced Apple Cider Recipe with Cinnamon, Chamomile, and Astragalus
There’s something comforting about a warm drink on a cold night, making spiced apple cider the perfect beverage for a cool fall evening. It is the ideal way to end a day of apple picking or a fall visit to the local farmers’ market. “Apples are sweet and delicious, but also offer health benefits in…
French Apple Cinnamon Tea
This French Apple Cinnamon Tea recipe calls for cinnamon, apples, and honey, providing a little crispness with a dash of sweetness and a splash of warmth. Sure sounds like autumn in a cup to me! The wholesome nutrients in apples include beta-carotene, vitamins C and B, calcium, phosphorus, boron, polyphenols, and pectin (Mars, 2004). Because…
Health Benefits of Cinnamon + 2 Warming Recipes
(Excerpted from Spice Apothecary by Bevin Clare. Used with permission from Storey Publishing.) Cinnamon is one of the oldest and most well-known spices. There are four commonly available types of cinnamon, and they can be quite different in taste, chemical composition, and herbal action. All come from the inner bark of several Southeast Asian tree…
How to Make the Perfect Cup of Chai for Your Dosha
Forget bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens—chai is one of my favorite things. For me, a great cup of chai is right up there with puppies, autumn leaves, and twinkling Christmas lights. I don’t know if it’s the perfect blend of sweet, warming spices, the creaminess of the milk, or the happy caffeine buzz…
Homemade Squash Cinnamon Dough for Holiday Decorations and Ornaments
What spice reminds us more of the holidays than cinnamon? The smell of cinnamon cookies baking or perhaps a few cinnamon sticks brewing on the stove instantly brings warm memories to mind. There are many ways to enjoy cinnamon during the holidays and squash cinnamon dough is a surprisingly fun way to welcome this beloved…
15 Uses for Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a much loved staple in our kitchens. Its sweet, floral, clove-like, earthy, and spicy aroma and flavor complement cookies, cakes, pastries, pies, breads, oatmeal, cinnamon toast, applesauce, and mulled wines. Cinnamon is also included in spice blends from many cultures and is used throughout the world. Cinnamon’s virtues extend beyond its taste and…
Health Benefits of Popular Autumn Spices
Soon the air will turn crisp and the leaves will begin to change colors. And along with these wonders of fall come the smells of apple and pumpkins as well as cinnamon, nutmeg, sage, and other popular autumn spices. In addition to the fact that these spices are delicious and autumnal, they also boast some…
Cinnamon for Health: More than Just a Holiday Spice
As a spice, cinnamon plays such a popular role in our breakfast cereals, holiday desserts like pumpkin pie, hot apple cider, and other staples of our cuisine that we tend to forget that it has medicinal properties as well. And while it might not surprise us to learn of its value as an herb, how…
