Herbal Chapstick Recipe for Dry Winter Lips
Whipping winds, cold air, and a dry climate make for a common annoyance—chapped lips. Winter is particularly harsh on the lips, a fragile skin barrier, and it is no wonder so many stores line their end caps with chapstick during December. Tis’ the season for piling on extra layers! Not just for the body, but…
DIY Aromatic Fire Starter Basket
One of the coziest traditions of this season is welcoming the winter days with a warm, crackling fire. How about putting some creativity to that fire with an aromatic fire starter basket? Aromatic fire starters not only help to get that fire started, but also fill the home with a wonderful aroma. This aromatic fire…
Homemade Hot Toddy for Cold and Flu
My first memories of a hot toddy are from childhood. One of my family’s home remedies for cold and flu, hot toddies were something my mother prepared for me and my sister when the seasonal sniffles got the better of us, and something her grandmother, my mamaw, had made for her family in similar situations….
8 Herbal Holiday Preparations to Start Brewing Now!
The holiday season can feel like a whirlwind with the days tumbling from one to the next, and if you are anything like me, too often your dreams of herbal crafting are lost in the flurry. You may even find that you no longer have the time needed to brew up those special herbal holiday…
How To Stock Your Winter Home Apothecary: Herbal Allies For Colder Months
Depending on where you live, it might still feel like summer or perhaps the colder days of the year have already begun. Our work as herbalists involves tuning in to the seasons, and for those of us who garden or wildcraft, this includes paying attention to the growing cycles and when to harvest plants. Another…
How To Cope with Cabin Fever At Winter’s End
The last weeks of winter can oftentimes feel the most challenging. The initial brisk excitement of winter is behind us and the frigid days seem longer and more bone-chilling than ever. At this point of the season, we can start to feel a little “stir crazy” in anticipation of the warmer spring days ahead when…
A Warming Turmeric Cauliflower Soup For Chilly Winter Days
Winter is here, and if you’re anything like me, you’re probably craving soup! There is nothing better on a chilly evening, wrapped in a blanket with loved ones, than sipping from a bowl of warm, soothing soup. Turmeric (Curcuma longa) and cauliflower are gaining popularity in many healthy recipes as they have a plethora of…
8 DIY Herbal Face Mask Recipes for Holiday Gift Giving
The holiday season is fast approaching, and with it the desire to create unique and beautiful gifts for loved ones. If you’re a budding herbalist, combining your herbal passion with holiday gift giving is a great way to make recipients feel special while sharing the gifts of herbs at the same time. Creating herbal products…
How To Nip Holiday Stress In The Bud
The holiday season is a double-edged sword—festive and heartwarming on the one hand, a mad dash of colossal proportions on the other. We tell ourselves that all the work is worth the effort, but when we’re left exhausted and crabby, holiday spirit is about the furthest thing from our minds (and hearts). How do we…
Tips For Staying Healthy This Cold And Flu Season
As cold weather arrives, cold and flu virus infections begin to increase in number. Have you thought about what you will do to support your body during cold and flu season? Will you get a flu shot? Will you incorporate herbs into your daily health regimen? Cold and flu viruses are infections spread by…
Three Herbs to Support Digestion After a Long Winter
Human beings are part of the natural environment. We pass through the same natural and seasonal cycles that affect other living beings—animals, plants, and ecosystems. This is reflected in traditional healing systems the world over. Western herbalism has a long history of practices and remedies that are determined by the season, and older systems like…
A Simple Solution for Finding Your Way Through Winter
Winter is often a time of year that people dread. It’s filled with long nights, cold weather, and the pressure to feel connected to others during the holidays. This combination can put many of us through the emotional ringer, especially if we feel that we lack enough meaningful relationships in our lives. But while wintertime…
3 Delightful Herbal Holiday Cookie Recipes
Remember the simple joys of life and gather in the kitchen this holiday season to whip up a batch or two of cookies! A homemade holiday cookie is much beloved treat. Personally, I find it hard to say which I like better—baking favorite holiday cookies or eating them with friends and family! These delicious herbal…
How To Make Fragrant Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments: A Child’s Holiday Craft
At our house, you will often find us gathered around the table during the holiday season enjoying craft time together. We love crafting with herbs! And I find that working with botanicals in this way really helps children get acquainted with herbs and often helps form a lasting relationship. These cinnamon applesauce ornaments are an…
Wintertime Herbal Infused Whipped Body Butter Recipe
‘Tis the season for cold and dry winter weather, which also is synonymous, in our world, with dry cracked hands and feet. My husband has worked for a prominent coffee company for as long as we have been married, and every winter his hands take a huge beating because of all of the numerous hand-washings…
Find It and Grind It: The Power of Common Kitchen Spices
‘Tis the season for heavier eating in New England. Roasts, root veggies, soups, and stews take center stage in keeping us warm for the cold months ahead. But it’s during the holiday months in particular our natural instinct to “pack it on” can go array and leave us feeling bloated, constipated, and foggy in head….
Bee Warm: Wintering Honey Bees
This time of year, I get a lot of questions about wintering honey bees. Most people are under the misconception that bees hibernate, which is simply not true. Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are eusocial insects. Eusocial insects share three characteristics: A. Cooperative care of their young B. Overlapping generations C. Reproductive division of labor For…
Your Solution to the Winter Blues
With the coming of winter, many things will change. The days will be shorter, and the weather will be colder. But perhaps most significantly, the coming months can lead to much darker feelings. This is to be expected, as whether or not we’re one of the approximately 20% of Americans who suffer from some form…
Five Kitchen Herbs for Cold Season
Tucked away in our kitchen pantries and cupboards, in our windowsills and gardens, are familiar and friendly herbal mainstays that are as healing as they are flavorful. Like all herbs, culinary herbs also contain minerals, vitamins, and active constituents, and when used properly and in appropriate amounts, can offer potent and comforting options for common…
