Kristen

Mediterranean Style Sweet Potato Fries with Oregano

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A sailboat in the Mediterranean Sea

Even though I’ve worked with sweet potatoes in a multitude of ways, I always felt intimidated by the thought making sweet potato fries. I suppose if you intend to fry them, they are a little more difficult than the average sweet potato recipe, since you’d have to deal with the grease afterwards, but in a moment of really wanting sweet potato fries to go with a take-out chicken gyro I ordered from a nearby restaurant, I decided to see if roasting them would work. It did, and they were incredibly tasty! This might just be my new veggie obsession for the season.  

Sweet Potatoes  

If you follow the Blue Zones at all, you know that sweet potatoes are a staple food of the Okinawan centenarians. Sweet potatoes, especially the bright orange and dark purple ones, are full of nutrients, have a lower glycemic index than regular potatoes, are beneficial for the digestive system, and have many other health benefits including for eyes, heart, kidneys, and skin. My favorite way to eat them is to roast small cubes of the orange and purple varieties, along with garlic and leeks, seasoning salt and pepper, and olive oil. The recipe linked above only uses the orange variety, but I’ve found mixing the varieties is a wonderful way to boost the nutrient value and create a more complex flavor.  

Oregano 

Because I wanted my fries to have a Mediterranean flair, I covered them in oregano along with Mediterranean seasoning salts and garlic. According to evidence found in a noblewoman’s burial and an ancient Greek ship, oregano has been used medicinally for approximately 50,000 years. It is an extremely well-researched herb and is one of the most widely used herbs on the planet with a wide range of studies establishing it as a powerful antioxidant, antiseptic, and antibacterial agent. According to the USDA, it has more antioxidants than any other fruit of vegetable, with 4 times more antioxidant activity than blueberries. Even before our modern research methods, it was traditionally used as a preservative of food because of its antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. Most charmingly, oregano’s name means “mountain joy” and historically, oregano was often associated with good luck and happiness, which explains why in Greek and Roman wedding ceremonies brides and grooms often wore crowns fashioned from oregano branches. Oregano growing on a loved-one’s grave even signified a happy afterlife for the one buried.

Recipe 

  • 2 sweet potatoes 
  • spray olive oil 
  • 1 teaspoon seasoning salts (these are a pantry staple in my kitchen and we use them daily) 
  • black pepper (a few turns of a pepper mill to taste) 
  • 2 or more teaspoons of oregano 
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic (optional but so yummy and healthy too!) 

Preheat oven to 425. Cut the sweet potatoes into long, thin strips and spread on an oiled cookie sheet or use parchment paper. I only used orange sweet potatoes because that is all I had in the house, but feel free to get colorful. Place the garlic cloves all around and spray the vegetables with the olive oil. Salt and pepper over the entire pan sparingly b/c you can always add more afterwards, and add a hearty amount of dried oregano. Cook for about 25 minutes, turning the sweet potatoes over two or three times at 8 to 10 minute intervals. You will know it is done when the sweet potatoes are soft, and there are a few brown bits on the ends. Feel free to crumble some feta over the dish before serving. I didn’t because my oldest is vegan now, as well as gluten-free, and I wanted him to try these naturally gluten-free, vegan treats.

Leftovers 

Unlike regular fries, these warm back up surprisingly well, so don’t be afraid to make too many. The following day or two, they will go excellently with eggs, chicken, or fish, on top of a salad or tucked into a hummus wrap. They are very versatile and liven up dishes nicely, or can be eaten as a snack with tzatziki or garlic sauce. This is what they looked like before cooking: 

I forgot to take a picture of the finished product, but the next time I make these, which should be soon, I’ll update this post with an ending photo.  

Happy last week of October! 🍂🎃✨Eat well and take care of yourselves. 💜🌿 

*This post includes affiliate links.

Pumpkin Spice Scones (GF and Vegan)

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Iced scones

(This post has affiliate links.)

About twenty-five years ago I was sharing a classroom with a teacher from Belarus. She was quite proud of her English language skills, as well she should be, because learning a language is incredibly difficult and she was now teaching English to others, so she knew her stuff. One day though, she came to me with a question that had clearly bothered her for years. She asked, “Why do Americans call their children (she paused as if needing to translate in her head and the translation made her frown in renewed confusion and disbelief) …pumpkins?” I had to laugh and simply responded that I did not know but at least it made more sense than the French use of the equivalent to ‘cabbage’ as a term of endearment. “Cabbage!” She exclaimed and shook her head, clearly thinking our cultures were too silly to comment upon further. I suppose Belarusian lacks food related endearments. They are missing out! We have a whole pantry full of endearments to choose from: sugar, sweet pea, honey, sweetie pie, pudding pie…. What else? I am sure I am missing a few. 

I was on a trip for the first two weeks in October, and when I returned, the transition into fall had been completed in my absence, so I was thrown directly into fall foliage, longer nights, and an instant yearning for pumpkin scones. I looked up my old recipe on my former blog and realized I had written it before finding Bob’s Red Mill gluten free one to one flour. This flour makes gluten free baking so much easier! Of course, if you do not need to use gluten-free ingredients, feel free to just use regular flour in the same amount. 

Pumpkin Benefits 

Pumpkin provides some excellent nutritional benefits. Vitamin A is important for eye health and plays a significant role in skin health as well. Pumpkin has beneficial fiber and a high amount of water, and it is a low-calorie food, so when you eat pumpkin goodies, you actually feel full. Of course, a lot depends on the amount of sugar that goes into the final product, but pumpkin itself is a nutritious food. Props to you if you work with a whole pumpkin, but I always just use a pure pumpkin puree such as the one below. 

Pumpkin nutrition facts

Spice Benefits 

The spice blends that are known as ‘pumpkin spice‘ offer their own benefits as well. Cinnamon is known to support blood sugar balance and healthy insulin levels. Ginger is well known for its anti-nausea effects and for supporting all digestive issues. Nutmeg offers relaxation and protective qualities. Cloves are traditionally used to reduce pain and are antimicrobial. Allspice is anti-inflammatory and also supports digestion. Basically, all together, this blend offers digestive support, anti-inflammatory activity, and a hearty dose of antioxidants. 

Recipe 

I mashed together my old recipe with a simpler one I found on BellyFull. I liked that the BellyFull one only uses brown sugar in the recipe (other than the icing) and I have been using a different egg replacer lately instead of flax meal, so my old recipe needed updating. I did not attempt a fancy icing situation, and my scones regrettably show my lack of patience towards the icing process.  

Ingredients 

For the icing 

Preheat the oven to 400 and line a pan with parchment paper. Mix together the first four (wet) ingredients and set aside. Mix together the next 5 ingredients, then with a cheese grater, grate the butter into the dry mixture. I can’t remember where I first read about that trick for adding cold butter to scones by using a cheese grater, but it makes a world of difference in the ease of scone making. Battling the chunks of cold butter is what makes scone baking so tricky, but the cheese shredder, well, shreds that difficulty bits!  

Add the wet ingredients that have been set aside and mix. Plop the blend onto a counter, preferably on top of a piece of wax paper. Mold it into a round disk and flatten to about a half inch thickness. Cut into 8 wedges and bake for 15-18 minutes. (Mine was perfect at 17 minutes.)  

Scones cooling

As always, feel free to add xanthan gum if you want a smoother and prettier finished product. The cracks don’t bother me a bit, and the icing will also help pretty them up a bit. Speaking of icing, while they cool down, whisk together the ingredients and pour over the scones once cooled. 

Finished scones

What is your favorite fall treat? Whatever it is, I hope you get to enjoy it thoroughly and soak up the season.🍂 

Fall walk in town

Mini-Series on Natural Cancer Treatment Options

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Straight path in nature

If you or a loved one are battling cancer, my greatest hope for you is that you have a compassionate, eager to listen medical team and you follow their instructions thoroughly. I’m sharing this mini series about natural treatment options for cancer for those that want to add to what their oncologists and other medical professionals advise, with their knowledge. If anyone is out of options altogether, this series can offer some ideas on ways to proactively encourage health.

Health and love to you and yours✨🌿💜

Gum Recession

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This is a post I wrote a few years ago, but I updated some information with a fantastic testimonial (read the story time!) and the links to connect with my current connections. 

Between gum disease, grinding teeth at night, and possibly brushing too hard (though that cause is up for debate), gum recession is incredibly common. It generally shows up after age 40, though it most likely started years earlier. It’s a slow, gradual process which can eventually lead to tooth loss, so it’s no small matter. Depending on how far along the recession is, a dentist may do a deep cleaning that involves cleaning below the gum line, which is different than just the normal twice a year cleaning, or suggest a mouth guard to stop grinding teeth at night. There doesn’t seem to be a modern medicine option for rebuilding the gum tissue and oral health, but luckily for us, there are natural products out there to help do just that. 

Uncle Harry’s 

Uncle Harry’s is a natural products company founded due to gum health concerns. You can read about that history here, or just check out their products that are based on Ayurvedic principles for keeping the mouth healthy and thriving. Their anise toothpaste is my personal favorite, but they have several flavors to choose from such as the more common flavor of peppermint. You dip your toothbrush right into the jar, and the essential oils make sure that the jar of toothpaste stays free of bacteria, viruses, and germs of all sorts. The toothpastes help the mouth keep a proper alkaline pH, have no sweeteners or fluoride, and naturally fight gum disease while offering the gums and teeth herbs and essential oils that build them up. They also have a powder to help soothe sore gums called Inflamed Gums, with numbing and healing herbs and essential oils in it and my new favorite product of theirs is their Tooth and Gum Elixir. 

Story Time: 

I bought Uncle Harry’s Tooth and Gum Elixir that I just mentioned above at the beginning of the summer. The woman checking me out asked me if it really worked. I told her that I thought so, but I had only gone through one bottle so far, so I was not positive. The man bagging jumped in and said, “Oh yes, it definitely works. My girlfriend and I both swear by it!” Fast forward to today, late September, and I was buying it again with the same cashier checking me out. I asked her if she had tried it yet and she said, “It really works!” She went on to say that she’d already prepaid her dentist for some gum work and at her last appointment the dentist said that there’d been so much improvement that they would give her the money back if her gums stayed stable for a few months. She said that her next appointment is coming right up, and she fully expects her money back. I personally see a difference with this product in terms of dental report cards and inflammation that I can see visibly. 

Other Options: 

Mountain Rose Herbs has a tincture to use for oral care as well. It is on my list to try with powerful ingredients to support overall oral health. 

Another great company, Herb Pharm, has a mouthwash called Gum Guardian that is full of gum healing and building herbs. Use this after brushing and flossing, just as you would a conventional mouthwash, though this one is more medicinal in nature. It is an extract, so you have to just add a dropperful to a small amount of water to swish it around. 

Wishgarden Herbs has a Gum Strengthener that can also be used as a mouthwash, but alternatively it can be massaged directly into problem areas. If the whole mouth is a problem area, it can be administered all over with a toothbrush. Another similar product is by Herbs Etc and is called Mouth Tonic which has great reviews. Actually, all these herbal extracts have great reviews, and all are quite similar in terms of the herbs used (read the ingredients lists and count how many times you see Myrrh), so you can’t really go wrong. 

Don’t forget the daily basics 

Before going any further I should say that vitamin C is the most important vitamin for gum recession issues. Most people get enough vitamin C in their daily diet and a multivitamin, but a little extra does not hurt when fighting any kind of disease or infection. Just something to keep in mind. 

Green tea is known for its many benefits from its antioxidants to its fat burning properties, and one more is oral health. Drinking just one cup of green tea a day is enough to increase the health of gums and mouth. Green tea is so versatile, you can add it to your skincare products, drink it for a multitude of health benefits, and add the room temperature tea bags to your eyes for help with puffiness and dark circles. What doesn’t green tea do? 

One thing I have not tried but sounds promising: 

Oil pulling is a technique from Ayurveda that seems to be growing in popularity. It involves swishing sesame oil or coconut oil in one’s mouth for 10-20 minutes, then spitting it out. To be honest, I’ve not tried this yet because the thought of holding the oil in my mouth that long doesn’t seem appealing when there are herbs in extract form that will aid oral health in an easier way, but then again, I generally always choose the herbal options. To each his own though, so if you try it, or currently do it in your oral health regimen, let me know because I want to hear about it! Here’s a good article on how to do it if you need instructions. 

I just love how the natural world so quietly and competently has so many options for improving our health and daily life. Long before “there’s an app for that” became the modern mantra, “there’s an herb for that” prevailed, and still does, but you often have to look beyond the noisy world to find the right ones for you. There are always options so don’t let an ‘incurable’ condition such as anxiety or hair loss get you down. 

Happy fall and please subscribe to weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.😁 

Nature’s Sweetly Scented Secret: Hydrosols

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Sunshine highlighting a path through long, golden grass

I love August’s sun-bleached golden grass. Most people don’t water their lawns here in the Seattle area, and apparently that’s unusual because I’ve had friends visit who positively gasp at the lack of green grass in the late summer. It grows back healthily in the fall, every single year, and considering the PNW’s rainfall the three seasons other than summer, can you blame us for not watering lawns when most of the year our clay soil yards are spongey and puddle filled. The sun works magic here July and August, recently extending its domain late into September and even starting in June some years, like this one.  

I welcome the burnt look of months of unchecked sunshine, but of course there are some downsides. Not being able to go for the smallest walks without sweating is one of them, and the lack of A/C here is another. Even just lazily sitting around inside somewhere near a fan can induce a deep longing for freshness. It is not convenient, or even possible, to shower multiple times a day, so that is where a hydrosol can step in and shine. 

*Hydrosols 

Traditionally made during the process of steam distilling essential oils, hydrosols are purely plant scented water. They are often used to make bath, body, and facial products because they are less concentrated than their essential oil counterparts. Their scent is notably lighter, but still delightfully present, and since they are less concentrated, they can be applied directly to skin. I use witch hazel as a toner, but I often add either rose, neroli, or rosemary hydrosol to the witch hazel for an extra boost. This combination of witch hazel and (any!) Hydrosol is also fantastic for spraying all over the body, or at least exposed parts, to freshen up when a shower is not possible. I keep a small spray bottle of this combination, mine currently consists of rosemary hydrosol, in my desk at work in case I decide to bike there again one of these days. More often though, I spray my face and arms with just a straight hydrosol, right now it happens to be neroli, about every time I go into my bathroom at home. It is a lovely little refresher, lifting my mood and providing a bit of a sweet scent without the heaviness of perfume. (I dab a perfume on my neck and wrists just twice a day during the summer and use a perfume body oil at night before bed.)  

Where to Find Hydrosols 

It is a mystery to me why these precious products are hard to find, but alas, they are. Not only that, but there are imposters out there too, so be sure to read the ingredients. Hydrosols are sometimes referred to as floral waters, but floral waters are generally distilled water with essential oils or even fragrance (eek!) added to create the light and bright feel of a true hydrosol.  

Neroli Hydrosol front label
Neroli hydrosol back label

I get mine from Mountain Rose Herbs, and they are not only authentic, but they are also organic to boot. They happen to have a 25% off site wide sale happening right now, so if you are in need of any herbs or herbal products, including hydrosols and essential oils, now’s a great time to check them out.  

The photos show my almost empty bottle of neroli hydrosol, so the label has been warped by use and hydration. I am buying some more this weekend which is what sparked this post. 

Stay fresh and live well☀️🌿🌹

*This post includes affiliate links.

Sauerkraut

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I just have to share two brands of sauerkraut that are so good that I eat them for taste, not just as food-medicine. Sauerkraut is a fabulous addition to daily diets because it has probiotics, fiber, and is easily digestible. It also happens to be low-calorie, filling, and a fantastic way to get a different variety of vitamins and minerals into your body instead of relying on the ones that are regularly in your routine. Variety matters when it comes to your best health. I started eating sauerkraut with gluten free crackers a few years ago, and back then it was solely to better my digestive health, but now I have really fallen for the taste, especially of the two brands below.  

Pangea Garlic Dill Sauerkraut 

This one is easily my favorite. I get it in the refrigerated section of my local food co-op, PCC, and it looks like it is in a variety of markets, at least here in Washington. It is made in Bellingham, WA, so the reach might be limited; I am not sure. I hope you can find it though wherever you are because it is so good it will change everything you ever thought you knew about sauerkraut.  

Pickled Planet I-Boost Herbal Krauts 

This Herbal Kraut is a close second in terms of taste. It was the first sauerkraut I had that I genuinely enjoyed the taste, and not only that, but it also has unique ingredients such as horseradish, nettle, and burdock that boost its health promoting qualities. (Hence its name, I-Boost Herbal Krauts.) I buy this one at Whole Foods and it looks like it can be found in quite a bit of the U.S, plus you can order it online. I do not have it in right now, so I will share the product photo from Pickled Planets’ page: 

How to Eat Kraut 

Obviously, eat it any way you like! But if you want to get the most health benefits from fermented foods, switch up the ones that you eat, if not daily or weekly, at least buy varied brands each time you restock. You can return to your favorites often, but eating a variety is truly what is best for your gut’s health. Since I was not a sauerkraut fan in the beginning, the only way I could eat it was with crackers. I would put a tablespoon or two of kraut in a bowl and scoop it up with gluten free crackers as a snack. Now, even though I have grown to truly like the taste of sauerkraut, I still enjoy the crunch of a cracker balancing it out. 

Fermented Foods

We have so many things working against our digestive systems, especially if we adhere to the modern Western diet, such as ultra-processed foods, glysophate, too much sugar and salt, and much much more. Adding fermented foods can help balance out diets and add health promoting probiotics back into our cores. Choosing a variety to eat is the best way to make the most of what fermented foods offer. Other fermented foods to consider include: kefir, kimchi, kombucha, miso, sourdough bread, tempeh, and yogurt.

What are your favorite fermented foods? I’d love to hear about them! Happy Eating!🥣

*I’m not affiliated with any of the products in this post.

Organic Matters

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Glyphosate residue free label

A few posts back I shared some information about pesticides being linked to the uptick in colon cancer among younger people, and how there is a particularly useful ‘dirty dozen‘ list of fruits and vegetables that are the most contaminated. Today I’d like to share more reasons to buy organic foods, and expand the list of foods to always, diligently, buy organic, especially here in America. That reason is: glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide, Roundup. 

Where is it used? 

Unfortunately, it is ubiquitous all over the world. Countries which use the largest amounts of glyphosate are Brazil, the USA, Japan, Argentina, and China. If you do not see your country in that list, don’t get too comfortable because unless you live in Sri Lanka, Togo, or Vietnam, your country uses it too. There are partial bans in many parts of the world, such as in the EU, but those are only partial restrictions, with some countries having stricter bans than others, even within the EU. The crops it is most widely used on are soybeans, corn, wheat, barley, oats, tree nuts, sugar beets, cotton, and fruits.  

Why is it bad? 

Glyphosate has been associated with cancer risk, hormone disruption, neurological concerns, acute poisoning (when being sprayed), and physical irritation. It has long been suspected of being the reason so many people now have a problem digesting wheat (gluten), especially in the U.S. This is likely because glyphosate is antimicrobial, meaning that it kills the good microbes in the gut, just like a round of antibiotics kills the good little critters in the gut. Those microbes in our gut are essential to not only our digestive systems, but also form the backbone of our immune systems, and affect our moods and mental/emotional health, and more. 

Even Hippocrates has been attributed to the famous line, “All disease begins in the colon,” and whether or not he said that, it’s true that traditional healing systems mostly operated under that principal. This MindbodyGreen article explains the antimicrobial news a bit more, and it is a great read, but I don’t think it goes quite far enough to connect all the dots.  

Common Food Allergens (connecting the dots) 

When we look at the crops that are most widely sprayed with glyphosate, we see that many of the most common food allergy/intolerance foods can be found on the list. The 9 most common food allergens are: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, fish, wheat, soy, and sesame. Take a closer look, and notice that glyphosate can also contaminate dairy products and eggs because they often share farms with crops that are sprayed. Similarly, glyphosate can contaminate fish and shellfish due to the runoff in waterways, and it can also contaminate peanuts, and sesame seeds due to the soil absorption from the spray on nearby crops or on them directly. That covers the complete list of allergens!

When discussing foods that people tend to have intolerances to, meaning the foods irritate them but there isn’t a full allergic reaction, they are often the same foods as the top allergens, but corn is also a big one on that list, which is widely sprayed with glyphosate.  

What to do? 

The best way to avoid ingesting glyphosate residue is to buy organic foods, including all bread products, oatmeal, granola, oils, packaged foods, rice, eggs, and, well, just everything you eat. Support organic farmers by joining CSAs, going to farmers’ markets, and making sure everything you buy at grocery stores has at least an organic seal. (Summer is a wonderful time to visit local farms which often host community events.) There is a glyphosate free label that you can look for, but it is not used widely yet: 

Full Circle

One thing that the Slow Food Movement emphasizes is that there shouldn’t be a separation between the agricultural industry and the food industry. We think of agricultural ‘crops’ and ‘products’ and governments pass laws and regulations concerning growth and profits. The food industry tends to be thought of in terms of grocery stores and restaurants with regulations around cleanliness and shelf life. The fact that those ‘crops’ and ‘products’ are actually the very same foods that we buy at stores and in restaurants somehow seems to get lost, not to even mention the fact that our health is intricately based, fundamentally, on that same food. We are what we eat, after all. While what we eat, foundationally, comes from farms.

It’s important to note that what is good for us as people is also good for the environment. Clearly spraying toxins on earth is polluting the soil, water, air, as well as the foods we eat. It’s creating food that is less alive and nutritious, and causing disruptions in long time ecosystems.

Other Resources

Another way to protect yourself is to buy a water filter, which is something I still need to research a bit more myself before deciding on which one to buy. In fact, I really need to do a lot more research on glyphosate in general! I just got a book from the library about it, but I wanted to share some info here before I get sucked into my summer quarter schedule since I rarely find time to write when I’m teaching a lot of hours. If you are interested in taking a deep dive into glyphosate (in a safe way!), these articles by EWG are a great place to start. This article also has some really interesting information, and calls out some specific brands/products to avoid. Food Tank is also full of amazing articles and they have a podcast too.

Stay Healthy and Curious🌿and have a Happy Summer☀️


Remedy Docuseries

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Cows on a beach

This free docuseries has some great information about traditional healing methods and most of all, herbs. What I like best about this series is that it makes it clear that whatever health issues you might be having, even smallish things that you just have dealt with for years, there are herbs and natural remedies out there to help assist you move back towards better health. I highly recommend checking it out, even if only an episode or two in the series sound interesting to you.

I’m not affiliated in any way, just sharing because I think it can be beneficial for many.

Here’s the link again: Remedy Docuseries.

Cheers to good health!🌿✨

Carlo Petrini: Slow Food Founder Leaves a Legacy for All

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Lilacs on a dinner table

Carlo Petrini, founder of the Slow Food Movement, passed away recently on May 21st. He led the global conversation regarding how to make food good, clean, and fair for all. He was one of the first to recognize that fast food culture was the antithesis of those values, and he worked to educate others of the problems inherent in the glorification of speed and the policies that support it, as well as elevate those that use sustainable and traditional practices. His work lives on in the Slow Foods Movement, Terra Madre, and the University of Gastronomic Sciences, and through all the lives touched by his clear, visionary mind and his heart for sharing his forward-thinking astuteness. 

With Bread

In speaking about Carlo Petrini, another Slow Foods and slow living advocate, Carl Honoré, praised him as a wonderful companion in a BBC interview. Honoré explained that the word ‘companion’ comes from the Latin words, com, meaning ‘with’, and panis, meaning bread, and originally referred to breaking bread with someone. Nothing delights me more than a satisfying etymology, and this one is my new favorite!

Freshly baked sourdough einkorn bread
Freshly baked sourdough einkorn bread

There’s a reason food is central to our gatherings and celebrations, sharing that moment with others creates a bond that is unlike any other and speaks to something deep within us. We have the choice to slow down with people in our lives every day and resist the culture of speed with its thin values. After all, where do we end up by speeding through life? Most of us are aiming for longevity, not brevity. 

Slow Values

Since the Slow Food Movement began, there have been many offshoots, some directly connected to the original movement, such as, slow wine, slow fish, slow food editore, and others that have arisen through inspiration, such as slow living, slow travel, and slow flowers. The word ‘slow’ implies depth, understanding, and authenticity, in a quickening world that relies on superficiality and illusions. The Slow Foods Movement is mourning its founder, but it’s stronger than ever and certainly more necessary. Where do you want more slowness in your life? I hope you find it and better yet, I hope you create it.

Australian shepherd walking along a path
Slow walk with my dog

There is no doubt, Carlo Petrini leaves a legacy with the Slow Food Movement that reaches far beyond food.

Bon appétit, lovely companions💜

Avoiding the Risks of Pesticides

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Bananas

Recent research has shown a link in pesticides and the rise of early onset colon cancer. This can serve us all as a reminder that pesticides have very real risks and damaging effects on our bodies and our lives. There are significant reasons to eat organic foods, and this seems like a good time to review EWG’s Dirty Dozen list for 2026, as well as their ‘Clean Fifteen’.

EWG

As a reminder, the Environmental Working Group (EWG), which I have shared here before, tests fruits and vegetables each year to gauge how contaminated they are. The list of the most contaminated foods is called the Dirty Dozen and it changes slightly each year. These are the foods to prioritize buying only organic options because they have the most toxic residue on them when grown conventionally. The Clean Fifteen is the list of the produce with the least amount of toxic residue when grown conventionally. The lists on EWG’s website have more information, so I recommend checking that out, but for the TL; DR:

The 2026 Dirty Dozen

  • 1. Spinach
  • 2. Kale, Collard Greens, and Mustard Greens
  • 3. Strawberries
  • 4. Grapes
  • 5. Nectarines
  • 6. Peaches
  • 7. Cherries
  • 8. Apples
  • 9. Blackberries
  • 10. Pears
  • 11. Potatoes
  • 12. Blueberries

The 2026 Clean Fifteen

  • 1. Pineapples
  • 2. Sweet Corn (fresh and frozen)
  • 3. Avocados
  • 4. Papaya
  • 5. Onion
  • 6. Sweet Peas (frozen)
  • 7. Asparagus
  • 8. Cabbage
  • 9. Cauliflower
  • 10. Watermelon
  • 11. Mangoes
  • 12. Bananas
  • 13. Carrots
  • 14. Mushrooms
  • 15. Kiwi

Eat well and thrive, including strawberries, (as long as they are organic)🍓🌿✨.

Vanilla Pound Cake Muffins

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Vanilla Pound Cake Muffins

Yesterday morning I was craving something different, but I didn’t feel like going anywhere so I needed to work with what I already had in the kitchen. To be honest, I’ve been having a hard time enjoying the usual foods that I eat after returning from a trip to Europe. The food there is so much better in so many ways, plus I didn’t have to make any of it so I was constantly being gifted the experience of new ingredients put together in ways that I’d never have thought of, and these new concoctions thrilled me, even when they weren’t something I’d particularly want to recreate myself.

Cruise Camp

We were on a Rhine River cruise, and I had never before traveled on a ship. The closest experience that I can relate it to is going away to summer camp as a kid, which I loved but only did a small handful of times. In both instances you meet people from various places, eat and experience new things every day with them, go to bed tired and wake up too early to start the next day full of new experiences with these new friends, then you all go home your separate ways with some photos, memories, and promises to keep in touch.

Instead of nature hikes there are city center walks, and instead of crafts there are optional cheese and wine tastings, but it really made me think about how many fewer opportunities we have as we get older to be thrown together with new people for days on end and delight in our commonalities and discuss our differences and experience unusual things together. It’s special, and unique, and I can understand why people get hooked on cruises even though overall it would not be my choice of travel mode.

Strasbourg, France
Selfie in Germany
Cologne, Germany
Amsterdam

Back to Muffins

These vanilla muffins were basically the same as I’ve made before, except this time I didn’t reduce the sugar as much as I used to, and that is what gives these the pound cake effect rather than the other, plainer, version. (Those are also good, just different.) I also changed where I baked them by instead of using the middle rack, I moved the rack up a notch, so they were slightly closer to the top of the oven. Both tweaks made a difference where the complete outside of all the muffins had that pound cake topping encasing them which made these such a treat.

Just like with the original vanilla muffins I have posted here, the basic recipe I loosely follow is for blueberry muffins on the back of a Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour bag.

Vanilla Pound Cake Muffins

2 Cups Bob’s Red Mill GF 1-to-1 Baking Flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup regular or vegan butter

3/4 cup cane sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1+ tsp vanilla extract (here’s how to make your own!)

2 eggs or egg replacer

1/2 Vanilla Oat Milk

Start by preheating oven to 425 degrees and prep your muffin pan with either paper liners or spray oil. Add the dry ingredients (besides the sugar) together in a bowl and stir. Cream the sugar and softened butter together with a hand mixer. Add the vanilla and mix again. Add the eggs (or egg replacer) and mix, then add the dry ingredients a bit at a time while mixing, rotating with adding the half cup of oat milk. The batter looks like a cake batter. Scoop the batter into a prepared muffin pan for 12 normal sized muffins. Put the pan in the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 375 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes, then let them cool on a cooling rack for at least five minutes before digging in.

Vanilla Pound Cake Muffins

They taste delicious alone but really shine with strawberries, especially with a scoop of vanilla yogurt.

Happy middle of May. I hope you have some sweetness this week.

*This post includes affiliated links.

Revisiting Adaptogens

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Jar of homemade blend of adaptogens

A few years ago, you couldn’t walk down a functional drink aisle without seeing a plethora of bottles boasting adaptogenic herbs such as ashwagandha or maca. Those products still exist today, but the popular herbal trends have moved toward mushrooms while adaptogens have moved into the background. The next new trend will surely bubble up and over throughout grocery and supplement aisles, but just as it’s important to have a staple wardrobe that can ride the fashion trends through the yearly changes, having a foundational wellness practice will serve you lifelong through ages and stages. Adaptogens are still a fantastic place to start when looking to integrate herbs into health and wellbeing daily practices. 

Why start with adaptogens? 

Adaptogenic herbs are a classification of herbs that hold specific similarities in their actions and interactions with humans. Adaptogenic herbs have traditionally been viewed as ‘causing no harm’ (*more about this later) because they adapt to what the individual body needs and always move that body toward balance. For example, Tulsi is an herb historically known to regulate blood pressure, which is most often used when people have high blood pressure, but people with low blood pressure can also safely use it without fearing the herb will dip their blood pressure further down. It adapts to what the body needs and balances it without causing further issues. These herbs also help the body adapt to stress, meaning physical, emotional, mental, and environmental stress. Aptly named classification of herbs, am I right?! Balance is the ultimate goal in herbalism.  

*Caution 

Herbs can interact with pharmaceuticals in unpredictable ways, so if anyone is on any sort of pharmaceutical, they should consult with someone who understands herbs and potential interactions before assuming it is safe. This likely means a naturopath or an herbalist found on the AHG website (in the U.S.), or a registered herbalist or other practitioner in other countries. Also, anyone can have an allergy to any plant material, so keep that in mind as well. The last caution with adaptogenic herbs has to do with the most common one, ashwagandha. It is generally avoided by anyone with thyroid issues, especially hyperthyroidism, because of how it acts through the thyroid. It’s important to note that this is a caution due to looking at how the herb acts, not on reported issues.  

Adapting to Stress 

We likely all have at least one thing in common; our lives are stressful. Life has always included stress, but modern life is stressful in a multitude of ways, layered upon each other in a competitive sandwich of threats, demands, responsibilities, and anxieties. Adaptogenic herbs can help make this sandwich more palatable by helping the body move from constant fight-or-flight high-cortisol mode to a more relaxed and responsive baseline. Adaptogenic herbs have traditionally been used in the following ways: physically, to improve energy and stamina; mentally, to improve mental processing and learning; emotionally, to regulate moods, reduce anxiety, and lower stress levels.  

This all matters at a fundamental level which is hard to overstate. Having a body amped up on stress affects all areas of life, including sleeping and eating, moods and energy levels, immune system function and mental processing, and that’s just the start. All of these dictate our baseline health, how we feel day to day, and how we grow and age over time. When looking at long term health, stress, and inflammation are huge markers that reflect our present and likely future states. 

Endocrine System 

Adaptogens have wide reaching overall health promoting affects because they work mostly through the endocrine system. The endocrine system is responsible for stress response and management, and our hormone production and movement. Hormones are the body’s messengers responsible for regulating moods, growth, sex, sleep, energy, metabolism, stamina, and more. They move throughout the entire body and are involved in almost every bodily system, making them key players in all aspects of health and healthy functioning. Considering the snowball effects of stress and unbalanced hormones on health, beauty, and aging, it is easy to see why adaptogens have a long history of traditionally being used as longevity herbs that promote overall health, improved immunity, beauty, and well-being.  

Five Common Adaptogens: 

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) 

  • Ayurvedic herb with the name meaning “smell of a horse” because it imparts strength and vitality 
  • Traditionally used for energy, stamina, and coping with stress, as well as for helping with sleep issues 
  • Also used as a restorative after illness or trauma, or for failure to thrive (children) 
  • Used to benefit cognition and focus, lower blood sugar levels, and reduce cortisol 
  • Also used to help with anxiety and depression 
  • Capsules 
  • Extract 
  • Powder 

Schisandra (Also spelled Schizandra) (Schisandra chinensis) 

  • Has all five flavors: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and pungent (TCM) 
  • Known to be a powerful adaptogen (stress and energy) 
  • Used for liver protection and to tonify heart, lungs, and kidneys 
  • Traditionally used for blood cleansing and nourishing and in blends for longevity and beauty  
  • Although you can find capsules, schisandra is an herb best tasted when taken because of its unique 5 flavors aspect. 
  • Powder 
  • Extract 

Eleuthero, often called Siberian Ginseng (Eleuthero senticosus) 

  • Used by athletes and students in Russia and China as a powerful adaptogen for stress management 
  • Known to fight fatigue and improves cognition 
  • It has anti-inflammatory activities and boosts immunity 
  • Powder  
  • Extract 
  • Eleuthero can also be found in many blends in extract and capsule forms.  

Tulsi, also called Holy Basil, (Ocimum sanctum)

  • Known to be calming to the nervous system and healing to digestive and respiratory systems 
  • Also traditionally used to protect the cardiovascular system 
  • Considered a potent anti-inflammatory and anti-aging and to prevent hypoglycemia and migraines 
  • Can lower cholesterol levels and repair skin damage and eases fevers 
  • Tulsi makes a delightful tea and can be found in various tea blends, such as this chai, which is a fantastic way to take it.  
  • Extract  

Rhodiola (Rhodiola rosea) 

  • Used for centuries in TCM, Russia, and Scandinavia, and recently has become popular in the U.S. and Canada 
  • In the Soviet Union it was used to support Olympic athletes and cosmonauts because of its reputation for boosting stamina and supporting both mental and physical performance 
  • Rhodiola is often found in blends focused on brain health and performance 
  • Powder 
  • Extract 

How to take adaptogens 

In general, adaptogens act slowly and deeply, therefore they are to be taken over a long period of time. It is almost always best to taste herbs, so capsules are the least recommended way to take them, but it’s better to take capsules than none at all. The other reason capsules generally aren’t the best option is because they take a bit of effort through the digestive tract, and knowingly or not, most people do not have optimal digestive systems, therefore, extracts, teas, and powder delivery are generally preferable. Expect to notice changes gradually, 6-8 weeks after the start of adding them to your daily regimen. It’s a good idea to use different adaptogens over time, so starting with one herb or a specific blend for 2-3 months, then moving on to a different one is ideal. They can be found in pill, tea, powdered, and extract form, and it’s always best to follow the directions on the bottles or your natural health practitioner’s guidelines. Personally, my favorite way to take them is to make blends of the powdered herbs and add them to my morning protein smoothies. There are also extracts of blends, such as this adapt care blend, or this bundle of simples in extract form. 

Summary 

To recap, adaptogens can benefit the following: 

  • Anti-aging 
  • Beauty 
  • Brain function 
  • Energy 
  • Growth 
  • Metabolism 
  • Mood stabilizing 
  • Sleep 
  • Stamina 
  • Stress management 
  • Sex function/desire 
  • Weight management 
  • And More… 
  • Adaptogens affect all these aspects of life, and more, to varying degrees, depending on the specific herb. 
  • Herbs with adaptogenic properties have affinities for certain parts of the body or bodily systems, but all have key actions through the endocrine system. 
  • To be considered an adaptogen, an herb must be at low risk for causing harm, meaning most people can take them without risk of negative side effects. (Always discuss with a health professional, especially if you routinely take pharmaceuticals as herbs and pharmaceuticals can interact in unwanted ways.) 

References 

As a reminder, I’m an affiliate with Mountain Rose Herbs and recently became an Amazon affiliatiate, but all statements and opinions are my own. 

Optimal health to you and yours! ✨ 

A New Leaf

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You may have noticed that I have recently changed the name of this website. I needed a new name to represent more of what I want to share right now, so Blossom Herbs has now become Blossom Roots. The focus will remain on the traditional uses of herbs, natural foods and products, and sustainable food systems. Replacing the word ‘herbs’ with ‘roots’ better represents my perspective and reason for showing up here right now. Herbs are still the main vehicle for exploring our shared humanity and evolution with the plants and peoples of this planet, but it’s the shared humanity and evolution themselves that motivate me to write and create videos and classes. Like herbs, I’m interested in balance, and right now our world is mightily imbalanced in a way where nature is forgotten, traditional knowledge is ignored, and people are estranged from one another both in global contexts as well as in personal lives. We are social creatures and our shared humanity as earthlings born of this lush, fragrant, magical planet is being, purposefully or not, shredded into sides, algorithms, deception, and manipulation. Perhaps counterintuitively, we can take back our autonomy by leaning into communities, creating connections that foster authenticity, feedback, and hopefully, shared food. We cannot move backwards in time but we can bring the best of the past with us forward into the future, that is, unless we completely lose our connection to the past. We have choices, every single day, to choose between creating the world we want to live in and gift to the following generations, or choose merely to survive in a world that isn’t supportive to us or our values. We get to choose. What do you choose?

I choose beauty, authenticity, community, and eternal growth. I’m happy you are here.🌷🌿✨

Rose Petal Beads DIY

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Dried rose petals

I’ve wanted to make beads from rose petals for years but for one reason or another, I just never got around to it. Now seemed like the right time to fulfill my hankering for this particular craft after I recently read a blurb about Canadian scientists publishing research linking heart health and mental/emotional wellness. This news reminded me of the organization, Heartmath, which has been studying this very concept for years, with guidelines, apps, and products of its own. The connection between the heart and emotions has long been intuitively understood, with hearts being the most recognizable and universal symbol of love in the world, and anyone who has suffered a break-up or loss can attest to the very real chest pain that ensues. Just as there is a connection between the gut and mental and emotional health, the same is true for the heart, as the Ottawa Heart Institute has recently scientifically confirmed.

What does this have to do with rose petal beads?

Roses are not only the romantics of the plant world, they also have a long history of being traditionally connected to heart health, overall cardiovascular health, supporting aging, and emotional support especially concerning grief and depression. There are traditional uses beyond health that focus on connecting the earthly to the ethereal, most often seen in religious contexts. In the ancient days of gods and goddesses, rose garlands were often put on goddesses’ statues to honor them. In A.D. times, when Mary, Jesus’ mother, took the place of the former goddesses, her statues were the ones graced with rose garlands. These garlands eventually turned into prayer beads which have been part of religious practices since at least ancient Buddhism and Hinduism, but in the Catholic church they are known as a rosary. The rose petal rosaries are therefore the most common use of rose petal beads, but they can and are used in other forms of jewelry and crafts.

How to:

Starting with fresh rose petals is ideal, and if you can gather them in the morning they’ll retain the most scent. I only have dried rose petals right now so that’s what I’m using. To start with dry petals, rehydrate them by soaking them in water for about an hour. Next, drain them, then add them to a blender with a small amount of water to make a paste. I’m starting with 2 cups of petals, and will add 1/4 cup of water at a time. Fresh petals do not need to soak, only rinsed, then put them into the blender with the same proportions of 2 cups petals to 1/4 cup water to start. Add more water as necessary to make a paste. (The traditional method is to use a mortar and pestle instead of an electric blender, but I’ve never been proficient with that particular tool myself. Feel free to get your arm workout in though if that suits you better!)

Step 2

After the mixture is a paste-y consistency, warm it up on the stove to get some of the excess water out. This is also a good time to work the mixture with a wooden spoon a bit more, and if using cast iron, the mixture resulting beads will turn out darker than any other pot or pan material. The goal is just to get excess moisture to evaporate, not to cook the roses at all because then the scent will dissipate before making it into the finished product, which would be quite a shame.

Step 3

Let the mixture cool a few minutes in order to be able to handle holding small amounts and rolling into balls. Keep in mind that the balls will shrink as they dry, so aim to make them twice as big as you actually want them to be when they are finished. If you are planning on threading them, it’s important to go ahead and create a hole by poking through a needle. Since the balls shrink, so will the holes, so making a bigger hole than you expect to need is important, and you can even dry them with needles or thread stuck through them to prevent the holes from closing. While the beads dry, be sure to rotate them around the string or needle to keep them from melding together.

Step 4

Place them on a towel to dry in a place where they can remain for about a week, depending on how much water you were able to get out during the warming on the stove step. Be sure to turn them a couple of times every day so they dry evenly and without flat spots.

That’s it!

Now you can make them into earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rosaries or other prayer beads, or anything else that you want to do with them. Some other home ideas would be to string together a small number of them to place into drawers for scenting, keep some around for adding to ribbons around gifts, or place them in bowls to set out to subtly scent rooms. Let me know what you make if you try this! (My beads are still drying so I’ll update this post with pictures once they are completely dry and ready to use.)

Last Thoughts

Mother’s Day is approaching so it just might be the perfect time to create something unique with rose petals, or if you are getting married soon or have bouquet for another reason, a beautiful way to keep those flowers around forever is to make beads from them. Scent, after all, has the most direct route to the memory part of the brain so that would be such a lovely way to spark memories of a special day.

May your spring be full of flowers and your days sweetly scented🌹.

**I am affiliated with Mountain Rose Herbs and could earn a small commission on links to MRH. This does not affect what I share or promote.**

Roots and Blooms

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Cherry Blossoms in full bloom

Spring is springing in spurts and gusts as it tends to do in late March. It’s hard not to marvel at the small blooms that not only hold on through the rains and winds, but even seem to thrive on brittle branches and in over damp soil. Spring brings promise, hope, and the kind of surprising beauty that is unbidden, so all the more delightful.

Disorientation

I wish I could say my spirit has been soaring along with the eagles and the heron I regularly see on my morning runs, but the truth is that I can’t shake the feeling of disorientation. The petals and colors of spring do lift me a bit, temporarily, but this moment we are living in is so strange, loathsome on many levels, and angering that it feels like our great big gorgeous earth has tipped over into its own shadow, and the future could go either way.

Honestly, I don’t see anyone thriving at this moment. It seems like everyone is in survival mode where energy is getting stuck in fear and anger, and as much as I try to avoid the trap of anger, I must admit that it’s been a valuable force in my runs lately. Anger is energy and creates adrenaline which feels good in ways, so it’s easy to see why some people get stuck in the trap of cultivating it. It can also trigger feelings of being ‘right’ and ‘better’ than others which creates dopamine, and thus a cycle of addiction. If you have ever found yourself jonesing to get on social media and spout ‘truth’ and argue with others, you have experienced this cycle first hand. I’m not saying anger isn’t warranted, but it’s not a creative force, and if we want a stake in creating the future, our own and/or the collective’s, we need to find a way out of anger and into energy that moves forward.

Moving Forward

It seems to me, that requires digging down and digging in. The blossoms that are surviving the spring winds and rains are rooted in soil and on trees that don’t fret and squander resources. In order to blossom, we too must tap into our roots, what we value, what adds to our life, the small and the big things that could be traditions or are unique specialties all of our own. A small thing for me for example, is when I cook a meal, I feel more like myself. It’s not always what I feel like doing, but when I do it, the satisfaction of the process and product feed me in a way that little else does. The act of creating is so important to feeling fulfilled as a human, that I really do think it’s an essential ingredient in turning survival mode into thriving.

Homemade pizzas
Roasting sweet potatoes, garlic, and leeks
Crust rising for the pizza.

In a further effort to root and bloom out of disorientation, I intend to start making herbal concoctions again now that I am teaching less spring quarter. Although there are many aspects about teaching English to immigrants and international students that I love, there is something deeply exhausting about it for me. Any time in my life that I’ve been teaching a lot of hours, my capacity for creativity has fallen dramatically. Teaching English demands creativity too, but in different ways, heady ways, whereas working with herbs is far more of a sensory experience. The intellectual brain is online, but instead of being a key player, it’s more of a supporting actor, which is where it’s most comfortable in my personal noggin. I haven’t decided what my first creation will be in this new season, but once I decide I will share it here and would love to hear how others are connecting to their creative sides during destructive times.

Cherry Blossoms

The blooms picture above, are cherry blossoms. In the Pacific Northwest, as well as in Japan and in many other places, some of the most famous spring buds are the cherry blossoms, which are not only beautiful, but they are also beautifying. Cherry blossoms are used in beauty products all over the world, such as in Stella McCartney’s Restore Cream which touts cherry blossom extract as its most important ingredient. In Japan, they are not only known as beautiful and beautifying, but also as edible. Cherry blossom tea and specialty foods such as candies, mochi, and preserved blossoms are made in Japan as well as cocktails with the blossoms. The University of Washington’s Seattle campus is a draw for cherry blossom lovers all over. You can watch the live cam of them here.

May your spring be full of all the best blooming 🌸🌿🌷.

Craftivism

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Sun rising through winter trees

This term, craftivism, first got my attention 5 to 10 years ago in the form of knitters and embroiders making political statements with their crafts. I think this movement has a bigger mission now, with people turning to crafting in large numbers to ease anxiety, experience flow, and simply create. Creating is such a fundamental aspect of being human, and the opportunities to be creative seem to dwindle each year unless one actively seeks them out. The digital world has brought us many positive aspects, but the more it takes over our days, hours, and lives, the less time we have to create in the physical world around us, and it’s taking a toll.  

Not surprisingly, the Millennials are leading the crafting boom as that generation seems to echo the cycle of the 60s. In the 1960s there was a crafting boom among those in the counter-culture movement to the dominant mass-market thought. It’s also not surprising that the 1950s, the decade when every house had a TV and commercialism and conformity reigned supreme, were then followed by the 1960s with the back to nature movement, homesteaders, and crafters. We’ve now had over a decade of social media with its copycat culture and aspirational nature that has left people wanting something real, something authentic, something that is unique and created by their own hands and informed by their own aesthetic and intuition. We humans crave community, but we also need individuality, and crafting is a small way to get in touch with the parts of ourselves that hold our originality and authenticity.  

Art changes the world, as well as reflects it, and we have a desire to contribute to the world around us. I think it’s taken longer for social media to create the backlash that TV did because TV is completely passive while social media gives a sense of creativity to users. To be fair, some people are indeed creative on the platforms, but most of the time it’s used to scroll through or post imitations of what has already been around thousands of times. There is also the back and forth, so community is mimicked, but it doesn’t have the same fulfilling quality as true community. Having real community, where it’s deeply satisfying to be with one another and exchange thoughts and feelings, embrace challenges and help each other out as we walk and work and play beside each other and with each other through all the ups and downs of life, that’s where real community lies and what our ancient bodies, slowly evolving brains, and connected hearts truly crave. 

In that effort, I’ve seen crafting clubs, maker spaces, and dinner clubs spring up and I love the idea of all those. It gives me hope to see people getting together around making crafts, food, and art instead of participating in the division culture of our time. Bringing people together who might have different beliefs, religions, food choices, perspectives on the world, was a no-brainer not so long ago. Now we live in such divided times where everyone lives within their own curated algorithm, and there seems to be little effort or ability to connect over those digitally mandated lines. Let’s create together once again, and focus on building, connecting, and experiencing fulfilling relationships through community and partnerships. We can honor our individuality and what we uniquely have to offer at the same time as fostering unity. That would be the biggest craftivism rebellion of all, if we all took back our autonomy and creative natures and used them for connection and unity, and it speaks to the smallest actions leading to the biggest changes, because of course they do.  

What do you want to create? 

Happy week of the Lunar New Year🔥🐴! May the Fire Horse brighten our futures and our paths✨. 

Solstice, the Holidays, and Beyond 2025

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Juanita Bay

I intended to write yesterday, on Solstice, but as is way too common during the holidays, I ended up fluttering around all day, attempting much and accomplishing little. The busyness and consumerism of this time of year gets to me every single holiday season, and I always envision quiet, simple Decembers full of crafting with evergreen branches and candles, exchanging simple gifts of food, plants, DIYs, and books, and allowing the false hubbub to simply flow around our quiet home while we contemplate firelight. I have yet to create this ideal December, but I intend to, one year, perhaps when I no longer check email daily or need to drive anywhere and fight the crowds heading to shopping centers.  

Simplicity, community, and authenticity call to me more than ever this time of year, maybe because the opposite is so militantly pervasive. I suppose one could argue that the holidays create more community time than other times of the year with people getting together to celebrate, but so much of the buildup to big days are isolating, and generally it’s women doing the majority of the labor. We can all choose at what level we want to participate in the bows and whistles of the season, to a certain extent, but we are community creatures, and it is hard to resist the priorities of those all around us and not mistake them for our own.  

Earlier this month I read Alice Water’s We Are What We Eat: A Slow Food Manifesto, and every word resonated so deeply. The Slow Food Movement encompasses not just how we eat, but also how we think about our world and how we live in it. The book was a warm reminder that there are many of us who want to shape a different reality where the main value resides in quality instead of quantity. If you feel alone in trying to implement sustaining values in your life and in the world, I hope you know, you aren’t alone. The unsustainable drive to want more, at the cheapest prices, as quickly as possible, needs to be challenged.  

This all has me thinking about how we collectively move forward, because the only direction we have to go is toward the future, whether that creates feelings of excitement or dread. Humans have a story-line, and we each choose what to bring with us, what to learn from, and what needs to stay in the past. Things are moving so fast that I understand the need to look at the past and try to recreate it, but that has never worked, and it won’t now. Blindly trying to mimic the past means recreating the past mistakes. Instead, we can intentionally bring the best with us and adapt it to the present moment. Personally, my intention for next year is to craft and cook more, create more communities in my life and others’, and to get clearer on how to follow my own compass and resist the busyness and consumerism that would happily devour us all. 

By the way, it’s probably obvious, but these words are written solely by me, not AI. In fact, the built in WordPress AI has underlined words in this piece that it thinks are too complicated for readers, which is ridiculous and depressing because what if everyone starts following those suggestions and writing gets dumbed down and people lose their ability to read words like ‘forward’ and ‘present? Those are seriously two of the words that are underlined by AI. I do not know how to turn off the AI suggestions that are automatically on here now, so if anyone wants to give me a tech lesson, I would love to hear your expertise! (Expertise is now underlined too. 🙄) 

Happy Holidays! I wish for you peace, joy, health, and fulfillment in the final days of this year, and throughout 2026. See you there! 🌿✨

Herbal Book

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Book titled The Apothecary of Belonging

The Apothecary of Belonging by Alexis J. Cunningfolk is a recently published book which I was lucky enough to receive from the publisher to get the word out about it. I was honestly a little shocked when I read the summary of it because it sounded so similar to writing projects I had in the works myself, so I knew this author and I must be on the same page and was excited to read it. From the very first moment I took the book out of the envelope and held it in my hands, I knew we were indeed on the same mission in life, weaving herbs and community together to heal, beautify, and unite. The foundational value system of this book is community and, as the title suggests, belonging. It is delightful in its vintage and artistic touches throughout, and it provides sound herbal knowledge that is both accessible to beginners and affirming to anyone further along their herbal journey. The balance of both charm and depth is reminiscent of herbs themselves, which delight our senses while also providing deep multi-layered healing.

Inner lining of the book
Artistic drawing of roses

It encompasses much more than herbs, incorporating mindfulness, movement, and community rituals which all support the main idea of healing through balance and belonging. Herbalism itself is all about balance, and this book embodies that truth by leading each season with grounding words before moving into more specific herbs and how they can support individuals through those seasons. The physicality of the book may have a vintage appeal, but the words themselves are visionary and aimed at creating a cohesive, community-based future that looks to the past to bring the best of our human history forward and beyond. The overall feel of it is both cozy and thought provoking, hopeful, and action oriented. 

There is talk of magic along with the historical, traditional, and scientific aspects of the herbs, so it is better suited for those with an openness to the powers of nature that are not fully explainable. If you are looking for an herbal book that sticks to the scientific components, there are more compatible books out there. For those who would like an herbal that touches on all aspects of herbalism, including the esoteric, this book would be an excellent addition to your library or to gift to budding nature lovers everywhere.

Fall and winter are such great seasons for making a dent in ‘to read’ lists. So tell me, what are you currently reading or are planning to read during this quieter time of year?

Release Day

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Just a quick note before I head off to campus for work that today is the release day of my book in French. I love the French language and this just makes me so happy to see! Here it is on the publisher’s site. It looks like it’s coming to Amazon but I don’t know when. I need to reach out to the publisher and get one myself! Unless I can order it through an independent bookstore which would be ideal.

Enjoy your day!

Thirty a Week and Ultra-processed Foods

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There are two trends in healthy eating right now that complement each other nicely. The first is Thirty a Week, with the focus on eating at least 30 different plant foods each week, to enhance the microbiome.  

Why has this become a thing?  

Eating a variety of different plant foods means you are giving your microbiome plenty of prebiotics which are essential for helping the good bugs in the gut to prosper and win over the bad bugs, or too few bugs.  

How to do it:  

Thirty means thirty different plant foods, which can include many categories of food besides the obvious fruits and vegetables. It includes herbs, whole grains, nuts, legumes, and even dark chocolate, coffee, and more. The main point to observe is that if you eat a certain food, such as a Honeycrisp apple, every day at lunch for 5 days in a row, that only counts as 1 of the 30. If instead you eat a different kind of fruit every day at lunch for 5 days straight, then you have 5 out of the 30. There are apps out there to track how many plant foods you eat, if that is your thing, but personally I already have more apps than I care to. For more ideas on how to achieve thirty a week, this linked article is a wonderful place to start.  

How it relates to minimizing ultra-processed foods:  

The Thirty a Week concept works well with trying to get away from ultra-processed foods because when focusing on getting real foods into our bodies, there are less opportunities to choose ultra-processed food. There is more awareness now that ultra-processed foods make up the majority of American diets, (55% is the latest number), and an even larger proportion of youths’ diets. Ultra-processed foods lack nutrition, contain questionable ingredients, are packed with excess sugar and salt, and are designed to make people crave foods and overeat. Ultra-processed foods are seen as one of the main reasons if not the number one reason that people are overweight, especially children, and yet unfortunately, they are everywhere.  

What exactly is ultra-processed food?  

Knowing what is ultra-processed as opposed to simply processed can be tricky. To understand what makes a food ‘ultra-processed’, I am copying this simple explanation from Stanford Medicine’s News Center:  

  • Unprocessed or minimally processed foods: Examples are fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, eggs, meat, poultry, pasta, plain yogurt, and coffee.  
  •  Processed culinary ingredients: These include sugar, honey, maple syrup, vegetable oils, butter, and vinegar.  
  •  Processed foods: Examples are salted nuts, cured meat, canned fish, canned vegetables, most cheeses and freshly made bread (such as from a local bakery).  
  • Ultra-processed foods: Examples are commercially produced breads, most breakfast cereals, flavored yogurts, hot dogs, frozen meals, potato chips, soft drinks, and candy bars.  

As you can see, unprocessed or minimally processed foods are mostly the foods that make up the Thirty a Week guideline.  

The upcoming change of seasons is as good a time as any to commit to healthier, smarter eating. Happy Equinox week! 🥣🌿 

EWG’s Dirty Dozen Updated

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Strawberry

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) puts out an updated list of the produce that contains the most toxins each year, as well as the produce that has the least. They test 47 types of produce and the ones that are contaminated with the most pesticides are called the ‘Dirty Dozen’ and the ones that are least contaminated are the ‘Clean Fifteen’.  

These lists are good references when making choices about when to spend more money on the organic version and when to save money by buying conventional produce when it is too expensive to buy all organic food.  

Dirty Dozen as of 2025:  

  1. Spinach 
  1. Strawberries 
  1. Kale, Collard, and Mustard Greens 
  1. Grapes 
  1. Peaches 
  1. Cherries 
  1. Nectarines 
  1. Pears 
  1. Apples 
  1. Blackberries 
  1. Blueberries 
  1. Potatoes 

Clean Fifteen as of 2025 

  1. Pineapples 
  1. Sweet Corn Fresh and Frozen 
  1. Avocados 
  1. Papaya 
  1. Onion 
  1. Sweet Peas (Frozen) 
  1. Asparagus 
  1. Cabbage 
  1. Watermelon 
  1. Cauliflower 
  1. Bananas 
  1. Mangoes 
  1. Carrots 
  1. Mushrooms 
  1. Kiwi 

I like knowing where it is most important to focus my organic-only dollars and appreciate that the EWG updates these lists yearly. It would be ideal if we did not need these lists at all, and maybe if you grow your own food, you don’t, but for the rest of us, the more we know, the better choices we can make.

Eat Well!🍓🍌🌿🍆✨

Herbal Inhalant

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My considerate colleague just got back from a trip to Thailand, and she brought us all back these individual herbal inhalant mixtures which is just so unique. It reminds me of old-fashioned smelling salts, although I have no idea what was in those or how they were made, but this is an herbal blend intended to be inhaled when in need of a decongestant. It is incredibly strong, so I imagine it would certainly bring someone back from a fainting spell though or at least help revive them when they start to come to. The ingredients are camphor, menthol, borneol, eucalyptus oil, and, surprisingly, bergamot. 

As soon as I experienced this little treasure, I knew I had to make a version myself! Mine are not perfect, but I wanted to use what I had on hand, so this is what I did for my first go at it.  

DIY:  

I have had a blend called EMC for many, many years, and I believe it is a fragrance oil instead of pure essential oils, which I do not recommend, but since I had it, I wanted to go ahead and use it. 

EMC stands for eucalyptus, menthol, and camphor, which is a common blend not only for inhalants but also for topical pain relief. I used some dried herbs and containers that I already had on hand as well. The herbs are astragalus, because I wanted something woody, rose buds for their soft porousness, and star anise. 

I filled the containers with the herbs, then dropped about 10-15 drops of the EMC blend right on them, allowing the liquid to penetrate the woody astragalus and soft rose buds.

https://youtube.com/shorts/yL5X0txDQkE?feature=share

The star anise was more to add a bit of its own scent, especially since star anise is traditionally used for immune boosting and other health benefits around cold, flu, and digestive issues.  

The Kentucky tin had peppermints in it at one point, and I have always wanted to use the tin again for something else. Since I will be visiting my family again soon in KY, I thought this would be a suitable time to reuse the container.  

I love how every culture has their own herbal traditions, just as every culture has their own culinary customs. What are some herbal traditions from around the world that you particularly like or find especially unique? 🌿 

Simple Summertime Hack

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Sunshine through trees

I realize we are heading toward fall here in the northern hemisphere, but where I live, we are experiencing a late heat wave so sunscreen is still on my mind. Also, it is my understanding that stinging bugs, like bees and wasps, start to get aggressive as summer winds down, so repelling insects remains more important than ever these days.  

Making your own bug repellent is easy and a great way to use all natural ingredients instead of toxic alternatives, but in a pinch it’s really easy to just add essential oils directly to sunscreen before rubbing the mix onto your body. The proportion should be about 2 drops of essential oil into about a tablespoon of sunscreen, with important precautions below.  

You can use just about any essential oil, though some essential oils are more effective than others, all have some repelling qualities to them. Just do not use any citrus oils, meaning orange, lemon, lime, bergamot, grapefruit, or any others that I might be missing. This is because citrus oils attract the sun and can cause hyperpigmentation, which undermines sunscreen. Also be aware that even though peppermint is particularly repelling to bugs, only use one drop in approximately a tablespoon of sunscreen because it is strong and can be irritating to skin. Other essential oils known for being excellent insect repellents are thyme, lemon eucalyptus (not a citrus), citronella, and all of the mints.  

I love Mountain Rose Herbs and have been buying herbs, essential oils, and related supplies for well over two decades, so I am thrilled to partner with them as an affiliate. Not only are they a reputable company with quality products, but they also sponsor my favorite public radio station, KEXP, which has increased my respect for them even more. When you find a company, organization, person, station, etc, that you just resonate with so fully, it’s just such a pleasure to share them with the world. I think these current chaotic times have just made me especially grateful for the like-minded people and organizations out there.

Here’s my short video on the hack that I put on social media:

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Happy late summer! ☀️ 

Celebrating Sustainability

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In a world that is increasingly focused on technology and AI, it’s such a treat to celebrate local foods and sustainable living in a county-wide, community setting. The county where I live, King County, named for Martin Luther King Jr. and home to Seattle as well as the surrounding area, hosts a free festival, Chomp!, every summer at a much-loved county park. All the vendors and booths that are there are focused on sustainability in one way or another, whether it’s a restaurant focused on fresh, local, seasonable foods or a booth for upcycled clothing, kids’ activities, twists on traditional fair attractions, and more, they all have the same base values. They also have live music throughout the day, and I was most excited about seeing Kim Deal, of Pixies and the Breeders fame and her band did not disappoint. Her new album partially reflects on her time as caregiver to her parents, one of whom had Alzheimer’s for twenty years, while still managing to transport listeners with her signature, ethereal voice and musical rhythms that play with quiet, voice on wind moments next to big, banging, all-out rocking beats. 

I loved the whole festival, but most of all I love that King County holds this every year. It reminded me that there are others who truly value sustainability and that all is not yet lost. Even Kim Deal, during her set, kept remarking how cool the festival was and how lucky we must all feel, and I had to heartily agree! I can’t say that I’m often praising the government these days nor feeling overly optimistic, but as far as King County goes, I’m extremely impressed with their priorities and values. I wanted to share this so other people can also be encouraged, as I was, that there are still people, communities, and even some leaders in charge who care about sustainability. 🌿 ️

Kim Deal performing on stage with her band.

Happy late summer ☀

Late Summer

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How is it already moving toward fall? I have been seeing ‘Back to School’ promos all over and it seems like this summer has not even gotten started! The mid-August to mid-September time of year has been my favorite in recent years, so I am not really complaining, although the speed of time passing does unnerve me as we seem to be getting collectively busier and busier.

Part of the reason this summer has particularly been a blur is that I’ve been teaching at a new college four days a week, which means a new campus, new procedures, new course material, new students, and new workplace culture dynamics. I’ve also been teaching my first fully remote class with the college that I normally teach at, which has also meant a learning curve with unforeseen challenges. Now that both of those classes are past their zenith and will be over by the end of August, I’m more than ready to turn my attention to some herbal crafting to prep for the fall.

Mountain Rose Herbs is having a 20% flash sale. I'm using this as my signal to slow down and honor the late summer to early fall season with some herbal crafting.
Campus

Lucky for me (and you!) Mountain Rose Herbs is having a rare sitewide sale where everything is 20% off. I’m an affiliate so they made sure that I knew about it in order to share this information with you and I’m so glad that they did because it would have passed me by without my even noticing in the swirl of information that is modern life.

Here are a few things on my list: I’ve been interested in the “hair and body perfume sprays” that I’ve been seeing more and more often lately, and I’d like to try to make my own. From what I can tell, it looks like a lighter perfume than one that is just intended for the pulse points on the body, so I am planning on using a combination of witch hazel and vanilla infused vodka (otherwise known as vanilla extract) which I need to make. I’ll add the essential oils that fit my mood when the vanilla extract is ready, but since that will be occurring in mid fall, I already know it will include sandalwood and nutmeg (just a drop or two!).

I also want to look at gathering a few stocking stuffers, such as these little ceramic diffusers because there is always another corner or car that needs a diffuser.

I have more things I’ll be looking at when I’m home from work, but right now I need to get dressed to get to campus. I just wanted to share this as soon as possible because the sale will be over tomorrow, August 7th, at 11:59 PM PST.

Here are their details: The code is ORGANIC20 and is valid for 20% OFF ALL regularly priced items.

*Offer expires 8/7/2025 at 23:59, PST. Cannot be combined with other discounts or offers, including wholesale pricing or loyalty point redemptions. We are unable to apply this to previously placed orders. Valid online and at our physical retail locations. While supplies last.

Happy mid August! I hope you are having a great summer and are also looking forward to the cooler weather of fall. ✨🌿☀️

Stress Management with Teas

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Traditional Medicinals Teas

Summer season brings to mind frolicking in the sun, days at the beach, vacations, staycations, and…stress…? This year is bringing about more stress than usual if you are remotely paying attention to world events, and I for one am not finding my usual summertime easy cadence. I was just starting to acknowledge this fact to myself and consider if I needed to add some adaptogens or nervines to my daily herbal routine, when I happened to get an email from Traditional Medicinals asking if I would be interested in trying one of their teas, including one for stress. I happily agreed to the stress related one because that tea features skullcap, an herb that is somewhat hard to find in teas and supplements. Skullcap is one of those herbs that other plants can be mistaken for, so it tends to be avoided in formulations, but it has a somewhat unique traditional use as an herb that can calm repeating thoughts. It is a nervine that is generally used for calming purposes, and it can provide added support for those who tend to lie down at night and suddenly get hit with circular thoughts, or those who have OCD related patterns of thinking. (It’s obviously not a cure for anything and if circular or repeating thoughts is a problem for you, please talk to a medical professional about it.)

The tea with skullcap is Stress Ease Tension Relief and has other supportive herbs in it that combine in a pleasant, lightly minty taste. If you drink from a big mug like I tend to do, two tea bags at a time gives a stronger taste and more of a calming feel.

Stress Ease with Skullcap
Organic ingredients

They sent me two other teas in their Stress Ease line which I wasn’t expecting but already I’m taking one of them, Stress Ease Focus, with me to work everyday. It’s a flavor profile I would not have normally bought for myself because I don’t like fruity teas and this one includes apple, but it does not taste fruity at all. It tastes lightly minty and pleasant and I really appreciate the ginseng in this formula for focus and non-caffeinated energy support. It’s actually the adaptogen I was considering adding to my routine before I received these teas so it seems the universe agreed that it’s just what I needed! I like two teabags of this Focus tea as well because my travel mug is large and a stronger taste suits me.

I have to say that I am really impressed with these teas. If you know their legendary herbal tea, Smooth Move, then you know how long this company has been around. When I worked at a natural foods store over 25 years ago, Smooth Move was our best selling tea by far, and I asked Traditional Medicinals if it is still a best selling tea and they confirmed that it is. I see that they now even have capsules of it as well as a couple of different blends, so if you have issues with occasional constipation, you probably already buy this tea, but if not, you might want to have it on hand. One nice thing about tea packets is you can slip a few into your luggage when traveling or stash them in your desk at work and they don’t take up too much room.

Another thing I like about these teas is that all the ingredients, at least in the teas that they sent me, are all certified organic. That is truly rare and is a testament to not only their values but also shows they are a reputable company that has been around a long time. When it comes to herbs, that really is something to keep in mind when making buying choices.

I’ll be leaning on these teas and other stress reduction techniques for the remainder of the summer and beyond. Honestly, in today’s world, it takes a lot to achieve a balanced sense of well-being so do what you can to prioritize finding yours. The world needs you.

Stay well and let me know if you try any Traditional Medicinals Teas.☀️🌿✨

Quoi?! and Connection

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I just had to share that quite by accident I found out that my book is being translated into French! It looks like it will be available in October. Here’s the link if you want to see the French version on Amazon. This news just delighted me to no end and I hope to see it published in other languages as well.

In other news, I have become a subscriber to Tangle. I highly recommend checking it out, especially if you are in America and have relationships that are struggling due to political differences. It is a free newsletter, although there is also a paid version that is ad free, that takes a news item and gives a short synopsis of how the right and the left are presenting the event or situation. It then gives the founder’s take which sifts through the propaganda of both sides and drills down on key facts and his critical analysis. It is a rare gem in that it offers journalistic integrity that somehow manages to reach both sides of the political divide with an avid readership that spans the spectrum. Here is a link to yesterday’s newsletter.

I found out about Tangle through an episode on This American Life back before the November election. At the time I was too tired of the election coverage to look into it myself, but it stayed with me and I finally looked it up and am pleasantly pleased with what I found. If you are interested in hearing about it through great storytelling, check out the episode. You won’t regret it.

I hope you too have some unexpected, great news this week and that hope and connection find you, support you, and hold you tight.

I’m an Amazon affiliate.

Shingles Vaccine Shown to Reduce Risk of Dementia

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Rainbow on a dark, stormy day

I am not sure how big in the news this has been recently because I only heard it once and in passing, so I thought I’d share it here in case anyone missed it. Researchers have been studying the link between having shingles and then later developing dementia for a few years. Their findings consistently showed a link between the two conditions, but parsing out the lifestyle differences was always an issue. They managed to study a population and create a scenario that was akin to a randomized trial where they rolled out the vaccine in Wales in a very controlled way. Only 79 year old people were given the vaccine each year, while the people who were already 80 and older never received it. These groups of people were completely alike in every way, yet those who got the vaccine were 20% less likely to later develop dementia. Women showed an even greater protective result. I got this information from the Stanford Medicine News Center which is a well written, easy to read article. The original findings were published in Nature.

The reason that having shingles leads to a greater chance of developing dementia is unclear, but might have to do with the virus itself, or how it weakens certain key elements in the body’s functioning.

Peace and Protection 💜🌱✨

Brain Health Info

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I’ve watched a few of these episodes in this Better Brain Blueprint docuseries, not all, as they are released one per day. This one (linked below) on inflammation is quite informative. We all hear how inflammation is bad, but this actually explains what is happening when we live with chronic inflammation.

Click on this link for the episode: Episode 7: Your Brain on Fire

I’m not affiliated with this in any way, I just wanted to share in case it helps someone.

Easy Roasted Artichoke Hearts Recipe

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Artichoke Hearts with Garlic Sauce

My friend and I like to go to a Spanish tapas restaurant and order their Artichoke Fritters with Serrano Aioli along with sangria. We always do this after a nice long walk, so the food tastes especially good. More than once we’ve finished our shared appetizer and ordered a repeat!

I really wanted to make something similar at home, so I started to search for frozen artichoke hearts, which are surprisinly hard to find. I eventually found some at Whole Foods, but they are not kept in stock all of the time, so when I see them, I grab several bags.

My attempt to replicate the artichoke fritters was a failure. The breading wasn’t the same without the frying technique that the restaurant uses. I decided to just roast the artichokes without breading, and instead just add olive oil, seasoning salts, and some fresh ground pepper, to see how they’d turn out. They turned out fabulously.

It’s so easy to do and artichokes go well with just about any protein you want to add to them. They work well on salad, in wraps, on pizza, or can just be dipped into an aioli or a tzatziki, garlic, or tahini sauce.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

Frozen artichoke hearts

Olive oil

Seasoning Salt

Ground Pepper

Whole garlic cloves (optional)

Preheat oven to 400. Pour olive oil on the still frozen artichoke hearts (and whole cloves of garlic if using) on a pan with parchment paper. Sprinkle seasoning salts and grind pepper on top. Cook for 20 minutes, then flip the hearts over. Cook for another 15-20 minutes.

Quick Video

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Since I am usually just cooking for myself, quick, easy recipes that are still healthy are my favorites right now. I hope you enjoy the idea and it sparks some creative cooking for you.

Happy almost Valentine’s Day!

You are What You Consume

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Most of us know about the Super Size Me documentary. In it, Morgan Spurlock ate McDonald’s for a month and shared his physical and mental decline during this period. Dr Chris van Tulleken conducted a similar experiment using ultra-processed food instead of fast food. He documented his health and well-being over a month when he ate a diet composed of 80% junk food in order to draw attention to the heavily processed food that children in the UK are routinely fed. This can be seen in the BBC Documentary, What are We Feeding our Kids?. What strikes me most about these two experiments is the fact that these people experienced such negative results in just a matter of a few weeks. It does not take long to create significant imbalances in the body.

Whether fast food or junk food, both of these men experienced physical and mental symptoms including weight gain, fatigue, addiction to food, erectile dysfunction, depression, and more. Luckily both were capable of reversing those symptoms once they switched back to a healthy diet. It’s so easy to go through our busy days without thinking about how our food affects us, but it clearly has a fundamental impact on our mind, body, and emotions.

Mind vs. Reality

Everyone thinks they have a healthy diet. Seriously, ask anyone and they will say that yes, they eat healthily. But the truth is we all have a tendency to go with the flow, and ‘the flow’ has been toward ultra-processed, fast and easy foods. It’s understandable. We are busier and more distracted than ever. We lack the time to even think about the food we eat, much less cook it from scratch. Most first world countries are indeed experiencing a longer life expectancy, but America is in fact, getting less healthy.

Consumption Beyond Food

These experiments have been on mind lately for a different reason than the connection between food and health though. I’ve been thinking about how fast it is to take a healthy body and make it unhealthy. It took less than a month for those two men to have serious consequences from their unhealthy diets. What about our minds? Can an intelligent person become less intelligent in a similar amount of short time due to what they consume?

For example, if we take a person with average intelligence, and give them books, time to process information, classes with instructors who mentor them, work that builds cognitive thinking skills, and discussions that encourage using them, won’t that person get smarter? If we take that same person of average intelligence and fill their days with social media, entertainment disguised as news, podcasts and articles that simplify issues and play on emotions and implicit bias, won’t that person lose intelligence? I’m just asking questions, but when I look around, these seem like reasonable questions.

Personal Responsibility

Some people might take issue with my saying that we gain or lose intelligence, and perhaps I should say cognitive thinking skills instead. I use the word intelligence though because it seems like the right word. We are not guaranteed health, just because we were born healthy. We have to support our health through what we eat, how we move our bodies, prioritizing sleep, hygiene, and more. I think it is the same with intelligence. We are not guaranteed to keep our intelligence just because we made decent grades in school or have a certain career. We have to support it, continue to be aware of what we are consuming, when our emotions are being played upon, and when we are goaded into thinking that aligns with our implicit biases.

I’m trying to stay hopeful about the state of the world. It seems to me that if we can collectively use less social media, respect the integrity of journalism, build communities in real life, and have a growth mindset, we might be able to survive, and perhaps even evolve.

Again, I’m just asking questions. I would love to hear what your thought and opinions are about the state of the world. So tell me, what do you think?

Wishing you days of fulfillment, and rejuvenating nights 🌱🍓🍜🫖💜

Boost Brain Health with Essential Oils: A New Study

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Plug in diffuser, candle diffuser, and essential oil

Want an easy, pleasing way to increase your health and longevity in the new year? Something that doesn’t feel like deprivation but is instead adding aesthetically pleasing components to your life? Or maybe you have a parent or loved one who is getting toward the 60+ range, who is starting to take brain health more seriously. This is for them, and YOU.

I heard about this study in the news a few times this year, and I intended to look further at the study but always got distracted when I sat down to do so. I finally looked into it and, wow, it’s a good one. It is rare to have a scientific standard study involving natural ingredients, but one was carried out recently involving ‘odorants’ and aging brains, and the results were statistically significant!

The Study

If you want to read the entire article on the study, here it is. I actually found it by way of another article which I will link to here also because it is a good one as well. I will try to give you the biggest takeaways here in a short summary:

There was a study involving adults ages 60-85 who were instructed to put essential oils into a diffuser for two hours at night when they went to bed. There was a control group that did the same actions, but the ‘essential oils’ were just a highly diluted, scant scent. The adults were given cognitive tests before and after the six month trial period, and the adults who used the essential oils had a significantly significant better outcome than the control group.

This study was undertaken because there has already been a recognized correlation between the sense of smell and brain health. The decline of the former foretells a decline in the latter. This has been shown not only related to dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other age-related decline, it has also been recognized in COVID patients who have lost their sense of smell. The article on this study says that even those with chronic sinus infections show declines in certain regions of the brain.

How to Use these Findings

If you want to emulate the study’s participants, you need a diffuser and seven unique essential oils. The diffuser needs to be the kind that can stay on for two hours, and then automatically shut off, such as this one from Mountain Rose Herbs. It is a plug in model that allows for 120 minutes of diffusing time, exactly what is needed. They used one essential oil per night, no blends, just one pure scent per evening. The novelty of a different scent each night was deemed important, as well as the fact that these were not blends. The essential oils used in the study were: eucalyptus, lavender, lemon, orange, peppermint, rose, and rosemary. The essential oils that they picked don’t seem to matter so please use whatever seven essential oils best suit you. Theirs were obtained from The Essential Oil Company, Portland, OR, but you can get essential oils from any natural foods store such as Whole Foods, or online at Mountain Rose Herbs, or Aura Cacia.

Recap

Each night, before you or your loved one goes to bed, put a few drops (the amount varies depending on the diffuser) of an essential oil in a diffuser. Turn it on its two hour setting, so it will automatically turn off after you are asleep. Then go to bed. That is it! Remember to use a different essential oil each night, and rest assured you are building up your brain while you sleep.

Other Takeaways

The original research article discusses other studies showing how using essential oils throughout the day benefits the brain. The larger truth found in that article is that we would all benefit from using more essential oils in our lives, whether it is at night, in the morning, or sometime in-between. Preferably multiple times in-between AND morning and night! There are so many factors that cause ill health, poor aging, diseases, and declines in all areas of our lives now, so it makes sense to counter some of those factors with what we know works. Essential oils have been proven to work.

If you need other ideas on how to incorporate more essential oils into your daily life, please use the search function on my website for ‘essential oils’, and take a look at my book, All Natural Perfume Making.

Personal Note

This post was written with my lovely, late friend, Lisa Garvey, in mind. This is exactly the kind of finding we would have excitedly talked about over drinks after a long day of working (and goofing off) together at Rainbow Blossom back in the late 90s. I miss you girl.

Happy New Year!

May 2025 be a year of exceptional health, growth, and peace.

Easy Salad Prep: A Time-Saving Hack for Healthy Eating

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Everyone seems to agree that salads made by other people are the best. Whether ordering one at a restaurant or picking one up in the deli section of a grocery store, there’s just something so satisfying about eating all that healthy, crunchy goodness without having to be the one to chop it all up and then see some of it potentially go bad in the fridge. I have had a particularly acute aversion to making salads, especially because I was the only one to really enjoy them in my house, so the prep and waste never felt worth it.

That is, until this summer when I figured out a hack that works for me to avoid waste and to condense the prep time to something more along the lines of soup which I gladly make. This came about through watching my Iranian friend make a similar salad every time we cooked together, and I realized I loved the simple base but wanted to add onto it as I ate through the leftovers for a few days. I thought I’d share, despite the fact we are entering into soup season and leaving salad season behind for now, in case this helps anyone else overcome their salad making block.

The problem for me has always been the fact that if I chopped up all the ingredients and put everything together in one big salad spinner to store for a few days, that the lettuce or mixed greens I used would inevitably wilt, and I’d get sick of eating the exact same salad every day. The simple hack I’ve found is to chop up cucumbers, tomatoes, part of a red onion, and a quarter of a green or red pepper, and store those separately with half a lime squeezed over them, as well as some olive oil and balsamic vinegar, seasoning salts, and some black pepper. That way, I can pull it out when I want and add it to some greens with any protein I have on hand for a salad, or use it in a wrap, with or without leafy greens.

It’s customizable so you can add in whatever salad fixings you like best, like radishes or carrots, or trade red onions for green, or leave out the pepper or double the cucumber ratio. Feta is a great choice to add in either while storing in the fridge or wait until serving, and I like to add fresh herbs to dishes once they are plated in a salad or wrap. Fresh basil leaves or cilantro work great with this base and are my favorites, but peppermint would be a good choice for summer roll inspired dishes.

Here’s my basic recipe for the base:

2 Persian Cucumbers or 1 regular cucumber

1 or 2 on-the-vine tomatoes

Chopped red onion to taste (I like about 3 heaping tablespoons)

1/4 of a green or red pepper

Half of a lime

Olive oil and balsamic vinegar to taste (I use about 1 tablespoon each)

Seasoning salts to taste (1 teaspoon is a good place to start)

Ground pepper

I love how this supports variety in my meals and it’s so much easier to do most of the prep work all at once so when it’s mealtime, there are healthy, easy options available because when I’m hungry, easy is an important factor. When I get home from teaching a three hour class with an hour of class prep beforehand and an hour of meeting time afterwards, the last thing I want to do is chop veggies for lunch. Having a choice that is already chopped and ready to just put in a wrap with some falafels and garlic sauce, or spoon on top of greens with some tuna, makes a huge difference.

Meals should be enjoyed stress-free so please let me know your favorite hacks for healthy eating in our time-crunched world.

Summer Cycles

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Stargazer lilies

Every summer I think it’ll be the year that my lilies stop blooming. They are always at least a good two weeks behind all the other lilies in the neighborhood, and I watch and wait and eventually resign myself to thinking that this will be the year that their blooms never quite blossom. Not only is it the neighborhood lilies that make me question my own, it is the fact that I get photo reminders in my email from years past, where I am confronted with proof that my own lilies were indeed blooming earlier in past years. They keep showing up though, late blooming beauties that remind me that patience is rewarded, and as slow as some things seem to be moving right now, time is indeed moving forward and what must bloom, blooms. In less than a month, they will serve reminders of another turn of time’s wheel.

We go through so many phases in life, repetitions that spiral us along our paths, experiences that seem different on the daily scale, until we step back and see how cyclical life is. Seasons and stages, milestones and disappointments, we treasure the highlights and manage, again and again, to somehow get through all of the challenges from irritants to miseries.

I’ve been thinking a lot about life cycles and stages lately, mostly about perimenopause and menopause, firstly because I read a novel about a women going through perimenopause and interviewing other women about their experiences with both perimenopause and menopause and it was fascinating. The second reason why it’s been on my mind is that at 49, I must assume that I too am in perimenopause although I haven’t had any symptoms yet that others have noted, such as hot flashes, irregular cycles, or emotional/hormonal upheaval. I’ve been wondering though if I have experienced quieter symptoms without realizing it, just as puberty serves up so many changes that do not always get acknowledged as puberty’s influence. For example, at times I’ve wondered if my irritability at the crowded traffic or the construction in every direction around my home are really just calling cards of perimenopause, letting me know that my hormones are changing, my life stage is changing, and therefore I too need to make changes.

I want to honor these changes but I also intend to support myself through them with lifestyle choices and of course, herbs. The first herb I am taking is Vitex Berry, also known as Chaste Berry or simply Vitex, and it is the go-to traditional herb for supporting women’s cycles at all times of a female life, although not for use when pregnant or lactating. When I start to notice more changes and actually enter menopause, I will likely opt for a blend of herbs such as this daytime combination formula and this nighttime product. Even with herbal support, the fact that menopause is dubbed, “the change of life” is enough evidence to know that big changes are coming, and if puberty is the best reference for how it’s going to go, I think preparing in advance is the best option. One thing that is encouraging though, is I’ve read that women say their mental health is much improved after menopause because of the end of the hormonal ups and downs every month. I wonder if that is why so many older women have such even, serene demeanors…my guess is yes.

I love how herbs can support us throughout our lives, even when modern Western medicine shrugs its shoulders or offers invasive options with bad side effects. As I have often said here, I am all for making use of modern medicine and would not choose to go back in time when leeches were employed in medical procedures and surgeries were unmedicated, but when it comes to supporting life stages, it is so nice to have our herbal allies to rely on with their gentle offers of balance.

What new herbs are you experimenting with right now? I’d love to hear!

Anti-inflammatory Support for Active Lifestyles

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Gaia Herbs Extra Strength Turmeric Supreme

Gaia Herbs is my most trusted herbal supplement company, so I’m thrilled to say that I’ve entered into a partnership with them as an herbal ambassador. This means that they will send me products occasionally and I will be posting reels about some of them. The first product that I will be posting about is Extra Strength Turmeric Supreme which has been a daily staple of mine for many years.

Background

On the trail with my dog in the background

I started having pain in my feet, mainly my toes, after having babies, which is quite common due to the softening of ligaments during pregnancy. In fact, many women’s feet grow a half or even a full size during pregnancy! As a runner, I wasn’t going to just accept the pain so I visited a podiatrist who gave me a cortisone shot but said that it’d only help for a year and then I’d need another one. Right on cue, a year later the pain was back and I found myself in that same office, wondering if I’d have to be there every year for the rest of my days. That wasn’t an appealing thought, and luckily by then my pregnancy brain fog had worn off enough to allow for some clear thinking. I remembered that turmeric has a long reputation as an anti-inflammatory with an impressive amount of research to back up the traditional use literature. I started taking it right away, and have never been back to a podiatrist nor had any need for any more cortisone shots.

The Product

I didn’t start out with Gaia Herb’s Extra Strength Turmeric Supreme. I tried all the turmeric products I could find, but when I stumbled onto this one, with the black pepper included in the formula to help move the turmeric all the way out to the extremities, I was impressed… and hooked. It works incredibly well and in fact, it was the first herbal supplement I ever signed up for a subscription to have at all times, because there have been periods when I’ve run out and been lazy about getting more and I’ve felt the difference. No one has time for that! I’ve since added a couple of other Gaia Herbs products to my subscription, but it remains the only subscription I have to any herbal or supplement company.

Supplement Facts
Gaia Herbs Extra Strength Turmeric Supreme
Extra Strength Turmeric Supreme
Suggested Use

Gaia Herbs

With Gaia Herbs, you know the product contains the herbs that the outside of the bottle says it contains. Unfortunately, with herbal supplements, that’s not always the case, so I stick with a few companies that I trust, and Gaia Herbs grows many of their own herbs so they really know their plants. Their formulations are smart and thoughtful, using herbs synergistically together to create products that are potent and reliable. Their website has a ‘learn’ section so you can educate yourself about the herbs you are taking, safety precautions, and side effects (which, with herbs, are generally beneficial things.) Here’s a link to their turmeric information.

(West Coast Swing practice shoes on dance floor)

Side Effects as Added Benefits

What I mean by that is that herbs generally have a reputation for one main thing, such as ‘anti-inflammatory’ or ‘adaptogen’ or ‘anti-depressant’, and while that label is true, they also do more than just what they are known for. For example, St. John’s Wort is known pretty much only known for its reputation as an antidepressant, but it also has been traditionally used for its antiviral properties and it has long been used topically for aches and pains as well. While pharmaceuticals have lists of scary side effects, with herbs the side effects are usually things you want, such as improved digestion or enhances skin texture. You can see some of turmeric’s added benefits on Gaia Herbs’ page dedicated to turmeric.

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Longevity

It is widely known now that inflammation plays a huge role in how well, or not well, we age. Our modern lifestyles and western diets tend to promote inflammation, so it is up to us to thoughtfully counterbalance this fact with any way that we know how. Healthy food, moderate exercise, relaxation techniques such as meditation, and herbs such as turmeric can all help keep inflammation within healthy parameters. My own knees and feet do a lot for me, as I’ve been a runner for almost 35 years, do a lot of dance cardio, and recently started West Coast Swing Dancing, and I have no intention of giving up any of my beloved activities as I get older. This excellent turmeric supplement is my favorite way to support my active lifestyle.

Keep on moving

Conclusion

If you have any questions about Gaia Herbs, Extra Strength Turmeric Supreme, or turmeric in general, please let me know. I’m always happy to talk herbs with anyone, but if you want specific advise about a health issue, please find an herbalist through the AHG website or talk to a naturopath who knows about herbs. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook to see how my first ever reel turns out. I’m a little nervous since I’ve never used the reels tool on either platform, so if you have any suggestions for me, I’d love to hear them.

Cheers to health and longevity! 🥂🌱🌷

Summer Bug Repellent Reminder

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Shady lane on a sunny summer day

In the Northern Hemisphere, it’s that time of year again when longer hours are spent outdoors alongside our insect frenemies. We can’t live without them, but I think we’d all prefer to not be their snack nor their targets for taking out their buzzy ire. If you find yourself particularly tasty to mosquitos or simply irresistible to their more combative cousins, one way to shield yourself from the unwanted attention is to use essential oils. Bugs do not like essential oils, so you can make a body spray or body oil to use daily, or simply add a few drops into your sunscreen or lotion if you are in a hurry as I wrote in the post linked above. Here’s a recap of that post if you don’t feel like clicking through:

Instructions:

To make your sunscreen or body lotion into a bug repelling screen as well, all you need to do is squeeze about a tablespoon of sunscreen into your palm. Add 5 to 10 drops of essential oils into the sunscreen, mix it together, and then lather it on your body. This hack is for your neck down, not your face. Start on the lower end of that 5-10 range, so 5 or less drops of essential oils per tablespoon, to make sure your skin isn’t sensitive and then you can add more drops next time if you wish.

Which Essential Oils?

Almost any essential oil can be used and will be effective, but do not use citrus oils because they can cause hyperpigmentation. Citrus oils are mostly obvious, such as sweet orange, lemon, and lime, with one exception, bergamot. Please avoid these and any other citrus essential oils in your sunscreen. Particularly effective essential oils are citronella (of course!), lemon eucalyptus (not a citrus oil despite the name), thyme, and all the mints but especially peppermint. Be a little cautious with peppermint because it is a cooling essential oil but just as dry ice can burn, so can peppermint at certain levels and everyone’s skin sensitivity level is different. Mixing essential oils is recommended because some bugs are repelled more or less by certain scents, so your end result will be more effective with two, three, or more essential oils.

Make Your Own

If you prefer to make your own dedicated spray and/or oil, which I highly recommend because it is a fun way to scent yourself for summer with the added benefits of less bug bites, I have all the deets on this post (linked) but if you don’t want to click through, here are the most important paragraphs:

Body Oil

One way to take a precautionary measure before even getting dressed in the morning is to apply a body oil with essential oils on your arms, legs, and stomach. To make a body oil, you just need a base oil or a mix of base oils such as sweet almond oil, grapeseed oil, or jojoba oil, and add whichever essential oils you want to wear. Almost any essential oil or blend of essential oils will deter bugs, but especially good picks are lavender, peppermint, thyme, and lemongrass. You will want there to be 5-7 drops of essential oils per 1 teaspoon of base oil. (There are 6 teaspoons in an ounce, so aim for 30-42 drops of essential oils per ounce.) Make sure to shake the mixture before blending, and allow time for the oil to dry before putting your clothes on for the day to avoid oil stains. This can be reapplied throughout the day, but it is probably easier to make a spray for day time reapplication.

Body Spray

To make a bug spray, add essential oils to distilled water with at least a teaspoon of vodka, or use witch hazel instead, in a spray bottle (preferably dark glass) in the same proportion as above, 5-7 drops of essential oils per teaspoon of distilled water and vodka, or witch hazel. You can spray this as often as needed on yourself throughout the day and it will help deter bugs and also provide a nice little scent pick-me-up when you do so. Again, any essential oils will be helpful, but the ones mentioned above would be a great place to start. Of course, citronella is always an option too.

4573EC2A-90F2-4FA1-AEC9-5A5BAE907BA21.jpg

Travel

If you travel with essential oils, as I do, to secure your sleeping area you can put some drops on cotton balls to keep bugs away, especially around open windows or near your bed. I actually like to take a little terracotta diffuser with me when I travel. They are quite small and do not require any heat, so it’s a convenient option. These make cute little gifts as well, and are one way to easily use essential oils in your car or in other places where you don’t have the option to light a candle or use an outlet.

After Care

If you do happen to get bitten or stung by an insect, lavender can be applied neat to the area. Applying essential oils to the body without a carrier is 99% of the time NOT recommended, but lavender is one of the few that can be applied without a carrier and it actually is quite good for burns, bites, and other skin issues. Do use caution if you have sensitive skin though and always assume you do have sensitive skin and start small until proven otherwise.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your bug-free outdoor time! Please share this article with anyone who might be interested in flower powered bug repellent.

In case you missed the links above, here’s more information on making your own body oil: https://botanicalalchemyandapothecary.com/body-oils-diy/ and more details on making a body spray: https://botanicalalchemyandapothecary.com/essential-oil-sprays-for-body-and-home/.

Strawberries in June

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Three strawberries

Most months of the year find me waxing poetic about blueberries, not only my favorite berry, but also my favorite fruit due both to taste and nutrient value. Even raspberries tend to top my favorites list before strawberries, except for in June that is. In June, strawberries win it all, promising summer is nearly here despite the PNW’s distinctive month of Juneuary. There is nothing like the scent of slicing strawberries when they are perfectly ripe, plump and juicy and packed with so much flavor that the sweet taste hangs in the kitchen before one has ever even made it to a waiting mouth. While prepping strawberries the other day, I allowed myself to sink into the scent and occasionally snuck one straight into my mouth despite my intended goal of divvying them up in equal proportions for my two sons. I sliced through those bright red hearts and felt a bit cold blooded, but those juicy treats sent love notes of sweet scents out into the world despite the harshness of the knife. I thought about timing, and how much time dictates the way we look at things, interact with objects and others, and how it all changes, endlessly, as we are simply dancers reacting to a song that will eventually end.  

Although blueberries tend to get all the superfood attention in the berry department, strawberries are also packed with nutrition as well. They are well known for their vitamin C content, and have other vitamins, minerals, and fiber that make them a healthy addition to diets. Lately, they have also been touted as having cognition benefits to aging minds as well. Here is a link to a study that shows strawberries can benefit cognition issues related to aging: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33468271/.  

It is important to only eat organic strawberries. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) consistently lists strawberries as the number one fruit/vegetable that is contaminated with pesticides, including toxins that can cause cancer and/or reproductive issues, and chemicals banned by the EU. They regularly test 46 foods and list the “dirty dozen”, so if you are wondering what else is on the list, you can check it out here: https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty-dozen.php. I can’t help but think this is related to the health and longevity expectancy in America compared to other comparable nations.

There’s a reason the full moon in June is known as the Strawberry Moon. The brief period when strawberries are at their peak is so monumental, even the moon takes note of this transient moment, destined to return but never for long. I hope your week leading up to the solstice and the full moon are full of sun, sweetness, and all of the ephemeral treats of June, along with a sincere appreciation for the fleeting delights the earth, and time, offer us.  

☀️🍓🌕 

Earth Day 2024

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Summery path through greenery

A little bit of good news in the world of climate change:

https://www.npr.org/2024/01/12/1224196438/could-humanity-be-sustainable-its-not-as-hopeless-as-you-think

Take heart, we can do this. 💚🌎🌷🌍🌱🌏💜

A Better Life

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Sunny day along Juanita Bay

This is the time of year many people make resolutions for improving their lives, or at the very least think about their lives in terms of years instead of the minute by minute perspective in which we so often live out our days. I appreciate that we have this yearly built in reminder to look at the bigger picture, make goals, to think about who we want to be and how we intend to get there, although I don’t personally feel inspired in the dead of winter to make any big changes. I struggle every January with winter’s lessons, and leave my bigger picture thinking for the warmer, brighter days of early spring. Towards the end of last year though, I heard a bit of news that I’ve been gnawing on ever since I first heard it and felt compelled to look further into it. I have to wonder, as a whole, are we even making the right New Years Resolutions?

The news item was that American life expectancy is declining, while all other comparable nations’ life expectancy continues to improve. With all our health gurus, power supplements, fitness obsessions, smart watches, and expert doctors, how are we missing the mark in such a grand way? Almost every day there is some “new finding” that gets touted on the news and social media about what to do be healthy here, for example, eat blueberries for brain health, or walk 10K steps a day, (or is it thirty minutes? Or 7,000 steps? Or is the key to moderate the intensity? Or change it every 10 days? Keto or intermittent fasting or celery juice? ) It seems so…desperate, like a person who really really wants something so badly that they grasp onto every new promise like it’s their only hope, their last life saving technique that will float them to everlasting health and happiness. If this were one person, we’d call that person neurotic, but as a nation we call it culture, and it clearly isn’t working.

This website I found has graphs which illustrate the disparities between the U.S. and comparable countries, and it is pretty astounding. The one that shocks me the most, is the amount of money Americans spend on healthcare compared to peer countries, take a look:

https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/HqLAQ/

This isn’t just a healthcare problem, although I do think the American healthcare system is deeply flawed and the pharmaceutical industry is problematic at best, but it is also our food system, work culture demands, isolation and loneliness, stress of all sorts, racial and class systemic inequities, guns, and on and on. I know we can do better in all these realms because our peer nations are proving the point quite well. I don’t have any answers to overhauling all aspects of American life, but I am grateful for the statistical health organizations who track these things to make it clear that an overhaul is indeed needed. Knowledge is power after all. Let’s make real changes this year.

My wishes for you for 2024 is that wherever you are in the world, you have long-term goals defined, understand how to attain your goals, and enjoy your days while getting there.

Nature Medicine

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Today I was running with my usual airpods in my ears, listening to the KEXP runcast as I like to do on my longer runs. Everything was fine for about the first mile, and then the music suddenly stopped playing and my app seemed to go into ‘searching’ mode. My first reaction was annoyance because when it comes to my runs, I lean hard into my routines. I like the way my mind can wander when I don’t have to think too hard but instead can just put one foot in front of the other on autopilot, but the annoyance didn’t last long. Almost immediately I heard geese having a loud and vivid conversation off to my right in the Juanita Bay. The sound was so calming, and as my attention had been drawn to the bay, I then noticed several black and white ducks that looked almost like puffins swimming with the usual brown and green varieties, long-necked swans in the distance, and two herons quietly standing guard and might actually have been what the geese were talking about. They were in the same general vicinity and likely eyeing the same fish beneath them.

It made me realize how often we move through the world distracted nowadays, with phones and earbuds, and how much calming nature medicine we are missing. We know that the sound of waves or rain are calming sounds, but so are bird calls, the wind whistling through trees, the crunch of footsteps on dried leaves. Nature has a plethora of calming tricks up her sleeve and we should take note. For one thing, I’ve always been struck by how many herbs and essential oils are calming. Even if the herb or essential oil has other attributes it is more known for, almost all herbs and essential oils can also be said to reduce stress and calm the mind. It makes sense that nature wants us humans to be calm, because a calm brain makes better decisions, thinks deeper, moves more gracefully, and makes connections more effectively. We live at a time when speed is often subtly or not so subtly encouraged with sayings such as, “Time is Money,” in our culture, and “Fast paced environments,” in pretty much every job description. Calm does not mean slow or sluggish, it means not distracted or stressed out, but somehow it all gets lumped together in our jumpy minds and we replace calm moments with numbing.

I suppose I’m just worried about the state of the world and how separate from nature we are willingly becoming. When I walk around it seems like 95% of people are on their phones whether they are walking around and looking down at them, driving with them on nearby, or sitting somewhere with others but yet still looking at their phones. I know people who post on social media seemingly around 5 times per day. I seriously don’t understand how they are living their lives effectively with that much social media engagement. They must exist on a different timeline than I do because I cannot work, parent, cook, clean, have friendships, keep up with family, go to appointments, and not feel overwhelmed regularly much less spending countless hours on social media. It all depends on values and priorities I suppose but there are so many studies showing how disruptive distraction is in our lives, how negatively social media impacts us, and how it all relates to a dopamine cycle that puts us further and further into a dopamine chasing state. To state the obvious, if you are interested in optimal health, chasing dopamine is not in support of that goal.

I’m not really in to making New Year’s resolutions because I do more of my pattern and perspective overhauls around my birthday each year, but this seems to be calling to me as 2024 nears so I will comply. I’m going to listen to nature more from now on, especially while running. I don’t want to give up my musical runs so it’ll have to be a compromise, perhaps half of the time I’ll listen to music and half the time I’ll be present with nature’s sounds. I’ve already greatly reduced my social media use but intend to do so further. It’s just not adding value to my life, and the things I do instead of scrolling do add value, such as reading, learning languages, cooking, and just…living life.

Happy New Year and I hope you are steeped in a year that resonates with your purpose and your values. ✨

Creamy Cauliflower Soup DF/GF

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This is a reblog inspired by the fact that I made this soup again today after a blustery fall walk. It’s not only windy here today, but there are also intermittent downpours and epic thunder which is a rare occurrence here. I managed to take my dog out during a break in the rain and was rewarded with the pretty trio below. After our windy walk, this soup tasted especially warm and lovely.

The only things I’ve changed since posting this five years ago is that I use even more garlic now, closer to 6 cloves (yum), and I use an immersion blender instead of the stand up one in the video below. It is so much easier with the immersion blender! Use one if you have one. Also, this soup definitely needs bread to accompany it and really anything works. I’ve liked Rudi’s gluten free loaves lately and just toasted up two of their sourdough slices today to make it a full meal. Here’s the reblog from October 31, 2018:

I originally wrote this recipe for Basmati.com which has a wealth of Ayurvedic inspired wellness information, but I wanted to share it here too because it is one of my favorite soups. It has several steps but it is all very easy to do and it’s worth it, trust me. I’m not one of those people who embraced using cauliflower as rice or as any kind of grain substitute as was all the rage for a while there, so I’m not a huge lover of all things cauliflower, but this soup is delicious. The garlic and leeks are what really make it special so I add in a lot of those, but you can definitely tone it down if you don’t care for the allium family that much. Garlic is so healthy for the cardiovascular system and also for keeping germs and viruses away though that I recommend large doses if you can handle it.

In a family with gluten, dairy, soy, egg, and nut intolerances, indulging in creamy anything is quite rare. My oldest son and I are big soup lovers, though, and he especially loves creamy soups, so I’ve tried my hand at several vegan recipes using coconut milk, but we just aren’t always in the mood for the subtle taste of coconut. I’ve discovered that with enough olive oil in the cooking process, and by roasting the veggies first, we can end up with a creamy soup without any dairy or dairy alternatives whatsoever – and the taste is truly superb. It is one of those meals that you have to remind yourself is actually incredibly healthy –  just veggies, olive oil, herbs, and spices –  because it really does taste like a decadent treat. Here’s the recipe:

Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup

  • 1 medium to large head of cauliflower
  • 1 large leek
  • 2-4 cloves of garlic, depending on taste (I use 4 because I like it good and garlicky)
  • 1 small-medium yellow onion
  • 4 cups of vegetable stock
  • About 2-3 Tbs olive oil
  • ½-1 tsp sea salt
  •  Several turns of fresh ground pepper to taste (you can always add more, so start on the smaller side)
  • 1 tsp or more Herbs d’Provence or thyme

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and pour olive oil onto a cookie sheet (or some other roasting pan) and rub it around until the bottom is covered, or cover the bottom with parchment paper. Chop the cauliflower and leek up into bite size pieces and put them on the pan to roast with the garlic cloves. Pour olive oil on top of the vegetables, trying to make sure each piece has been touched. I do this by pouring the oil in a crisscross fashion over the pan, and then I roast the vegetables for about 30 minutes, turning them over once or twice during that time. They will be done when there are brown bits on top in places.

Meanwhile, chop the onion and sauté it in about 1 Tbs olive oil in a large pot on medium-high heat until translucent (about 3 minutes).This is also when I like to put the salt, pepper, and herbs d’Provence (or thyme) in the pot, but remember: you can also add more salt and pepper later, so start with small amounts. The soup is so flavorful with the garlic that you might be surprised at how little salt in particular that you need.

Add the four cups of vegetable stock to the pot and bring to a quick boil before turning it down. When the vegetables are finished roasting in the oven, put them in the pot of soup and let it all simmer together for about 5 minutes before turning off the burner and letting it cool a bit prior to blending. Pour the soup into a blender and watch it turn into creamy deliciousness in less than a minute, and then taste to make sure it has enough salt and pepper to your liking.

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Summer Foods and Thoughts

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Summery path through greenery

It’s been a while since I’ve written and I’ve missed this space. In January I started a new job as an adjunct professor which has been challenging due to the learning curve of the new place and the fact that every time I got my footing, another challenge would arrive and I’d feel the need to put all my efforts into staying on top of the job. I like it, but the challenge has been real. Now that it’s summer I’ve had a couple of weeks to decompress although I’ll start back up teaching next week for summer quarter.

Someone commented on one of my youtube videos from six or seven years ago the other day and it made me realize how much I miss the communities and conversations that have arisen over the years here and a few other places centered around herbs, essential oils, natural foods and products, slow foods and slow living, etc. It’s funny how normal all those topics seemed for so long, and now it seems like all I hear about is AI (which disturbs me), work related topics, parenting necessities, and adulting chores such as bills and taxes. There is no balance unless balance is created~ it doesn’t just happen naturally. Putting effort into the important things, priorities, long term goals, being the person you want to be and living the life you want to live have all been on my mind lately. One thing I’ve been talking to my oldest son about is that when I think about my future self, say five to ten years in the future, would I be proud of that person if that future self had spent most of my free time on my phone, on social media, watching shows? Or would I be a more confident, competent, and successful version of myself if I spent more time reading, listening to quality podcasts and audiobooks, limiting what I watch to inspiring and/or motivating things. The answer is obvious but I’m a work in progress when it comes to implementing these notions daily. Sometimes all I can do is veg out to instagram for 20 minutes and that’s OK too. I just don’t want that to grow and it takes effort, mindfulness, and self-discipline.

I haven’t done anything herbal lately, but I did buy some vegan pesto that I have to share b/c oh my goodness, it is the best pesto I’ve ever had. Basil and pesto are such summery foods to me, just like berries and peaches they just hit differently in summer, resonating with the longer light, heat, sun, and fun. Basil is one of my favorite culinary herbs and I love adding the whole, fresh leaves to salads and sandwiches, but there is something about pesto that just brings dishes to whole new level. I’m a pesto purist and not overly impressed with the kale pestos or nettle pestos out there, but I know a lot of people like those. I currently have a vegan kale one from Trader Joe’s and it’s OK but nothing compared to a true basil pesto. I get the vegan ones, which are hard to find because most pestos have parm in them, because my son and I do best without dairy so we only eat it sparingly. This pesto from Seggiano is my son’s and my favorite one ever, other than making it fresh ourselves.

Seggiano Vegan Pesto

I found it at Whole Foods but not sure if they are going to continue to stock it or not because lately the shelf has been empty where I first found it. It’s on amazon but it’s more expensive there than at Whole Foods so I haven’t bought it there yet, but I will if need be in the future. Hopefully I’ll get back to making my own soon, once my job doesn’t take up so much of my mental space.

Thank you for being here. I’d love to hear your summer (or winter if you are in the southern hemisphere) thoughts and foods in the comments section. 🌻💜🌿☀

Artsy Herby People

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I just saw this in my Instagram feed so wanted to pass it along since I know several artistic people through this blog who create art around botanical themes.

Share your art through the Journal of American Herbalist Guild!

Unlike in Great Britain and other countries, in the U.S., herbalism is not regulated at the state nor federal levels, therefore it is a self-regulated industry. The American Herbalist Guild serves that function though really only for clinical style herbalists. It’s a great resource for many reasons and checking out their site is worth it for all the herbal info available such as educational resources, webinars, symposiums, etc.

Their journal is accepting both articles and art submissions right now so if you have something you’d like to share, take a look and see if it is a good fit for you.

BTW, Valentine’s Day is coming up….time to review gift ideas!

♥🌿♥

Free Docuseries Replay

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Hello! If you have free time over the holidays, you might want to check out an episode or two (or nine) of Nick Polizzi’s series Remedy. I’ve shared it here before and seen most of the episodes myself at this point and think it worthwhile sharing every time it comes up as free. Here are the episodes to choose from:

I like the information in these and how it is presented by a variety of different people in multiple fields. For the most part, the people interviewed are reasonable and offer sound advice (there are a couple of exceptions) and they are actual practicing in their fields today so if you want to actually see someone, you can look them up and possibly book with them. The information is presented in a way that shows how herbs and other natural products and behaviors can support your optimal health, along with the modern medical system which is important and necessary. There are a few exceptions, as I said, but whatever feels reasonable and resonates for you, that’s up to you because we are all responsible for ourselves and accountable for our health, our behaviors, our judgement calls, and our patterns.

Watch if you like, or don’t, I’m not affiliated, just sharing because my mission regarding herbs is not only connection, but also that people take their health and well-being into their own hands so they are more confident and capable in all aspects of their lives. We all still need doctors and other health professionals in our lives, but if we can all move towards homeostasis bit by bit on our own, those interventions will be fewer and less invasive in the long term.

Happy Holiday Week!🎇🌿

Connection

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Wild plants

The other day I was at my neighborhood grocery store, a big chain that caters to every walk of life imaginable and carries everything from shoes to light bulbs to cheese and chicken. It is generally a place where customers walk around in a zombie state, focused on their lists and phones, especially this time of year when minutes are short and stress levels are high. It is not a place where I expected to connect with strangers over herbs, and yet, herbs are able to provide connection in the unlikeliest of places turning a mundane chore into a delight at a distracted hour. Here’s what happened:

I happened to be buying two boxes of herbal teas (Yogi brand) among my frozen foods and paper towels, and the cashier, a young, edgy looking woman with numerous visible tattoos and hair shaved on the side in a modern take on the 80s punk sort of way, squealed and grabbed the licorice one and said it was her favorite. I said it was indeed a good one and both my sons’ favorite to which she replied that they shouldn’t drink too much of it because of the estrogen content. (I have not looked into the truth of her statement but my sons don’t drink enough to worry about that anyway). Intrigued, I asked her if she studied herbs and she responded only as much as what she’s interested in, and since that tea happened to be her favorite she looked into those herbs and then she proceeded to tell me everything she knew about herbs with a radiant smile and sparkling eyes. Clearly a passion. I was a tad worried that the woman behind me was getting annoyed at our chatting so I looked behind me to see if she was OK and saw a conservatively dressed older woman positively rapt and ready to jump into the conversation. As soon as I turned towards her, she started talking about the dandelions in her yard and how she harvests them and cooks with them and shared her recipe for jams she makes from foraged foods. Three women at different ages and stages connecting over how herbs show up in our lives~ we could have been at an outdoor Roman market in ancient times, some things do not ever need to change.

It was so fulfilling to be in the midst of these strangers sharing and the fact that herbs are what led the three of us to connect in an otherwise sterile situation was not lost on me. Herbs have a way of doing that, of connecting people through cooking, healing, crafting, gardening, and just pure passion. Herbs connect us to each other, to our past, and to the earth, and if we could follow the vines and roots they so elegantly share, we could reach such peaceful places and joyful collaborations.

May your holiday season be full of peaceful and joyful connections that continue through the new year and beyond.

Herbally yours, Kristen 🌿

I’ve been searching for this all my life

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OK, maybe not ALL my life, but as long as I’ve been cooking gluten-free foods, I’ve looked for gluten-free tortellini and have never found any (other than mail order frozen stuff which never looked appealing.) This is fresh pasta, found in the refrigerator section (although could potentially be found in the freezer section) AND there is a dairy free version as well. Cue the heavenly choir!

Manini’s is a local company here in the greater Seattle area (I’m not affiliated), but they have a wide presence and you can find their products through Amazon Fresh. Their 4 cheese tortelloni (not sure where they are getting their spelling from but I guess I’ll adopt it here) is a favorite with my youngest son and I enjoy it too, although the real reason I have searched high and low for this sort of pasta is to make tortellini soup. My oldest requires the dairy-free version so I plan on making the soup using the dairy free version when he’s home from college over the holidays.

Have a festive Thanksgiving to all those in the U.S. this week. I am grateful for you!!

Updated Muffin Recipe

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Gluten-free Dairy-free muffins

Fall hasn’t truly set in here but the urge to spend more time in the kitchen has shown up on time anyway. We didn’t need muffins in the house, especially now that we are down to two, but muffin baking beckoned regardless. My original vegan take on Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free recipe for blueberry muffins can be found here, but it never quite right to me. Yesterday, instead of looking at what I’d done before, I started from scratch with Bob’s recipe and modified it anew, but this time I used eggs instead of an egg replacer. If you want these to be vegan, just use your favorite egg replacement. (Mine is simply to use 1 tablespoon of flax seed meal with 3 tablespoons of warm water per egg.) As last time, my recipe does not include any berries because my son prefers baked goods without berries, but 1.5 cups of blueberries can be added, or if you have raspberries, those would be especially good with the vanilla and cinnamon. These muffins are great without any berries though and taste almost like a biscuit, but not quite. (I think the 2 teaspoons of baking powder are also what give it a biscuit-y taste.)

This recipe that I manipulate is right on the back of Bob’s Red Mill’s Gluten-free One-to-One flour which is my favorite gf flour for baked goods. It’s easy to use and it saves me from buying a handful of different flours to mix and match trying to find the perfect blend. The other main thing I do with this recipe is to reduce the sugar by quite a bit, and to use both cane sugar and brown sugar. This might be why my muffins end up tasting somewhat like a biscuit instead of just a pure muffin, but they are still tasty as can be. Whenever I make these, I go ahead and double the ingredients to make 24 muffins, but the following is for 12 regular-sized ones.

Vanilla-Cinnamon Gluten-free, Dairy-free Muffins

(I am affiliated with Mountain Rose Herbs but not with any of the other pages I have linked to.0

2 Cups Bob’s Red Mill GF 1-to-1 Baking Flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup vegan butter

1/2 cup cane sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract (here’s how to make your own!)

2 eggs

1/2 Nutpod French Vanilla Oat Creamer

1.5 cups of optional ingredients such as blueberries, raspberries, or even chocolate chips

Start by preheating oven to 425 degrees and prepping your muffin pan with either paper liners or spray oil. Add the dry ingredients (besides the sugar) together in a bowl and stir. Cream the sugar and softened vegan butter together with a hand mixer. Add the vanilla and mix again. Add the eggs and mix, then add the dry ingredients a bit at a time while mixing, rotating with adding the half cup of oat creamer. At this time, you can add in any other ingredients that you want, such as 1.5 cups berries or chocolate chips, but they taste great just plain. It’s a very thick batter, not runny at all. Scoop the batter into a prepared muffin pan for 12 normal sized muffins. Put the pan in the oven and immediately turn down the temperature to 375 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes, then let them cool on a cooling rack for at least five minutes before digging in.

Gluten-free, Dairy-free Muffins that you can add berries to if you like or eat plain like we do

I hope the call to the kitchen continues and I get back to soup making soon, but where I live has a tiny kitchen compared to my old place which makes it a little less inviting. I shouldn’t complain, and I’m not because honestly, I love where I live and think it’s far better than my old place for many reasons, but cooking just hasn’t been the joy it once was lately. I’m finding joy in other things though, and I hope you too are indulging in joys every day.

Happy fall y’all! 🍂 (And happy spring to those in the southern hemisphere🌷).

Alzheimer’s Docuseries

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Here is the link to a docuseries about Alzheimer’s and how to help protect your brain health and longevity: https://scienceofprevention.com/?inf_contact_key=608657a0885e84596696bb3f1088c6851f2ce51ec8bc6ace203deddd90c8fcdf (I have no affiliation.)

It’s on day 8 with 5 more days to go, and I waited to share the link until I’d managed to watch a few to make sure they were saying informative, sound things, and they are. It’s been very reasonable and enlightening so far and I haven’t heard anything questionable or outlandish, so feel comfortable sharing the link.

Even though it’s day 8 already, the format of these docuseries is usually that they release one per day for how many episodes they have, and then after the last one airs, they release all of them for 24 to 48 hours so you can catch the ones you missed. I recommend watching the earlier episodes when that occurs because the newest to me information was the link that Alzheimer’s has with diabetes. That was explained quite well. The episode about the best diets for preventing brain decline was good too.

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Summer Hack for Repelling Bugs

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Sunny day along Juanita Bay

*This post includes affiliate links to Mountain Rose Herbs. I highly recommend their essential oils, herbs, and crafting materials, but use whatever you have on hand first!

A couple of weeks ago my niece mentioned that her sunscreen, which she loves, attracts bugs, which she does not love. I recommended putting essential oils into the sunscreen container because bugs do not like essential oils. I realized later that it’d be more useful to actually add the essential oils right before you put sunscreen on, and an easy hack for anyone who would like some insect protection along with their sun damage protection. I’ll explain how to do just that in a moment, but also want to remind you how easy it is to make your own bug repelling sprays and body oils for when you are heading outside and maybe do not need sunscreen, such as enjoying summer nights out, or you just want to be able to spray yourself repeatedly throughout the day. I have all the details on making your own bug repellent here.

Instructions:

To make your sunscreen into a bug repelling screen as well, all you need to do is squeeze about a tablespoon of sunscreen into your palm. Add 5 to 10 drops of essential oils into the sunscreen, mix it together, and then lather it on your body. This hack is for your neck down, not your face. Start on the lower end of that 5-10 range, so 5 or less drops of essential oils per tablespoon, to make sure your skin isn’t sensitive and then you can add more drops next time if you wish.

Which Essential Oils?

Almost any essential oil can be used and will be effective, but do not use citrus oils because they can cause hyperpigmentation. Citrus oils are mostly obvious, such as sweet orange, lemon, and lime, with one exception, bergamot. Please avoid these and any other citrus essential oils in your sunscreen. Particularly effective essential oils are citronella (of course!), lemon eucalyptus (not a citrus oil despite the name), thyme, and all the mints but especially peppermint. Be a little cautious with peppermint because it is a cooling essential oil but just as dry ice can burn, so can peppermint at certain levels and everyone’s skin sensitivity level is different. Mixing essential oils is recommended because some bugs are repelled more or less by certain scents, so your end result will be more effective with two, three, or more essential oils.

Let me know if you try this and how it works out for you!

Happy Bug Repelling 🐜🚫 and remember, it’s good for the bugs too because if they aren’t bothering you, you aren’t bothering them! ☮

Bay Laurel Crown D.I.Y.

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Bay Laurel is my all-time favorite herb in terms of the rich stories where this herb takes center stage. Nowadays we think of this herb as a culinary herb, although one that we don’t actually eat but instead use it to flavor beans and broths, so even that makes it a bit of a standout. Bay laurel is the herb at the root of bay rum, which you may have already read about here or in my book because I love to talk about that traditional men’s scent and make it on occasion. Bay laurel leaves have signified triumph, nobility, and scholarly success since the Greek heyday, and the Romans adopted that symbolism just as they adopted so many of the Greek ways. Olympian winners were crowned with laurel wreaths, and scholarly successes were also celebrated with laurel crowns. The word baccalaureate derives from bay laurel, as does the word laureate, as in Nobel laureate, poet laureate, etc. Graduates can be seen donning laurel crowns which is something that I’ve wanted to do for my own sons ever since I first researched bay laurel years ago and found modern photos online of both Olympians and graduates with glorious crowns of bay leaves around their heads. My oldest graduates from high school in a couple of weeks so I decided it’s time to break out the garden wire that I have had for years for just this occasion. If you would like to make your own, here’s what you’ll need:

Floral wire

Floral tape ideally but fishing wire, floss, or any kind of strong thread will work

Fresh Bay Laurel leaves

Scissors

How To:

Take two pieces of garden wire and measure them around the head you want to crown, or your own and make adjustments based on your best guess if the head will be smaller or bigger than yours.

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One last little tradition that I love involving bay leaves is that people used to sleep with one tucked under the pillow to promote good dreams and/or to boost creativity. Give it a try if you need some creative inspiration whether in your waking life or in your dreamscape! Let me know if you try any of the above!

Congrats to any grads out there and their families too! 🎓🎉🎓🎉

Happy Equinox🌞🌚

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In a rare fit of fastidiousness, I looked up the sunrise and sunset times for today, hoping for the satisfaction of seeing a neat 12 hours on display, some proof of order in the midst of so much chaos. Instead I was greeted with this surprise:

Sunrise and sunset times on spring equinox 2022
Wait, what?!

It looks like the sun is already taking over the show here in the Pacific Northwest, and I can’t say I’m too disappointed by the promise of order I was unexpectedly denied. Nature is not known for timeliness, yet the grander efforts and gifts seem to always appear right on time. The earth rotates, we spin in and out of darkness and light, the seeds beneath us somehow know when to peek out, the trees bud, the birds chirp, and the bunnies are born. It’s spring here and we once again have our turn at renewal, warmth, and light. What changes are you making?

Nettles are the first herb I think of when I think of spring herbs. They are known for being highly nutritious, blood building, skin clearing, and overall detoxifying. People use them in salads, pesto, soups, and tea, and they provide a ‘green’ taste that is refreshing and very spring-like. Not surprisingly, nettles are also often used to treat environmental allergies, which certainly do get triggered in the spring, just when nettles are at their peak for using. Nettles have a long history of being used as a textile as well. A fun fact I just read recently on Gaia Herb’s website is that …”during the First and Second World Wars, Nettle fiber was used as a substitute for cotton yarns, when this material was unavailable.” Herbs are amazingly versatile and I just don’t know what we’d do without them. What is your favorite spring herb?

We are so fortunate to have herbs and produce year-round in our modern lives, but there are still good reasons to eat with seasons in mind as much as possible. We evolved eating seasonally, and our bodies know best what to do with the foods that naturally surround us. In a world where rituals and connection with nature are waning, we all still need to eat, so why not add some seasonal thought to our plates? It’s reassuring to know some patterns persist despite the unending tumultuous turns of events which seem to color our days more and more. It is worth reflecting on these seasons that we are jetting through at such a fast pace, and find comfort in the truism, “some things never change”, such as the contrary nature of March:

“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.”
-from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Whether you are experiencing the spring or fall equinox right now, I hope you are enjoying the transition and ready to make the most of the light and dark at your disposal.✨🌿🐰

Healing Food Sensitivities

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Just a quick note to recommend this episode of Sarah Otto’s healthy gut documentary (no affiliation): https://gutimmunesolution.com/episode2-live/. If you have food intolerances, this explains how leaky gut is at the root cause and how to heal your digestive system and reintroduce those foods. I believe it’s only live for the rest of the day (2/23/2022), although these types of documentaries usually follow a format of replaying all the episodes for 24 hours after the last one airs so if you are interested and you miss it, check back in a few days.

Time to Start DIYing for Valentine’s Day

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There are a lot of options for making your own one-of-a-kind, deeply personal Valentine’s gifts, but I’m partial to perfume body oil. It gets my vote for best DIY Valentine gift because it can also be used as a massage oil for some loving partner time, or bath oil for individual (or shared) self-care tub time. Even if your gift recipient is prickly about baths, massages, and perfumes, they can still rub their feet with the oil before putting on socks and this is a highly effective way for the essential oils to get into the body, and whose feet don’t need some extra love? They could also soak their hands in warm water with the oil which again is another way for the whole body to experience the essential oils and afterwards they can rub their hands with more oil for deep moisturizing after pandemic quality washing and sanitizing for a couple of years now.

Making a body/bath/massage oil is incredibly easy with just base oil(s) and one or more essential oils. It can be made even more healing and complex with first creating an herbal oil, then adding essential oils. Making an herbal oil using the quick method only takes a few hours and is guaranteed to make your house smell divine. I have several tutorials on how to do this, here, and here.

Base oils are fairly interchangeable but there are some I’d recommend over others depending on how the final product will be used. If you think it will be used as a pulse-point perfume, then jojoba or fractionated coconut oil are the best choices. If you don’t have either of those, use sweet almond oil or grapeseed oil. For a full body perfume oil, combining two or more of the oils mentioned above is a great idea. Just using one of those oils will work too, but sweet almond oil and grapeseed oil are going to provide more slip so those two make it easier to cover larger areas than merely pulse points. That makes those two oils ideal for massage oil, and any of the base oils I’ve mentioned will work for a bath oil.

For herbal oils great choices would be lavender, rose, or vanilla, or a combination of two or more of those herbs. As noted above, I have several tutorials on making herbal oils here and here.

So, which essential oils to choose? That’s the easiest part in one way, and also the most daunting in another. It’s easy because any essential oil or combination of essential oils is going to most likely reduce feelings of stress and tension, and help boost feelings of wellness and calm confidence. The only time this might backfire is if the person has a bad experience associated with a certain scent and therefore the scent can trigger feelings of unease. For example, lavender is traditionally known to be calming and relaxing, but if someone went to a lavender farm when they were young and got lost in the fields, separated from their family for long scary minutes, then lavender could easily trigger feelings of distress and alarm on some level for that person for the rest of his/her life. This is fairly rare though and we often know what scents our friends and family gravitate towards. If they are big flower people, pick florals, if they love citrus fruits, pick a citrus, if their favorite thing to do is to hike in the woods, pick pine or cedar, etc. The daunting part can be when trying to decide which essential oils blend together nicely, and for that I’d recommend starting small and starting early, which is why I am posting this a couple of weeks before Valentine’s Day. Use a small container to test the essential oil blend before adding it to the oil, so that way you can see how the blend develops over a few days or weeks’ time, and what adjustments need to be made, such as more top note for more of a lighter initial hit or more base note for grounding, or perhaps more middle note to weave it all together better. I have a few recipe suggestions below but follow your intuition, your nose, and what you know about your gift recipient. Think of this as a truly customized, personal, gift that only you would make for only that one special person. That way what you create will be unique to you and your giftee and both of you will think of the other each time that scent is in the air. Which reminds me, don’t forget to write down your recipe so you can recreate it!

If you are looking for an aphrodisiac combination since this is the holiday that celebrates all aspects of love after all, keep in mind the general effect of any essential oil is to support a calm, confident, and relaxed yet alert state, so any essential oil is truly going to be a good place to start. That being said, some essential oils have traditionally been used for aphrodisiac affects, including the spices such as cinnamon*(see caution), cardamom**, and nutmeg**(see note). Vanilla which is not a true essential oil but can be used in the form of an herbal oil or an absolute. Rose, jasmine, and ylang ylang have sensual reputations as well.

*Cinnamon essential oil can be irritating to the skin. Cinnamon leaf is less so than cinnamon bark, but use either essential oil sparingly in blends and test for sensitivity. ** Cardamom and nutmeg are very potent and easily take over blends, so although they aren’t known to cause the same skin irritation that cinnamon and clove e.o. can, use one drop in a blend at the end of blending, mix, and then test to see if you want to add more. If so, only add one drop at a time, mix, then test.

If you prefer to just buy a ready made oil or body mist with aphrodisiac essential oils already considered in the blend, you might like to check out these two items from Mountain Rose Herbs: a body oil and a body mist. They also have an essential oil Love kit that makes picking out ‘love inducing’ scents easy too.

Here are a couple of recipe ideas to get you started. There are many more recipes in my book, All-Natural Perfume Making, with proposed amounts of each ingredient, so check it out if you like playing with herbs and essential oils. I didn’t suggest amounts for the recipes below so you can truly experience blending with your nose and intuition. Feel free to contact me though with your ideas if you want a second set of eyes.

For a traditionally masculine scent:

Cedarwood, vanilla absolute, bay, and lime in a base of lavender, rose, or vanilla herbal oil

Or

Sandalwood, vanilla absolute, bergamot, and nutmeg in a base of lavender, rose, or vanilla herbal oil

For traditionally feminine scents:

Vanilla absolute, ylang ylang, rose absolute, and cardamom in rose herbal oil

Or

Sandalwood, jasmine absolute, ylang ylang, lavender in vanilla herbal oil or rose herbal oil

Here are more Valentine’s Day DIY projects to consider and here is a post with more information on herbs that support reproductive health, including healthy sexuality.

Wishing everyone rich, deep and layered love this upcoming Valentine’s Day and always ❤.

A Balm for Winter🐾

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Here in the Seattle area, 2021 is going out with a bang. This summer we had record breaking heat and in the fall we had record breaking rainfall. Now, this winter is serving us a record breaking cold snap. Maybe 2022 will take it a little easier on the record breaking weather, but in the meantime my dog and I are walking over the snow and ice for two outings a day, and although she’s invigorated by the cold air at first, her paws would start to bother her after walking on the hard ice and having the snow pack into her pads. Someone told me about a balm they put on their dog’s paws before going out in this weather, so I decided to make one for Bailey and see if it helps. Sure enough on the first walk we took where I’d slathered her specially-made-balm on her paws she did great the entire walk! She didn’t stop, lie down, and lick her paws once, and we went for a slightly longer walk than her usual one. The balm is so easy to do too! I didn’t put any essential oils in it because dogs’ noses are just too sensitive for essential oils. If I’d had time to make an herbal oil and turn that into a balm, I would have used lavender buds, rose petals, and/or plantain, but just the oil and beeswax balm worked well. Here’s the (so easy!) recipe:

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Dog Paw Protective Balm

2 oz almond oil (you can use another oil such as grapeseed or olive oil)

1/8-1/4 cup beeswax (the more wax you use, the harder the balm)

Mix the two together in a double boiler set-up. I use a measuring cup in a pot of water. Turn the burner on medium, making sure the water never boils. Mix the combo occasionally with a chopstick until the beeswax is all melted. Pour into a container and let it cool before capping.

That’s it! For a vegan balm, substitute the beeswax with carnauba wax or use a butter instead, such as shea butter or cocoa butter. The final balm will be softer if using the butters and the waxes provide a better protective barrier so use those if you have them.

Look how cute they are! Little gifts for all your friends with pets next year!

Happy New Year Everyone! 🎆May it be a healthy, joyous year of growth and fulfillment for you and all those you love! ✨(Including your furry friends and family, of course🐶🐈🐰).

Free Viewing of Series about Health

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Nothing to do during this strange, timeless week between Christmas and New Year’s? If you are looking for some inspiration on how to create better routines and better health in 2022, you might like watching a few of these episodes. This series, by Nick Polizzi, is one I’ve shared once before when they first released it for free viewing. I’ve only watched a few of the episodes but those were good and I’ll try to watch more during this free viewing period. If you are interested, here’s the link or click the episodes below which all take you to the main page of the series.

Here are the episodes you can choose from (or watch them all!) before the end of December 30th, 2021 (11:59PM PT).

Episode 1 – The Hidden Root Cause Of All Disease

Episode 2 – Reversing Autoimmune Disorders & Healing Your Gut

Episode 3 – Brain Health & Restoring Cognitive Function

Episode 4 – Solving Fatigue & Insomnia

Episode 5 – Healing Heart Disease, Diabetes & Obesity

Episode 6 – Overcoming Physical Pain

Episode 7 – Healing Emotional & Physical Trauma

Episode 8 – Cancer Breakthroughs

Episode 9 – Intimacy, Fertility & Hormone Health

Anti-Anxiety Natural Helpers

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Natural Help for Anxiety through the Holidays and Beyond
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This is the post that has all the same information in it.

5 Ways to Incorporate More Herbs into Your Daily Life

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Herbs host powerful health boosting nutrients. At the very least they all have vitamins, minerals, and fiber that support optimum health. Additionally, each herb has unique affinities for specific areas and/or systems of the body which it supports, and they can contain ingredients that aid digestion, fight viruses, bacteria, and other toxins, boost immunity and even support beauty and healthy aging.  

Herbs can be placed on a continuum from food to medicine, and fall anywhere on it depending on how much is taken, how often, and for how long. For example, let’s look at turmeric. If you drink golden milk once, it’ll probably be a pleasurable food experience with possibly some immediately felt benefits. If you drink it every day, that moves it a bit towards the medicine end of the scale because the opportunity for long-term benefits is there in terms of anti-inflammatory actions, digestive aid, and joint pain. If you have it everyday plus take in turmeric through curries a few times per week, and maybe add in some turmeric supplements, then there is potential for even more pronounced affects which nudges the turmeric even further towards medicine. The more we incorporate herbs into our lives, the more benefits we will notice in our health and wellbeing.

Here are some ways to add these health boosters to your day that can be easily incorporated into what you already do.

  1. Add tinctures, syrups, and/or glycerites to the drinks you already consume. Hot teas, coffee, smoothies, cocktails, juice, all can handle tinctures. For example, if you want to boost immunity you can add elderberry syrup or astragalus tincture to a drink.
  2. Add powdered herbs to your smoothies or other drinks. Smoothies are a great way to incorporate powdered herbs and tinctures both, and you don’t have to choose between them. I always switch my adaptogen mixes every month or two, and add digestive spices to the mixes as well. Powdered tulsi is a great herb to add to tea or coffee. Try 1/2 teaspoon per cup.
  3. Add fresh herbs to your salads and sandwiches. Do you love basil? Use the fresh leaves in your salad or as part of your greens mix on a sandwich. Are you team cilantro? (I know it’s either you love it or hate it and I’m a big fan myself.) Add the fresh leaves to your rice noodle soups or on tacos. When you think of herbs as ‘greens’ you can start to find ways to use them along with your lettuces and spinach.
  4. Add dried or fresh herbs to soups, sauces, stir-fries, etc, including the foods you aren’t making from scratch. Just because you are using canned or frozen food, doesn’t mean you can’t add some thyme and oregano! A bouquet garni is an option for using fresh herbs in soups, or if you are roasting or steaming veggies, add an herb or two along with the salt and pepper.
  5. Drink at least one herbal tea (a tisane) per day. This is easily done with yogi teas or traditional medicinals, or a plethora of other herbal teas companies out there, or you can make your own. I tend to drink a digestive, detox, or relaxation tea in the evenings after dinner. It’s a ritual that settles me down and I usually put a teaspoon of a tincture or glycerite in the cup as well.

When we incorporate herbs into our daily habits, we move closer to holistic health. Ideally, these herbal additions will help prioritize health and taste on a daily level and move us out of thinking in modern medicine terms of ‘take this herb for that problem” which is how many people first approach herbs. (Totally understandable! It’s the paradigm we live in.) Herbs don’t work that way though, or at least that is not how they work best. They are part of a holistic paradigm and it takes time to understand the subtle shift in thinking that is required to make the most of herbs in your life. The effort in exploring that shift is more than worth it though, and quite tasty and pleasurable too!

Herbally Yours,

Kristen🌿

Evening tea and me

Slow Health – a Continuing Conversation

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The other day I was looking through some of my older blog posts and this one from 2018 surprised me with this foreshadowing statement (the italics are new):

Technology, and especially social media, are pushing images and information onto us and into us at an ever-increasing rate, leaving everyone a little on edge, if not completely frantic, and feeling always and forever behind. The laws haven’t kept up so how could our long-evolved emotions, our sense of time and space, our ideas of community, morality, humanity? They haven’t had the time and the future certainly isn’t carving out space for us to collectively take a time out and regroup, unless something major happens which certainly wouldn’t be pretty, so the best thing I can think to do is to try to be mindful of it all and not get swept up and away into the vacuum of a false reality.

The pandemic lockdowns certainly shook up our perspectives quite a bit, and one thing that seems to have amplified is polarization. People have been picking sides, as if there are only two options: follow modern medical protocol, or use only natural methods to keep oneself healthy. Anyone who claims there is only one right way to move through this quickly changing landscapeof the pandemic is clinging to a notion that there is a truth and they know it and it keep them afloat in this storm despite the flood of (mis)information. I understand the need to feel some control in this new situation, but clinging to one notion can become a sinking weight instead of a safety float.

I absolutely believe we can and should do all we can naturally to keep ourselves healthy. I think of this as ‘Slow Health” in the model of Slow Foods, where we each our accountable for the foods we eat, the activities we engage in, our rest and well-being, and the herbs and supplements we incorporate into our lives. This is long-term thinking with an adult mindset, able to distinguish and choose between what we want now, and what want most, with the understanding that we need to keep in touch with our changing needs, aging bodies, and shifting priorities. We are accountable for all our choices in life, so why wouldn’t we be accountable for self-care? Yet in our modern paradigm it is common for that responsibility to have shifted solely to the doctors and other health professionals so fully that it seems we forget we are the ones who have to live with our bodies, minds, and emotions, and we along with everyone in our lives are the ones who are affected by our emotional, mental, and physical health. In the ages before this modern time, people, mainly the women, knew how to support their and their families’ health through the seasons and over the years, but there were also always healers in the communities to offer additional tonics, support and guidance, and perhaps a chant, prayer, or ritual, depending on the time and place in history we are discussing. There have always been times when above and beyond actions are needed, such as when there is a broken bone involved, cancer has taken hold, or a deadly virus has shut down the world. Modern medicine is not perfect but it is a system based on vigorous scientific research and the Hippocratic oath and it’s essential to recognize we are blessed to have this tool when needed. It seems so odd to me to see “natural health experts” claiming modern medicine is evil or junk or untrustworthy when they are using modern technology build on the same scientific principals to shout their messages. It’s science that created computers, science that made social media possible, and science that built all the modern technology that we use all day long without even thinking about it. This all to say that when it comes to optimal health, there is no black and white choice between being ‘all natural’ or being a believer in modern medicine.

The more we integrate the lessons of history with the advances of today, the more we can evolve and create a better world. Personally I hope that means a slower world, where everyone has the chance to connect with themselves, nature, and their communities, and make healthy decisions that support their long term goals and the health of the planet. That certainly is a viewpoint that leans more towards the lifestyles of the past, but modern medicine and modern technology are useful tools that can be used for positive gains. Jumping on every new app or technology won’t foster that kind of thoughtful, pursposeful living, but thinking through what you truly value and want in your life on adaily basis is available to you and will ideally allow for the right mix of technology and non-technology to support you without distracting and overwhelming you. That’s my goal anyway. And I’m totally down with chants, prayers, and rituals being thrown in for good measure too. (Did you know those chants and prayers over herbal concoctions were how time was passed down in oral traditions? They didn’t have watches back then so “stir for 45 seconds” tuned into something like, “stir while saying three Hail Marys”. Pretty clever, eh?) Who’s to say that we can’t have it all?

I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season and taking time to experience the twinkling moments to their fullest.

Repost from Halloween 2019

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Herbs for Halloween

October 30, 2019 by Kristen

In doing some research for the ESL class I teach, I found out some interesting things about Halloween. Most people know the beginnings of Halloween started as Samhain by the Celts and was brought to the USA by Irish immigrants, but what was news to me was the story behind “Trick-or-Treat-ing”. Apparently, as my reputable web sources tell me, it was common to do pranks on Halloween night which during the 1930s depression turned into all out sanctioned hooliganism. It became downright dangerous so people started setting out food to bribe the youngsters (usually teens) to leave their property alone. As that bribery took hold, the greeting became ‘trick or treat’. It was at this same time that there was also a public effort to make Halloween a less scary (and dangerous) night, and more about parties, candy, and costumes. This is how we’ve ended up with superheroes, princesses, and cuddly critters roaming the streets instead of solely ghosts, werewolves, and other terrifying creatures. Of course that’s just for the kids. Any adult female knows that they are supposed to look like a hyper-sexual version of something, anything~ a cat, a housekeeper, a chicken nugget, whatever, but I digress.

Herbs have been used since the beginning of humanity to ward off sickness from colds to plagues, but they have also been used to keep away evil spirits, witches, vampires, elf pranksters, ghosts, and all manners of bad juju. Of course some herbs have been used to invite these entities near, but more often the action has been repulsion, not an e-vite. Oftentimes the herbs used for potent anti-microbial aspects are the same ones used to keep the supernatural entities away, such as garlic. Garlic has a long history of repelling vampires and witches alike, and is of course a strong germ fighter in every sense. According to the Herb Society for America,  in Sanskrit garlic represents “slayer of monsters,” and hanging it around your door brings good fortune.

Another herb that can be hung around your door for keeping evil spirits and witches away is fennel. Of course your door frame might be getting crowded so perhaps planting some near your front door that you can actually use in your kitchen might be a more modern and functional way to go. Fennel is excellent for gas and bloating.

While you are planting front yard herbs (or potted planters by your front door), you might want to consider rue which also has a reputation for protection against evil, trickery, and witchcraft. Salespeople will ‘rue’ the day they approached your home!

Mugwort is an herb known for helping one to remember their dreams and perhaps even facilitate lucid dreaming. It also has been traditionally used as a protective herb against evil spirits, and according to The Herb Exchange, St. John the Baptist wore a girdle of mugwort for protection in the wilderness.  This is an herb that is generally burned as incense before bed for the dreaming effect, or worn in a sachet for protective use.

And the last one I’ll mention is the magical Elder tree. This legendary tree is a protective keeper-away-of-all-evil and was revered by the druids who considered the tree to be inhabited by an old sage soul. This is the same tree that has the reputation of being a gateway to the land of the fairies and it is considered quite lucky to have one growing on your property, just don’t cut off a branch or even a twig because that is considered bad luck! Gathering the fallen twigs or branches is perfectly fine though and can bring protection into your home.

Enjoy your holiday and although I’m honestly not really feeling into Halloween this year, I do like the holiday and a good costume. Isak Dinesen wrote: “Truth is for the tailors and shoemakers…I, on the contrary, have always held that the Lord has a penchant for masquerades.” Happy Halloween. masked

All-Natural Animals

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I have the feeling we just do our pets wrong, at least here in America. I’ve felt this way ever since we got our first family first dog about seven years ago. The first thing that bothered me was the flea prevention because it was either a liquid that you put on their skin that leaks out for a month or multiple months which my dog hated. Considering how important smell is to dogs, and how conscious they are of their own scent, I imagine this really does a number on them, plus, where is it being stored in order to leak out over time? The liver, I assume, which seems like a heavy load for a dog’s liver. The other flea prevention option is to give them a pill which also stays activated in their body for 1 to 3 months so again, this presumably is stored in the liver and is taxing it that entire time. The next thing we are told to do is put a microchip into their body, literally into their body, often at the same time we routinely get them spayed or neutered. I did not do the microchipping (this causes some to gasp, “but what if she gets lost?!” to which I reply, we will find her by her tag, or not, but if someone can’t read her tag then how would they manage to read her microchip??) but I did get her spayed at a young age. This is something that I didn’t question at the time but I’ve since met a woman from Germany who told me that it is not routine there and that they do not have a problem with hordes of unplanned puppies. She said it’s widely understood there that those parts of a dog do more than merely create more puppies and by taking those off/out of the dog, you are throwing their hormones and therefore their entire body out of whack. I’ve since heard other dog lovers voicing the same concern, and I must admit, it makes sense. As someone who’s looked into human health from a wholistic point of view, I can attest that hormones play a huge role in the balance of all bodily systems. (But also there are WAY too many dogs here so I’m not recommending NOT spaying/neutering until we, as a society, get the population under control in some other way.)

When my dog started limping, we were immediately given strong pain killers and anti-inflammatory pills and told she’d either need them forever or an invasive surgery. I didn’t hesitate to give her those pills since I was worried she was in pain and felt terrible that she couldn’t tell me exactly how much it hurt. Next was surgery with multiple pills afterwards and now she has a metal something or other in her leg which I am told usually means she will burn out her other leg and need the same surgery on the other side. She’s only seven years old but every friend that I have who has dogs also has a slew of health issues they deal with on the regular and they are all the same age or younger than my dog. I remember talking to my ex-sister-in-law about how every dog nowadays is “put down” at some point, if they even live to old age that is. She said that while growing up in Japan in a farming area, her family dogs would live to a healthy old age and then one day they’d wander off to go die in some safe place alone because that’s what dogs prefer. I found that fascinating. It surely has to do with how we feed and care for our animals, and it’s sad.

I’ve never had a cat but I imagine it’s a similar story for them, especially because I know people with cats who have to give them treatment for diabetes. I would love to give my dog all-natural care but I don’t feel like there is a support system for that, and I’ve also made choices thus far that seem like to place me on a path that makes it hard to switch gears. I’m relying on prescription food that promises the right pH to avoid more bladder stones, which she just had removed, and I don’t want to take her off the antibiotics for her uti or the anti-inflammatory pharmaceuticals for her post surgery leg pain. It’s like we are stuck on an unnatural highway and I don’t like it. At all.

What is your experience with pets? I’d love to hear how you have handled pet care, especially if you live in a different country or if you live in the U.S. and feel good about your pet’s life and care. I’d appreciate the broadening of my vision on what’s possible and how.

🐶💜🐱💜🐤

UN Climate Report

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Another warning has been issued. The UN has released their report concluding that yes, humans are causing global warming and, yes, humans can make changes to help slow the damage and, in some cases, perhaps even reverse parts of it. We are already now experiencing the weather events related to global climate change and the events will just keep getting worse and more frequent. Here are the Key Findings. 

What can individuals do? Eat more of a plant-based diet. Have a smaller home. Choose energy efficiency. Drive less. Let the health of the earth guide decisions in what one buys, how one travels, and how one sets up their home and everyday life by replacing disposables (especially plastic). Buy organic. Love nature and protect the earth around you. Vote for leaders that understand science. 

No more warnings, the earth is officially warming. Don’t ignore it. It is happening. Now. 

🌎💚🌍💚🌏

St. John’s Wort Time of Year

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St. John’s Wort flowers this time of year, so it has a long history of use in summer solstice rituals. Many had to do with fertility or for young maidens to divine who their future husband will be. Yesterday, June 24th, was St. John’s Day which makes this still the perfect time of year to pick it for making oil and perhaps start your own summer solstice tradition. St. John’s Wort is the only herb that I know of where you must use the fresh plant to make an oil. The dried flowers just don’t work, trust me I’ve tried, but in general you want to use dried material for oils because water in oil can breed bacteria and mold. It is fine (and advisable) to dry your fresh St. John’s flowers at least overnight and up to 3 days to at least get some of the water dried off. The reason St. John’s oil is a prized herbal oil is because it has long been used for aches and pains so it makes for a great massage oil or bath oil specifically for soothing muscles. Just rubbing the oil on ache-y muscles in the morning and in the night is another way to use the oil.

To make an herbal oil with fresh material, you can use more material than with dried plants because the material will not expand as much in the oil. Take whatever size glass jar you want, let’s just say an eight ounce jar, fill it anywhere from half to 3/4 full of the fresh flower tops (in this case, 4-6oz worth of plant material), and then add the base oil up to nearly the top of the jar. You can “massage” the flower tops with a roller beforehand to prep them to give up their healing benefits most efficiently. The base oil can be any oil or combination of oils that you like to use such as sweet almond oil, grapeseed oil, jojoba oil, or sesame oil. Use a chopstick to stir the mixture a bit and put a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the jar if using a metal lid. If using a plastic lid, just cap it without the plastic. Turn the jar over a few times to make sure the herbs are all completely covered in the oil, then let it sit on a sunny shelf for 4-8 weeks. (Make sure you label it with the contents and date.) Turn the mixture upside down and back a few times every day for the first week, then at least every other day for the rest of the time and be extra mindful to watch for cloudiness or an off smell. The oil should turn a dark orange or reddish color over the 4-8 weeks.

When you are ready to use the oil, strain the mixture into a clean glass jar, cap it, and put a new label on it with the contents and date. Even though you want to make it with the help of the sunshine, it’s best to store it in a cool dark place once it’s made.

I have a couple of YouTube videos on making oils and although they were made using dried herbs, the process is basically the same if you want to take a peek: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2qObdwN9kk and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcE9gGbk0Zg

Documentary Series that is Free this Weekend (6.12-6.13.2021)

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This is a documentary series by Nick Polizzi that has been airing for free with an option to buy it and have it forever. If you are interested in any of the below the topics, you can watch the episode(s) free this weekend at this link: https://proven.thesacredscience.com/proven-replay-page. Basically they all talk about the latest therapies that have studies and proof behind them in these various health areas. Herbs are discussed, as is nutrition, movement and exercise, and many other modalities. I’ve watched a couple and they are interesting so thought I’d share.

Episode 1: The Root Cause Of All Disease

Episode 2: Reversing Autoimmune Disorders & Healing Your Gut


Episode 3: Brain Health & Restoring Cognitive Function


Episode 4: Solving Fatigue & Insomnia

Episode 5: Healing Heart Disease, Diabetes and Obesity

Episode 6: Overcoming Pain


Episode 7: Healing Emotional And Physical Trauma

Episode 8: Cancer Breakthroughs


Episode 9: Intimacy, Fertility and Hormone Health

Let me know if you watch any of the episodes and what you think!

Yearly Repost about Toxic/Nontoxic Sunscreens

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It’s that time of year again when we are bombarded with messages about sun safety and the need for daily sunscreen. That refrain has become a little dissonant lately though with more and more people questioning the ingredients in their sunscreen, with good reason. That ‘protective’ layer can house some awfully hazardous chemicals that have actually started to be researched as potential causes of cancer themselves, as well as having other undesirable qualities such as hormone disruptors, allergy-causing, and skin penetration. To review the specific chemicals and their risk factors, according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), check out the graph located in their article here. They list oxybenzone as the most hazardous chemical in sunscreens, so it is a good idea to double check that at least that one chemical is not in any of your sunscreen products.

The alternative to chemical sunscreens is mineral based sunscreens which are considered safer. Jessica Rubino, in her article for Delicious Living, explains mineral sunscreens in this way:

Mineral sunscreens use active mineral ingredients, such as zinc oxide and titanium oxide. They reflect the sun’s rays like a mirror to protect exposed skin.

UV protection

When buying sunscreen, protection from UV rays should be your top consideration. In that sense, mineral options take the prize, according to the EWG. Zinc oxide, in particular, delivers the best UVA and UVB protection (also known as broad-spectrum coverage), says Leiba. “Mineral active ingredients don’t break down as readily in the sun, offering greater protection for longer.”

Ingredient safety

Generally speaking, naturally derived ingredients used in mineral sunscreens are gentler than chemicals. Still, some considerations remain. Avoid titanium dioxide in powder or spray form; the EWG claims it’s linked to toxicity when inhaled. Also, it’s worth reading up on nanotechnology, which creates tiny particles that are often used in mineral sunscreens to make them easier to rub in. Since labeling regulations of nanoparticles don’t exist yet, ask manufacturers directly about their policies. EWG maintains that nano in sunscreen is safe, but research continues. (There do exist non-nano mineral sunscreens, such as the one from Babo Botanicals below.)

Appearance

Other than those that use nanoparticles, mineral sunscreens simply don’t rub into skin as well, often leaving a white film. In the quest for mineral sunscreens that apply more evenly, some  companies are trying non-nano ingredients, such as an aloe base and ZinClear, a zinc oxide. If you choose a safe mineral classic, expect to take an extra minute to rub it in.

In another article from Delicious Living, the following nine sunscreens were given the safety rating of 1 (safest!) by the EWG. Compare that to oxybenzone which has an 8 (out of 10) rating and it’s clear these mineral sunscreens are a far safer bet. That being said, I do want to point out that from what I have read and also gathered from my naturopath, people really need half an hour of sun on their faces and bare arms every day, without sunscreen, for proper amounts of vitamin D. Here in the Pacific Northwest, as well as other places around the country and world, proper amounts of vitamin D are not even possible without supplementation because of the lack of sun for many months out of the year. Vitamin D is important for immunity, skin, bone, and mental health, and blood pressure concerns, plus a lack of vitamin D has been implicated in breast cancer and prostate cancer, as well as many other chronic health conditions. Keep this in mind when determining your sunscreen usage. It’s not only important to choose your ingredients wisely, but also to know how to use your products to ensure optimal health. The following are listed alphabetically:

Andalou Naturals All-in-One Beauty Balm, Sheer Tint, SPF 30

andalounatural-sunscreen

With well-rounded complexion protection, Andalou’s BB product not only uses minerals to shield from harmful rays but also to lend a subtle, “sun-kissed” tint to skin. Fruit stem cells and superfruits provide an antiaging and brightening boost, too.

Babo Botanicals Clear Zinc Sport Stick Sunscreen, Fragrance Free, SPF 30

babobotanical-sunscreen

Containing 20 percent non-nano zinc oxide and a cocktail of nourishing botanicals to sooth the skin (think avocado oil and cocoa seed butter), this new launch a clear winner in safe sun care, and the EWG rating agrees.

Badger Unscented Sunscreen Face Stick, SPF 35

badgerfacestick-sunscreen

Badger continues to raise the bar for safe sun care, this time focusing on developing effective nontoxic preservatives specifically for mineral sun care. Badger’s line includes products for the whole family; this easy-to-apply face stick contains 22.5 percent zinc oxide for superior active lifestyle protection.

California Baby Super Sensitive Sunscreen, SPF 30+

californiababy-sunscreen

A brand that has rightfully earned the trust of moms, California Baby once again delivers on baby-centric safety, according to the EWG. Ideal for little ones, this fragrance-free product offers a comfortable application that is also sting-free for the eyes (moms can use it as a gentle-on-the-complexion option, too).

Goddess Garden Everyday Natural Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 30

goddessgarden-sunscreen

A go-to for anyone seeking daily, no-fuss sun protection, this product contains an efficacious blend of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide in a base of soothing aloe leaf juice, shea butter and coconut oil. Plus, it’s organic. A great choice for your body—and the earth.

Hampton Sun Sunscreen Lotion for Baby, SPF 45

hamptonsunforbaby-sunscreen

Another extra-gentle, excellent choice for babies, this product complements its UV-protective mineral blend with soothing chamomile and sunflower oil.

Jersey Shore Cosmetics Anti-Aging Mineral Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 35

jerseyshore-sunscreen

Sun protection is your No. 1 defense against aging. But extra protection is a major boon. Top-rated by the EWG for its UV protection, this SKU also contains vitamins E and D3 for antiaging prowess.

Juice Beauty Sport Sunscreen, SPF 30

juicebeautysport-sunscreen

Tailor-made for an active and beautiful lifestyle: Protect with chemicals, support with plant extracts, antioxidants and vitamins.

Mineral Fusion Mineral Sun Stick, SPF 30

mineralfusion-sunscreen

Mineral Fusion knows what skin needs—and the company is no stranger to delivering it with carefully crafted mineral formulations. This product starts with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, then gives skin a vitamin and antioxidant boost.

In short, avoid chemical sunscreens, especially ones with oxybenzone in them, and instead opt for mineral sunscreens with zinc oxide and titanium oxide. Also, if you must use a spray sunscreen, only use ones made with zinc oxide, not titanium oxide, because the EWG lists it as unsafe when inhaled in that form. Enjoy the sun and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.

Allergen Free Specialty Breads

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A couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon My Bread Gluten Free Bakery and since they have styles of gluten-free bread that are rather hard to find, I decided to give them a try although I personally dislike buying groceries online. I figured that they would be a fun treat and that I could then go on with life as before. The good news is that the boys and I love the bread, all the styles we tried are amazing, and the bad news is that I’ve slipped further into the online grocery shopping hole.

You can find this brand in some stores, but the only one near me is in a close by city which I rarely go to. If you look for it at a store, it might be in the freezer section but don’t let that bother you because the bread perks up really nicely. I’m not affiliated with them but I have a referrer code that gets you $3 off your order (and I think they will send me $3 off my next order too~ win-win!) so if you buy online, use this code: http://mybreadglutenfree.refr.cc/kristenschuhmann and this month (May 2021) if you order $50 worth of products (trust me, it’s easy to do) then add Soft Breadsticks to your order, the breadsticks are free! The soft breadsticks are one of the things that we always buy and love so that is a great bonus.

The breads are not only gluten-free, but also dairy free, soy free, nut free, and egg free. We love the baguettes for making sub sandwiches and “cheesy bread”, the soft breadsticks are perfect with salads and soups, and the flatbreads are delicious warmed up like pitas or made into personal pizzas. We make regular pizzas on these with red sauce and cheese (vegan cheese for some of us~ we like Daiya shredded mozzarella and cheddar), but we like even more rubbing olive oil on these and adding grilled chicken, garlic, red onions, artichoke hearts, basil, and oregano, preferably with a side salad.

Flatbread Pizza

In other food allergy news, my sister sent me this article stating that milk allergies are now causing more severe reactions that tree nuts and peanuts. Usually we think of milk allergies as simply causing discomfort, but this article shows that kids are ending up in the hospital and having severe anaphylaxis reactions. Most people do eventually outgrow milk allergies, but they are learning now that the age is generally later than formerly thought. Keep in touch with your doctor about the latest thinking over when to retry milk if you or someone you love has been diagnosed with a milk allergy.

Let me know if you give My Bread Gluten Free Bakery a try! They have other goodies than the ones I mentioned, but those are the ones that are hard for me to find in my usual grocery haunts!

Radiolab Show on Alzheimer’s and Ancient Antibiotics Working on Modern Bacteria

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This was too good not to share:

https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/episodes/staph-and-gamma

The Alzheimer’s part is about research currently going on with treating the disease by increasing the gamma waves through light and sound. The ancient antibiotics part is about a recipe found from a millennium ago that works on staph, including MRSA. Garlic wine, anyone?

Natural Health Coaching

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My blogging friend in France is offering her natural health coaching services online now! She is English so speaks both French and English fluently, and her philosophy is very balanced with there is a time for modern medicine (vaccines, antibiotics, etc), and a time for self-advocacy and getting to the root (naturally!) of problems instead of accepting the pharmaceutical band aids that are generally offered in doctors’ offices. I can tell you she’s brilliant and also has a great sense of humor with a sound perspective on all things health related. Check out her site and let me know if you end up working with her! Her blog post is below and you can find more info on contacting her and what to expect here: https://thehealthyepicurean.eu/natural-health-coaching/.

Natural health coaching

Just under 20 years ago, I visited an endocrinologist because I was suffering terrible palpitations. He did some blood tests and, seeing that my thyroid, iron levels, etc were normal, prescribed beta blockers. He seemed extremely taken aback when I wanted to know the cause of the palpitations, instead of just accepting his ‘bandaid’. The beta blockers worked well, but I was concerned that it seemed as though I might be beta blockered for life; there had to be a reason – my heart hadn’t just made a unilateral decision to ‘rave’ 24/7.

After some research, and a visit to a naturopathic doctor, it turned out I was very deficient in magnesium. This also explained the terrible muscle and joint pain I had been having. It sometimes really is that simple. I happily replaced my beta blockers, muscle relaxants and ibuprofen with magnesium-rich food, and a good magnesium supplement and haven’t looked back.

From birth to eight months, my son, Léo, slept in stretches of about an hour, when he would wake up screaming. The local doctor said he was ‘capricious’, and was doing his best ironing board impression at hourly intervals throughout the night for fun. After numerous pitiful attempts, I eventually found a wonderfully understanding pediatrician, with a forensic attention to detail and a sympathetic ear, who immediately diagnosed silent reflux. She prescribed the necessary medication, as well as changes to his eating and sleeping arrangements. That night my ‘capricious’ baby slept for 12 hours straight.

The other doctors had missed this diagnosis because it was ‘silent’ (he wasn’t vomiting or even regurgitating). I returned to see the local doctor because I thought she might be interested to hear the conclusion, perhaps for other patients. She flat-out refused to believe he had silent reflux on the basis that if you can’t see it, touch it, or test it, it doesn’t exist. She had made her helpful diagnosis of ‘capricious’ and she was sticking to it.

We still visit the doctor from time-to-time and, as you will read here, I am eternally grateful for many aspects of modern medicine. We are mostly vaccinated, and take things like antibiotics or cortisone when necessary. But there is a time and place for everything, and these two experiences turned out to be salutary: I learnt that in order to stay healthy, I had to advocate, sometimes forcefully, for my family’s health.

I started to study naturopathy 15 years ago, and I am a certified Natural Health Consultant and Educator. A number of people have contacted me to ask whether I provide online consultations. Over the years I have been consulting on an informal basis, but I would now like to offer this to everyone that might be interested. Please see this page for further information.

Anti-Germ Room Spray

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This past week has been one of adjustment as one of my sons and I both returned to our schools in-person. My youngest son opted to finish out the year remotely so he’s holding down the fort with our dog while my older son and I are navigating the new routines of our old worlds. It’s been draining, to be honest, and the adjustment had us both in bed early on Friday night from sheer exhaustion. Between the new rules and norms due to covid and the anxiety that just seems inevitable now in larger groups, and trying to figure out all the little things that the pdfs of new protocols somehow haven’t covered much less remembering all that is covered on those pdfs…it’s a lot. I realized by the end of the week that I hadn’t made a room spray yet for my main classroom where I spend most days which is something I used daily last year to keep the germs down and spirits up. This weekend I’m making two versions of an anti-germ room spray and thought I’d share the recipes here.

I have a blog post/YouTube video on making room sprays which I made before I realized that adding a bit of an alcohol to the distilled water really helps the essential oils mix into the spray. Essential oils tend to sit on top of water, which you will notice if you put essential oils directly into your bath without using an oil carrier, so shaking before spraying helps but not as much as adding an alcohol, such as vodka which has very little to no scent, into the bottle along with the distilled water. Follow the same guidelines in my book, All Natural Perfume Making, when deciding which essential oils to include and in what proportion. For my classroom, I’m going to include thyme which is a strong scent that tends to overpower all other scents it combines with, but I’m using it because it is powerfully antibacterial and antiviral. Aim for about 30 drops of essential oils per ounce of liquid, and for the liquid aim for half of it being alcohol and 1/2 distilled water.

This is the view from my classroom window

Anti-germ Room Spray:

2 oz bottle

1 oz distilled water

1 oz vodka

10 drops thyme

20 drops lavender + 10 more drops in one bottle

20 drops rosemary + 10 more drops in the other bottle

The reason I’m making two versions is that the one with more lavender will be for calming anxiety, either mine or the students’ in the room. (Trust me I can tell when the room is tense with anxiety!) The one with more rosemary will be for when fatigue is a problem and the brains in the room need to wake up and focus.

Always shake the bottle before spraying and keep it away from your face and especially your eyes. Don’t forget to label it too and write down what you put into yours so you can track what works well for you and what you’d like to change for next time.

Good luck to all of you who are also navigating changing routines right now!

How-to Posts and Recipes Related to Perfume Making Book

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Here are some of the former posts and videos I’ve made that relate to my book, All-Natural Perfume Making. If you are looking for a step by step process from the book that isn’t here, let me know by contacting me!

How to Make Vanilla Extract
How to Make an Herbal Oil Part 1
How to Make an Herbal Oil Part 2
DIY Herbal Oil Quick Method
How to Make an Herbal Tincture Part 1
How to Make an Herbal Tincture Part 2
Rose Water DIY
Spray Perfume DIY
Body Spray for Guys
Herbal Perfume Base DIY
Herbal Perfume Base DIY Part 2
Vanilla Oil DIY
The Art and Craft of Herbalism
Bay Rum Aftershave and Toner
Fragrance vs. Essential Oils

The Slow Movement in a Quickening World

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spring field

Here we go again. The world is opening up and I for one can feel the frenzy building. I’ve heard and read that many people are as anxious about returning to the modern lifestyle of the ‘before times’ as they were about the unexpected mandatory pause. I feel like this is prime time to truly evaluate what works for us, each of us, and take steps to create the life that feels right to us. The pace, the connections, the responsibilities…if we don’t decide for ourselves how many plates we can spin, then others will decide for us.

For those experiencing anxiety related to the state of the world and all of its turbulence and unknowns (who isn’t??) then I hope you add some herbal additions to your daily life might help. Adaptogens and nervines specifically are the herbal categories to consider. Adaptogens help the body to adapt to stress of all sorts and nervines work on balancing our nervous systems. I’ve linked to places where I’ve written about both, but if you use the search bar you’ll find more articles addressing these two categories of herbs and also other natural anxiety relieving options such as GABA, CBD, and L-theanine.

But I think we need to remember to think holistically about where extra stress and anxiety build and flourish in our lives. We can take all the herbs and spray all the essential oils, but if our life is out of whack on a daily basis, it’s like putting a band aide on a gushing wound. Those natural aides might help you adapt to a pace of life that is uncomfortable, but it’s still an uncomfortable pace of life. It’s worth thinking about how to adapt your life to you. We can’t all spend every moment doing exactly what feels right to us in that moment, but we can make it a priority to move our lives in that direction so we can feel in charge of our lives instead of stuck in reaction mode.

This brings me to the Slow Movement which came out of Slow Foods. If you are not aware of Slow Foods, it is an international organization that promotes good, clean, and fair food for all people and the planet. It was named as a reaction to fast food and has grown into a multidimensional organization with themes including slow wine, slow meat, slow cheese, and promotes food fairness awareness from seed to plate. One of my favorite projects of theirs involves school gardens and they just are an organization I greatly admire. Just check out the website and join a local chapter if you feel moved to do so. The Slow Movement takes these concepts of good, clean, and fair, and extends them beyond food to encompass all areas of life. This is not an organization to join, it’s more of a philosophy to employ, which is why I linked to the Wikipedia page instead of an official page. This concept really resonates with me. I love the idea of quality over quantity and doing things better instead of faster. Our world keeps speeding up, and since the invention of the printing press, there’s been collective unease about technological advances outpacing human ability to adapt. Below is an interesting less than 10 minute Ted Talk that gives more insight into this.

If this resonates for you, I hope you act on it.

Publication and Release Day

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Thank you so much to all of you who preordered my book! If you did so, it will likely arrive today if it hasn’t already, or in the next couple of days. I really appreciate all the support, enthusiasm, and also your patience while I have been hyper-focused on it. My dad nailed it when he said it’s been like a multi-year pregnancy. It really has been a long process, delayed several times, so today feels long awaited. This book represents a lot to me, beyond the pages and words, as you certainly know if you have been following along for a while. I am eternally grateful for you being here, no matter how long it’s been. Thank you🙏

DIY Herbal Oil Quick Method

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Happy Equinox Weekend everyone! I decided to make some video tutorials that correspond with recipes in my book since the pictures aren’t necessarily step-by-step visuals of the process. I haven’t made a how-to video in over a year so this one is pretty rough. I’m feeling inspired to get back into the groove though so it feels significant that I restarted on Spring Equinox. This corresponds to page 94 of my book.

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel

All-natural perfume making, or the new sourdough bread — The Healthy Epicurean

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One of my blogging friends in the US, Kristen Schuhmann, whose blog, Blossom Herbs, is a go-to for all things herb-related, has written a beautiful book: All-Natural Perfume Making, fragrances to lift your mind, body and spirit. Banana bread, sourdough starters, supermarket toilet-roll brawls begone! Natural scents are order of the day. The title is […]

All-natural perfume making, or the new sourdough bread — The Healthy Epicurean

Excerpt from My Book on MindBodyGreen on How to Make All-Natural Solid Perfumes

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Solids are a great way to carry a perfume around with you in your bag, especially when traveling, since there aren’t spillage concerns with solids. The excerpt from my book explains how to make an all-natural solid perfume, including vegan options because most solid perfumes use beeswax. Click on the link below or here to see it.

Excerpt of My Book on MindBodyGreen

Happy Crafting! 🌸🌿

The Better Normal Article

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I wrote an article for the website, The Better Normal, and wanted to share it here as it has two recipes from my All-Natural Perfume Making book. (The recipes were modified in that they use straight oil or alcohol for the bases, instead of the herbal oils and extracts in the book, in order to provide less complex recipes.)

Here’s the first paragraph:

Nature gifts us many ingredients and tools to help us rest, relax, and rejuvenate. Just being in nature is grounding and soothing which is what led Japanese doctors to start writing prescriptions for ‘forest bathing’ (or spending time in nature). Doctors around the world have taken note, and the idea that being out in nature releases stress and promotes health is no longer fringe. Along with “forest bathing,” things like caring for plants, gardening, hiking, and outdoor yoga have plenty of nature-based health benefits. And from these experiences, we know that herbalism (use of things like herbs and essential oils for healing) is also an incredible gift from nature that can be grounding, relaxing, and promote better health physically, emotionally, and mentally.

To continue reading, please click this link.

Thank you for reading!

Multi-Layered Natural Perfume Making

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It’s March, my birthday, and my book will be released this month! I’m in the mood to celebrate! 🎉! March has become heavy with significance the last few years, and I am so happy that this March I can turn it around into a lighter, brighter month heralding spring and good things to come once again. In March of 2019, my (now ex)husband left after a tumultuous few years and right after promising we could start over and everything would be fine. In March of 2020 my divorce was complete on the same day we moved from the only house my kids had known, and it was the first day that schools here went remote and we embarked on a “two week” quarantine, which of course is still more or less going on a year later. To say that I’m happy that this March is the month my book is officially releasing is an understatement, and to celebrate all month I’ll be giving glimpses inside it.

One piece of perfume creation that the book covers is how to balance top, middle, and bottom notes. In the book you’ll find examples of where the essential oils fall in terms of top, middle, or base notes, but in general the top notes are the lightest scents, so citruses and some florals, middle notes are herbs and other florals, and base notes are generally the woods and resins. In order to make the most well-rounded perfume that lasts the longest, it’s best to have essential oils from each category. Top notes refer to the first notes of a perfume that you smell, while the middle notes come in next and are often referred to as the main component of the perfume, and the base notes are the last to come through and also linger the longest. If, for example, you are drawn to top heavy perfumes, it can help balance out a perfume to add scents from the other note categories. Personally, I tend to like base-y perfumes, and usually have to add a top note towards the end and that is always when the perfume comes together and smells complete.

Below is a recipe from the book for a mood balancing perfume, where the note categories are clearly shown. This perfume still works with just two of the essential oils, but when all three are together, it’s a more balanced, complete scent that just resonates better. As the word ‘note’ suggests, it is indeed like music. If you can imagine just a drum playing, then a drum and guitar, then a drum, guitar, and a bass guitar, that can help you visualize the difference between a perfume that’s just thrown together with one or two scents, as opposed to one where the different note categories are considered.

Once you mix your essential oils, add them to oil or an alcohol like vodka to actually put on your body. Don’t put essential oils directly on your skin because they are extremely potent and need a carrier. (There are a couple of exceptions to this rule, but in terms of perfume, always use a base oil or alcohol unless it is a solid perfume in which case the carrier is already oil and/or wax.)

Enjoy the change of seasons, wherever you are! It feels like spring here today🌷🌻🌷.

Herbs and Essential Oils for Love

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Happy Valentine’s weekend! If you are snowed in and worried about not having a gift yet, my post about making your gifts might come in handy. Love is a full time preoccupation though so this information is hopefully for the long-term, not just on special occasions. This won’t be a NSFW post btw, it’s more of a look at how health affects our love life, especially our mental/emotional health, and what we can do to help ourselves be healthier. I was thinking along these lines for two reasons, the first being that I wanted to recommend an herb to someone who is still a teenager and I knew that particular herb was also recommended for adult men for sexual health, so I had to do a bit of research to see if it would be a problem. (I’ll give more info about that herb in a moment.) The second reason is because I’m starting to do some marketing around my book about essential oil perfumes and the topic of which essential oils are aphrodisiacs often comes up, especially this time of year. (More on that below as well.)

When it comes to herbs, although there are some recommended for aiding sexual pleasure, such as damiana (more specific to women but either gender can get benefits) and Horny Goat Weed, subtle name, I know, this one is more specific to men but again, both genders can benefit from it. The herbs that are going to provide more long-term sexual health are the ones that are going to work deeply on our stress response, anxiety, and hormones. Which herbs do that? The class of herbs that are adaptogens are the ones that will have the most long-lasting health giving affects in terms of sexual health and I’d argue, even love. Adaptogens, such as ashwagandha, eulthero, and rhodiola work on our endocrine system which houses our organs which make and transport hormones. Hormones are involved with our entire body and are responsible for our stress responses. Most people have heard of cortisol, which is the fight or flight stress hormone that is activated more than ever in our modern world, and most have heard of ‘adrenal fatigue’ from too much stress responders firing at all times. Stress plays a huge role in not only our health, but also our relationships. Any bartender can attest to the aphrodisiac affects of lowering stress through having a drink or two, and this is often the go-to way to socialize and date. Taking adaptogenic herbs can help the body have more moderate and healthy stress responses and also recover from stress more quickly, and by stress I mean all kinds, such as physical, mental, emotional, financial, environmental, relationship, and on and on. It’s no wonder we could use some extra herbal support and rely on alcohol as much as we do! I’m not knocking alcohol by the way, but the more we can do for ourselves on a daily basis that has multiple bonus benefits, then we won’t need alcohol quite so much which has multiple negative side effects.

The herb I was talking about above that I questioned if a teen should take is ashwagandha, and the conclusion I came to was yes, teens can take it. (Though if you have a teen with a high libido already, choose a different adaptogen.) This is an herb traditionally used to balance emotions and moods, improve well-being, reduce stress, improve focus and dispel brain fog. It is often also used in men’s ED herbal products and can increase libido. Ashwagandha should be avoided by those with hyperthryoidism. To learn more about adaptogens, I have a free mini-class about them that you can access through the classes tab on the top of the page.

This is getting to be a rather long read so I might make a video as a companion, but in the meantime I’ll just bullet point other herbs to consider:

For women~ Raspberry leaf is overall reproductive health tonic, as is shatavari which roughly translates to “having many husbands”. Damiana was mentioned above, and having the tea of it with cinnamon can be a great way to try it out.

For men~ Saw Palmetto (remember this was the hot herb for prostate cancer for a while) is an overall sexual health tonic. Gingko Biloba can help with ED. Horny Goat Weed has already been mentioned but bears repeating. Pine has traditionally been used to help with low testosterone.

For everyone~ Eleuthero can strengthen the reproductive system and is another adaptogen. Ginseng is only recommended for adults and in Asian countries it often only given to adults over 60. (I’ve also read over the age of 40 so it depends, I assume, on what country we are talking about.) It is known as a libido and energy enhancer but is not to be taken long term nor by those with high blood pressure. Two months on, one month off, is a traditional way to take it, but listen to your body. Cacao is a relaxing mood booster which is often included in aphrodisiac concoctions.

Essential oils:

The focus should be on what relaxes you and makes you feel good. There are some that are traditional aphrodisiacs, but, just as above where the focus is on stress relief, essential oils can aid in relaxation and help fight anxiety which, let’s face it, is often involved in dating and relationships. The more you can take anxiety out of the equation, the more open you are to your intuition, to the other person, and to the reality of what is taking place. If you are operating in a state of stress and anxiety, you are not going to be your authentic self and will instead be either performing in hopes of being chosen, or so focused on being chosen that you hide your true self and ignore red flags. Being relaxed and in a state of authenticity is how to best connect without losing yourself. Essential oils can help you do that by diffusing them or wearing them as perfume, and I mean all the essential oils. Whatever resonates for you will be supportive to you, and will help you show up ready for the connection in front of you and not creating a false storyline due to stress and anxiety. Notice I said supportive, not a cure-all. If you have chronic anxiety or other mental/emotional issues, please seek the advice of a therapist and/or doctor.

Traditional Aphrodisiac essential oils:

Vanilla, although not a true essential oil, has been rated the number one aphrodisiac scent and is also known as a relaxing scent. I use it by making the base of my perfumes either vanilla extract or vanilla oil, and add vanilla absolute to the oil based perfumes. Rose essential oil is known for supporting all kinds of love and heart chakra health. Jasmine is a scent associated with romance, and the spicy essential oils like cinnamon and nutmeg can indeed add spice to your love life.

Thank you for reading and Happy Lunar New Year too!🐂🎆🎇

Chai for Bloating

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There are many reasons to drink chai, the spiced up tea from India. It’s delicious, warming, and if you don’t like one cup, you can change up the spices next time around. Often chai bought in cafes is a highly sweetened concentrate with nothing medicinal about it, though it can still be a tasty treat. When it’s made correctly though, it acts as a carminative, which is another way of saying it eases bloating and gas. The traditional spices are also prebiotics and immune modulators/boosters (depending on which ones used), and you can add herbs that are specific to what you want to address. You don’t have to add the black tea if you want a caffeine free version, but tea itself has anti-oxidants and l-theanine in it which is an anti-anxiety amino acid.

Chai is usually served with half water and half milk, but again, those proportions are completely up to individual preference. To make sure it is truly a medicinal beverage, the milk needs to be one that is not agitating in any way, so if you can drink dairy without issues, go for it, but everyone else (and there’s a lot of us!) go ahead and experiment with oat milk (my favorite!), coconut milk, or whatever is your go to milk alternative. I like to add just a bit of vanilla nutpod creamer to my chai and if you can tolerate things made with nuts, I highly recommend you give it a try.

I have not put my own chai blend together (yet) because I’ve found one that I absolutely love. Before I introduce it and a few others though, I want to warn you to read the ingredients of any packaged chai you buy. It’s common to get it in concentrate form which indeed is easier (and not as messy) to use, but many if not most are highly sweetened. Even if you want sweetened chai which is indeed the traditional way to drink it, it’s best to sweeten it yourself, to your taste, and to use whatever sweetener works best for you. Of course, if you love a chai concentrate that is sweetened, it’s better to drink that and get the herbal benefits than to not drink those spices at all!

My favorite lately has been Morning Glory’s Spiced Home Brew Kit. I love it for several reasons. First of all, the ingredients are amazing. It has 16 ingredients, all herbs(!), as long as you count black tea as an herb that is, and those herbs are phenomenal ones. There are the traditional ones such as cardamom, ginger, black pepper, etc, and there are added herbs such as gotu kola and gingko biloba which are excellent herbs for the brain, and fo-ti which is known as the longevity herb. It tastes amazing too, nice and spicy, though if you can’t handle too much spice you can use less of the blend in water as you simmer the spices, and simmer for a shorter amount of time. Or this might not be the blend for you if you really don’t like spiciness, but I will say that my son loves this chai too and he can’t handle much spice. For the two of us, I like to put at least two heaping tablespoons into a little over 2 cups of water and simmer for 15-25 minutes. (It’s a great way to make the house smell delicious too!) Which takes me to the next thing I love about this particular product is that they package the black tea separately so you can add it after simmering the herbs for a longer time. I have tried to use blends with the herbs and tea already together, but they are never quite right because you have to simmer the spices for best results but simmering black tea is not a good thing to do because it causes bitterness. Being able to simmer the herbs and then add the tea once the burner is turned down is perfect. I usually turn the burner down when the water has reduced about half an inch and the chai smell is fragrant throughout the house, add 1T tea and let it sit for about 5 minutes, then I add the (oat) milk with a bit of vanilla nut pod and let it all sit together for another five minutes while either turning the burner off or leaving it on low. Then I pour the pot through a mesh strainer straight into our two waiting mugs.

You can use that home brew kit to make your own concentrate which would be easier and less messy (the messy part is pouring it out into mugs) but I like to make our fresh each time and as I mentioned before, it always makes the house smell amazing so that’s a big bonus. They also sell a liquid concentrate of this blend themselves but the second ingredient is honey so it’s not unsweetened like the home brew kit.

I bought Bhakti, a liquid concentrate version, that is not sweetened for quick emergency chai making, but I haven’t tried it yet. I don’t like that it doesn’t detail which spices are used, but I’m willing to give it a try. Let me know if you have had this one.

Another option is chai powders. This one is a golden chai which means it has turmeric in it as well, a fantastic anti-inflammatory herb with adaptogenic qualities. This is an easy option because you just add it straight to your warm water/milk and stir, but it’s not as spicy as I like. This might be a better choice for those that can’t handle spiciness or are specifically working on inflammatory issues.

I’ve noticed when I just replace one cup of coffee with chai per day, it makes a real difference in my digestive system. I have coffee when I wake up, but then chai in the late morning or early afternoon, and it is a nice balance. As Hippocrates famously said, “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.” I think drinks can be included in that sentiment!

Thank you for reading and please share with anyone who complains about bloating!

Botanical Artist Opportunity🌿

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Calling All Artists and Designers — The Herb Society of America Blog

The Herb Society of America is Seeking Design Art! Organizers for the Virtual Educational Conference and Annual Meeting of Members (EdCon) to be held June 10th – 12th, 2021, invite artists and designers of all ages and abilities to submit artwork for consideration for the 2021 EdCon logo. The theme is, of course, HERBS! To […]

Calling All Artists and Designers — The Herb Society of America Blog

Herbs, Roots, Connection

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This new year has started off with a bang here in the U.S. and it has me thinking about my passion for herbs, herbal crafting, and sharing with others. My training has been focused on clinical herbalism but that is never what I wanted to do for various reasons, but mostly because what I treasure about herbalism is the self-knowledge, self-application, and self-enjoyment of having a relationship with the herbs. I aim to connect people to the earth, their roots, and each other through herbs because herbs and humans have been living entwined lives since the beginning of time. When we engage in cooking, crafting, medicine making, or simply brushing by herbs and smelling their scents, we are engaging in the same activities all of our ancestors did since the very beginning of humanity itself, and we are engaging in activities that bind us to each other all over the world and to the earth herself. For that reason, working and playing with herbs is immensely satisfying, joyful, and scratches an itch like nothing else.

The connection people form when making herbal concoctions together is something truly special to behold. If you have never taken an in-person herbal crafting class, I highly recommend it because it is as high-vibe as it gets. That connection is what I want to see more of in the world, and what I want to be part of creating. Connection to earth, to our roots, and to each other is a driving force of this website, classes I’ve made for online and IRL, and for the books I write and contribute to. Connecting to all kinds of people has always been extremely important to me and is one of the reasons I got an MA in TESOL. I love teaching English as a Second Language because I get to meet people from all over the world and that is truly the best thing ever. When I was in college my roommate once remarked that I must know every exchange student on campus, and she was probably right but I hadn’t even thought about it. Of course I want to connect with those with different lives, different habits, opinions, preconceptions, etc. It is fascinating! Isn’t that why we read books too? It is why I personally love novels…the lives that I haven’t lived are so fabulously ‘other’ and full of insights and experiences that I could never get through my own little corner of the world.

So back to this new year and this same old story of divisiveness. The events of this past week of the insurrection on the nation’s capitol were shocking enough, but the lack of police action was even more shocking after this summer’s displays of brute force and tear gas against peaceful BLM protestors. The disingenuous discourse I have witnessed from those that are uncomfortable with seeing in action what their rhetoric has incited, or even their silence, is just as upsetting. I don’t want to be silent on this and I never thought I’d have to say this, but as much as I treasure connection and I want all people to be seen and heard, this is not a space open to white supremacists, racists, or misogynists. Some have responded to that mob by stating, “This is not who we (as a nation) are,” and others have said, “Yes, this is actually who we are right now and we have to accept that and move towards better,” but I disagree with both those statements. That is not who I am, and I refuse to be part of any community that comes remotely close to what was so arrogantly displayed to the watching world. That is all I have control of and although I hope we as a nation are moving towards ‘better’ and I do believe we will and must, I cannot say that small group is who we are or who we aren’t because they aren’t going to define me, my communities, nor my country. They are they, and they are not we and they are not welcome here. That is all I wanted to say.

Happy New Year!

Scent Intentionality

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A quick video on how using scent with intentionality can enhance your life experiences. By making easy, natural perfumes, you can connect what you study and prep for to a scent that you can then use when you need the link to those memories close at hand. For detailed information on making natural perfumes, please check out my book now available for preorder: https://www.quartoknows.com/books/9780760369142/All-Natural-Perfume-Making.html

Einkorn Bread

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My blogging friend, The Healthy Epicurean, inspired this post when she asked if I had the yeast einkorn bread recipe I’ve been using here or not. I have shared the sourdough version here, but up until today, I hadn’t shared the yeast version. This is a really easy recipe (easy is even in the title) and I throw it together two or three times a week. I use Jovial’s recipe, just as I used Jovial’s sourdough recipes as well, and I highly recommend perusing their site for more recipes and to shop their delicious goods. Jovial Foods is the one einkorn brand I can find so I am very lucky that Whole Foods and PCC both carry it now. I actually couldn’t find it for a while which is why I let my sourdough go (whaa!), and now that it’s back on the shelves I’m too worried it’ll disappear again to put in the effort of remaking a starter again. I know I can always order the flour, but being able to pick a bag up at the store just makes it seem so much simpler and I’m not willing to add more items to my “must be ordered online’ list at the moment. I think einkorn is easier to find in Europe, (is that right Fiona?) And speaking of Fiona, if you don’t already read her blog, The Healthy Epicurean, it’s full of tasty, healthy recipes and enough humor to get you through at least one dark pandemic winter day. Check it out when you need a new recipe along with a side of chuckles.

Why use einkorn? Einkorn is the oldest iteration of wheat that we still use, and it fell out of favor because of its weak gluten content. This of course means that for some who are sensitive to gluten this form is digestible and does not cause the usual wheat-induced symptoms. This is not for celiacs though and there is no guarantee that you can handle einkorn if you can’t handle other wheats (like spelt) so please be mindful if you try it out. My son and I can handle it but only after we took measures to heal our digestive systems and I am SO happy we can because it’s so good. If you are just someone looking for a healthier wheat, this is it! It has more protein and less gluten and tastes like real food which, let’s face it, gluten-free bread has a hard time doing. Gluten-free baked goods (besides bread) are awesome, but for some reason bread is just a hard one to replace.

Mix ingredients right on a kitchen scale for best results

Here’s the recipe copied straight from Jovial’s website with some of my own tips below:

Easy Einkorn Sandwich Bread Recipe from Jovial Foods
INGREDIENTS

  • 1¼ (295 g) cups warm water
  • 1½ teaspoons dry active yeast
  • 2 tablespoons oil or butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 tablespoon sugar or honey
  • 3¾ cups (450 g) jovial All-Purpose Einkorn Flour
  • 1¼ teaspoons sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, oil or butter, sugar or honey. Stir until creamy.
  2. Measure the flour with a baking scale or spoon into a measuring cup, then add it on top of yeast mixture. Sprinkle the salt on top.
  3. Mix with a spatula or jovial’s einkorn knead tool until the flour is absorbed and you have a wet, sticky dough.
  4. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise for 45 minutes.
  5. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter an 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pan.
  6. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. The dough will feel very sticky and wet, but try not to add more additional flour than what you have dusted the work surface with or you may find dry flour baked in the bread. Shape the dough into a loaf. A bowl scraper is a great tool to help with shaping the sticky dough.
  7. Place in the loaf pan, cover with oiled or buttered plastic wrap to inhibit the plastic from sticking the dough. Let rise for 30 minutes. Remove the plastic wrap.
  8. Bake for 40 minutes. Let cool completely before slicing.

Click the link for more tips from Jovial about this recipe, but I’ll give you a couple of mine here. For one thing, make sure the water is lukewarm and not edging towards ‘hot’. The bread will rise much more fully if the water is the right temperature. The next tip is that when I leave the bread to rise longer than the two times given above, the bread is much better and fuller. I usually like to give the first rise a good hour or more, and the second one even longer, so close to two hours if I have the time. You don’t have to elongate the times, but that’s what works best for me. For the work surface, I put down a piece of wax paper and then dust it with flour and also dust my hands with flour. When the dough is in the loaf pan, I throw the left over flour into the compost and save the wax paper for another time or two of bread making. (It just saves some clean-up time.)

Incidentally, I don’t mind baking bread several times a week but cooking on a daily basis is still a thorn in my side. The delivery service I tried ended up being a good thing for my youngest, but my oldest and I really didn’t care for the food. Back to the drawing board on how to make this constant cooking situation more manageable. Any tips would be appreciated!

Enjoy the last couple of weeks of this crazy year. If you are looking for homemade gifts to make, check out this old post or type DIY into the search box on here, and be sure to let me know if you make something.✨

Change Blog Challenge

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This post is part of the Litebeing Chronicles Change Challenge which is an almost yearly event that I’ve participated in years past. This year’s theme is change, and more specifically how living through this unprecedented time has provided insights and evolution that have changed me. It’s a theme that anyone could probably write a novel about so I encourage all of you to keep the theme going and write about your own changes during this year wherever it is you like to write. It seems to help solidify growth and progress when you can really look at it and put it into words. I saw a post somewhere, probably IG, that said, “Make a done it list instead of a to-do list for once.” I’m not sure if that was the exact wording but I like the thought behind it.

This year was so full of change that I had the distinct feeling in March that not only had a chapter ended in my life, but an entire book was abruptly slammed shut and a new one opened with crisp white pages but rather rigid rules. My sons and I moved from the only house they’ve known in March, the day after our district’s schools shut down due to the pandemic, and the exact same day that I received the news that my divorce was official. Funnily enough, that happened to be Friday the 13th and the move was indeed a difficult one. The packing process was emotionally draining as I found all the forgotten mementos of our life as a family of four, all the letters and photos, souvenirs and homemade cards. Even while trying to sort out which books were mine and which were my ex’s, a seemingly straightforward activity, I ran into romantic dedications on the inside covers, and memories of when it felt right tucked in at night with our respective books and the safe comfort of knowing the person next to me was meant to be there. When had that changed? Long before 2020, but it was this year I had to confront it all over and over again. Not only that, but I am not a natural planner/organizer so packing and moving as the only adult in a household of three was intensely difficult from a logistics point of view. My sons would try to help but I did 95% of it myself and had trouble with movers who canceled twice on me. Then I had to set up a new house on my own which again, was logistically difficult and did not play to my strengths to say the least. I loved the house from the start though and I am relieved to be out of that house that held so many memories and so much pain. This house we live in now is smaller and by most standards not as “nice” as the one we moved from, but I am grateful for it every single day. It is cozy, it’s in a phenomenal location, and I feel like I can breathe freely here.

This is all especially good because we have been in some sort of lock-down ever since moving here! I had no idea we’d be spending so much time within these walls when we moved in, as in all day everyday for months on end, so the gratitude I have for finding this place and the moving process being over is immense. In the beginning there were so many appliance and other issues with the house that it was causing a lot of extra stress after we were already strung out from the move itself. I could see how much the stress was weighing on the kids so I decided to try to lighten it all up with a bit of fun and told the kids we were going to hold a ritual to appease the house appliance spirits. I used our dog’s toy sheep as the sacrifice and let them stab it after some words of praise and pleading to the divine overlords of the house. I thought it was hilarious but only my youngest son understood I was having a bit of fun and thought it was comical. My older son thought I had lost my marbles and I later had to explain I was trying to make them laugh, not cause him more concern. He was relieved. Our pup was not amused whatsoever.

Ritual

Other changes have been less dramatic and clear cut, but I’ve spent more time meditating since I’ve had more time on my hands and that has been intensely rewarding. I’ve returned to outdoor running, something that I’d given up due to hills bothering my knee, but I guess my knee has healed because I run hills almost every day now and it’s been my favorite part of the day. I like to run as soon as the sun is up and it sets my entire day up on a happy note. It is one of those subtle things that turns out to be life changing over time.

Running

Our eating habits have changed and I have to say that it hasn’t been for the better. Without the more rigid schedules of school and work, the three of us tend to want meals at different times and cooking/eating has seemed like a full time activity in this house which has worn down my enjoyment of it. I used to like cooking a lot more than I do now and I desperately need to find a solution to this overwhelming issue, and I might have found one. I am going to try a home delivery service that delivers meals and also deli style grocery items that can be easily added to sandwiches or salads. I’ve never tried something like this and it feels like a cop-out for some reason, but I am going to give it a go anyway and see if the boys can take care of some more of their own meals if they just have to warm it up. If it turns out well I’ll share which delivery service it is but if this first one doesn’t work out I might try another until I hit upon something that works for us. One of my friends is fond of saying you have to accept where you are and do what you have to do, and this falls into that category. I know it’s a temporary situation that just needs some support for the time being, not a permanent lifestyle change.

One last personal change to share, though there are so many others from this year that I’m leaving out because this is already long enough, is that I’ve been feeling more and more myself during this year. The years preceding 2020 were harrowing years of a spiraling downward marriage, then the divorce, so in many ways 2020 has been a respite from the emotional confusion and drowning. It has offered me a quieter year where I could heal, reconnect with the parts of myself that are not stuck in survival mode, and begin to see the light and beauty in the world again. As strange and stressful as the year has been, I’ve been grateful for it every single day.

I hold out hope that all the ugliness that this year has exposed will start to heal too. I hope people embrace more compassion, more simplicity and quietness, more care for the earth and their fellow humans, and more understanding of how interconnected we all are. This year shined a light on all the divisiveness, nastiness, and ugliness that haunt humanity’s worst instincts, which ultimately is a good thing since hidden things cannot be healed. The shadow self creates regrettable behavior and judgement, whether it is the shadow self of an individual or of a collective, and I truly believe that the more we as individuals look at our own shadow selves and work to bring the light in, that work will transcend individual lives and light up the collective.

The closer we are to nature and our surrounding communities, the more connected we are as humans, in touch with our roots and our common humanity. As William Shakespeare said, “One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.”

Thank you for reading and let me know if you write your own reflection on how living through 2020 has changed you.

Love and light💜✨

Vegan, GF, Vanilla Pound Cake

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If you’ve visited here for a year or more, you certainly know by now that I’m not a fan of traditional Thanksgiving foods. Although, I must say that as far as those foods go, the desserts aren’t bad, but if you are looking for something else to add to holiday get togethers (wait, are we going to be able to get together at all this season?) scratch that. If you are looking for an easy dessert to have around the house this holiday season, or to gift your gluten-free and/or vegan friends, this is an easy, yummy recipe and it can be customized according to your tastes. Plus, pound cake in an appropriate breakfast food, right? Add some Greek (DF) yogurt and a satsuma, or an apple with peanut butter, and you have a full meal. Really, a pound cake is basically a muffin in a different shape when you think about it.

I looked for a simple recipe online that I could easily change to gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free, and this one from Dinner then Dessert worked well. It lured me in with an advertised ten minute prep time and hour bake time, and it didn’t let me down. This was the easiest thing I’ve baked lately and my sons and I have enjoyed every bite.

Here’s the recipe, but keep in mind it’s completely customizable to your own dietary needs and tastes. You can add chocolate chips or cinnamon for example, which I considered, but then decided to keep it purely vanilla. If you don’t do dairy but eggs work for you, I recommend using the eggs instead of the flax if you want that pretty golden color that pound cakes wear so well. Mine turned out more of a dull brown than golden but it still shined in taste. Here’s the recipe:

GF, Vegan Pound Cake (Modified from Dinner then Dessert by Sabrina Snyder)

Ingredients:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prep a 8×4 inch loaf pan with a coating of vegan butter or spray with coconut oil. Sprinkle a small bit of flour on top of the oil/butter. Also, my loaf pans are 9×5 so the pound cake came out a bit shorter and wider, but it works.
  2. Mix the flax seed meal with the warm water and set aside. I always do this in a mig for easing pouring.
  3. Mix the vegan butter and sugar with a handheld mixer, or in a standing mixer. on high speed and beat until light and fluffy. It takes a couple of minutes for the mixture to get fluffy and really this is the most labor intensive part of the recipe. Trust me, it’s worth the three minutes.
  4. Turn down the speed of the mixer and add the vanilla and the flax mixture (these can be in the same mug), mix a bit and then add the milk alternative.
  5. Add in the flour, baking powder, salt, and anything else you want in your cake and mix until just combined. It’s ready to pour into the loaf pan and bake for an hour. Cool on a wire rack before digging in.

Have a great Thanksgiving if you are in the U.S. and I hope everyone, everywhere, has a lovely start to the holiday season.

Peace and Gratitude to all ☮🙏✨

Natural Skin Products for Acne and Eczema DIY

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I woke up with one goal in mind today, to make a perfumed body oil because I’ve been out for about a week and my skin is already feeling parched. (Winter weather problems). Instead of just stopping with the oil though, I decided to make my teenage son an acne-fighting toner and also an eczema oil for some dry patches he has on his neck.

He uses Alba Acnedote products on his teenage skin, and they work pretty well, but he still has issues at times as probably all 16 year old boys do. One problem is that when he goes to his Dad’s he has different products there and also his diet isn’t as strict as it is here pertaining to his food intolerances. Skin issues are very often related to dietary intolerances, which is likely why there is the common misconception that dairy causes acne. It’s not the dairy, but being intolerant to dairy and consuming it anyway, that causes the acne. So many people are dairy intolerant that it makes sense that many, many people would get relief from their skin issues by avoiding dairy. Gluten is another food that can cause skin problems if you are intolerant to it and I know it made me break out every single time I ate even just a scrap of it. (Now I eat spelt and einkorn without problems but that is after a lot of digestive healing measures and years without any gluten at all.) Other foods to consider avoiding if you have chronic skin issues are soy, eggs, and nuts.

Toner is used after cleaning and before serums or moisturizers. This is an easy toner with just 2oz of witch hazel, 3 drops of tea tree essential oil, and 3 drops of lavender essential oil. I instructed him to keep his eyes firmly shut when he sprays this on his face because no one wants essential oils in their eyes. If your skin is sensitive, start with one drop of tea tree and one drop lavender in the two ounces of witch hazel.

The eczema oil is very simple as well. I used .5oz of jojoba oil which is noncomedogenic (doesn’t clog pores) with 2 drops lavender essential oil and 2 drops rose absolute. I chose rose over tea tree for this one because tea tree is slightly drying while rose is specific to dry and/or mature skin. Lavender e.o. is great for any type of skin issue. By the way, eczema is just as often related to food intolerances as acne is, and in fact almost all skin issues (such as rosacea) and have a strong correlation with the digestive system. Hippocrates famously noted, “All disease begins in the gut.”

This is the perfumed body oil in the making. These body oils not only keep my stomach, arms, and legs soft and moisturized throughout the year, the act of putting it on day and night also keeps my hands moisturized and healthy. I used to have chilblains during the fall and winter, but ever since I started being consistent with perfumed body oils, the flair ups are far less common. I change up the base oils and essential oils each time, but as long as quality of the ingredients is good, the body oils are therapeutic and beautifying. If you would like the recipe for this one that I did this morning, let me know and I’ll add it, but I want to encourage you to create your own concoctions with the ingredients you have on hand.

Thank you for reading and if you haven’t already checked out my book coming out in March but available now for preorder, take a look and let me know if you have any questions 👀:

Thank you for reading and let me know if you make any of these, and if so what your recipe turned out to be.

Happy crafting ✨🌿!

Vegan Foods and Supps to Try

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These are the latest samples I recieved from the New Hope Influencer Co-op and as usual, there are some real gems in here!

First the food. These Umami Snaps are made of chickpeas, are gluten-free, nut-free, and vegan. Their taste reminds me of roasted chickpeas with a lot of garlic powder, but the texture is more like a thick rice cracker. It’s an addictive combination! These are really tasty and I can imagine eating them with Indian food, although we just snacked on them straight. They also boast more protein than the usual carb-y snack.

We were able to sample vegan Mexican dips again from Zubi’s which was a treat. Just like last time, we loved them all but the Crema de Jalapeno was our favorite. The vegan queso is one of those things that I didn’t realize I missed (since I rarely eat dairy) but once I had it I wanted to create a meal around it. If you are creating a gift basket for a vegan friend anytime soon, include Zubi’s queso and crema for sure, and I promise they will love you for it.

We all have immunity on our minds this time of year, especially this year, and this immune+ from youtheory is a great combination of mushrooms, vitamins C and D, and zinc. If you want to take one immune supporting supplement instead of dealing with three or four different bottles, this is a great one to try.

The SuperGrapes from humann are surprisingly tasty. I’m not sure what I was expecting but I was quite pleased that the instructions said to take 2 and not just one after trying this for the first time. They are gluten-free and vegan and are full of grape seed extract sourced from the Loire Valley in France. If you aren’t drinking your daily glass of red, you can supplement with these delicious squares. According to the packaging they promote energy, normal blood pressure, and and antioxidant support which all sounds great to me!

There will be more to share when we try more of these goodies. I’m especially excited to try the face serum and collagen coffee so if you are interested those too, stay tuned for an update coming soon!

Making Perfume Samples

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This was a fun project! I made some sample perfumes to accompany the marketing team when they introduce the book I wrote to book buyers. It was a little intimidating to try to create a scent for 25 strangers that was going to be gender neutral and hopefully widely appealing, but I really liked how the scent turned out! It reminds me of fresh air like no other perfume I’ve ever put together and now I’m working with the publisher on making it a bonus recipe for those that preorder the book.

In the parlance of Instagram…How it started:

How it’s going…

Speaking of Instagram, check out these eagles I saw on my run this morning! They were so quiet that I don’t know why I even looked up. It must have been their intense regal-ness that caught my attention:

Here’s a link to the book where you can preorder through your book seller of choice, including independents. Thank you so much for your support!

💜🌿🌸

HSA Webinar: Hamlet’s Poison: The Mystery of Hebanon & Shakespeare’s Other Deadly Plants — The Herb Society of America Blog

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By Jen Munson, HSA Education Chair ‘There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance; pray, love, remember: and there is pansies. that’s for thoughts.’ (Hamlet 4.5.248) William Shakespeare’s poetic plays are filled with dramatic imagery and references to plants, herbs, trees, vegetables, and other botanicals. Shakespeare’s awareness of the botanical world was near the level of herbalists of […]

HSA Webinar: Hamlet’s Poison: The Mystery of Hebanon & Shakespeare’s Other Deadly Plants — The Herb Society of America Blog

This👆 look like such a good webinar! It’s free for Herb Society of America members and $5 for nonmembers. I am thinking of taking it myself and would love to hear if you tune in too! The only issue I have with the announcement though is where it says that Shakespeare’s herbal knowledge was ‘near the level of herbalists’, because everyone back then had herbal knowledge and Shakespeare would not have used esoteric things in his plays since he wanted them to be widely understood. Maybe she meant his knowledge rivals modern day herbalists…? Even so, that wasn’t unique to him, despite the man being beyond brilliant and the greatest contributor to English in the entire history of the English language, his herbal knowledge was simply on par with the times. Wouldn’t it be amazing if everyone still had this knowledge? I can’t imagine how different that would make our modern world…it’d make it better, that’s for sure.

What are you doing for Halloween this year? Our neighborhood is filled with cute decorations but I don’t think there will be many costumed visitors.

Take care friends! 🎃

Adaptogens Reminder

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Jar of homemade blend of adaptogens

It’s been a while since I wrote about adaptogens but if any year could use some adaptogenic help, 2020 surely is it. Adaptogens have that word ‘adapt’ as a root for two reasons: 1. Adaptogens help the body adapt to stress. This includes all stress such as mental, emotional, physical, and environmental stress. (More info on that further down). 2. Adaptogens adapt to the person’s needs in the body. Many herbs have adaptogenic qualities, but to be labeled first and foremost an adaptogen, the herb must ’cause no harm’ meaning most people can take adaptogens and only ever experience benefits. (There are always exceptions due to individual allergies or other personal conditions so check with your health professionals if you have any concerns.) This means if you take an adaptogen such as Tulsi (also known as Holy Basil) for its mood balancing effects but you also have low blood pressure, it will not lower your blood pressure further even though another person with high blood pressure might take the same herb to help lower theirs. These herbs are balancing and are best taken over a long period of time, mixing up the herbs instead of just taking one for years on end. The best way to take adaptogens is take one or a blend for a couple of months, then switch to a different one or blend for the next couple of months, and so on.

Back to that first point of adaptogens helping the body adapt to stress. That can sound very non-specific but all herbs have affinities for certain bodily systems, and adaptogens work mostly on and through the endocrine system. The endocrine system involves the organs that create and transport hormones, such as cortisol known for instigating the fight or flight response. Adaptogens help create balance in the hormonal system, therefore adapting to stress in healthier ways. They replenish exhausted adrenals, lessen the peaks of stresses, and are known to nourish energy levels for the same reason. If your energy is not being sharply peaked and lowered as much as what happens each time cortisol is activated, then that energy is more balanced and can support stamina better. Adaptogens are in fact used by athletes to encourage stamina and lessen recovery time.

To learn more about adaptogens and how to take them, check out my post from a couple of years ago or watch my mini-class on them for free.

Take care of yourself this crazy year in any and every way you can.

💜🌿

All Natural Perfume Making

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I don’t think 2020 has been a banner year for anyone, and personally 2019 was not a great one for me either because that was the start of my divorce and it ended just in time for the pandemic lockdown. There have been other things as well, just as we all have our personal stories of loss and pain during this extraordinary time in history, but the one bright spot for me was I fulfilled a lifelong dream of writing a book about something I love, and I’m happy to announce it is now available for preorder. http://quartokno.ws/AllNaturalPerfumeMaking

This book tells you how to create natural perfumes from natural ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen, garden, or liquor cabinet, plus essential oils (though you don’t actually need them). There are recipes to play with and instructions on how to create your very own signature scent. Alcohol based, oil based, and solid perfume instructions are all there, and the mental and emotional benefits of the essential oils are discussed so you can create with your health in mind as well as your aesthetic sensibilities.

I can’t tell you how many dark days were transformed by focusing on this book and pulling out my essential oils and filling my hands with dried herbs. There is healing in these natural ingredients, healing in the beauty they create, and healing in the creation process, of that I am 100% sure. I can’t wait to share this particular kind of beauty and healing that is both deep and long lasting, good for you and good for the environment.

The pandemic pushed the publication date a few times but it now is set for March 2021. You can preorder now and as you probably know, preorders matter in the algorithm of how many books are bought by retailers which informs how many books are produced, so if you intend to order the book, please do so early. Here’s the link which gives options for US, Canada, UK, and Australia. If you are somewhere else in the world, contact me and I’ll talk to the publisher who seems able to do just about anything.

If you know anyone who likes to craft, is interested in herbs, essential oils, and/or green beauty, please share this book announcement with them. I would be forever grateful. 🙏

All the best to you and yours,

Kristen 💜🌿

Lung Herbs

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If you are on the west coast, you have likely just experienced the worst air quality of your life. I don’t know how Oregon and California are doing at this point, but we’ve had rain in Washington for the last 24 hours that has thankfully cleaned the air to its almost normal freshness. This past week introduced me to a website called airnow.gov where you can track your air quality in real time. I’m kind of obsessed with that site now! Check out your zip code if you are in the U.S. and see if you are surprised by what you find. This was our smoky sky:

I was going to put together a lung herbal blend of my own, but I stumbled upon a great tincture at Whole Foods today and I’m so grateful that it exists! I will use it daily until it is empty to try to reverse some of the toxic buildup that surely happened over the many days of smoke. This blend is from a Seattle company, The Herbalist, but you can order it online as well, or perhaps your local Whole Foods carries it like mine does…? I’m not sure about that though so online might be your best option so I’ve linked to it (no affiliation). If you just want to throw together your own herbal lung blend, this product’s ingredient list is pretty much all you need to look to for the best herbs for lungs. Here’s the list: Elecampane fresh root (Inula helenium), Grindelia fresh flower & leaf (Grindelia integrifolia), Yerba Santa fresh-dried leaf (Eridictyon californicum), Pleurisy fresh-dried root (Asclepias tuberosa), Marshmallow fresh root (Althea officinalis), Usnea fresh-dried tree lichen (Usnea barbata), Lobelia fresh-dried herb (Lobelia inflata), Yerba Mansa fresh root (Anemopsis spp.), Pure grain alcohol, Distilled water.

I hope you are healthy and safe wherever you are, breathing clean air and drinking clean water. It’s a strange year and I hope everyone is holding up as best as they can. I’m honestly of the (unfortunate) opinion that these issues are here to stay though, at least for a while. We are experiencing the effects of global climate change and that includes the pandemic because overpopulation and changing climates puts wildlife and humans into closer and closer contact. I hope we can collectively take steps towards climate awareness and support laws that prioritize our environment. I’d say, ‘it’s time’ but the truth is that it is way past time.

Breathe deep. Take your herbs. XOXO

Post Henna

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A Weed Lover’s Manifesto — The Herb Society of America Blog

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By Andrea Jackson I love weeds. There, I said it. Don’t worry, I do pull them (there’s a reason why they’re called weeds, after all), but I am much more likely to make a tincture or a salve or something good (yes, good) to eat than to discard them completely. After all, weeds were really […]

A Weed Lover’s Manifesto — The Herb Society of America Blog

Honey Lips👄

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I’ve been working on another writing project that has taken more time and energy than I expected, but I wanted to share this DIY lip therapy from the kitchen because it works crazily well. First of all I have to say that I have had dry lips all my life. I’ve tried every lip balm, both off the shelf and homemade, possible and still my lips continue to be dry. I have a theory this must have something to do with my intestines not being coated enough since I’ve always had digestive issues too and some face mapping would agree with this correlation, but I don’t have any proof of that nor does it really help my dry lip problem. Recently I read that some people use honey or beeswax on their lips to fight fine lines there, and I thought, ‘Of course! Honey is healing, why hadn’t I thought of honey before?’ I’ve had plenty of beeswax on my lips over the years but never honey so I thought I’d give it a try and wow, it works better than anything I’ve ever put on them, plus it tastes good! At first I just layered it on before bed, not a huge amount but a nice thick coating, but it worked so well I’ve begun dipping my finger in the honey jar in the morning too. I’ve been using this Manuka Honey from Manuka Health so I can’t say for sure regular honey will work as well since the healing properties of honey can vary widely.

Manka Honey from Manuka Health

Manuka honey is known for having superb healing benefits including wound healing, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory. If you have dry lips or aging lips (thinning and lines) I highly recommend putting some honey on them. It’s the easiest DIY from the kitchen since one ingredient facial masks! I hope you are all well and making the best of this strange year. Maybe a little bit of honey will sweeten things up! 🍯

About B.O.

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I think I’ve mentioned this before, but the number one natural products question I’ve gotten for years is, “What is a good natural deodorant?” The overwhelming number of times I’ve been asked this might have to do with the number of moms I know with kids using deodorant for the first time. I have a few I usually recommend, but it does take some trial and error to find what works for you. Personally, I really like this one by Earth Science which is aluminum free and it uses lichen as the replacement for some of the harsh ingredients of ‘regular’ deodorant. The herbal scented one is great too. Another thing to consider if you have a strong odor of any sort, including bad breath, is to drink chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is full of nutrients and removes bodily odors so if you are self conscious of one or more of your own, give it a try.

I’m sharing the following from New Hope Network. I am a member of the New Hope Influencer Co-op, a network of health and wellness bloggers committed to spreading more health to more people.

Title: Say N.O. to B.O.

Author Credit: Jessica Rubino
Jessie is New Hope Network’s Director of Content Marketing, and beauty writer.

We’ve all been there: nonchalantly giving your pits a whiff after a workout or a stressful day. Could it be … me?

The good news is that if you were born with a specific gene, ABCC11, you will never stink (hooray!). The bad news: The gene is prevalent in East Asia, but rare in America. So how can the rest of us keep the dreaded B.O. at bay—and, what if we want to do it naturally?

The culprits
We all know when we have it, but how often do we think about what causes it? Sweat is the short answer—but not the complete one. At the most basic level, the mixing of sweat and bacteria causes odor, but it’s a lot more complicated than that. Each of us has a unique odor, determined by a range of factors. And the folks who study this stuff (yep, there are people who study stench and sweat; most often they’re called organic chemists) have dug deeper to learn more about how odors can indicate deeper health issues. Sometimes how a person smells can be linked to rare conditions, such as TMAU (or trimethylaminuria), according to George Preti, PhD, an organic chemist at the Monell Chemical Senses Center. Other more common health concerns, such as diabetes and liver and kidney disorders, can also alter body and mouth odor when they are advanced or unregulated, Preti says.

Other times, it can relate to lifestyle, according to experts, who say that simple tweaks can also make a difference—and that includes assessing the foods you eat. Some preliminary evidence suggests diets heavy in certain foods, including sulfur-containing cruciferous veggies and red meat, may trigger foul smells. A low-carb diet may also be a concern, because when your body has fewer carbs to burn for energy, it burns fat, which can affect your odor.

The stress connection
These days, stress reduction seems to be a cure-all, doing everything from supporting healthy inflammation response to clearing your complexion. So it may come as no surprise that reducing stress in your life can also diminish body odor. The type of sweat you release when you’re stressed is different from the kind from a hard workout, because it comes from a different type of sweat gland (apocrine versus eccrine), Preti says. A hard workout equals watery (and often not that smelly) sweat from eccrine glands. The apocrine glands, however, are found in your pits and release sweat when you’re struggling to meet a big deadline, arguing with a friend or running late for your kid’s school concert. These psychological stressors trigger the apocrine glands, and the resulting sweat contains a higher concentration of fat and proteins. It’s a less wet sweat but a more potent-smelling one.

Deodorants vs. antiperspirants
Although we often use these terms interchangeably, there’s a big difference between deodorants and antiperspirants. (Note: Some products function as both.) “There’s a lot of confusion in the category, and there’s one fundamental difference,” says Eric Rabichow, COO of French Transit, Ltd., a California-based company that manufactures mineral-salt deodorants. “Deodorants are considered cosmetic products because they simply control odor, while antiperspirants are regulated as drugs because they affect the body’s physiology by blocking the pores.” Deodorant quells B.O. by using ingredients that tackle odor but not sweat. Antiperspirant blocks ducts to prevent your body from releasing sweat. These generally contain aluminum, which has become known as “the sweat blocker.”

Au naturel
Sweat isn’t really the biggest villain in all of this. In fact, sweat can be your friend—releasing toxins and regulating your body temperature. But we all want to keep it in check and, more importantly, ensure it doesn’t give off an unpleasant odor. Tackling these problems naturally doesn’t need to mean avoiding deodorant. Today there are a host of mineral and plant based options that really do work by getting to the odor’s source, without blocking sweat or making you smell like a rental car. One important thing to note when shopping for a natural deodorant: There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to inhibiting body odor. “Different ingredients found in different antiperspirants and deodorants can impact people in different ways,” says Rabichow. “Each person’s body chemistry and bacteria on their skin is completely different, so the reaction to a specific deodorant or antiperspirant will be fairly different for each individual.” To find what’s right for you, we recommend sampling, sampling and sampling some more until you identify a product that works well with your body chemistry.

Where to start? Mineral salts were one of the first natural alternatives and continue to be a popular one; they create a barrier that prevents odor-causing bacteria from forming on the skin. Beyond salts, many current options contain a base of arrowroot powder and/or baking soda to absorb wetness and plant-based butters and essential oils to nourish skin and neutralize odors. The charcoal craze, too, has made its way into the deodorant space to draw out impurities, as have new (and sometimes resurrected old) deliveries, including pit pastes and on-the-go wipes. As for the question of whether you need deodorant or antiperspirant … Generally, sweat is good and even necessary. So if you see a product labeled just “deodorant” (as is the case with most natural brands), it could very well get the job done.

DONATE IT! Everyone Needs Clean Personal Care
People don’t often think about donating personal care items. But basic products such as soap, feminine care, deodorants and shampoo are in high demand. “Many people do not realize these items are not covered by food stamps,” says Michele Orpin, director of operations at Giving the Basics. This Kansas City–based nonprofit distributes a range of personal care items to those in need. When you do give, consider donating nontoxic personal care products to reduce others’ exposure to potentially harmful chemicals.

Odor Eaters
Give these leading natural brands a try to banish stench and feel fresh all day.

Schmidt’s / Edens Garden Earth + Wood Natural Deodorant
Schmidt’s has impressed us with its natural odor-quelling prowess, so we were psyched to see its latest—a collaboration with essential oil company Edens Garden. This blend contains a base of magnesium hydroxide, coconut oil and arrowroot powder to soak up moisture and odor, plus cedarwood, patchouli and vetiver oils to lend a fresh and complex scent.

Earth Mama Organics GingerAid Deodorant
One word: brilliant. Earth Mama developed a line of deodorants with ingredients that cater to a woman’s changing hormones and sensitivities during and after pregnancy, when fluctuating hormones can affect pH and more. Containing refreshing organic citrus and settling organic ginger, this deodorant was formulated especially for mamas who can’t stomach the morning deodorant routine because of nausea.
Crystal Essence Chamomile & Green Tea Towelettes
The natural deodorant go-to continues to innovate with both ingredients and packaging. One of its latest launches contains mineral salts and essential oils but in a convenient, on-the-go wipe that you can stash in your purse or leave at your desk for some of your most, er, stressful moments. (End article)

One last word from me (Kristen) is that you might have to apply a natural deodorant more often throughout the day than a ‘regular’ deodorant, so don’t necessarily throw out one that doesn’t last all day but instead try touch ups throughout the afternoon to see if that works for you.

Thank you for reading!

Rose Water DIY

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Rose water is lovely to have around for both drinking and using externally in beauty products. Rose is specific to the heart chakra is known to ease depression, anxiety, and grief. It can also relieve headaches, especially those caused by stress. Externally, rose is a skin healer and rejuvenate-r. It is great for mature skin, as well as skin that has blemishes, scars, eczema, rosacea, sunburn, and on and on. Basically, if you have skin, rose water is good for it. In the summer I like to have a little spray bottle of rose water in the fridge for fresh spritzes during the day. I also use it in homemade toners, in a proportion of 50% witch hazel and 50% rose water. It’s easy to make and there is plenty of room for variation. For drinking, rose petals combine well with strawberries for some infused water goodness, or try sprigs of lavender with rose petals in water for a true stress reducing combination.

rose water ingredients

The fastest way to make rose water is to make an infusion on the stove top. This is fine for external uses and in a pinch if you need to drink rose water in a hurry, but I recommend the cold method for rose water if you have a night of sleep to spare. The hot method makes a browner version, while the cold method makes a pure, translucent, rose water.

Hot method beginning
Hot method ending

For the hot method, use half the amount of rose petals as distilled water, (example: 1/2 cup rose petals with 1 cup distilled water,) bring to a near boil but not quite, then simmer until the color drains from the petals into the water which doesn’t take long. You can do the whole process in half an hour. Strain using cheese cloth over a metal strainer so you can easily squeeze out the rose petals. A coffee filter works well if you don’t have a cheese cloth.

Cold method beginning
Cold method ending

The cold method involves the same proportions, but honestly if you want a less potent rose water just use less petals. This is an herbal craft so variation is both expected and encouraged. Place the rose petals and distilled water (half the rose petals as water, so 1/2 cup rose petals to 1 cup distilled water for example) in a glass jar and let it sit overnight. In the morning the color and healing benefits will have moved from the petals into the water. Strain as described above, pictured below.

rose water straining

There are so many ways to enjoy herbs that it’s hard to imagine them not a part of everyone’s life in some way. They offer so much health, beauty, and joy, and it is my greatest hope that you have a variety of ways to have them as part of your life too.

Thank you for reading! Let me know if you make some rose water and if so, what you do with it~ I’d love to hear! 🌹🌹🌹

Trikatu for Digestion

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I tend to think of trikatu as the sibling of triphala, which I wrote about here. Both are ayurvedic combinations of three herbs which tonify the digestive system. Triphala is for the later end of digestion, toning the intestines and aiding in regularity, while trikatu is for the beginning of the digestive process with firing up the stomach in order to digest food successfully. There is a difference in who should take these formulas though, as triphala is generally safe and helpful for all people while trikatu has a more narrow market it is suitable for. The combination of ginger, pipali (long pepper), and black pepper make it a fiery herbal combo that suits those who have weak digestion and low acid creation. In other words, if you have heartburn, this is not the herbal supplement for you. In ayurvedic terms, if you are a vata or especially kapha predominant person who tends towards coldness and wetness with bloating and a sense of stagnation in your stomach after a meal, then this could be for you. Pitta predominant people (say that three times fast!) should not take trikatu unless told to do so by an ayurvedic professional.

Trikatu is much less well known than triphala, at least here in the U.S., which makes sense since the modern U.S. lifestyle stokes pitta elements in such an overwhelming way that even vata or kapha predominant people can have pitta imbalances such as heartburn and inflammation 🔥. It can be found online though (I’ve never seen it sold at a brick and mortar) and some reputable companies I like are Himalaya and Organic India. It is always important to buy herbs from reputable companies as we have all heard of the herbal supplements marketed and sold out there which have little to none of the herbs in them that they are said to. Stick with quality and not the lowest price with herbs and considering herbs are generally not that expensive to begin with, it should be considered a small investment in yourself.

Take trikatu at the beginning of a meal, much like you would enzymes or bitters. You can even take trikatu up to a half hour before a meal with a large glass of water, but be sure the water is room temperature and not ice water. Ayurveda teaches that cold water reduces the digestive fire so that would be counterproductive.

If you have any experience with taking trikatu, let me know! I’d love to hear about it.

 

Bug Spray DIY

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I wrote this post last year but it’s relevant every summer.

This is somewhat counter-intuitive, but bugs do not like essential oils. That always struck me as odd since bugs and plants seem like they should be natural friends, but I guess the strength of essential oils is off-putting to them. This works out really well for us because we can lather ourselves up with essential oil laced products and smell divine while playing in nature, without having to endure the nasty smells and questionable ingredients of over the counter bug sprays. Citronella is an essential oil that is already commonly used in mosquito repelling products such as candles, but there are other essential oils that can be just as effective and perhaps more appealing to put directly on your body and/or your clothes.

One way to take a precautionary measure before even getting dressed in the morning is to apply a body oil with essential oils on your arms, legs, and stomach. To make a body oil, you just need a base oil or a mix of base oils such as sweet almond oil, grapeseed oil, or jojoba oil, and add whichever essential oils you want to wear. Almost any essential oil or blend of essential oils will deter bugs, but especially good picks are lavender, peppermint, thyme, and lemongrass. You will want there to be 5-7 drops of essential oils per 1 teaspoon of base oil. (There are 6 teaspoons in an ounce, so aim for 30-42 drops of essential oils per ounce.) Make sure to shake the mixture before blending, and allow time for the oil to dry before putting your clothes on for the day to avoid oil stains. This can be reapplied throughout the day, but it is probably easier to make a spray for day time reapplication.

To make a bug spray, add essential oils to distilled water with at least a teaspoon of vodka, or use witch hazel instead, in a spray bottle (preferably dark glass) in the same proportion as above, 5-7 drops of essential oils per teaspoon of distilled water. You can spray this as often as needed on yourself throughout the day and it will help deter bugs and also provide a nice little scent pick-me-up when you do so. Again, any essential oils will be helpful, but the ones mentioned above would be a great place to start. Of course, citronella is always an option too.

4573EC2A-90F2-4FA1-AEC9-5A5BAE907BA21.jpg

In Valerie Ann Wormwood’s book, The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy, she gives this recipe for a great blend to keep away the little buggers:

4 drops Thyme

8 drops Lemongrass

4 drops Lavender

4 drops Peppermint

She recommends putting a couple of drops of this blend on a cotton ball at night and placing near open windows or around your head or body, especially while traveling. Another technique for traveling is to add a couple of drops to boiling water and placing it by an open window or if you are sitting outside, right on a table next to you. Even very hot water in a mug will dissipate the essential oils, so as long as you travel with an essential oil or two, or a blend like the one she suggests above, you don’t need to worry about a diffuser.

I actually do like to take a little terracotta diffuser with me when I travel. They are quite small and do not require any heat, so it’s a convenient option. These make cute little gifts as well, and are one way to easily use essential oils in your car or in other places where you don’t have the option to light a candle or use an outlet.

If you do happen to get bitten or stung by an insect, lavender can be applied neat to the area. Applying essential oils to the body without a carrier is 99% of the time NOT recommended, but lavender is one of the few that can be applied without a carrier and it actually is quite good for burns, bites, and other skin issues. Do use caution if you have sensitive skin though.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your bug-free outdoor time! Please share this article with anyone who might be interested in flower powered bug repellent.

In case you missed the links above, here’s more information on making your own body oil: https://botanicalalchemyandapothecary.com/body-oils-diy/ and more details on making a body spray: https://botanicalalchemyandapothecary.com/essential-oil-sprays-for-body-and-home/.

Olde Wyves Tales

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Wild plants

One of the most engaging aspects of herbs is their lore. Women in particular spent a significant amount of time growing, gathering, processing, and using herbs all day, every day, for much of humanity, so of course a literature of its own grew around them. Because herbal knowledge was passed on through oral tradition, many rhymes and rhythms were involved for easier memorizing. Keep in mind that for most of humanity’s time, the majority of people were not literate, and even when the populace started to learn to read and write, it was the males who were educated long before females. Grandmothers had no other options for passing along remedies, rituals, and traditions than through songs and poems. By the way, I recently learned that wife (wyfe in old English) was just another word for woman before it had the marriage connotation, just as ‘wort’ is the old word for herb. When you see a plant with wort in the name such as mugwort, motherwort, St. John’s wort, etc, then you know it’s had a long history of herbal usage.

Herbs have such rich lore attached to them that they can be tied to certain planets and/or astrological signs, or the moon or sun, they are said to govern over certain professions and/or aspects of life such as willows are the tree of poets and artists while bay laurel is the herb for creativity, they of course each have many medicinal attributes, divination use, and roles in rituals and rites. They also have their own language such as a red rose given from one person to another means romantic love, while rosemary means friendship and remembrance. There are many charms and symbolism with herbs as well, and since we could all use a bit of luck, protection, and magic, here are some ideas to consider:

Growing sedum, known as hens and chicks, will protect your home and garden, especially from lightning. Here’s a traditional rhyme about it:

“Round and green, hen and chick Sting of burns allay Rosy leaves will stick and prick But keep lightning away”

A white hawthorn hedge protects the garden and home from bad luck and mischievous spirits.

Feverfew hung in the house cleanses it and wards off disease as well as treats melancholy when applied to the head. (Make a crown of feverfew and I’m sure you will be jolly indeed!)

Garlic wards off evil and disease. Putting a sprig of mugwort in your shoe prevents weariness, however, if you do this on Midsummer’s Eve you run the risk of being carried off by a white fairy horse which will then leave you stranded! This one is timely for the quarantine I’ve heard~ if you have had a falling out with your spouse, you are to each give each other pennyroyal to make amends. Growing sage assures a happy house and that the woman there is the master. Eating sage ensures a long life as this traditional rhyme promises: 

“Those who would live alway Must eat sage in May.”

I don’t know about you but I want to plant all the plants possible just to be on the safe side because it seems they all have their specific domains to give luck and protection to. This is a very small snapshot of herbal lore of course because it is a vast history with variations as plentiful as the individuals who passed this history on. If you enjoy this aspect of herbalism, I recommend the book, Mugworts in May by Linda Ours Rago, which is where I got most of the above little tidbits. I hope your July is magical and your hearth and home are protected and graced with luck for the rest of the year.  

 

 

After Sun Spray DIY

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Happy July and Happy Canada Day to all of the Canadians! I’m sure we are all pretty happy to enter into the second half of this unusual year. Here in the Seattle area there is a common understanding that summer weather does not begin until July 5th, and true to form it’s windy, drizzly, and cool this morning (see above pic). The sunny days are coming though and if your skin tends to burn easily, this after sun spray is easy-peasy to make.

Peppermint and lavender will be the stars for this after sun spray, as well as aloe vera juice and/or witch hazel. Peppermint needs to be used with care because it can irritate sensitive skin, so although it is cooling, use it in moderation. Lavender’s healing effects on burns started the study of aromatherapy as we know it, so it’s fabulous on its own in this recipe if you don’t have peppermint or are too sensitive to it. Aloe vera is a great plant to have around your house in case of burns, or the juice can even be used as a facial mask for its firming action. Witch Hazel has tannins which help soothe sun burned skin and you can use it alone as the base if you don’t have aloe on hand.

–2 oz spray bottle (preferably dark glass)

–1oz witch hazel (can be plain or infused)

–1 oz aloe vera juice

–10 drops lavender

–5 drops peppermint

–Store in the refrigerator for up to one month, or use 2 oz witch hazel instead of aloe and store for 6 months in a cool, dark place.

Don’t forget to label your bottle with what it is and the date you made it. Writing down your recipe for next time is always beneficial too, as well as any notes such as ‘too much peppermint’ or ‘try aloe juice next time’.

May your July be a fresh start to this year with many happy summer days ahead.

 

Another Update and St. John’s Wort Folklore

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Summery path through greenery

In last week’s post I mentioned HopTea but hadn’t tried it yet. From the packaging to the taste, this is so similar to beer that honestly I didn’t care for it because I have never liked beer. My sons both liked it though (what is it about males and that beer taste? I swear it’s innate!) but my oldest liked it best and drank the bulk of it quite happily. He would love me to keep in stock so now I have another thing to add to my grocery list! They have ones with caffeine too, which seems ideal for people who want a beer taste without the alcohol or the sedative effect. Although I don’t care for the beer-like taste, I still think this just a really cool, unique herbal product and appreciate the simple, clean ingredient lists. The packaging is excellent too although it was a bit confusing at first to figure out if it had alcohol in it or not. I scoured the can, then their website, and it seemed not to have any, but just to make sure I did ask the company and it is indeed free of alcohol.

Aiden enjoying HopTea

Since this is St. John’s Day (June 24th) which is why St. John’s Wort is named such (blooms this time of year and considered the best day to harvest it), I’d thought I’d share a fun little folklore of the herb. Most know this herb for its anti-depressant actions, and some know it is also anti-viral and externally eases aches and pains, but there is still more to this herb.  St. John’s Wort has been used for hundreds of years as a protector and wound healer, and also used in divination. Because it is flowering around summer solstice, there are many variations of rituals for young women to divine who their future husband is and/or how long it will be until they are married. One way is to pluck a few flower tops in the dewy morning on solstice, in secret of course, then place them under your pillow and you will then dream of your future husband that night. Or, hang the fresh cut solstice flower tops on your bedroom wall and again, you will dream of your future husband. Another version actually begins the entire story line of a cute little-known book called The Lark by E. Nesbit where the main character uses St. John’s Wort on a summer solstice night along with an accompanying magical rhyme to see the face of her future husband. This takes place right after World War One and I love how herbs were still such a part of life in the not so distant past. E. Nesbit is known for her children’s stories by the way, so although The Lark is not labeled ‘young adult’ it would fall into that category I believe if it were written today. It’s a fun little read for an adult too, but perfectly appropriate for young adult or even middle grade readers if you are looking for summer reading options for your kids. And if you are disappointed that you missed this magical night of marital prophesy and now have to wait an entire year, rest assured you can sleep with a rose petal under your pillow and dream of your future spouse any night of the year.

If you are the crafting sort, I have a couple of videos on making St. John’s Wort tincture and several on making herbal oils so you can follow those directions using fresh St. John’s Wort. I don’t have a video making St. John’s Wort because it is one of the only herbs that does need to be fresh, not dried, in order to make oil and I have never had access to a large amount of fresh flower tops.

Enjoy the magic of summer.

Product Reviews Continued

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First of all, I have to say that I’ve already ordered more ultima replenisher from my last blog post. My oldest son and I both like to workout and after enjoying those electrolyte replenishers for a few days we were hooked. electorlytes

My youngest son did not miss out on the samples. Since he is the only one in the house that eats dairy and gluten, he was the guinea pig for the Iconic Protein Drink that is made with organic, grass-fed dairy. He is hard to please when it comes to anything food related but he loved the drink and said he’d definitely drink it again. It has 20 grams of protein which is great for a growing teenage boy so I’ll be looking to get more of these too.

He was also the one who got to sample the Eagle Foods Popcorn Indiana Movie Theater Butter Popcorn and he loved that too. My other son sampled the Eagle Foods Kettle Popcorn and he said that was very good. He liked the slightly sweet taste combined with the saltiness. Both have very short, straightforward ingredient lists that I appreciate, and are a lower calorie snack then a regular bag of chips.

Kettle popcorn info
Movie theater popcorn info

The St. Dalfour fruit spreads are not new and are something I buy off and on when looking for jam. They are tasty and I love the packaging (I’m an admitted sucker for packaging) which shows off its French origins and French-method recipe. (OK, I’m sucker for all things French too!) This is the type of fruit spread you can add to a gift basket or give as a hostess gift with some scones for spending the weekend at someone’s cottage and it will be a perfect treat. Or just use it everyday pb&j sandwiches like I do~ that works too.

We still haven’t tried the HopTea because it has calming, relaxing herbs in it which is perfect for right before bed, but I keep forgetting about it because I drink hot herbal tea every night and that can is in the fridge. It’s ingredient list is very short actually, just carbonated water, chamomile, and hops, which sounds so different and intriguing. I’ll have to write myself a note to remember to try it tonight! They have other flavors as well and I really like the fact that they are just herbs and/or tea, and carbonated water.

These all were part of the New Hope Influencer Co-op blogger box which I occasionally receive throughout the year and I don’t receive any payment for talking about these items, just as a reminder.

Thank you for reading and I hope your solstice is a good one!

 

New(ish) Natural Foods and Supps

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I just received a box of samples from the New Hope Influencer Co-op of which I am a part. Since it just arrived on Monday, I haven’t had a chance to try most things, so this will be continued next week. The first two things my family and I tried are worth talking about now though. The first thing I did was throw the sugar-free cookie mix from Pyure Brands into a bowl, added vegan butter and flax meal to replace the egg that it called for, and then ignored the directions which said exactly how far apart to drop the batter. I decided to save myself from cleaning up another pan and put them way too close together, so I ended up with a sheet of cookies that had become one, and when I tried to cut them up my youngest noted they looked like the shapes of countries. They are still good though and my sons don’t seem to mind a bit that they are sugar free and oddly shaped. Cookies can be any shape and still be good! But if you make these cookies, you might want to follow the directions all the way through.

The other product one of my sons and I tried is the Ultima Health Products’ Replenisher. I will now have to keep these in stock all the time because they are delicious and so refreshing after a workout. I rarely think about replenishing electrolytes and salts after a workout and tend to just drink a lot of water, but you can feel the difference when you take in something with added post-workout oomph to it. My son really loved it after his run today. He tried the grape and I tried the raspberry and we both thought the taste was just right in a slightly sweet and fruity way, without being sickly sweet nor too kool-aide-ish.

I will give out more information about these next week when we have a chance to try more of these items.

Stay well everyone and just think, you are living through one year that will certainly go down in the history books many times over and it’s not even half way over yet!

Sustainable Businesses Owned by BIPOC

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There is an herb to heal just about everything, but there is no herb for injustice. Voices and actions are needed and now is the time. I don’t know what to do honestly, but I’ve seen some suggestions to white people who want to be allies to give their space over to BIPOC people, so in that effort I am highlighting some brands and lists of sustainable BIPOC-owned brands. Please take a look and if you feel called to do so, follow, share, and buy from these brands when you can.

This first list has sustainable fashion and beauty brands:

https://www.restitchstance.com/black-owned-ethical-brands-to-support-this-black-history-month-and-every-month/

This next one has a list of sustainable fashion brands BIPOC owned:

https://www.thegoodtrade.com/features/ethical-fashion-brands-owned-by-women-of-color

Natural foods list:

https://www.eatthis.com/black-owned-food-brands/

All the wellness categories are covered here:

https://www.wellandgood.com/good-advice/black-owned-wellness-brands/

This is a holistic and natural body and beauty care company:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Thirddaysoapsgarden

I will add to this list as I learn more and I’d love your help. If you know an herbal shop, natural foods/products brand, or some other sustainable company that is black-owned, please let me know.

Thank you.

Olive Leaf for Immune Support

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I have a several posts about immune support but I haven’t mentioned olive leaf yet. This is a great option if you are looking for a high antioxidant boost as well as immune system support. Barlean’s, which is located just a couple of hours north of where I sit and type, (they are in Ferndale, Washington, so if you know where Bellingham is, then you probably know Ferndale), sent me these samples and I’m so impressed with the taste of the liquid! The literature makes a point of saying that they know “it doesn’t taste like candy” but actually the liquid is minty just like a really nice after dinner mint. It’s the only one of the three products I’ve tried so far but I assume the throat spray tastes similar and the capsules are capsules so there is not a lot of tasting to do.

Olive leaf is known for being high in polyphenols which are those antioxidants that berries, grapes, tea, and others are known for, and the reason wine became known as a health-promoting drink. Olive trees are extremely hardy and can live up to 1,000 years so there is obviously something extra about these plants, and that something seems to be the polyphenol, oleuropein. There are studies indicating olive leaf as an anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and anti-viral, and there was a gold-standard scientific method clinical study that confirmed oleuropein was able to beneficially change the white blood cells’ response to invaders from immune havoc to immune balance. In other words, it really works in supporting the immune system’s prime function.

I’ve been taking a tablespoon of this liquid in about 1/2 cup of cold water and it tastes great. They have some recipes for using it in teas which I’ll share below, but really it’s so tasty I use it as little refreshing treat in the middle of the day. Here are two teas they suggest:

Sweet Dreams Tea:

  • 1 Tbsp Olive Leaf Complex peppermint flavor (pictured above)
  • 1 Chamomile Tea bag
  • 1 Tbs raw honey
  • Hot water in a mug

Apple Cider Cinnamon Tea

  • 1 Tbsp Olive Leaf Complex peppermint flavor (pictured above)
  • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 Tbsp raw honey

It’s good to mix up your immune support supplements just as it’s good to mix up probiotics and adaptogens, so this has been a great find. I’ll add this into my rotation between astragalus, elderberry, and mushrooms, and use several of them when I feel like I might be coming down with something.

I hope you are all staying healthy and enjoying this spring (in the northern hemisphere).

Be well!

Sunscreens (Toxic and Nontoxic forms)

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Since we are approaching Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer, I thought I’d repost this from a couple of years ago. Sun protection is important but you want it to be nontoxic to both you and the environment. Here’s a quick refresher on what to look for and what to avoid.

It’s that time of year again when we are bombarded with messages about sun safety and the need for daily sunscreen. That refrain has become a little dissonant lately though with more and more people questioning the ingredients in their sunscreen, with good reason. That ‘protective’ layer can house some awfully hazardous chemicals that have actually started to be researched as potential causes of cancer themselves, as well as having other undesirable qualities such as hormone disruptors, allergy-causing, and skin penetration. To review the specific chemicals and their risk factors, according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), check out the graph located in their article here. They list oxybenzone as the most hazardous chemical in sunscreens, so it is a good idea to double check that at least that one chemical is not in any of your sunscreen products.

The alternative to chemical sunscreens is mineral based sunscreens which are considered safer. Jessica Rubino, in her article for Delicious Living, explains mineral sunscreens in this way:

Mineral sunscreens use active mineral ingredients, such as zinc oxide and titanium oxide. They reflect the sun’s rays like a mirror to protect exposed skin.

UV protection

When buying sunscreen, protection from UV rays should be your top consideration. In that sense, mineral options take the prize, according to the EWG. Zinc oxide, in particular, delivers the best UVA and UVB protection (also known as broad-spectrum coverage), says Leiba. “Mineral active ingredients don’t break down as readily in the sun, offering greater protection for longer.”

Ingredient safety

Generally speaking, naturally derived ingredients used in mineral sunscreens are gentler than chemicals. Still, some considerations remain. Avoid titanium dioxide in powder or spray form; the EWG claims it’s linked to toxicity when inhaled. Also, it’s worth reading up on nanotechnology, which creates tiny particles that are often used in mineral sunscreens to make them easier to rub in. Since labeling regulations of nanoparticles don’t exist yet, ask manufacturers directly about their policies. EWG maintains that nano in sunscreen is safe, but research continues. (There do exist non-nano mineral sunscreens, such as the one from Babo Botanicals below.)

Appearance

Other than those that use nanoparticles, mineral sunscreens simply don’t rub into skin as well, often leaving a white film. In the quest for mineral sunscreens that apply more evenly, some  companies are trying non-nano ingredients, such as an aloe base and ZinClear, a zinc oxide. If you choose a safe mineral classic, expect to take an extra minute to rub it in.

In another article from Delicious Living, the following nine sunscreens were given the safety rating of 1 (safest!) by the EWG. Compare that to oxybenzone which has an 8 (out of 10) rating and it’s clear these mineral sunscreens are a far safer bet. That being said, I do want to point out that from what I have read and also gathered from my naturopath, people really need half an hour of sun on their faces and bare arms every day, without sunscreen, for proper amounts of vitamin D. Here in the Pacific Northwest, as well as other places around the country and world, proper amounts of vitamin D are not even possible without supplementation because of the lack of sun for many months out of the year. Vitamin D is important for immunity, skin, bone, and mental health, and blood pressure concerns, plus a lack of vitamin D has been implicated in breast cancer and prostate cancer, as well as many other chronic health conditions. Keep this in mind when determining your sunscreen usage. It’s not only important to choose your ingredients wisely, but also to know how to use your products to ensure optimal health. The following are listed alphabetically:

Andalou Naturals All-in-One Beauty Balm, Sheer Tint, SPF 30

andalounatural-sunscreen

With well-rounded complexion protection, Andalou’s BB product not only uses minerals to shield from harmful rays but also to lend a subtle, “sun-kissed” tint to skin. Fruit stem cells and superfruits provide an antiaging and brightening boost, too.

Babo Botanicals Clear Zinc Sport Stick Sunscreen, Fragrance Free, SPF 30

babobotanical-sunscreen

Containing 20 percent non-nano zinc oxide and a cocktail of nourishing botanicals to sooth the skin (think avocado oil and cocoa seed butter), this new launch a clear winner in safe sun care, and the EWG rating agrees.

Badger Unscented Sunscreen Face Stick, SPF 35

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Badger continues to raise the bar for safe sun care, this time focusing on developing effective nontoxic preservatives specifically for mineral sun care. Badger’s line includes products for the whole family; this easy-to-apply face stick contains 22.5 percent zinc oxide for superior active lifestyle protection.

California Baby Super Sensitive Sunscreen, SPF 30+

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A brand that has rightfully earned the trust of moms, California Baby once again delivers on baby-centric safety, according to the EWG. Ideal for little ones, this fragrance-free product offers a comfortable application that is also sting-free for the eyes (moms can use it as a gentle-on-the-complexion option, too).

Goddess Garden Everyday Natural Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 30

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A go-to for anyone seeking daily, no-fuss sun protection, this product contains an efficacious blend of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide in a base of soothing aloe leaf juice, shea butter and coconut oil. Plus, it’s organic. A great choice for your body—and the earth.

Hampton Sun Sunscreen Lotion for Baby, SPF 45

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Another extra-gentle, excellent choice for babies, this product complements its UV-protective mineral blend with soothing chamomile and sunflower oil.

Jersey Shore Cosmetics Anti-Aging Mineral Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 35

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Sun protection is your No. 1 defense against aging. But extra protection is a major boon. Top-rated by the EWG for its UV protection, this SKU also contains vitamins E and D3 for antiaging prowess.

Juice Beauty Sport Sunscreen, SPF 30

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Tailor-made for an active and beautiful lifestyle: Protect with chemicals, support with plant extracts, antioxidants and vitamins.

Mineral Fusion Mineral Sun Stick, SPF 30

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Mineral Fusion knows what skin needs—and the company is no stranger to delivering it with carefully crafted mineral formulations. This product starts with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, then gives skin a vitamin and antioxidant boost.

In short, avoid chemical sunscreens, especially ones with oxybenzone in them, and instead opt for mineral sunscreens with zinc oxide and titanium oxide. Also, if you must use a spray sunscreen, only use ones made with zinc oxide, not titanium oxide, because the EWG lists it as unsafe when inhaled in that form. Enjoy the sun and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.

Gluten-Free and Vegan Not a Recipe

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I have never been so tired of cooking in my life. I know some people have become inspired by this lock down and groups of friends are exchanging recipes in chain letter fashion, but not me. I was asked to join one of those recipe exchanges and I declined, not because I didn’t want to share a recipe but because the thought of 36 emails coming at me with recipes I had no intention of making was more than I could stomach. (Pun intended.) There are three of us here, two of us eat relatively the same with avoiding gluten and dairy, and the other one is extremely picky, lives on gluten and dairy, and refuses to eat leftovers. Adding to the meal plan disruptions, the boys have taken full advantage of the online schooling and are sleeping until late morning or early afternoon, while I’m still waking up at dawn-ish so our timing is all off. That actually isn’t quite as bad as it sounds because the boys are teenagers and can eat pretty much anytime, all the time. In other words they can have breakfast at 11:AM and lunch at noon no problem. If I let it, this all means I can be in the kitchen making one meal after another all day long and by dinner time I’m not happy about it. In regular times the boys take care of their own breakfasts and lunches on school days, so I’ve tried to keep that going in this strange time, but for some reason it just hasn’t worked like that more days than not. Probably because if I’m making myself food, it’s just not possible to not end up making them food as well. So, the default dinner has turned into either gluten free pizzas, one with dairy and the other not, or gluten free and vegan mac n’ cheese, or its more posh cousin, pasta with Alfredo sauce, also gluten and dairy free. I thought I’d provide an overview of these with reviews in case you too are looking for the easiest way to get dinner on the table with as little effort as possible.

For pizzas, I use Trader Joe’s gluten free flat breads that can be found in packs of two in the refrigerated session. For one son I add Trader Joe’s vegan pesto, shredded vegan cheese, red onions, and turkey pepperoni slices. For the other son I add regular red sauce and shredded mozzarella or an Italian cheese mix. For myself I add 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil to each flat bread (I make each of us two flat breads at a time), sea salts mixed with herbs, extra basil, oregano, and rosemary. I cook these on 425 for about 10 minutes and make up a salad at that time for one of my sons and myself, and cut an apple up for the other.

Makes great bread sticks
Ingredients are gluten, dairy, and egg free
Easy gluten-free focaccia

Whole Foods has a vegan Alfredo sauce that the boys love. I’ve never tried it but they are happy to eat it any time with either Trader Joe’s gluten free penne or fusili. We sometimes get Jovial’s gluten free pastas which are a treat but usually eat the Trader Joe’s versions more often. My gluten and dairy eating son likes all these too by the way. That is saying a lot.

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Daiya’s mac n’ cheese and Alfredo boxes have been my sons’ go to meals of late. Again, both my sons love these which makes my life so much easier. To be honest, I’ve tried these and I don’t really love either one, but my sons think they are awesome so it doesn’t really matter what I think. I can eat them if I really don’t feel like making myself something different, but usually what I do is saute garlic, broccoli, onions, and smoked salmon to eat on top of the Daiya boxed food. (One son eats it all together, one needs them on separate plates.) I put the sauteed food on top of a salad or eat it on some other carb such as leftover rice which we almost always have. Easy enough. (The pics below are off their respective websites because I need to go to the grocery and get more.)

The last gluten free and vegan mac n cheese we have tried lately is Annie’s. This is the kind that needs to be mixed with non-dairy butter and milk, but I personally think this one is better than the Daiya. My sons disagree and since I’m making it for them, I’ll stick with the Daiya, but if you try the Daiya and are not thrilled, give Annie’s a try. I liked it.

Organic Gluten Free Vegan Cheddar Mac

What are your quick dinner ideas when you don’t feel like cooking? Or are you cooking up a storm and loving it? Whether you are relying on boxed foods or letting your inner Julia Child come out to play, do whatever it takes to stay sane during this strange time.

 

 

Mother’s Day DIY Gifts

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Below is a blog post I wrote two years ago. If you are like me, these holidays are sneaking up even more than ever in this strange time. I’ve read that we are currently in the month of “Marprilay” which sounds about right to me and if you agree, take heart. Making bath salts might be something you can do easily while sheltering in place because Epsom salts work wonderfully and you can find them at drug stores and grocery stores so no need for anything from hard to get to places. Here’s the post from 2018:

What mom doesn’t treasure her bath and beauty time? Whether you are making a gift basket for your mom as an adult, or helping little ones make gifts for your partner, natural DIY pampering gifts are easy to make and will actually be used and appreciated. If you are working with little ones, essential oils need to be handled with care because they are so potent they should not be put on the skin directly without a carrier, and also the scents can be overwhelming if you are using a lot all at once.

To make a custom jar of bath salts, you have some options. You can use sea salt, Epsom salts, pink, grey, or black salt depending on where you are and what you fancy. Epsom salts are best known for aches and pains, but pink and grey salts can help with those too, and they have a high mineral content. Sea salt and black salt are detoxifying, and all the salts are good for the skin. You can also blend different salts together if you can’t decide or want to make sure you cover all the salt benefits. Whatever salts you use, just fill a jar with them, and add the essential oils you want in a ratio of about 10-25 drops per cup, depending on how strong you want the smell. Mix with a chopstick and cap tightly.

To make it a moisturizing bath soak, you can almond oil or grapeseed oil to the salts slowly, mixing the blend as you pour. You will want about 1 3/4 cup salts, with 1/4 cup oil. When the oil and salts are all blended together, add your essential oils and stir some more to make sure everything is evenly distributed. Since this is a total of 2 cups, you can use 20-50 drops of essential oils.

If you are making this for someone who takes more showers than baths, then a salt scrub is another option. You want more oil than salt in that case~ 2 cups of almond or grapeseed oil, 1 cup of fine sea salt, and 20-50 drops of essential oils. You can always make an herbal oil first, then add that to the salts. Add the oil directly on top of the salt, then add the essential oils and stir well. You can use sugar instead of salt for a gentler body scrub. Prepare the exact same way as the salt but use brown sugar instead.

Another option is to add dried herbs to the salts. This of course looks lovely but can make a huge mess, so adding a large sized muslin bag or two to the jar of bath salts is a nice touch. The bather can spoon in however much they want into the muslin bag, then place it into the bath for a nice soak that they don’t have to worry about cleaning up later. Lovely herbs to add are rose petals, calendula flower tops, and/or seaweed. The proportions are completely up to you, and in fact you can just use herbs for an herbal bath without any salts, or just add the salts and herbs together, or add essential oils to the mix as well. There are no hard and fast rules, so just follow your aesthetic sense or look to your (or her) favorite products to get an idea of what proportions might be most appreciated.

As always, be sure to label whatever you make and to write down the recipe. Here are some more DIY gift ideas if bathing isn’t the best treat for your gift recipient. Have fun with whatever you are making and Happy Mother’s Day to all the hard working mamas out there. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake (GF, Vegan, Soy Free)

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It’s my son’s ‘sweet 16 in quarantine’ birthday and we decided a cookie cake was just the thing for celebrating. Usually we have traditional (gf) cakes for birthdays but considering we are just three beings sheltering in place without any chance of friends coming by to celebrate, a cake just seemed too much. I suggested a cookie cake to my son and he said he’d never had one (?!) and that it sounded great. That got me thinking…where have all the cookie cakes gone? I seem to recall every mall in the 90’s having a specialty store that sold nothing but cookie cakes. One year in high school I got my then boyfriend one for Valentine’s Day and then somehow ended up carrying it sideways to get it through a small space which of course made it a cookie lump, instead of a cookie cake. Apparently it was still tasty anyway, and of course it was because cookie cakes are ridiculously good no matter what, right?!

I found a recipe on Pamela’s website and intended to use it with Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix, but I realized just in time that there is dairy in the mix and my son has been really trying to keep all dairy out of his diet so that wasn’t going to work. I replaced the mix with Bob’s Red Mill One to One GF Flour and added salt, baking powder, and baking soda, and also substituted the egg with flax and water and the butter with vegan butter. Here’s the link to Pamela’s directions if you want to do a (simpler) dairy and egg version, and below is the recipe that I did with all the modifications.

GF, Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake:

DIRECTIONS

I put a piece of parchment paper in my 9 in circular pan and preheated the oven to 325°. I went ahead and put the flax in a small mug with the water because it take about 10 minutes to thicken into a proper egg replacement. Next I softened the vegan butter a bit before creaming it with the sugars. After that, I added the flax with water and vanilla to the bowl and mixed well. Once everything was fairly well blended, I added the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and blended again until well mixed. Then I added the chocolate chips and 1 Tbs of nutpods creamer because it just looked a tad too dry. You can use any non dairy milk you have on hand if your mix looks dry as well. Pour the dough into the pan and spread it out as flat as possible. Bake for 33 to 38 minutes, checking the middle with a toothpick or fork before taking it out to cool. Mine took 35 minutes and then about an hour to fully cool enough to decorate.

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Celebrations are looking pretty different these days but I hope you are all doing well and have something to celebrate in this strange time, even if it’s just the change of seasons.

Health and happiness to you!

 

 

Earth Day 2020 (April 22, 2020)

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Happy 50th Earth Day! Check out the official website for Earth Day which lists activities all around the world: https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2020/. Considering these are pretty much all online activities, you don’t have to just look at the activities nearest you which is a bonus. (There’s an interactive map on that homepage if you scroll down.) I am happy the environment has at least gotten a break during this strange time and I am uplifted by the reports of cleared pollution and thriving wildlife. Whatever we return to in terms of ‘normalcy’ surely will be imprinted with very visible proof that we humans impact the environment in very real, very immediate and long term ways. We can exist without such harsh impacts, and that should be foremost in our collective minds as we co-create our futures and design our world.

Here’s a little Earth Day activity if you are so inclined. Mandalas have many different uses and meanings, but one which I really like is that they symbolize connection of self to the greater whole. Mandalas made with found nature items can be made outside and are a gift to the maker who gets to enjoy the artistic pursuit and touch nature’s many gifts, but also anyone who happens upon the surprise mandala gets an aesthetic thrill as well. To do this, you want to gather some materials like pine cones, flower petals, leaves, stems, even cut grass, and arrange them so that each quadrant is the same as the other three quadrants. So for example, if you have two flower petals with a pine cone in one quadrant, you do the exact same thing three more times in a circle, and there is your mandala. Here are some examples from Bing: https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=natura+mandala&FORM=HDRSC2. This is a great kids’ activity and is a way for little artists to be creative in public spaces, just be sure to explain that they must use materials that are already on the ground, otherwise they might be popping off flower tops all over the place.

When I gave a class to middle school students, I had them make a mandala from dried herbs and you can do this too with ingredients right in your spice drawer. My emphasis was explaining that different parts of plants are used in culinary and medicinal ways, so I had them start off with the seed pod star anise as the center pieces. Then we used seeds, I believe I used fennel but you can use poppy or sesame seeds if you have those as well, or any seeds you might be intending to plant in your garden soon. Next were roots and for that I used astragalus roots, but your spice cabinet might be thin on actual roots, so using rhizomes instead of roots such as ginger or turmeric (Be careful! It stains!) powder might work, or just draw some roots and make it a mixed media project. Then we used stems and leaves, so bay leaves worked nicely with some rosemary leaves as well. next were flower petals which I happen to have plenty of but this might be harder at home. I used dried rose petals and calendula tops, but if you are lucky enough to have blooming flowers, even dandelion tops around, use those. If you are just making this outside, it doesn’t matter if you are mixing fresh and dried materials, but of course if you are doing this inside in order to keep it, then you will need to use dried materials only. Next for fruits I used dried rosehips, but you can use cloves or peppercorns instead. Don’t forget that we use bark too! Cinnamon comes from bark and I happened to have pau d’arco bark as well, so we used that, but cinnamon sticks can add great character and definitely awesome smells. You can use anything that you find in your herb and spice cabinet really and just have fun making something for Earth Day or any day you need something new to do with your at-home-24/7-kiddos. If you want something more permanent, you can try gluing the dried materials on cardboard, but it’s going to be precarious. I used old photo book pages, the kind with sticky backs and a clear plastic overlay, and glue, with the students I worked with. They glued the dried herbs on the sticky page, the put the plastic cover back on it and taped that down. It seemed pretty secure that way but unfortunately wasteful. Here are a few of those:

These really aren’t necessary to keep, it’s just a way to get in touch with the natural gifts around us and use our creative minds to have an artistic experience which we all crave, every single one of us. If you make a nature or herbal mandala, please send me a pic via my contact me page or in the comments, or tag me on instagram (@blossomherbs)~ I’d LOVE to see it!

Enjoy your Earth Day and be sure to send her some love and gratitude for all she does!   X🌎X🌍X🌏

A Different Paradigm

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This has been an era of polarity for a while now, fueled by social media and the strange but very real pleasure hit we get when we feel ‘outrage’ (more about that phenomenon here). There’s an empowering feeling to have strong opinions about something~ vaccines, politics, moral codes, etc~ and then have those opinions validated by others, whether they be FB friends, radio hosts, or TV personalities. They have become the way many people define themselves and it’s become accepted, even encouraged, to make fun of the other side and dehumanize them. It seems opinions, defined as: a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge (google dictionary but italics my own), are being mistaken as facts, and furthermore, used to bolster self esteem and promote polarity. Why? Why should any of us settle for this?

I’ve seen this playing out with the current COVID crisis and supplements/foods. It seems you have to be ‘for’ or ‘against’ using nutrition and supplements to bolster your immune system. Why does this tunnel vision persist? The word complementary is defined as: combining in such a way as to enhance or emphasize the qualities of each other or another (google dictionary), and that’s exactly what complementary medicine does best. All sorts of health enrichment exists beyond modern medicine, from broccoli to meditation, cardio to vitamin C, it is not revolutionary to say that there are things that we do every single day to keep ourselves healthy so why do some get upset by the idea of using herbs and other supplements to boost the immune system and health in general….? I just don’t get it.

Maybe it’s time we could embrace a different paradigm and use the traditional knowledge built up over centuries around herbs and other natural substances on a daily basis and use modern medical care when we need it. It can be a stretch for some to understand that we actually live in a paradigm where health is viewed in a specific and not holistic way. Our current view is that health is absence of disease and disease means uncomfortable tests followed by pills with bad side effects and we just accept all of that because that is modern medicine. I agree that sometimes the tests are necessary and even the pills are necessary with their harmful side effects, but we do have more control than that viewpoint allows. Herbalism is not about using herbs instead of pharmaceuticals~ it doesn’t work like that. Herbalism is looking at health holistically and supporting the body through diseases, aging, personal tendencies, inherited conditions, and more through balance which is a life-long endeavor. This means always striving for optimal health, not just the absence of disease, and when disease presents then supporting the body through it with or without modern medicine, depending on the severity and personal needs.

Maybe if we could all open our minds to the idea that we don’t live in an either/or universe, it would translate to better health, grander living, broader thinking, and more humanity in general.

Healthy Wishes to All

Two Ingredient Face Mask from Your Kitchen

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This was not planned and turned into something else entirely once I started doing it because I cannot estimate measurements for the life of me, but I figured I’d share it anyway because we all have extra time at home these days so this might be an enjoyable project for you too, as it was for me. (Even though I messed it up!) But herbal crafting is incredibly forgiving, which is one thing I love about it. Just to be clear, turmeric does stain. The yellow disappears from skin within hours if there is any at all left after using, but on clothes, washcloths, porcelain, towels, etc, it can last forever, so do be careful. Again~ on skin and nails it might stain for a few hours, but it goes away quickly. If that bothers you, here are other mask options that are no doubt lurking in your cupboard or fridge. To be honest I had to buy the buttermilk which was about $2.50 at Whole Foods. It’s going to last for many masks and perhaps some pancakes too. 

Let me know what your go-to DIY mask ingredients are! I’d love to hear and it’s a fine time to experiment.

I hope you are all safe and sane, healthy and happy.

Does Anyone Know What Day it is?

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I just got back from a walk and on it I tried to remember if schools had been closed for two weeks as of tomorrow, or three…? These days are running together in a blur and I have the building anxiety that I need to move on from the initial stages of getting used to this new ‘normal’ and start being productive and constructive again, but honestly the only thing I’ve been doing more of is sleeping. I have been taking walks, making food, and trying to do some dance cardio in my bedroom but it’s just not the same on carpet and with no other goofballs cardio-dancing next to me. Even cooking has been difficult since we moved into a new house at the same time as all this pandemic craziness really got going and by ‘new’ I mean new to us, it is a middle-aged house by human years’ standards and I don’t think anything has been updated since its rebellious teen years at best. The refrigerator freezes our produce no matter how warm I make the temperature, and it has also frozen some sauces and salads. The stove top is one of those flat ones and I don’t even know what the material is but I don’t care for it one bit. It just makes cooking more difficult for now, although I’m sure I’ll eventually figure out the issue with the fridge, or have yet another service guy out here to do it, but for now we are just dealing with it. I did see a pho recipe recently that got me excited though, not only because it’s a noodle soup and I love noodle soups, but also because it’s just for two which means I won’t have leftovers that might potentially freeze in our refrigerator. Not that leftovers are often a problem with two teen boys in the house, but best not to take any chances. In case you are new to pho, which is pronounced, I’m told, close to fu? with a lift at the end like a question, it is a Vietnamese soup that is packed with nutrients. It is usually made with pork or beef, but you can find chicken or vegetarian versions such as the one I intend to make later this week when I get back out to a grocery. What makes pho unique is the use of spices such as star anise, cinnamon, and ginger which are excellent for the digestive system and for supporting the immune system. Keep in mind that star anise is the primary source for the main ingredient in Tamiflu. Herbs are powerful indeed.

Here’s a link to the vegan pho on Frontier Coop’s website. Let me know if you make it or have your own go-to pho recipe. By the way, restaurants are very clever out here with naming their Vietnamese restaurants which I never understood until someone explained the pronunciation to me. My favorites are: What the Pho? and Pho King.

Stay safe and stay sane.

 

Herbs During the Plague

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Anyone else been thinking about the Plague recently? Back in the middle ages there weren’t many options for medicines other than what grew within walking distance of one’s community. Actually, that’s true for almost all of human history, so it’s no wonder that people turned to herbs during the Plague years.

Below are a couple of old sayings during Middle Ages era of Plague:

“Eat valerian and pimpernel And all of you will be well”

“ Take of sage, rue, briar leaves, elder leaves, of each a handful, stamp them and strain them with a quart of white wine, and put thereto a little ginger, and a good spoonful of the best treacle, and drink thereof morning and evening.”

It was common to wear garlic around the neck or to tie other bundles of herbs around different parts of the body such as wrists to keep oneself safe, and the Plague doctors themselves also implemented herbal armor. Those long beak-like masks famous from that era were actually constructed that way in order to house herbs in the ‘beak’ area. The herbs were either fresh, dried, or soaked in vinegar to make an extract, then placed in the tip of the beak so the doctors would breathe in the herbal air instead of the ‘bad air’ because at that time they thought the disease was transmitted through air instead of understanding there were particles involved. The herbs varied depending on the place, but some common herbs used were: juniper berries, mint leaves, myrrh, rose petals, camphor, cloves, and straw.

Another use of herbs from the Plague years which is still around today is in the formation of ‘thieves’ oil. Thieves oil has a great story to it, though whether it is more history or mythology is anyone’s guess. The story has several variations, but basically they all say something along the lines of this: During the Middle Ages there were four thieves in France who used to rob the graves (or the houses) of those who had died of the Plague and managed to not get ill themselves. When they were eventually caught, they were given a lighter punishment in return for telling how they did it. The four thieves admitted they used herbs (most likely soaked in vinegar at that time) to keep themselves from getting the disease. They knew how to do this because among them were perfumers and spice traders who understood the anti-biotic and anti-viral properties of their goods. Their blend has passed down to us through all these centuries, though the actual recipes vary depending on who’s making it. Usually the blends include: clove, lemon, eucalyptus, cinnamon and rosemary, and then different makers add in their own special favorites. This is almost always an essential oil blend now, instead of a vinegar extract, and it can be found under names such as Thieves oil, Four Thieves, Bandits oil, Medieval oil, etc, and of course you can make your own. Just use a mix of antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal essential oils to make a powerful anti-germ blend and add it to a carrier to wear as perfume or diffuse it in the air with a diffuser.

Vinegar extracts aren’t nearly as common as they used to be, but one recipe has endured for a long time, though no one knows exactly when it began. This actually just came up in a court case because one company wanted to trademark the name ‘Fire Cider’ but other herbalists and companies resisted that since fire cider is a long time folk recipe that many believed should not and could not be owned by one company. The courts agreed and the trademark was thrown out so anyone can make fire cider and call it such. Fire cider is an herbal combination that boosts immunity, especially during the winter months, and seems to be more common in the Northeast of the U.S. than anywhere else from what I’ve observed, though I could be wrong about that. Beloved herbal elder, Rosemary Gladstar was one of the main people leading the fight to keep fire cider out of trademark territory, and she’s one of the first to pen a recipe that has been widely copied. Here is her version and you can watch her make it and follow along here:

Ingredients

1/2 cup ginger, fresh (grated) 1/2 cup horseradish (fresh, grated)

1 onion (chopped)
10 cloves garlic (crushed or chopped)
2 pepper, jalapeño (chopped)
1 lemon (zest of)
2 tablespoons rosemary, dried (or several sprigs of fresh rosemary)
1 tablespoon turmeric, ground
apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup honey (plus more to taste)

Instructions

Put ginger, horseradish, onion, garlic, peppers, lemon zest, lemon juice, rosemary and turmeric in a quart canning jar. Cover with apple cider vinegar by about two inches. Use a piece of natural parchment paper or wax paper under the lid to keep the vinegar from touching the metal. Shake well. Store in a dark, cool place for one month and shake daily.
After one month, use cheesecloth to strain out the pulp, pouring the vinegar into a clean jar. Be sure to squeeze as much of the liquid goodness as you can from the pulp while straining. Add ¼ cup of honey and stir until incorporated. Taste your cider and add another ¼ cup until you reach desired sweetness. Fire cider should taste hot, spicy and sweet. It is great as a winter time tonic and as a remedy for colds and coughs. Often people use it as salad dressing, on rice, or with steamed vegetables.

Just to be clear, fire cider is not a recipe originating from the Plague era, but it is a vinegar based recipe which is how most herbal medicines were prepared back then, which is why I’m sharing it on this post. Also, don’t worry about exactness with this recipe, as it’s a folk recipe that has many variations so yours will be just fine.

Stay safe and healthy and let me know if you make your own fire cider and how it turns out! Also comment with any herbs you are currently taking to keep healthy during this pandemic~ I’d love to hear!

Lomatium

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This is an herb that’s been on my mind lately due to the COVID-19 crisis but I was on the fence about sharing it. It’s an anti-viral, antibactierial, antifungal herb specific to the respiratory system (also great for urinary system) with historical anecdotal precedence as a flu fighter from the 1917-1918 pandemic. It is said that Native Americans took the root of lomatium to keep themselves healthy and in fact had low rates of the flu because of this herb. It can be taken for its immune boosting effects but is mostly used once respiratory issues start and then ceased once the issues are resolved. Sounds like the perfect COVID-19 herb, right?

The problem is it can give people an all-over rash, so it has not been used widely here because it’s impossible to know who will get the rash and who won’t. Most natural health practitioners who do use it start the dose off very small, such as three drops three times per day, then build up over a week, so the rash is less likely to present. If a rash does present, it goes away in about five to seven days.

I wanted to share this information because I have seen many herbal remedies targeting this virus popping up and if they do include lomatium (which would make perfect sense) you need to be aware that a rash might result. An herbalist I interned with used to make his own lomatium extract that he sold and he didn’t seem to have any customers complain about a rash, so I don’t know how widely the rash aspect occurs. I know Gaia Herbs stopped selling it but Herb Pharm still does, so it seems to be a fairly rare occurrence.

In other news, my move finally happened, so we are home-bound in a brand new location and taking the opportunity to walk our dog all over the area to get to know the ins and outs of our new stomping grounds. As for the house itself, there are not many plants in the yards actually, but a lot of lawn, so I’m hoping I can plant some herbs this spring. I had a couple of pictures I wanted to add here, but for some reason my computer won’t comply, but hopefully it will allow the pics later~ stay tuned for updates.

Here is a prayer for a pandemic that was shared in the New Hope Influencer Co-op of which I am a part. It’s written by a Seattle resident, Cameron Bellm, and has been on social media a few days now, but if you haven’t seen it, here it is:

Prayer for a Pandemic

May we who are merely inconvenienced

Remember those whose lives are at stake.

May we who have no risk factors

Remember those most vulnerable.

May we who have the luxury of working from home

Remember those who must choose between preserving their health and making their rent.

May we who have the flexibility to care for our children when their schools close

Remember those who have no options.

May we who have to cancel our trips

Remember those who have no safe place to go.

May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of our economic market

Remember those who have no margin at all.

May we who settle in for a quarantine at home

Remember those who have no home.

As fear grips our country,

let us choose Love.

During this time when we cannot physically wrap our arms around each other,

Let us find ways to be the loving embrace of (our higher power) to our neighbors.

Amen

Take care everyone and remember that ‘this too shall pass’. I do wonder though if this is merely the first in a new era of pandemics. With overpopulation, superbugs, and global climate change, I have to wonder if this will become a new natural disaster that we’ll start planning for and dealing with on a semi-regular basis. Just a thought….what do you think?

Immune System and Moving

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Hello from the land of Limbo! I’ve been stuck in a moving delay with most of our stuff moved over to the next house and some essentials keeping us at the old house and quite frankly it’s been rather stressful and discombobulating. Add this to the whole living and working in the center of US’s coronavirus outbreak (Kirkland, Washington) viewfromworkand it’s been a wild ride for the last few weeks. Our schools are still in session, but all the businesses around here are insisting their workers telecommute which has at least been a boon for traffic. All the trips I’ve made between the two houses trying to locate our things has at least been through less congestion. Counting all the blessings I can at this point.

No one seems to know exactly how panicked everyone should be~ debates rage on if this is all overblown to this isn’t being taken nearly seriously enough. All we can do is take personal responsibility for ourselves and our loved ones and boost our immune system with the usual suspects: elderberry, astragalus, medicinal mushrooms, echinacea if getting sick, essential oils in a variety of ways, and general good sense. Probiotics are also smart, as is vitamin C, zinc, and pretty much any herb used in any way is going to be healthy for your immune system so if you are cooking at home, go heavy on the herbs and spices. Adaptogens help with stress, nervines with anxiety, and of course there’s CBD for all of it if that works for you. In other words, you don’t have to feel helpless and panicky. There are many natural ways to help us all move through these trying times. Now only if they would help move the last of my things to the new house, that’d be magical. ladybug

But, no worries, the movers are supposed to finish up this Friday the 13th…what could possibly go wrong?

Stay healthy, XO

New(ish) Products

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Most of these products are new to me, although I know at least one of these has been around for at least a year or so, hence the ‘ish’. Here are my (and one of my son’s) favorites from the most recent New Hope Blogger Box.

Our favorite were the vegan Mexican dips by Zubiate Foods including queso, crema, and salsa (which is the only one that is not normally already vegan). These are not things we normally eat so when I asked my son if he thought the queso tasted like regular cheese-y queso, he said he had never had it before so he didn’t know but he really liked it. I tried it and it did taste like queso I’ve had if my memory serves me right, but more importantly, it really is delicious. We weren’t sure what to do with the crema but it turned out to be our favorite! It was also the best smelling and since neither of us really knew what to expect from ‘crema’ and were pleasantly surprised. It was so good! The salsa was tasty and spicy. We are used to salsa and this one was a delicious one, though probably a bit spicier than we would choose for a long chow session. The mix of the three with chips were really just right though! If you are vegan or simply avoiding dairy, I definitely recommend trying these for a fun snack or part of a full Mexican meal. I’m sure others can get a lot more creative with them than just the chips we paired them with, but my brain is currently filled with trying to find a place to move into so chips and dip were all I could muster.

Speaking of brains, this adaptogenic herb is also known to boost brain power. If you know one adaptogen, it’s most likely this one, ashwagandha, because it seems to be the most popular also the most versatile one in terms of helping the most amount of issues in the widest amount of people. It is also referred to as Indian Ginseng (actual Ginseng is also an adaptogen but has a greater effect on testosterone and can cause issues because of it. It is generally recommended that only men over 25 take it, and over 40 benefit the most from it. Women seem to tolerate it at any adult age.) Ashwagandha on the other hand has a more mellow effect and is far more about balance. It is recommended for mood stabilizing as well as stress management, and one way it does that is by stabilizing cortisol which most people know as one of the major ‘fight or flight’ hormones and has been recently documented to play a big role in holding onto belly fat. Ashwagandha is also the best adaptogen to help with sleep issues as well as helping with long term energy levels during the day time. This ashwagandha supplement by Youtheory is an easy way to get it into your daily life.

CBD is still having its day (years?) in the spotlight, and these by Hemp Fusion are intelligent mixes with thoughtful ingredients. The stress one actually has ashwagandha in it, no surprise there! They also sent a sleep one and an energy one, both of which I tried and I can attest to a lovely night’s sleep with the sleep one, but the energy one is harder to quantify. It might have been what helped me walk my dog this evening when I really would have preferred to sit on the couch with a magazine, but it really is hard to say. It didn’t make me buzzy or jumpy, that’s for sure. How are you guys feeling about CBD at this point? I’m curious as to what people are experiencing with it, or if they haven’t tried it yet, and if not, why? Let me know in the comments or contact me please :0).

The facial products from Probulin are a unique concept although I have heard before that putting probiotics on the face is beneficial, usually in the form of yogurt or kefir based facial masks. I am excited to try the entire line they sent because the ingredients look top quality as they are free of GMOs, sulfates, glycols, parabens, phthalate, sythetic fragrances, and they are cruelty free too. They really seem to have put together some products with the concept of ‘don’t put on your body what you wouldn’t put into your body’ in mind. I’ll have to let you know how my skin reacts once I use the line for a few days, but goodness knows that after this rough year I could use some intense facial therapy! I’ve tried everything once or twice as of last night, and so far so good. My skin feels healthy and the products go on nicely. I think the cleanser is my favorite for the way it leaves my skin feeling clean but not stripped.

The product that made me write the ‘ish’ on new in the title is Lively Up Your Breath‘s breath freshener because I wrote about it almost exactly two years ago in this post. It’s a unique breath freshener, not a mint, gum, or even spray. Instead it is a liquid filled capsule that you pop in your mouth and then break (it breaks easily pressing your tongue against your mouth) and the minty liquid does its thing. It’s strong and effective.

If you try any of these, please let me know what you think! I might not be writing here for a couple of weeks because I’m going to be moving soon so life will get hectic and the internet might get tricky, but I’ll still be reading emails and comments so please contact me anytime! And wish me luck with finding a place to live and moving for the first time in over 12.5 years. My kids grew up in this house so besides the fact there is a lot of stuff to pack up, there are even more memories and emotions that will be surfacing, boxing, and/or releasing. I’m saving the ashwagandha and stress CBD for the toughest days ahead.

Bye for now! XOXO

Valentine’s Day DIY Gifts

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In honor of Valentine’s Day, I’m reposting my blog post from last year. I hope you all have a lot of love this Friday, self-love, family-love, friend-love, and romantic love too. XOXO

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Homemade gifts made with heart and intention are perfect for the holiday that celebrates love. Valentine’s Day is a warm reminder during this cold season that love should be celebrated fully and joyfully in all its forms, from friendship to family, and of course that special someone. Everyone can appreciate an herbal gift that conveys not only love, but also health, beauty, and green thoughtfulness.

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What plant could be more associated with Valentine’s than the rose? A flower of beauty that signifies love, it also has healing attributes that qualify it as an herb. Drinking rose petal tea is relaxing, due to its mildly sedative properties, and it also has some historical use as a headache reliever. The petals are used extensively for skin health, anti-aging, and beautification, while rose hips are full of bio-available vitamin C. Rose oil makes a lovely base for a massage or bath oil, and bath salts with rose petals would make a relaxing gift that encourages self-care and rejuvenation. Baths full of rose petals are picturesque and you will see plenty on Instagram, but if you don’t want to clean up wet petals after a restful bath, I suggest packing them in a muslin bag. You get all the benefits without worrying about the messy clean-up afterwards. The proportion of salts to rose petals is completely up to you, but if you want to add essential oils to the mixture, keep the essential oils down to about 10-20 drops per cup of mixture. Example: 1 cup Dead Sea Salt, 1/2 cup rose petals, 15 drops of lavender oil, and 10 drops of rose absolute in jojoba. Mix all together in a bowl before adding to a jar with a tight cap for gifting. Don’t forget to add the reusable muslin bag inside the jar, or tie it on the outside.

Making a rose petal mask is another lovely way to gift roses and encourage self-care. Make a powder from dried rose petals either by using a mortar and pestle or a food processor. I actually use an old coffee grinder for making herbal powders and it works great. Mix the rose powder with either French Green Clay or another clay that suits the skin of your recipient (or yourself if this is a self-love gift) in the proportion of 1/3 rose powder, 2/3 clay. Example: 1 tablespoon rose powder mixed with 2 tablespoons clay. Store in a dark glass jar and mix one tablespoon at a time with either a water, a hydrosol, honey, or yogurt to apply. Actually, adding the powder mix to any of these one ingredient masks will make a multifaceted concoction, and you can choose if you want more of a firming, brightening, or evening out action. Leave on for 10-15 minutes, then rinse off with warm water. Skin will be moisturized, clean, firmer, and more even-toned.

Making a massage oil out of rose oil is as easy as adding the desired essential oils to the homemade rose oil. Aim for no more than 50-60 drops of essential oil per cup of base oil. You can also add in more base oils to the rose oil, so the mixture is more suited to the recipient’s particular skin. The heavier the oil, the more appropriate for dryer skin, and the lighter oils are more beneficial for oilier skin. Massage oil should not soak into the skin but rather allow for easy gliding, so sticking with sweet almond oil, avocado oil, apricot kernel oil, and grapeseed oil are good choices, especially when mixed together. Here’s a sample recipe including the aphrodisiac scents of rose, vanilla, and jasmine:

Massage Oil

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Making Massage Oil
1/2 cup Rose Oil (olive oil infusion)

1/2 cup Vanilla Oil (sweet almond infusion)

1/4 cup Avocado Oil

1/4 cup Apricot Kernel Oil

30 drops Sandalwood

40 drops Vanilla absolute

5 drops Jasmine absolute in jojoba

I hope your Valentine’s day is full of love for your family, your friends, your partner, and yourself. We are experiencing the most snow in most of our lifetimes here in the Seattle region right now so I’ll be herbal crafting away happily this week. I also managed to make my first sourdough loaf this past weekend and it turned out splendidly! There’s a pic on my Instagram if you are interested.

Thank you for reading and Happy Valentine’s Day!

Immune Support

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As if there isn’t enough fear mongering about the regular old flu, now this year we have to worry about the coronavirus too. Luckily there are plenty of immunomodulators and immune boosters in the herbal world to help keep us stay healthy despite the extra viruses and germs that love to play their games in the wintertime. Immunomodulators are herbs that help the immune work optimally in any condition, so if you have an overactive immune system for example, an immunomodulator will help take it down a notch, but if your immune system is suppressed and sluggish, or just fighting off too many invaders at once, an immunomodulator will help beef up the system. An immune booster has one direction it acts in, it boosts an immune system that needs reinforcements. An immunomodulator can be used all winter long, but a booster is used when you feel yourself coming down with something, or you know you are inundated with germs around you such as at a school with lots of sneezing-coughing-touchy kids around you, and you do not have an overactive immune system issue such as crohns disease, endometriosis, graves disease, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or any others. You use a booster when you first feel like maybe you might be coming down with something, the sooner you start the better, and then use it through the sickness and a day or two after, then stop. Even if you still get sick, the herbs will help you recover more quickly and not get as sick, kind of like a light version of the virus. If you are lucky and able to rest a bit in those early moments, the herbs just might kick your immune system into gear enough to beat it before it has the chance to take you down at all. The most popular of these herbs is the familiar echinacea, and with good reason. It packs a powerful punch if you get it in at the start of a sickness. The most popular immunomodulator is astragalus. My herbal mentor always said that in China, grandmothers put a slice of astragalus in thier soups all winter long to keep everyone in their families healthy. This is a slice the dried root:astragalusI use the powdered version myself and put it in my sons’ and my smoothies in the mornings. Mushrooms are incredible for the immune system and can seriously overhaul an immune system within three to six months. I have a post on them here and you can check out this website for more information about mushrooms from their biggest supporter and fan and founder of Fungi Perfecti, Paul Stamets. 

One thing all those herbs above have in common is that they are an *acquired* taste. You can take any of them in capsule form of course, but tinctures and teas are best for avoiding the questionable digestive system and being sure to get the herbal goodness into your blood stream. That’s where elderberry shines. Elderberry is an herb you can take all winter long and also will help fight a cold or flu once it has taken hold. (You just take a higher dose if you feel you are coming down with something, and continue with the higher does until it has been gone a day or two.) And elderberry isn’t a root or rhizome or mushroom like the others mentioned, it’s a berry, which means it’s berry delicious! OK, maybe it’s not going to be your favorite fruit, but as far as immune boosting herbs goes, it is the top flavor winner any old day, especially among kids. I had my sons try a sample that I was just sent of elderberry gummies and both liked them a lot and one threatened to eat the whole bottle right then and there so they are definitely a hit (which apparently I will need to hide and dole out in a reasonable fashion). They sent a syrup too, and elderberry syrup is a classic way to take the herb as well so I’m excited to see how my boys like that one. If you have kids who are around other kids, I highly suggest adding elderberry into their winter wellness repertoire, and it certainly doesn’t hurt us adults either!

Another thing I would like to also mention is that cooking with herbs, any herbs, is going to boost the health of the meal and contribute to your own health. Almost all herbs found in the average kitchen cabinet have benefits ranging from antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, digestives, etc, that contribute to just a healthier life. It is well known that the star ingredient in Tamiflu is truly a star~ star anise that is. Many pharmaceuticals are in fact made with herbal foundations, though of course by the time they are through with it and can patent a drug it is not a natural product anymore whatsoever, but star anise has been used for hundreds of years for its health promoting properties and you can still work with the herb yourself at home all winter long. Adding such common herbs as thyme, oregano, and rosemary to your soups and sauces will impart excellent health-promoting properties, and of course the more garlic you cook with, the better! As Hippocrates famously said, “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine by thy food.”

Thank you Sambucol for the samples of elderberry gummies and syrup! We appreciate their taste as well as their immune support powers for sure because all three of us go to schools every day and there is so much sneezing, sniffling, and coughing right now that I am spraying my little room with an essential oil room spray after every single class period. I see kids using antibacterial hand goop all day long too and I really want to tell them that it’d be a lot more effective to boost their immune systems from the inside out instead of relying on that quick ‘fix’.

Stay well out there friends! Spring is on its way….

Body Spray for Guys

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A couple of weeks ago I mentioned here that my teenage sons were not big fans of essential oils. Then this past weekend my oldest asked me where we could buy some body spray for when he stinks after working out but can’t shower. I told him I would make him one and if he didn’t like it, then we could buy one. I really didn’t know if I could put together something he would like because his friend uses Axe body spray so I knew that’s what he was imagining. I honestly don’t know what that smells like so didn’t try to replicate it, which is probably a good thing since no doubt I would not be able to do so with natural ingredients, but happily, he does indeed like what I made him. I like it too so I thought it worth sharing. My other son wants me to make one for him now, but I’m waiting for an order to come in with his favorite essential oil, fennel. And by favorite I really mean the only essential oil he’s ever liked, so I think the wait is worth it. Here’s what’s in my 15 year old son’s body spray and I apologize for the inexactness. I didn’t realize I’d be sharing it and just threw it together in a bit of a hurry. Luckily I made myself write it down though so I can remake it:

2 oz dark glass bottle

about 1/2 filled with bay rum which I made a while ago

about 1/4 filled rose/vanilla extract which I also made

A little bit of distilled water so that the liquid almost reaches the top curb of the bottle

25 drops Sandalwood essential oil

10 drops Cedar essential oil

10 drops Bergamot essential oil

5 drops Frankincense essential oil

I capped it up with a spray top and let him know he needs to shake it every time he uses it. It really is a nice scent that a teen guy can wear, and really I’d say any guy who wants a subtle but masculine scent. I’m thrilled he’s actually using it and that he’ll be getting the emotional/mental benefits of essential oils without even realizing it.

Stay well everyone in this flu and virus season. And if you find yourself feeling worried about getting sick, remember that there are plenty of herbal immune boosters out there so instead of worrying, you can be proactive with keeping yourself healthy.

 

 

 

Dairy-free is the New Dairy

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Moooooove over gluten, dairy is the new star ‘free from’ food.

Is it just me or is the dairy-free food group going through a renaissance just as the gluten-free food aisle did a few years ago….? It sure seems to me like there are new dairy-free options popping up all over the place, and color me happy about it. Neither my oldest son nor I can eat much dairy without it causing problems, and we certainly have company in that arena. I’ve heard that the only people who can successfully digest dairy are those (heritage-wise) from Northern European countries, but I don’t know how accurate that is. It seems some people react to the casein, some to the lactose, and some just to all of it. Dairy is a wide category though and it’s important to note that some people can handle things like yogurt, kefir, and some cheeses because of the way they are made with cultures, and for some people it’s a matter of quantity. They might eat a little cheese a couple of times a week and have no problems, but eat dairy every day and lots of problems. And of course there seem to be more vegans all the time so they are definitely driving this dairy-free trend as well.

We tried Daya’s new gluten-free and dairy-free Alfredo style mac and cheese and were pleasantly surprised by the taste. I added cracked pepper on top and it was quite close to a regular gluten and dairy-full Alfredo. We were impressed for sure! I added stir-fried smoked salmon, broccoli, garlic, and onion on top which certainly made it taste less like it was out of a box, but the next day we ate leftover Alfredo just plain and it was great. I’ll be stocking up on Daya for quick and easy dinners.

I’ve also been making my son pizzas with vegan pesto from Trader Joe‘s and shredded dairy-free mozzarella style cheeses. One is from Trader Joe’s and the other is from a company called Violife whose whole line looks promising. He likes both cheese brands and thinks they taste very similar.IMG_0709

We both like different dairy-free yogurts. He likes the vanilla coconut yogurt from Trader Joe’s and so do I but it has more sugar than I like, so I eat So Delicious‘s unsweetened version of vanilla. I was curious what other dairy free goodies are now out there that I should try out on my son and I, so I checked out what New Hope discovered at Expo West and found some tasty-looking treats to share.

(The following portions of this post was provided by New Hope Network. I am a member of the New Hope Influencer Co-op, a network of health and wellness bloggers committed to spreading more health to more people.)

Culina Botanical Yogurt AlternativeCulina
One of the best nondairy yogurts we’ve ever tasted, Culina won us over with its ultra-creamy cultured coconut base, floral botanical add-ins (the Strawberry Rose flavor was beautiful) and lack of plastic packaging. Instead, each yogurt is packaged in a terra cotta flower pot lined with a food-safe, biodegradeable glaze.

Bla Bla Foods Valling Oat MilkValling

Swedish moms favor giving välling, a thick, creamy oat beverage, to toddlers before bedtime for a filling, healthy boost of vitamins, minerals and calories. Bla Bla Foods’ version features organic gluten-free oats, organic coconut milk powder and organic pea protein. Add two tablespoons to warm water and stir to prepare

Ripple Nutrition Chocolate Dairy-Free Protein Shakeripple
A single-serve, ready-to-drink plant-based beverage that packs in 20 grams of plant protein derived from peas. Sweetness and flavor comes from the addition of organic cane sugar, monk fruit extract and cocoa powder.

Mooala Organic Oatmilk Unsweetened Coconutmooala
Oatmilk was a trending plant-based dairy option at Expo West, and Mooala earns points for launching an unsweetened, USDA Organic blend. This version is blended with organic coconut cream for improved consistency.

Malk Sprouted Organic Oat Malk OriginalMalk
This brand’s dedication to simple formulations and conscious sourcing shine through with this USDA Organic, sprouted oatmilk. Bonus: Malk also pursued The Detox Project’s Glyphosate Residue Free Certification to quell worries about glyphosate-contaminated oats, which is printed on the back of the product packaging.

Milkadamia Macadamia Buttery Spread butteryspread
This beloved nondairy milk brand launched a plant-based buttery spread at Expo West that employs silky, rich macadamia oil to add body and flavor. We also like how no palm oil is used in this formulation.

Wildbrine Plant Based Creamery Cultured Cashew Brie Alternative Beet Blush brie
The fermentation experts at Wildbrine bring their expert knowledge of microbes into the plant-based dairy category with this excellent cashew brie. Tinted with a hint of beets, this USDA Organic plant brie will steal the limelight at cheese parties.

Sprout Living Drinkable Oats Matcha Plant-Based Instant Powder Mix sproutliving
Infused with antioxidant-rich matcha, this oat-based meal replacement also contains nutrient-dense sunflower seed protein, spirulina, golden flaxseed and so much more. We dig the USDA Organic certification, too.

If you try any of these, let me know how it goes! I’m looking forward to trying all of them, especially the brie because brie! and that Culina yogurt because the packaging is superb. If you have a favorite dairy-free food to share, I’d love to hear about that too. Thank you for reading and please share with any vegans or dairy intolerant people you may know.

Spray Perfume DIY

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When making your own natural perfumes, you have plenty of options to consider. What scent? What base? What container? Most perfumes will either have a base of oil or alcohol, unless you are making a solid perfume which also requires oil but also beeswax, or carnauba wax for a vegan option. If you want a spray perfume, that makes it pretty easy to decide on your base because only alcohol will work with a spray top. There are other ingredients you can mix in with the alcohol, but the fundamental base should be an alcohol that is 80-100 proof, with vodka being the most common choice because it has the least amount of scent. You can find perfumers alcohol if you look around, but I like to follow the rule of ‘if you wouldn’t put it in your body, don’t put it on your body’ when making my own products.

I always have a perfume body oil that I use first thing in the morning and right before bed at night. I put it all over my torso and arms, sometimes legs too, and then it has to soak in before I put clothes on so that makes it confined to the above mentioned applications. Spray bottle perfume is something I like to keep on hand for applying before I leave the house or when I just need a mood lift from the scent, because no matter what is in there, it always lifts my mood. I even spray the inside of my coats because they need a little refreshing after so much use in the winter, especially since I tend to wear my coats inside quite often. I’ve actually tried to break that habit by putting a warm sweater or hoodie or something always accessible in the kitchen near the coat closet to make myself change out of coat. My aversion to being cold is a mighty one. Here’s the current situation here by the way:

snowmorning

Even my 15 year old son asked if I had any sprays he could use to freshen up before leaving the house last week and since I’d just used the last of my perfume I handed him a bug repellent spray that we had leftover from the summertime, and he thought that just fine. After spraying it he said that it smelled really good so I hope I wrote that recipe down in my notebook!

For the spray perfume I’m making today, I’m using homemade rose-vanilla extract and vodka with some of my favorite essential oils for winter. It’s a two ounce bottle, which means 12 teaspoons, and the general rule is 5 to 20 drops of essential oils per teaspoon. That means I’ll want between 60 (12X5) and 240 (12X20) drops of essential oil in my two ounces of alcohol base. (I made the extract with vodka, rose petals, and vanilla beans, so it is indeed an alcohol base, just an enhanced one.) I’m using about an ounce each of the two bases.

I decided to make this focused a bit more on mental and emotional well-being while my normal perfumes are usually all about the scent. January through March is not my favorite time of year so I thought some uplifting essential oils were in order. Here’s what I made:

Januaryperfume1

2 oz dark glass spray bottle

A little less than 1 oz vanilla-rose extract

A little less than 1 oz vodka

50 drops sandalwood

40 drops ylang ylang

10 drops clary sage

20 drops bergamot

10 drops frankincense

5 drops rosemary

This turned out to be a really refreshing scent. I might add more rosemary once the blend settles, but for now I like how it smells. I won’t know for a few days if it needs any changing as it takes time for everything to mix and mingle and meld together.

Thank you for reading and let me know if you have a favorite essential oil blend for the wintertime!

 

Essential Oil Sourcing and New Name

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The new year and new decade weren’t quite enough for me, I needed a new name too. This website has bid farewell to its overly wordy title of the past, and is now named “Blossom Herbs”. I resonate with that word ‘blossom’ on many levels right now, and it seemed appropriate for what I try to do here with herbal tutorials, videos, and such. It’ll take a while before I get all the URLs changed and other places BA&A is hanging out, but the new year and decade seemed like a good time to start and if I waited until I was ready to tackle everywhere at once, I’d never do it, so here’s to baby steps all around.

A consumer advocate group asked me to post a link to their research on essential oil companies. I looked it over and it seems to be a good overview, so I agreed to share the link (below). They took notice of Aura Cacia’s sustainability record which is one reason I choose to use their essential oils and other products often. That and they are so accessible since they are at pretty much every natural foods store, and of course of high quality. They also gave a good review to Mountain Rose Herbs whom I also buy from quite a bit, and if you do any kind of herbal crafts I’m positive you do too! I encourage you to take a look at the list and see if your essential oil company of choice is on there and what kind of review they received.   Here’s the link: https://www.consumersadvocate.org/essential-oils

I hope your first week of 2020 has been a superb start to the year. Thank you for joining me here whether it’s your first time or you’re a regular~ I am so grateful for the connections. By the way, that picture has a recipe serum to go along with it. You can find it on my instagram page if you are interested.

Peace, magic, and all the best to all of you for the next 51 weeks and beyond.

New Year, New You

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I’ve actually never gotten very into New Years resolutions very much. I tend to think in terms of personal goals and growth more around my birthday which happens to be on the first of a month when my surroundings are waking up to spring a bit, and it feels like a better time to me for renewal. But this year is different. It’s a new decade and last year was horrifically miserable, and apparently a lot of people had a seriously rough 2019’s, so I’m more than happy to see it dissolve into history and embrace a New Year with all the opportunities of newness it brings.

I’ve seen many statements about 2019 being rough because it was a year of growth, so I’ve tried to write down the ways I’ve grown to make it a true leaning and not something that has to be repeated over and over again for it to sink in. If you had a tumultuous year too, I encourage you to do the same. Don’t just be glad it’s over and jump into the next year as if it’ll be different now, instead write down what you learned, or at least have a long hard think about it if writing isn’t your thing. Make it conscious and dig deeper, because there are probably more nuggets of wisdom to uncover if you stay curious and courageous b/c it takes bravery to revisit painful things and experience the buried emotions. But it’s worth it. You have to experience the emotions before they let you be.

We all get this crazy reset opportunity once a year, and it always strikes me every single time how hopeful people are that they’ll be better next year, they’ll stick with their resolutions this time, this is the year they’ll really do it. So often the gyms are packed in January, semi-packed in February, and by March the old patterns have bullied themselves back in, stealthily disguised as life, and the world turns for another season of repetition. Don’t let that be you. Not everyone hits the gym in January, but most people do have a notion of what they want for the coming year, and if it involves you changing in some way, only you can do it. Whether you are more aligned with Virgil’s, “Fortune favors the bold,” or more Louis Pasteur with his, “Fortune favors the prepared mind,” there is decidedly more action involved than mysterious lady luck.

Cleanses and detoxes are ways to jump start any change because our mental and emotional selves need detoxing too, as do our relationships. These are the ones I wrote about last year and they are the ones I always turn to when I feel the need for a deep cleanse, especially the kitchari which that post has the recipe for. Speaking of ‘jump starts’, I read that in Denmark it is customary to jump off a chair at the stroke of midnight to leap into the New Year for good luck. I love how literal that is! There are so many global traditions for New Year’s that all are an effort to bring good luck (I compiled a list for my ESL class with more highlights from that down below) and it makes me wonder if that’s why people give up on the changes they plan to make, as in maybe they feel ‘luck’ and life aren’t cooperating fully so they surrender to it…? I’m guessing the people who hit their goals are the ones who rely a little less on fortune and a bit more on fortitude.

But a little luck never hurts so eat the grapes and lentils, wear the red or yellow underwear, and jump off all the chairs tonight~ life may not catch you where you wanted but you’ll land on your feet somewhere, that’s a promise.

Happy New Year and best wishes for 2020. Here’s some global inspiration on how to spend this evening:

From Greece: An onion is traditionally hung on the front door of homes on New Year’s Even in Greece as a symbol of rebirth in the New Year. On New Year’s Day, parents wake their children by tapping them on the head with the onion.

In Ecuador they celebrate the New Year by burning paper filled scarecrows at midnight. They also burn photographs from the last year. All in the name of good fortune.

In some South American countries wearing colored underwear will determine your fate for the new year. Red underwear means you’ll find love. Gold means wealth, and white signifies peace.

In Japan they ring all of their bells 108 times in alignment with the Buddhist belief that this brings cleanness. It’s also considered good to be smiling going into the New Year as it supposedly brings good luck.

Every year at the end of December people in a small Peruvian village fist fight to settle their differences. They then start the year off on a clean slate.

In Switzerland they celebrate the New Year by dropping ice cream on the floor.

In Romania they throw their spare coins into the river to get good luck.

In some parts of Puerto Rico, they throw pails of water out of their windows to drive away evil spirits.

And in Spain it is customary to eat 12 grapes, one at each stroke of the clock at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Each grape represents good luck for one month of the coming year. Eating grapes at midnight actually occurs in quite a few cultures around the world which begs the question, where is everyone finding grapes at this time of year? Good luck!

Cheers!🥂

Frosty Fleur

 

The History of the Christmas Tree — The Herb Society of America Blog

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By Susan Leigh Anthony For the past six years I have worked at a wonderful, high-end garden center. Among the many seasonal items we sell throughout the holidays are Christmas trees and a wonderful array of cut evergreens. Surrounded by this abundance of holiday décor, I began to wonder about where the idea of bringing […]

via The History of the Christmas Tree — The Herb Society of America Blog

The Language of Nature

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This is a reblog from this time last year:

Wreaths, trees, and greenery find their way inside our homes near the winter solstice, which is so fitting. It’s not always easy to be outside for long in the winter months, so it seems natural that we have traditions which bring nature inside. I love the smell of fresh evergreens inside, and I also just love the fact that we still hold onto these green traditions throughout the plastic-ness and consumerism of the season. Nature has a way of communicating authenticity, and actually a whole lot more. The language of flowers, herbs, and trees is a language that used to be readily understood and I hope does not go completely extinct. It was at one time a language that was prevalent, back when nature was a part of every day life and herbs were used in all parts of life from sun up to sun down~ from the herbs used in the houses and in bedding to keep away vermin, to the food they ate, and the medicines (the only option!) that kept them alive. They used herbs in rituals, for spiritual purposes, celebration, decoration, and communication.

If that sounds strange, think about what a red rose signifies. If someone gives another a red rose or 12, they are probably not giving a token of friendship, a get-well bouquet, nor a flower of condolence, right? A red rose equals love, a very specific type of love~ romantic love. This seems to be an enduring symbol that has lasted far longer than any other plant language symbols, but it is by no means the only way that plant with symbolic meaning. Here are a couple of examples:

Thyme used to symbolize warrior type bravery. It was given to Roman soldiers before and after campaigns to wish them luck and honor their courageousness. A few hundred years later, ladies used to embroider thyme into handkerchiefs for knights going to battle. Thyme means warrior, bravery, courage.

Bay leaves used to symbolize scholarly achievement, honor, and victory. The Greeks and Romans were active in embracing this symbolism by crowning the most learned of the statesmen with bay leaf crowns, and also those with the highest status. Bay laurel even gives it’s name to baccalaureate, and also the word laureate, as in ‘Nobel Laureate’ or ‘poet laureate’ for example. If you search online, there are plenty of examples of graduates donning bay crowns even today, so at least that tradition is still alive in some way.

Since it is nearing Christmas, I thought I’d share some holiday plants with their symbolism. I found a bouquet in the book, Tussie Mussies, by Geraldine Adamich Laufer that she calls “Christmas Joy” and would make a lovely wreath as well. Also, using these same meanings, one can put together an essential oil blend with a special holiday message. The bouquet has the following in it:

Pine: Warm friendship, vigorous life, spiritual energy

Cinnamon: Love, beauty, my fortune is yours!

Burnet: A merry heart

Rosemary: Remembrance

Bedstraw: The manger

Holly Berries: Christmas joy

Cone: Conviviality, life

Another bouquet in her book celebrates the New Year. It is called, “New Years Resolutions” and has the following:

Vervain: Good fortune, wishes granted

Sumac: Resoluteness

Rue: Beginning anew

Parsley Flower: At the very beginning

Hyssop: Cleansing

Elderberry: Zeal

These bouquets or wreaths might be fun gifts to bring to some hosts over the holidays, and a conversation starter if you include the meaning of the plants used. Essential oil blends can be used instead for a longer lasting gift, and of course there are plenty of other herbs, flowers, and trees to choose from. For example, Mint, another traditional winter holiday scent, symbolizes burning love, and also wisdom and virtue. There is also an old saying: “Grow mint in your garden to attract money to your purse,” so this plant has a lot to offer in the way of New Year’s wishes.

However you celebrate the winter holidays, I hope you are filled with peace, happiness, and good health. From all accounts, I’m not the only one eager to see 2018 come to a close and hoping for a lighter and brighter year ahead. In order to embrace this dark, quiet, inner-focused time of year, I’ll be taking a wee break from posting here until January. Hopefully I’ll be back with some news on a couple of other projects I’m working on so stay tuned! All the best to all of you and see you next year! Cheers!

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Enzymes and Probiotics for Digestive Health

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This time of year can be rough on our digestive systems with rich foods and drinks, plus an extra dose of stress which can cause digestive distress with even the best of diets. It’s no wonder January is the time for resolutions and high motivation, because as fun as celebrating and indulgence can be, if it makes us feel unwell, we innately want to heal ourselves. It seems to just be human nature. Actually, more like nature nature, or life nature, or however you want to call it because it’s not just humans who intuitively curl up and focus on healing when they need to. We don’t have to hermit ourselves away in a cave with nuts and berries though, we can get through the season of indulgence with a little less bloating and a little more health with a couple of natural helpers: enzymes and probiotics.

Enzymes are found in our bodies, saliva, and fresh fruits and vegetables. They are one of the main reasons raw foodists (those on a raw foods diet) tout eating raw foods only. Cooking kills enzymes, and certainly processing and packaging does as well. Needless to say, most of us do not get the quantity of enzymes that we used to in our diets, nor enough to keep our digestive system working optimally. You may have heard about enzymes in regards to juicing as well, because fresh juice has a bunch of them, but then they quickly die off which is why fresh juice is supposed to be so much better than bottled juice. Enzymes can also be taken in supplement form, or bitters can be taken to encourage your own body to produce its own enzymes before eating. Both forms of supplementation should be taken before meals, usually about ten minutes before eating is optimal. There are different kinds of enzymes, so if you want a broad array, pick one with many listed, or if you are interested in just one or two for specific reasons, such as lactase to break down lactose, you can find those as well. Personally, I like Rainbow Light’s enzymes because they have a broad spectrum and additional herbs to help digestion.

Bitters usually come in a dropper or spray form, and the taste is important so you leave the liquid in your mouth a few seconds before swallowing. My favorite are Herb Pharm’s classic Better Bitters. If you suffer from food intolerances, even just mild ones, enzymes and/or bitters supplementation can help. Enzymes help break down the food so the digestive system can handle it properly and assimilate it optimally. Too large of pieces slow down the digestion, resulting in buildup and bloating. When you take in enzymes, or use bitters, you are priming your body for the work it needs to do, and assisting it.

Probiotics work deeper down in the digestive tract and should be taken after meals or between meals. Probiotics are the good bacteria in the intestines which help break down food there, and help keep the bad bacteria and yeast in check. Probiotics are talked about in terms of balance because the correct flora balance in the intestines is key to good health throughout the body. It is always important to take probiotics after a round of antibiotics because those kill probiotics and upset the flora balance in the intestines, which can lead to bad bacteria or yeast (candida) taking hold. Probiotics are found in fermented foods such as kombucha, kefir, yogurt, and kimchi. Eating and drinking these foods can be helpful, but most western diets have a negative cumulative effect on the good intestinal flora in the first place from eating too many processed foods and not enough fresh foods which contain prebiotics that the probiotics need to survive and thrive. And of course sugar has a negative impact on intestinal flora by fueling the harmful bacteria and yeast.

A balanced intestinal environment leads to healthy digestion with less bloating and gas, and improved immune system. It has also been linked to better mental and emotional health with the gut being named ‘the second brain’. As with enzymes, there are many types that can be taken in a pill, so picking one with a broad array of strains and a high potency is recommended. Many people change brands each time they buy a new bottle in order to introduce the broadest spectrum of probiotics to their bodies, but if you find one that works well for you, there is no need to abandon it. My two favorites are Vsl3 and Visbiome. The one pictured above with given to me as a sample and is focused primarily on the immune system.

There are other digestive helpers out there, but these are a great place to start to get through the richness of the holiday season which can be especially tough on those with food intolerances or other digestive issues.

Stay healthy and enjoy the season.

DIY Holiday Gifts

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Since there is so much gifting this time of year, I wanted to share two more recipes from Aura Cacia that seem like nice, simple luxuries to share this time of year. I’m working on a writing project so my posts here might be more infrequent than usual, but I’ll still be checking in and you will be the firsts to know more about what I’m up to when the time is right. For now, here are two bath and body recipes to get you through the holiday season, either through gifting or using yourself. The first is a peppermint foot soak for those that are on their feet all day, athletes, dancers, or anyone that gets tired, achy feet and legs. Peppermint is the go-to herb and essential oil for tired feet and legs and this soak is guaranteed to make your tootsies tingle in the best possible way.

Peppermint Foot Soak (recipe from Aura Cacia)

Ingredients:

4 Tbs sea salt

4 Tbs baking soda

16 drops peppermint essential oil

16 drops tea tree essential oil

16 drops tangerine (or Sweet Orange) essential oil

4 oz. wide mouth amber glass jar

Directions:

  1. Measure sea salt, baking soda and essential oils into a small bowl and mix until blended. Sotre in an airtight container.
  2.  To use, measure 1 to 2 Tbs into a basin, fill with hot wather and soak feet until water cools. Rince and towel dry.

The second recipe is for a fizzy bath powder which is easier to make than it sounds. The citric acid granules combined with the baking soda is what creates the fizziness. These can be fun for tweens and teens to make their friends, although anyone can enjoy this scent. If mixing a citrus aroma with lavender sounds strange to you as it did me at first, try it! You will be surprised at how well they blend together and if you are looking to shed a few pounds, lavender and grapefruit or lavender and sweet orange are actually great combinations because they relax while also being uplifting and energizing. And we all know that anxiety and stress = cortisol = weight gain so relaxing is just as key as the uplifting/energizing part.

Grapefruit and Lavender Fizzy Bath Powder (Aura Cacia’s recipe)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup baking soda

2 Tbs sea salt

2 Tbs citric acid granules (you can find these at well-stocked natural foods stores like Whole Foods, usually in the bulk bins section, or craft stores, or online)

24 drops grapefruit essential oil

24 drops lavender essential oil

4 oz. wide mouth amber glass jar

Directions:

  1. Measure baking soda, salt, citric acid and essential oils into jar, replace lid and shake until well mixed.
  2.  To use, add up to 1.4 cup to bath water.

As always, be sure to label everything and write down what you did because if you are like me you will surely deviate from the recipes a bit and you will want a record of what you did and if you liked it. I’ve been thinking recently about how families pass on their food recipes and how if you are a crafter you should really pass down your craft recipes as well. With herbs and essential oils, these materials have been around for all our ancestors before us, and will be around (hopefully) for generations after us and how amazing would it be for your great great grandkids to be able to make the same scented body oils or bath salts that you did…? So if for no other reason, make sure you write down those recipes because your descendents need heirloom, family history, herbal knowledge. Pass it down and pass it on.

XOXOXO

 

 

Thanksgiving 2019

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If you’ve been a reader around here for a while, you probably already know I’m not a big fan of Thanksgiving foods. I wrote about my Thanksgiving in Prague here with a non-traditional Czech recipe, and again here with a recipe of what I would prefer instead of the traditional menu staples, so I’m clearly not a traditionalist when it comes to T-giving, and yet this will be the first one that I’ll be spending without my sons. (They will be with their dad.) Not only that, I won’t be spending the holiday with anyone other than my four legged shadow, Bailey, and I have to admit I’ve struggled a bit with this transition. It’s one of many transitions this year and this one hit me by surprise because I really have never cared much for this holiday. Don’t get me wrong, I’m big on gratitude, but the holiday itself conjures up memories of my terribly shy, picky-eater years, sitting around a festive table fully of family and hoping I could get away with a couple of rolls with a side of invisibility but instead always ending up as the topic of conversation with all eyes on me and encouragement from all around to eat the turkey and green beans (cooked with ham) and everything else that truly made my throat close when I tried to eat it. That’s how meat always felt to me if any landed in my mouth, like it blew up in there ten fold and my throat would close and I couldn’t get it down. Anyway, for a people-pleasing, timid child, it was traumatic, and to this day I don’t care for any of the traditional foods and I’m pretty sure I know why. It’s not popular to say ‘I don’t like Thanksgiving’ these days though, but it has nothing to do with the giving thanks part. In fact, I’ve dedicated all of November to be especially thankful and taken extra time to make gratitude lists and be mindful of all the things I have to be grateful for.

Despite having the most tumultuous year in my life, I can easily fill a notebook page with my gratitude once I get started, and I’ve done that often this month. I won’t bore you with the details, but did want to share that each and every one of you are on those lists and in my heart and represent so much light in my life, especially during this rather dark year. Everyone of you who are part of this community with your eyes, your words, your enthusiasm, and your questions, are engaging with me in my favorite place, and I appreciate the heck out of each and everyone of you! There are so many parts of  my life I’d like to change right now, and so much I’d do differently, but this blog has been my happy place, consistent, stable, reliable, trustworthy, and growing, and this has been such a grounding force in my life that I can’t even tell you how much it means to me that when I show up here, I’m met with kind, curious, intelligent, high-quality people again and again. It’s enough to burst my heart open with gratitude. You guys are the best! Mmwwaaaah!

So however you are spending your Thanksgiving (if you are in America) I truly hope it fills you up in every way, with great food, people you love and appreciate and who give back to you that same love and appreciation, and most of all feelings of intense gratitude for this world we keep waking up in. Things might look grim at times, both personally and on larger scales, but in the end we get to show up each day and choose to be our highest selves and make the best choices possible, and when we fail, we wake up to another day with those exact same options. (Until we don’t.)

Baileybyme

Enjoy your day wherever you are in the world and know that I am thinking of you with gratitude while I happily eat non-traditional foods with my bff (best furry friend). Stay well and if you are looking for holiday gifts to start making this long weekend, I have more than a few ideas you can peruse~ just search ‘DIY’ or ‘gifts’ in the search bar. And if you are interested in what flowers traditionally mean “thank you”, this article is a quick read. 

Let the holidays begin! XOXOXO

Sourcing Your Essential Oils

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People often assume I am involved in a multi-level-marketing (MLM) company when I talk about using essential oils, but I have never been part of one. I get most of my essential oils from Aura Cacia which can be found at Whole Foods and other natural foods/products stores, and online or brick and mortar, or directly from their site.  They are part of Frontier Co-op whose sustainable practices are worthy of supporting. The essential oils are high quality and despite a common misconception, they are just as pure if not more so (because of sustainable practices) than MLM versions even though they do not advocate ingesting the essential oils as MLM companies often do. For one thing, ingesting essential oils can be harmful and should only be done under the guidance of a qualified naturopath or aromatherapist. Essential oils can dry out mucous membranes when taken internally and can cause other issues, some quite severe depending on the essential oil and the health/condition of the person. Second of all it is not in any way sustainable to use essential oils internally in a casual manner. Many plants, such as sandalwood, are already endangered due to essential oil production. Making essential oils is the most material-intensive way to use herbs, when there are often more eco-responsible and respectful ways to work with the herbs. Don’t get me wrong, I love essential oils and use them often as the only choice for certain herbal crafts, but I’m always conscious of what I’m doing and using. Companies that advocate dropping a drop or 2 of essential oils into all the glasses of water you drink, the teas and juices, the cakes and cookies and cocktails, etc, are really disconnected from the reality of what essential oils are. (You can make an herbal tea, water, shrub, etc without using the essential oil of the herb.) If you think about the fact that it takes 10,000 rose petals to fill one 5ml bottle, or 60 roses to create one drop of essential oil, you can get an idea of how special and potent essential oils are and how using them casually is not sustainable at all.

I also get essential oils from Mountain Rose Herbs which has all your herbal crafting needs covered, but that is all online, unless you are Eugene, Oregon, and I like knowing I can get high quality essential oils at my local natural foods stores at any time. I do order straight from them as well and they actually sent me some holiday inspired essential oil recipes to share which I intend to make into videos this season, but thought I’d go ahead and post a recipe or two today for Thanksgiving hostess gifts. These are fun projects to do with kids too, but always be careful with kids since essential oils should not go directly on the skin so gloves are recommended. Here’s a holiday tree inspired room mist recipe from Aura Cacia:

4 drops sweet orange essential oil (e.o.)

8 drops balsam fir e.o.

8 drops pine e.o.

1 Tbsp. fractionated coconut oil

2 fl oz distilled water

2 oz glass bottle with a spray top

Mix together the ingredients and shake before spraying for a woody, sweet aroma

And here are Candy Cane Diffusion Salts

1 drop spearmint e.o.

1 drop vanilla in jojoba oil

2 drops peppermint e.o.

2 drops sweet orange e.o.

1/2 cup sea salt

Mix together and add to a festive bath, or set into a bowl and let the scent diffuse into a room.

Thank you for reading and good luck staying sane as the holidays approach.

 

 

 

Easy Homemade Hostess Gift: Vanilla Extract

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I have another post on making Vanilla extract if you like to read more than watch, but even so this quick video will show you how to pick out the right vanilla beans. You can often find these in bulk bins at natural foods stores such as Whole Foods, or they might be sold in the spice aisle in ones or twos in a glass jar or plastic bag. To be certain you aren’t buying old beans, make sure they are the texture in the video.

The basic recipe is at least 4 Vanilla beans per cup of alcohol. For the alcohol, vodka, rum, brandy, or bourbon will work, but I always use vodka because I use my extracts in perfume making and vodka imparts the least amount of scent. Let it sit at least 6 weeks but really 10-14 weeks will be better, and the longer it extracts the more the vanilla scent/flavor will develop. Be sure to shake the container each day for the first week, then at least every other day after that, and you want the alcohol to completely cover the vanilla pods so if they want to stick up out of the liquid, use a wooden chopstick to push them back down.

As far as making holiday gifts goes, this is about as easy as it gets. Put the finished extract in a pretty glass jar and it doesn’t even need to be finished~ just keep the vanilla beans in there and let the recipient know they can take them out in a month or however much longer they need. For real vanilla lovers, you could give them vanilla oil too for body and/or baths. Vanilla is a luxurious product in any form as the pods are the second most expensive herb (after saffron) and have a long history known as an aphrodisiac, so these herbal crafts also make a superb Valentine’s gifts! Keep that in mind if you start your extract too late to gift for the holidays and don’t want to give unfinished extracts.

May your November be full of gratitude and your holidays be full of peace. Every year I make an effort to not get caught up in the frenetic pace and overwhelm of the holidays and this year is no different. So far I have not made it through an entire holiday season without the stress seeping in, but I’m holding out hope that this year I can stay centered. Be well!

Green Beauty

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Daylight savings time just ended last night as I write this here in the U.S. and although it’s much easier to deal with than March’s ‘spring forward’, it has the annoying effect of making me want to eat lunch at 10:AM for a week or two. Anyone else? I couldn’t figure out why I was so darn hungry this morning until I remembered that it was *actually* an hour later than the clocks were telling me. Apparently Washington and the entire west coast has voted to keep DST all year, but it needs to be approved by congress before that change actually takes place, and no one knows when congress will rule on it. Seems like congress is currently otherwise occupied with a few other more pressing matters. Go figure.

I thought I’d share a bit about what I make vs. what I buy in terms of green beauty, because I definitely don’t make most of what goes on my skin even though I love to craft herbal bath and body goodies. The truth is that I barely have time to make dinner most days, so although the idea of making all my own skin care items is appealing, it is not a reasonable undertaking at the moment. Last evening I went out to dinner with a friend who postponed our meeting up by half an hour right before I was about to leave the house, so with nothing else to do, I applied more makeup than usual. I don’t wear much makeup b/c it tends to look strange on me and I’m not the only one who thinks that. I’ve had makeovers three times in my life in an effort to learn how to put on makeup without it looking odd, but each time the feedback I got from everyone besides the aesthetician was overwhelmingly not positive. I like the idea of makeup though and everyone once in a while try my hand at it beyond the under eye concealer and mascara I often use, but what I forgot last night when prepping for bed was that extra face cleaning was needed. This morning when I did my typical (DIY) toner cleaning, I saw how much more was on my cotton pads than usual and figured I better do a deep clean mask (also DIY). clay mask1The mask is french green clay with powdered lavender, and I added lavandin hydrosol for the liquid. To get powdered lavender, I just put dried lavender into an old coffee grinder and whirled away for about 30 seconds. The proportions were 2 parts clay to 1 part lavender. I used a little over a tablespoon of the dry material and about a tablespoon of the hydrsol mixed together for my face. Always use non metal containers and mixing tools with clay (and henna) such as ceramic, wood, and plastic. For other homemade mask ideas, here are a few. It takes a while to dry so you can either treat it as an opportunity for more self care like a warm bath or long mediation, or you can do like I did this morning and clean the bathroom. Either way, let it dry for 20 or more minutes, and then rinse off with a warm washcloth. ‘Rinse’ is a soft word implying the mask will come off easily, and that’s misleading. The taking off of a clay mask is an exercise in exfoliation, which is part of the magic, so don’t be surprised or discouraged, just use your wash cloth starting at your chin and working up in long arches outward for best skin health circulation. You will reveal glowing skin, guaranteed!

Afterwards I put on a serum, eye cream, under eye concealer, and a moisturizer combined with a CC cream~ all bought, not made. There are many great natural beauty products out there made with health-promoting herbs, essential oils, and other natural ingredients and I love supporting them. The other cool thing is a far larger proportion of these businesses, as opposed to businesses in general, are women owned and I love that! I’ve heard that if you use non-natural products and switch to natural, it takes a couple of weeks for your skin to adjust, so that’s important to know. I’ve pretty much always used natural products so I never experienced that, but I’ve talked to enough people in the industry to know that can be a real thing and it’s likened to a ‘healing crisis’ which is what some people experience when they begin a new herb or some other natural protocol and seem to get worse before getting better. The other thing to keep in mind is that non-natural skin care can actually create sensitive skin. Once your skin is treated with natural ingredients, it becomes a lot less ‘sensitive’. Imagine eating non-natural food all of the time and what that would do to your stomach vs. eating natural foods, and you can understand how that would be the case. In other words, give your skin some time to heal and it’ll be not only healthier and glow-ier, but also more resilient.

In case you are interested, here’s a list of 35 women owned natural industry businesses. This list was provided by New Hope Network. As a reminder, I am a member of the New Hope Influencer Co-op, a network of health and wellness bloggers committed to spreading more health to more people. I’m not paid or otherwise reimbursed to share this information.

Cali’flour Foods – Amy Lacey, Founder & Owner
Michele’s Granola – Michele Tsucalas, Founder
Miyoko’s Kitchen – Miyoko Schinner, Founder & the Big Cheese
4th & Heart – Raquel Tavares, CEO & Founder
Shanti Bar – Ashanty Williams, COO, and Lauren Feingold, CEO
NuttZo – Danielle Dietz-LiVolsi, Founder
Piggy Paint – Melanie Hurley, Owner
Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice Co. – Marygrace Sexton, Founder, Natalie Sexton, VP Marketing
Noosa Yoghurt – Koel Thomae, Chief Aussie Officer
Caulipower – Gail Becker, Founder & CEO
My Brother’s Salsa – Helen Lampkin, Founder
Lucky Nutrition – Jamie Oberweger, Founder
Siren Snacks – Elizabeth Giannuzzi, Co-Founder & CEO
Purely Elizabeth – Elizabeth Stein, CEO
Bohana – Priyal Bhartia and Nadine Habayeb, Co-Founders
NoBull Burger – Crissanne Raymond, Founder & President
Nixie Sparkling Water – Nicole Dawes, Founder & CEO
Bobo’s – Beryl Stafford, Owner
Siete Family Foods – Veronica Garza, Co-Founder & President
P.S. Snacks Company – Nikki Azzara, Founder
Dream Foods International – Adriana Kahane, Owner
Cool Haus – Freya Estreller and Natasha Case, Co-Founders
Remedy Organics – Cindy Kasindorf, Founder
Simple Mills – Katlin Smith, Founder & CEO
Shining Light Deodorant – Sara Salter and Kristi Joynt, Co-Founders
Rule Breaker Snacks – Nancy Kalish, Founder
Green Goo – Jodie Scott, CEO
Crazy Richard’s Peanut Butter Co. – Kimmi Wernli, CEO
Carlson Laboratories – Carilyn Anderson, President, Kristen Carlson, VP, and Susan Carlson, Founder
Lifeway Foods – Julie Smolyansky, President & CEO
DeeBee’s Organics – Dr. Dionne Baker, CEO & Founder
O’My Dairy Free Gelato – Allison Monette, CEO, and Julie Bishop, COO, Co-Founders
Thaiwala – Heather Howitt, President
Joy Organics – Joy Smith, Co-Founder & CEO
Uplift Food – Kara Landau, RD, CEO & Head Dietitian

I can add some natural beauty lines as well: Evan Healy (I love this line!), Juice Beauty, Tata Harper, Moon Juice (I know some people can’t stand her vibe but I think she’s a hoot), and Indie Lee are the first that come to mind, but there are plenty more. What are your favorite green beauty products to make or to buy?

Thanks for reading and as always, please share with any green beauty lovers in your life!

Herbs for Halloween

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In doing some research for the ESL class I teach, I found out some interesting things about Halloween. Most people know the beginnings of Halloween started as Samhain by the Celts and was brought to the USA by Irish immigrants, but what was news to me was the story behind “Trick-or-Treat-ing”. Apparently, as my reputable web sources tell me, it was common to do pranks on Halloween night which during the 1930s depression turned into all out sanctioned hooliganism. It became downright dangerous so people started setting out food to bribe the youngsters (usually teens) to leave their property alone. As that bribery took hold, the greeting became ‘trick or treat’. It was at this same time that there was also a public effort to make Halloween a less scary (and dangerous) night, and more about parties, candy, and costumes. This is how we’ve ended up with superheroes, princesses, and cuddly critters roaming the streets instead of solely ghosts, werewolves, and other terrifying creatures. Of course that’s just for the kids. Any adult female knows that they are supposed to look like a hyper-sexual version of something, anything~ a cat, a housekeeper, a chicken nugget, whatever, but I digress.

Herbs have been used since the beginning of humanity to ward off sickness from colds to plagues, but they have also been used to keep away evil spirits, witches, vampires, elf pranksters, ghosts, and all manners of bad juju. Of course some herbs have been used to invite these entities near, but more often the action has been repulsion, not an e-vite. Oftentimes the herbs used for potent anti-microbial aspects are the same ones used to keep the supernatural entities away, such as garlic. Garlic has a long history of repelling vampires and witches alike, and is of course a strong germ fighter in every sense. According to the Herb Society for America,  in Sanskrit garlic represents “slayer of monsters,” and hanging it around your door brings good fortune.

Another herb that can be hung around your door for keeping evil spirits and witches away is fennel. Of course your door frame might be getting crowded so perhaps planting some near your front door that you can actually use in your kitchen might be a more modern and functional way to go. Fennel is excellent for gas and bloating.

While you are planting front yard herbs (or potted planters by your front door), you might want to consider rue which also has a reputation for protection against evil, trickery, and witchcraft. Salespeople will ‘rue’ the day they approached your home!

Mugwort is an herb known for helping one to remember their dreams and perhaps even facilitate lucid dreaming. It also has been traditionally used as a protective herb against evil spirits, and according to The Herb Exchange, St. John the Baptist wore a girdle of mugwort for protection in the wilderness.  This is an herb that is generally burned as incense before bed for the dreaming effect, or worn in a sachet for protective use.

And the last one I’ll mention is the magical Elder tree. This legendary tree is a protective keeper-away-of-all-evil and was revered by the druids who considered the tree to be inhabited by an old sage soul. This is the same tree that has the reputation of being a gateway to the land of the fairies and it is considered quite lucky to have one growing on your property, just don’t cut off a branch or even a twig because that is considered bad luck! Gathering the fallen twigs or branches is perfectly fine though and can bring protection into your home.

Enjoy your holiday and although I’m honestly not really feeling into Halloween this year, I do like the holiday and a good costume. Isak Dinesen wrote: “Truth is for the tailors and shoemakers…I, on the contrary, have always held that the Lord has a penchant for masquerades.” Happy Halloween. masked

 

 

How to Make a Body Butter (Reblog)

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I was in the mood to make a body butter and share it here, so I decided to look at the recipes I’ve made before and decided that I would just reblog the one I followed most closely, otherwise it’d just be a repeat anyway. I love making body butters because of the way they change from solid, to liquid, to a creamy consistency. It’s like true alchemy at work. They are decadent too, and so perfect for this time of year when heaters start cranking and skin starts cracking. These butters are perfect for the skin that gets driest, such as feet and elbows and hands, but I use these all over my body and my legs seem to especially love the highly moisturizing texture. They make lovely gifts too, just heed the warning below about using a tight-fitting lid such as a screw top if you or your lucky giftee have a prying pet. Below is my blog from February of 2018, and here is another one on making body butter complete with video.

Making a body butter or cream is an especially magical process because the mere act of whipping the concoction creates the luxurious feel of the product and also the opaqueness. It’s really easy to do and there are so many ways to do it that I very rarely repeat the same process twice in the exact same way. That being said, I don’t always get the proportions exactly right for a proper whip to the recipe so do follow the ingredient recommendations closely of whatever recipe you choose at least for the first time or two. Even if the whipping doesn’t make your butter quite creamy, you will still end up with a soft balm that is just as good for moisturizing, and considering all these ingredients are natural, healthy, and non-toxic, you can use them on any part of your body that needs a little lotion-y love. Use whatever essential oils you like, but just know if you are using the recipe below the cocoa butter gives the finished product a decidedly chocolate-y scent, so figure that into your scent profile. For example, orange and chocolate might be good, cedarwood and chocolate though….maybe not.) I used vanilla absolute to round out the chocolate scent and the lavender to make sure it didn’t smell completely like food, plus lavender has so many skin benefits.

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Body Butter

1/2 C Cocoa Butter

1/4 C Coconut Oil

1/8 C Shea Butter

1/8 C Rose Oil (Olive Oil based)

20 drops Lavender

10 drops Vanilla Absolute

Put all the ingredients, except for the essential oils, into a measuring cup that can go into a pot of water that will heat up to a simmer. 3756C7C8-FDB6-4FEB-B5E5-051F1F1C9E5A[1]Let the solids completely melt, then take the measuring cup out of the water and let the liquid cool. You can put the measuring cup on ice, or put it in the fridge or freezer with a clean towel on top of it. It takes a while to cool, anywhere between a half hour to an hour depending on how it is cooling (freezer or on ice or just sitting out or whatnot). If you lose track of time and find the measuring cup hours later rock solid, don’t worry, just melt it again. When the liquid feels room temperature to the touch, add the essential oils and start whipping it with an electric mixer or in a blender until it turns creamy and opaque. This could take 5-10 minutes, depending on how cool the liquid is upon starting. Pour the butter into a clean jar and keep it out of heat and light for storage. This is a very emollient body butter, good for hand or foot cream, elbows, or any part of the body that is very dry. It isn’t recommended for the face though because those hard oils and butter can be pore clogging. It smells decadent and it is really fun to make something that starts off mostly solid, melts into a liquid, then whips into a totally new texture.

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Store in a clean glass jar with a tight fitting top, in a cool, dark place. Preferably a cool, dark place up out of nosey doggie territory. I was going to give this body butter to a friend so I had it down on the bottom of my shelf of herbal things where I knew I wouldn’t forget about it, but see that cork there…? My dog took the cork out of the jar (it does smell heavenly, and very much like food despite the lavender, I have to admit) and the jar hardened to a decidedly non-butter state. Definitely not gift-worthy anymore although I’ll still use it. Now it’s back to the stove top to make another batch, this time with a screw-lid jar.

This does harden a bit over a couple of days even with a properly closed container, so don’t be surprised if that happens. It still melts right onto (and into) your skin. We have all heard how skin is our largest organ and whatever we put on it goes into the body, so make sure you are only using the best, purest, products. You are worth it and your body will thank you. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

 

Reining in Climate Change Starts with Healthy Soil

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This is a lengthier post than usual, but I think it’s important information. One of the reasons I feel compelled to share in this blogging format at all is because I care deeply about the earth and the global climate change that now (finally!) I think everyone admits to. Even if there are still people who deny that humans are a factor, no one can deny the fact that it’s up to humans to change their ways in order to slow down the degradation, or else humans will soon no longer exist and then earth can heal herself. Although I care about individuals’ health, sense of beauty, and quality of life, an even bigger motivation for my sharing is to create real connections to nature and natural products that lead to less chemicals, less plastic, less artificiality, less waste, and less pollution. There are so many green options out there for people to choose, from herbs instead of pharmaceuticals, to organics instead of artificial ingredients, and green beauty products that offer countless layers of healing and long-term benefits instead of chemicals and short term cover ups. This connection is not only deeply fulfilling to the humans who embrace it, but the entire earth benefits as well. No connection is too small because it all adds up, and the earth needs all the humans making healing choices now.

The following portion of this post was provided by New Hope Network and written by Bill Giebler. I am a member of the New Hope Influencer Co-op, a network of health and wellness bloggers committed to spreading more health to more people.

It’s barely May, but Aspen Moon Farm is bustling with fall harvest-like activity. The inclusion of seedlings in its offerings makes today’s farmers’ market preparations hum. At least half a dozen helpers line the long dirt drive up to the house, where owner Jason Griffith breaks for a sandwich in his enclosed patio. At 45, Griffith has been farming this plot of land in Hygiene, Colorado, for just a few years—but long enough to expand to 10 acres and learn some critical lessons.

“When I first started farming I was gearing all of my production toward ‘how many crops can I get out of this bed or that bed and how intensely can I plant?’” he says. That approach—despite organic and biodynamic cultivation—resulted in soil degradation, evidenced by diminished plant health and increased pests. Griffith reassessed his multiple annual harvests.
“We realized we were going to wear that field out quickly. It was interesting to see how fast it could happen.” Wearing out the field is not unique—modern agriculture relies on synthetic chemicals for fertility, too often viewing soil simply as an inert growing medium. What’s unique about Griffith—as with other small-scale organic farmers dependent on nutrient- rich soil—is he chose to do something about it.
Doing something about it is indeed the recommendation of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Its 2015 report states that “33 percent of land is moderately to highly degraded.” In fact, the report reads, “the majority of the world’s soil resources are in only fair, poor or very poor condition.”
For Griffith, the solution unfolded by re-framing the farming effort. “It’s really just about changing the focus from the crop to the soil and what does the soil need so we don’t have to add a ton of fertility every year.” Reducing added fertilizers—natural or otherwise—meant giving scheduling priority to soil-building crops above revenue-producing ones. “Instead of setting up my schedule and saying, ‘I need to plant carrots, beets and all this stuff where I want, whenever I want,’” Griffith says, “I’m basically saying: ‘I need to have a cover crop in this field by this date.’” Then he determines what vegetables work in rotation. The result is a productive farm with a year-round focus on maintaining or improving soil fertility.
This emerging awareness often comes in three words: Soil is alive. And with that comes the breadth of reasons to take care of it. Hint: It’s not just about food.
THE DIRTY TRUTH
It would be difficult to find a more passionate soil advocate than Tom Newmark. The former CEO of New Chapter supplement company, Newmark is co-founder and board chair of The Carbon Underground and co-owner of Finca Luna Nueva lodge and biodynamic farm in Costa Rica.
By phone, Newmark launches into a landslide of daunting truths. “Because of the worldwide destruction of between 50 and 70 percent of the fertile soil in which we grow our food … ” he says, also citing the FAO, “we have only 60 harvests [years] left before the world loses its ability to produce any food.”
Beyond dwindling food production, Newmark lists impending dangers, such as desertification—or drying up—of farm and range lands and a water cycle “so warped and distorted that much of the planet is whipsawed by either drought or flood.” If you’re concerned about the devastating weather extremes that have become far too common, he says, “You have to be concerned about soil.”
He explains how soil carbon correlates with soil organic matter: the rich, decomposing material and microbiology of the soil ecosystem. Acting as what he calls “the soil/water battery,” each percentage point of soil organic matter is able to hold between 20,000 and 70,000 gallons of water per acre. “When you don’t have the top soil, when you don’t have the organic matter in the soil, then the soil can’t store the rain, and plants can’t handle climate extremes because they don’t have water reserves in the soil,” Newmark says. The ripple effect of this includes local relative humidity, which distorts cloud formation and rain. “The destruction of the planet’s soil therefore has an immediate and direct effect on drought, crop failure and desertification.”
Possibly the biggest and most overlooked ecological service soil provides, however, is its role in climate change—via carbon sequestration. Global soils are, in fact, massive carbon storehouses—yes, that carbon: the temperature-raising, sea level-raising stuff of inconvenient headlines. The opportunity to lock this excess atmospheric carbon into the ground is at the root of a movement called regenerative agriculture. But with this comes awareness of the inverse impact: the vast release of carbon by agricultural means. “In fact,” Newmark says, “somewhere around 40 percent of the excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere comes directly from the soil.” That’s astounding in a world where human solutions to human-caused climate change tend toward the cars we drive and the lights we turn off. Newmark’s 40 percent is difficult to substantiate.
A U.N. paper puts it closer to 30 percent. But, says Newmark, that doesn’t account for the soil organic matter oxidized due to tilling or nitrogen fertilization.
Regardless, in the broad view of climate change there’s a double win that comes from carbon-rich soil. In addition to slowing or even reversing atmospheric carbon, soils richer in carbon (read: sticky, quenched) are also more resilient to the impacts of climate change.
This is good news, and it sounds even better the astonishingly simple way Newmark puts it: The soil lost its carbon, it wants it back and it knows how to get it. “There’s actually technology that is time-tested, safe and available worldwide for free that will take all the carbon we have irresponsibly let loose in the environment and bring it back to earth. That technology is called photosynthesis.” There’s a third win, too. Getting that carbon into the soil is synonymous with the soil fertility Griffith is looking for.
“The bad news is, we’ve absolutely botched things up with agricultural malpractice in the last 50 years,” Newmark says. “The good news is we can put the carbon back in the soil, recreate fertility, recreate the soil/water battery, recreate food stability and reverse climate change by using agriculture that is in accordance with the laws of nature and not at war with the laws of nature.”
FIXING NITROGEN
“The number-one thing we absolutely have to do is to stop using synthetic nitrogen fertilizer,” Newmark says. “It’s just that simple, and the research worldwide is clear: The use of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer corresponds with the destruction of soil organic matter and the release of CO2 into the atmosphere.”
We have long known the dangers of nitrogen fertilizer. Its rampant use has been linked to coastal dead zones, fish kills, groundwater pollution, air pollution and even “reduced crop, forest and grassland productivity,” according to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). What is newer to the dump on nitrogen is its direct correlation to carbon release and climate change. But, hold on: Nitrogen is a necessary plant nutrient, and the now 100-year-old ability to synthesize nitrogen from thin air is a key part of the agricultural “Green Revolution” that brought more food, more quickly, to more mouths in the mid-twentieth century. The need for nitrogen is what makes synthetic fertilizer so effective, and effectiveness is what makes its use so widespread.
What Newmark describes, though, is a distorted ecosystem, starting with an artificial growth factor—synthetic nitrogen—that stimulates a “rapid, wild cascade of growth of soil microbiome in an almost cancerous form.” Microbiological aliveness is a measure of soil health, but its unchecked growth creates an imbalance. It all comes down to complex underground trade negotiations, Newmark explains. In order to uptake nitrogen naturally, plants undergo an elaborate exchange with soil bacteria. Although both carbon and nitrogen are amply available in the air, they are inaccessible depending on who’s asking for it. Plants can’t get at the nitrogen; bacteria can’t get the carbon. “But,” says Newmark, “the bacteria have the nitrogen and the plants have this carbohydrate [carbon in the form of plant sugars] so at the tip of the root of every plant there’s an exchange that can happen, where the plants can swap their carbon-rich sugars for the biologically available nitrogen that the bacteria have. Brilliant!” And natural.

Until the introduction of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, that is. With it the plant has received biologically available nitrogen without having to put forth the effort of feeding the bacteria. A conditioned laziness ensues, closing a trade that includes not just nitrogen, but a host of micronutrients, too. “The whole underground economy shuts down,” says Newmark, “because we’ve been giving crack cocaine to the plants.”
What needs to happen, Newmark says unequivocally, is “all agricultural systems that rely on synthetic nitrogen fertilizers have to be abandoned, and they have to be abandoned quickly. We don’t have time to debate this issue.”
The second thing we have to do, Newmark says, is leave the carbon in the soil when it gets there. “If you have carbon that is in a relatively stable form in the soil, you have to leave it there, leave that structure undamaged.” But, he says, deep and repeated plowing, or tilling, breaks apart soil structure and releases CO2 back into the atmosphere. “We have to stop doing that,” says Newmark. “We have to stop ripping apart the thin layer of topsoil that covers much of our land surfaces on the planet.”

EASY DOES IT
While Newmark’s recommendations are satisfyingly simple biologically, they are not easy to apply within the existing industrial agricultural system—especially without consensus. In fact, many believe abandoning synthetic nitrogen fertilizer is akin to ditching the internet or stepping away from the car. Rob Saik, founder and CEO of Agri-trend, whose mission is “to help farmers … produce a safe, reliable and profitable food supply in an environmentally sustainable manner,” specializes in soil chemistry, plant physiology and crop nutrition, seeing GMOs and agri-chemicals as critical tools. “I think there’s a lot that can be done to make better use of nitrogen fertilizers,” he says. “The goal is not to reduce them but to use them more efficiently.”
Jeff Pizzey is a fifth-generation farmer in western Manitoba, Canada, and one of Saik’s clients. Pizzey says it’s synthetic fertilizers that allow him to grow as effectively as he does—as effectively as the world needs its farmers to. “What part of the population are you going to decide is not going to eat?” Pizzey asks about discontinuing synthetic nitrogen fertilizer. “There is absolutely no way that our world could sustain itself without it.”
Further, Pizzey says he’s able to employ a no-till approach because of synthetics. “That’s the one thing organic farming has not moved on from. Tillage is the only tool they have in their toolbox to kill weeds.” Because of genetically modified crop strains and their accompanying herbicides Pizzey can run his farm with minimal tilling.
“We use a disk drill, which basically cuts and slides the soil in a small band about three-quarters of an inch wide, places the seed and covers it back up again.”
Even the Rodale Institute, a world leader in practical organic farming research, agrees that no-till, by “relying on herbicides for weed control … cannot be directly adopted for use in organic production systems.” Rodale is researching and teaching methods to make no-till and reduced-till organic farming possible.
Aspen Moon’s Griffith does what he can as an organic farmer. “There’s not a lot of vegetable farmers that are no-till per se. We all have to turn in that vegetable residue to be able to get ready for the next crop.” The chisel plow Griffith uses to aerate and break up the soil is indeed more disruptive than Pizzey’s disk drill, but less so than a rototiller. “We don’t use a rototiller because … it inverts the soil.” Different microbes live at different levels in the soil, he explains, “so when you invert that soil every time, you basically kill the life of the soil that now has to rebuild.”
As for yields, Rodale differs markedly from Pizzey. Its 30-year trial reveals organic yields equal to or greater than conventionally grown controls—especially in drought years when organic soils show greater resiliency. Even studies that report lower organic yields show more nutritional value per acre. Newmark leapfrogs the entire argument. “Tell me,” he says, “how will conventional farms produce food with no topsoil?”

REVERSING THE DAMAGE
Agriculture, by nature, captures nutrients from the farm and exports them to market. With nutrients constantly being removed from the ecosystem, farmers need to manage soil fertility. How they do so is a defining characteristic. “We’re not trying to buy fertility to create a product,” says Griffith. “We’re trying to create fertility within the farm.”
There are two keys to that for Aspen Moon Farm. The first is cover crops.
With cover crops, nutrients collected through photosynthesis are captured and kept within the farm system. A cocktail of cover crops stocks the soil with different nutrients—including nitrogen. “A good cover crop should be able to feed next year’s crop,” Griffith says.
Griffith’s second key to building fertility is the inclusion of animals—not as product but as part of the operation. The best rule, Griffith says, works from cover crop through cow (quite literally) to chicken on the way to planting. “So the cow eats all that cover, which goes through its stomach process, turning it into almost compost right into the field. Then the chickens come by afterward, eat the bugs, eat the weed seeds, scratch it all up, spread it and then we’re ready to go.”

RUMINATING ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Bringing animals into—or back into—the farm system is intriguing, but counter-intuitive considering the well-documented negative impact the meat industry has on climate. Confined in large, dirt-floored feedlots, they poorly digest grain shipped from a thousand miles away and gas up the atmosphere with the resulting methane—a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than CO2. Indeed, a Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences report released in early 2016 states, “Transitioning toward more plant-based diets that are in line with standard dietary guidelines could reduce … [2050] food-related green-house gas emissions by 29–70 percent.”

But recent research suggests that large grazing ruminants—like cows—can be climate heroes as well. Leading the drive on this is the Savory Institute, a nonprofit organization promoting “holistic management” as a top effort to revitalize soil health and lock atmospheric carbon into the earth.
Holistic management is a carefully timed system of growth, rapid grazing and regrowth, says Savory’s Chris Kerston. Regrazing, too, but not too soon. Here’s why: As the grazed grasses start regrowing above ground, their roots retract, sloughing off dead root material—which is critical. “When that piece of root dies off down there … you actually just injected organic matter into the soil,” says Kerston. Essentially, the plant—through photosynthesis and root sloughing—is pumping solar energy into the soil. In this way, “you can build depth into the soil much deeper at a much faster rate.” After the grasses regrow, the pasture may look fully recovered, but more time is required to allow the roots to regrow. Only then is it time to graze again. “What ranchers often don’t realize,” Kerston warns, “is if you don’t wait long enough for the root to also regrow, then we have an unsustainable situation—we’re going into the negative in our bank account.” The soil is missing its carbon deposits, and the plant, with insufficient root regrowth and excessive withdrawals, is suffering. Eventually the grasses stop regrowing up top, too, taking the grass out of grassland. Hence, desertification.
“So what we want to have happen,” Kerston continues, “is we want our animals bunched and moving, but we want them to be gone long enough that the land fully recovers.” That nuance is the basis of holistic management, and it, says Kerston, “makes all the difference in the world. Quite literally.”
Bunched and moving is exactly what herds of large ruminants have been for millennia. The grazing was rapid, thorough and unselective because the animals were bunched and competing for limited grasses. They were bunched—and moving—because of the omnipresence of stealthy predators. “So in our sedentary ranching systems, when we started putting up barbed wire fences it was one of the worst things to happen to agriculture,” says Kerston.
Fortunately, bunched and moving can coexist with property lines, and this is where Savory’s holistic management comes into play: teaching ranchers how to choreograph the moves (and bunches) in a way that mimics the natural world, and teaching farmers how to create a beneficial mixture of flora and fauna working together, says Kerston. “If we put animals back on the land that is growing corn to feed animals thousands of miles away, that whole broken cycle stops.” Instead of eating bought feed, “the animals can eat crop residues, they can fertilize soils, they can actually break up the soil surface getting it ready for planting.”
Texas A&M’s Richard Teague, PhD, is among those to document the benefits of this specialized rotational grazing. Teague performed a large-scale multiyear study of regenerative agricultural practices. His study compared similar plots of land and employed different grazing methods on each, tracking the vegetation on lands with no grazing, continuous grazing (studying both light and heavy continuous grazing separately) and rotational grazing, “using light to moderate defoliation … followed by adequate recovery before regrazing.” Rotational or “multipaddock” grazing, he concludes, “had superior vegetation composition, higher soil carbon, and higher water- and nutrient- holding capacities.”
Returning key biological processes to their natural state seems to be at the core of transferring excess carbon from the atmosphere—where it’s a liability—to the soil, where it’s of vast benefit. That’s good news because it means soil loss and climate change have a common solution, and all we have to do to harness it is step aside. “We have 470 million years of experience of the ecosystem producing food: converting solar energy into calories available for biology to consume,” says Newmark.
When asked how quickly damaged lands begin to heal, Newmark’s response is short and cheerful. “It’s instantaneous!” It takes longer, he admits, to completely reverse the damage, but the healing starts on day one. Citing Teague’s research, he speaks of rivers that had disappeared or become seasonal during the downward spiral of desertification. In Teague’s study, he says, “those ephemeral streams became permanent streams. And this was in just 10 years!”
“I wake up hopeful every morning,” Newmark says, “because the solution is literally right beneath our feet.” (End of article.)

Thank you for reading and I hope everyone who took the time to do so feels hopeful and empowered to do something for the good of the earth’s health, as well as their own.

Herbal Perfume Base DIY Part 2

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This is a follow up post to the one about making herbal perfume bases. After the tincture sits for about a month, it is ready to be strained and used as a perfume base. It can sit for longer than a month and potentially get a little stronger, but if you are like me and get antsy to get crafting, a month is long enough. I actually strained mine this time slightly before a full month was up, but I could tell from the scent and the color that it was ready. A note about the color~ when you make an herbal tincture it will inevitably take on the color of the herbs which shouldn’t be a surprise, but it may seem strange to put colored perfume on your body. The color does not show up on the body and I’ve never had it stain my clothes either so you don’t need to worry about that. If you do not like the idea of colored perfume, stick to essential oils in straight alcohol, or make an herbal oil instead because oils take on a lot less color. Here’s part two of making an herbal perfume base:

The final perfume I made with the 2 oz. spray bottle is the following:

50 drops ylang ylang

10 drops nutmeg

3 drops palo santo (because I’m out of sandalwood)

5 drops bergamot

This turned out to have a nice, fresh, gender-neutral, autumn day scent. If you watched the video you will know that I was thinking of adding jasmine but I’m just not really feeling jasmine-y this time of year. Nutmeg is a strong scent which is why there are only 10 drops while ylang ylang has 5 times as much, but the scent turned out to have a strong vanilla-nutmeg scent which just feels right for October. It could have really used some sandalwood but I improvised with the palo santo which is another essential oil that is extremely strong so only three drops of that one. The bergamot just gave it a light, happy finish as the only real top note in the mix.

Thank you for reading and please subscribe if you haven ‘t already for more herbal tutorials and wellness articles from the natural foods and products world.

 

Cinnamon Almond Granola

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If you want to make your house smell exceptionally warm and cozy, I highly recommend making this granola. It is short on ingredients and easy to scale up or down or modify to your own particular tastes. I know some people who might want to add cardamom and nutmeg to the mix and honestly I would myself, but my kids tend to like cinnamon on its own so that is what I do. I used gluten-free oats from Bob’s Red Mill, but many celiacsbobs red mill gf oats and people intolerant to gluten cannot eat even certified gluten-free oats. This apparently has to do with the protein molecule being similar in structure to gluten, though it might also have to do with what/how the oats are grown and what has been sprayed on or near them. (Read more about this here or at least look at the graph and draw your own conclusions.) Whatever the reason, listen to your body about eating oats or not. I count myself very lucky to be able to digest oats because I love granola and using oat flour in baking. This recipe is a healthy combination for starting the day because of cinnamon which can help stabilize blood sugar, almonds for the protein and good fats, and coconut oil to keep one satiated longer. Here’s the recipe:

 

 

Cinnamon Almond Granola

3 cups oats (I use gluten-free)

Real Salt

1 cup slivered almonds

1 tbs cinnamon powder

1/2 tsp sea salt (I use Real Salt)

3 Tbs. coconut oil (Somehow didn’t make it into the pics, but very important ingredient!)

1/3 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla extract (make your own!)

Preheat oven to 350. Place parchment paper down on a large, rimmed cookie sheet. Combine the first four ingredients together in a large bowl and mix well. Melt the coconut oil and honey in small sauce pan or just use your microwave for about a minute. Add the vanilla extract to the melted mixture and stir, then pour over the dry ingredients and blend until well mixed. Pour the mixture onto the pan and spread it out as much as possible. Put in the oven for about 15 minutes, stirring every five minutes so that all sides of the granola are exposed at some point. When it turns golden and the kitchen smells mouth-wateringly delicious, it’s ready to cool down and be stored in a glass container, or munched all day long right off the pan.

This is a great addition to smoothies to turn them into smoothie bowls and will be nice to have as an after school snack all week too, if it lasts that long. The other breakfast food I’ve made for the week is a couple of batches of waffles. They are filling and the addition of chocolate chips makes the early morning wake-ups just a tad sweeter for my sons, especially my youngest who is naturally a late sleeper. Waffles are also easy additions to lunch boxes and if you’ve never tried peanut butter or nutella on waffles, you are in for a surprisingly good pairing. These can be especially nice go-to foods for those early days of switching to gluten free eating for newbies, especially for kids, when it suddenly feels like all the comfort foods are out of bounds. Waffles can save the day and I highly recommend employing any and all tactics for making the transition as emotionally comfortable as possible, because changing what you eat in a drastic way is truly life altering and that should be acknowledged. It’s a challenge in other words, and although challenges are necessary and generally for the greater good, so is honoring the emotions as one goes through them.

Thank you for reading and please share with anyone looking for gluten free or just easy breakfast recipes.

Happy October!

spider web

 

 

Immune Support for School Days

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School started less than a month ago and all three of us in this house have already caught a cold. It isn’t just us either, people all over are discussing their kids being out sick or they themselves are coughing and reaching for tissues. Schools are just bacteria and virus playgrounds and no amount of hand washing nor desk cleaning is going to suffice (though it can help) so it’s worthwhile to work some immune support into you and your students’ bodies during the school year. In addition to my sons being at school, I started a job at a school last week and was reminded very quickly that the other years I’ve worked in schools were always full of colds and once, a very bad flu, and that was when I worked at a college so it’s not just elementary through high schools. I don’t want another year of viruses and other issues, so I’m planning on putting some real focus into not only supporting my and my sons’ immune systems, but also making my little classroom as healthy as possible. Bailey (above) is not happy with the transition of summer to school days either. She likes everyone home, right where she can see them.

astragalus

Astragalus is an immune supporting herb that can be used continuously, as opposed to the more well-known booster, echinacea, which is used during an illness, then must be stopped in order to stay effective in the future. I use astragalus in powdered form and add it to the adaptogen blends I make for the boys and my morning protein smoothies. It’s a mainstay. One of my herbal teachers said that in China they put a slice of the root in soups all winter, then take it out before serving the soup. I can’t verify that myself, but it sounds like a reasonable way to take advantage of the herb. The slices are known to look somewhat like tongue depressors (pictured above), and although it’s a root, both the smell and taste of the herb are somewhat nutty (at least to me). Next time I make soup, I’m going to try throwing a slice in there, and I’ve also been known to take the tincture version when I’ve felt rundown and there is a kids’ tincture too that is free of alcohol. There are pill versions too of course, so whatever is easiest for the person taking it. Astragalus can also help when you have an overactive immune system, such as with allergies or rheumatoid arthritis. It’s category is immunomodulator, meaning it helps amp up the immune system when it needs amping, but also can turn it down when it’s gotten too riled up for its own good. Although astragalus can help you get over a cold or flu, echinacea is my go to choice for really boosting the immune system to fight those. Echinacea is a fighter you bring in when you really need it, while astragalus is a daily supporter. Here’s a kid friendly echinacea for when the sniffles start.

Elderberry is another herb to have on hand all fall and winter and now is the perfect time to make some elderberry syrup which is something I plan on doing in the next couple of weekends (although you can just buy it if herbal crafting isn’t your happy place as it is mine, and here’s a kids’ version). Elderberry has a long history of use for a wide variety of ailments from urinary tract infections to allergies, but it is most known for its anti-catarrhal  and immune boosting actions which make it a natural for fighting colds and flus. It will no doubt be easier to get your kids to take elderberry as opposed to other herbs so it’s nice in that regard as well. Hippocrates himself referred to elderberry as his medicine chest for its many uses, and there is evidence of it being cultivated by prehistoric Europeans and the tincture has also been found buried in ancient Egyptian tombs. Due to its extremely long historical use and the many ailments it treats, it of course also has garnered quite a mythical reputation with stories linked to goddess cultures revering it and it being a portal to fairy lands. If you are lucky enough to have one growing in your yard, you might want to try taking a nap under it because it is said that you will have vivid dreams of fairies and you just might end up in their land, perhaps never to return! And also if you do have access to fresh elderberries, don’t eat them. They need to be dried before consuming.

For some serious immune support I wanted to incorporate more mushrooms into my supplement regime. I happened to find a tincture on the “last chance” end-cap at a local Whole Foods which was exactly the kind of thing I was hoping to find. It’s Host Defense’s Comprehensive Immune Support and it has an extensive ingredient list that I’ll post below so you can see it for yourselves. Host Defense is Paul Stamets’ company whose video I shared a few posts back and he is a true visionary and pioneer when it comes to the fungal kingdom.

Also, in an herbal documentary series I recently watched, mushrooms were discussed as having the ability to completely overhaul one’s immune system, but it does take some time. I’m looking forward to seeing how I progress with mushroom supplementation and will let you know in about three months if I see a difference, because that is a reasonable amount of time to be able to note any changes. My own herbal education and training really didn’t delve into mushrooms much and I feel like they have just recently been rising in popularity as the powerhouses that they are. I really am excited to experiment more with these strange beauties.

For the room itself that I’m in at the school, I plan on bringing in some plants to not only freshen up the air but also cleanse the air. Herbs will of course be my first botanical additions to the room, and I will probably go with thyme as my inaugural plant-baby there due to its anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-microbial actions. The room is actually the

classroom windows
Lake Washington is in the distance.

best room in the building with tall windows that have a great view, but those windows don’t open and the space is fairly small, so the air feels dense quickly once a few students start rolling in. Today I’ll be making an air freshening spray to use between the groups of kids to hopefully put a stop to some of the germ transfers, and also to just keep the room fresh and a pleasant place to be for everyone. Again I’ll be reaching for thyme, although in this case the essential oil, to add to some distilled water for the spray. I might add some ‘thieves’ style essential oil to the spray as well, or at least use it in an essential oil diffuser that I’m bringing in. This little room is about to become a germ’s worst nightmare and a lovely dream for the students and I to be in.

What do you do during cold and flu season? Or is there anything you add to your health regimen either before or after when you will be in a germ fest such as a classroom or airplane?

Thank you for reading and please share with any students, teachers, or parents of students that you know fight the good fight against colds and flues all year.

 

Mind-Gut Health Connection

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I wanted to share this short article from New Hope Network that shows recent findings linking gut health with digestive health. This is something that has long been documented by Ayurveda, the oldest healing system in the world, by linking both to the vata dosha. There have been other studies as well, and even products aimed at optimal health for both. If you suffer from psychological issues such as anxiety, depression, OCD, and/or others, it is worthwhile looking at healing your digestive health as well. Here’s the article:

(This part of the post was provided by New Hope Network. I am a member of the New Hope Influencer Co-op, a network of health and wellness bloggers committed to spreading more health to more people.)

A Columbia University study has found that adversity early in life is associated with increased gastrointestinal symptoms that may affect children’s brains and behavior as they mature.
“It is too early to say anything conclusive, but our study indicates that adversity associated changes in the gut microbiome are related to brain function, including differences in the regions of the brain associated with emotional processing,” said Nim Tottenham, a professor of psychology at Columbia and senior author on the study.
The study, “Mind and Gut: Associations Between Mood and Gastrointestinal Distress in Children Exposed to Adversity,” was published online March 28 in the journal Development and Psychopathology.
“One common reason children show up at doctors’ offices is intestinal complaints,” said Tottenham, who is an expert in emotional development. “Our findings indicate that gastrointestinal symptoms in young children could be a red flag for future emotional health problems.”
Scientists have long noted the strong connection between the gut and brain. A history of trauma or abuse, even in the second through sixth weeks after birth, is associated with a higher risk of irritable bowel syndrome and more than one third of mental-illness diagnoses in one’s lifetime, according to previous research. This study was designed to determine when childhood adversity begins to affect the gastrointestinal system.
“The role of trauma in increasing vulnerability to both gastrointestinal and mental health symptoms is well established in adults but rarely studied in childhood,” lead author Bridget Callaghan, a post-doctoral research fellow in Columbia’s psychology department, said in a released statement. In addition, animal studies have demonstrated that adversity-induced changes in the gut microbiome—the community of bacteria in the body that regulates everything from digestion to immune system function—influence neurological development, but no human studies have done so, she said.
“Our study is among the first to link disruption of a child’s gastrointestinal microbiome triggered by early life adversity with brain activity in regions associated with emotional health,” Callaghan said.
The researchers focused on development in children who experienced extreme psychosocial deprivation due to foster or institutional care before international adoption. Separation of a child from a parent is known to be a powerful predictor
of mental health issues in humans. That experience, when modeled in rodents, induces fear and anxiety, hinders neurodevelopment and alters microbial communities across the lifespan.
The researchers drew upon data from 115 children adopted from orphanages or foster care on or before they were 2 years old and from 229 children raised by a biological caregiver. The children with past caregiving disruptions showed higher levels of symptoms that included stomach aches, constipation, vomiting and nausea.
From that sample of adoptees, the researchers then selected eight participants, ages 7 to 13, from the adversity exposed group and another eight who’d been raised by their biological parents. Tottenham and Callaghan collected behavioral information, stool samples and brain images from all the children. They used gene sequencing to identify the microbes present in the stool samples and examined the abundance and diversity of bacteria in each participant’s fecal matter.
The children with a history of early caregiving disruptions had distinctly different gut microbiomes from those raised with biological caregivers from birth. Brain scans of all the children also showed that brain activity patterns were correlated with certain bacteria. For example, the children raised by biological parents had increased gut microbiome diversity, which is linked to the prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain known to help regulate emotions.
“We observed that early adversity was associated with gastrointestinal symptoms in youth aged 3-18 years (with the largest effects observed in late childhood),” the authors wrote. They also found that adverse caregiving experiences in the earliest days of life alters the gut’s biome; that variation affects how the brain’s emotion networks develop.
“The fact that early experiences of caregiving adversity increase the risk for both GI and mental health problems, as well as being associated with changes to the GI microbiome, suggests that the timing of this exposure (infancy to early childhood) coincides with the sensitive period for the maturation of each of these systems,” the authors wrote.
More research is needed, but Tottenham and Callaghan believe their study helps fill an important gap in the literature.
“Animal studies tell us that dietary interventions and probiotics can manipulate the gut microbiome and ameliorate the effects of adversity on the central nervous system, especially during the first years of life when the developing brain and
microbiome are more plastic,” Callaghan said. “It is possible that this type of research will help us to know if and how to best intervene in humans, and when.” Callaghan and Tottenham are working on a larger study with 60 children in New York City, New York, to see if their findings can be replicated. They expect the results later this year.
The study was supported by the National Institutes of Mental Health, the Dana Foundation, the American Australian Association and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.

(Me again) If you missed my digest blend DIY (above) a while ago, the link is here. Thank you for reading and please share with anyone who has digestive or emotional/mental issues! Best health to you and yours <3.

Herbal Perfume Base DIY

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It’s really nice to have an herbal oil or herbal extract as your natural perfume base because it adds another layer of scent and benefits to your perfume. It also lessens the amount of essential oils you need in your perfume, making the end product more affordable and sustainable. Essential oils are wonderful, therapeutic, beautiful gifts from the earth, but they should be used sparingly as their production can and does take an environmental toll in some cases. Sandalwood, for example, has become endangered due to over harvesting and some other environmental factors, which is also why its price has been steadily and substantially increasing. It often takes an enormous amount of botanical material to make an essential oil, and the more material it takes the more expensive the resulting essential oil. Rose and Jasmine (link is to an absolute) are classic examples of this, and one way around the steep environmental and personal financial price, is to make an oil or extract from the flowers yourself. It takes 60,000 rose blossoms to make 1 oz of rose essential oil, and it takes even more Jasmine than that, but to make an oil or extract, you can use a lot less and end up with a great product although not as potent. Vanilla is another great herb to use as an oil or extract because vanilla can’t be made into an essential oil, it can be made into an absolute which is generally found already mixed with jojoba oil, so using it in an alcohol based perfume is not rose and vanilla in oilrecommended other than as an extract itself. I like to make my perfumes that are alcohol base with vanilla extract, then add essential oils to it. You don’t need to just pick one herb though, you can add herbs together for a unique, multidimensional scent as your base, then layer in the essential oils to create something completely your own~ a true signature scent.

Today I made rose vanilla oil and rose vanilla extract for my perfume bases. The extract will take 4-8 weeks to cure, but the oil is ready in a few hours (thanks to the quick method) so I can start experimenting with some fall scents right away. Below is what I did, but remember that you can do this with any botanical ingredient that you like. If you have something growing near you that isn’t found as an essential oil, I especially encourage you to try working with that and seeing what kind of special, local scent you can create full of originality and terroir. Go for it!

Thank you for reading/watching and I hope you are inspired to create your own multilayered natural perfume or cologne with an herbal base. Let me know what your favorite combinations are~ I’d love to hear!

 

Clean and Green Natural Products

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The latest samples from New Hope Network included some especially clean and green products. Of course there were a couple of CBD items as well since CBD is still going strong despite rumors and confusion persisting. Just as a reminder, I’m not paid for posts in conjunction with the New Hope Network, we are a co-op of bloggers who have agreed to share with our audiences information and products that we believe in. It’s a passion of mine to connect people with more natural products because I truly think natural foods and products are not only healthier for the people who use them, but for the planet as a whole. Plus the natural world has so much to offer which has been largely forgotten by the mainstream since industrialization, and if we can embrace our natural options in combination with all our modern advancements, we are going to head into a better future with more balance, depth, and greater wisdom.

matcha

Like CBD, matcha is having a moment too, and with good reason. It is a powerhouse of antioxidants and basically gives all of green tea’s benefits except more, plus it’s so full-bodied it makes a great latte. I drink mine sans milk and love it, although I have gotten a matcha latte with coconut milk a few times while out and can see how that’d be addictive too. Aiya’s matcha to go is a convenient way to carry your matcha around with you. The box says that no sifting or whisking is required but I have been whisking these anyway because it doesn’t hurt and you can almost always find something to stir with no matter if it is a traditional matcha tool or not. These packets don’t have any added sugar (some other brands do!) and the taste is rich, green, and delicious. These are great for travel or to sick in lunch totes or work bags. 

This protein powder from Natreve is a great example of a clean product that packs a huge nutritional and taste punch. My son was wow’ed by the taste of his breakfast smoothie and I this it’s pretty exceptional too~ the smell alone is like a fresh baked cookie. It’s vegan, soy and gluten free with no artificial sweeteners, flavors, or colors. It is also low sodium and has 25g of protein per scoop (it’s a big scoop!) with only 1 g of sugar and 150 calories. I’m looking forward to trying more of their flavors although my son will probably want to just stick with this s’mores sundae one.

This Bean to Bliss Bar not only has 40mg of CBD in it, it’s main ingredient is cacao which has long been used for its calm and happiness-inducing attributes. This tastes quite good and the ingredients are certainly a smart and clean combination of  mood supporting and enhancing ingredients though I personally can’t attest to any overwhelming feelings of bliss. That most likely has way more to do with my current state of going through a hard time than the product though so I’d love to hear other people’s experiences with this bar.

The CBD oil from CV Sciences has 9mg of CBD per serving and is flavored with peppermint. The peppermint flavor is nice, but it doesn’t actually cover up the hemp taste which if you have tried you know is a very strong. It kind of tastes like the peppermint is sitting shotgun with the hemp oil in the driver’s seat because the tastes are just about equal on the tongue. If you want CBD without the taste of hemp, I suggest avoiding tinctures all together and opting for softgels instead, but if you do like the taste then tinctures are a great choice because they don’t have to travel through the digestive system which may or may not be behaving optimally. (Let’s face it, most are not.)

This cute little Mothers Healing Balm has a great texture and the scent is light and pleasant. We didn’t have any wounds, rashes, or insect bites to try it out on yet, but the ingredients are promising with herbs such as calendula, witch hazel, and lavender in there. My dog did in fact get into a scrap with a raccoon a couple of mornings ago, but her wounds seem to be more psychological than physical, which is saying a lot since she’s already quite a neurotic beast. We’ll have to save this balm for our next wound, bug bite, or rash, and with a house containing two teen boys, it won’t be long I’m sure. This balm was formulated by a mom and an herbalist to treat a wide variety of skin issues.

Remember when healthy fats were all the rage? They are still important for healthy brains, eyes, and hearts, keeping inflammation down, mood regulation, and healthy joints, even if they aren’t in the spotlight as often as they were a few yeas ago. This omega 3-6-9 supplement from truelixir is vegan, gluten and allergen free, reflux-free, and additive-free. The softgels are a nice, smallish size and awfully pretty. Some omega supplements are huge and many do cause reflux issues and most are not vegan, so these are a rare combination indeed.

Thank you for reading and let me know if you have tried any of these products and your thoughts on them!

 

 

 

 

 

Magical Mushrooms

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From the psychedelic to the medicinal, mushrooms offer us a gateway into the expansiveness of life. Is there any other kingdom more otherworldly and multi-dimensional than the fungi kingdom? They are prized culinary delicacies, with some fungi such as European white truffles costing over $3,500 per pound, and even the more common morels and chanterelles can cost $220-$250 per pound when sold dried. Not all mushrooms are edible though of course, which leads to some confusion and reticence around them for some, and it is part of their allure for others. One group that are taken in for psychedelic mind expansion is the psilocybin group of mushrooms.  Humans have apparently been using psilocybin shrooms since prehistoric times, with evidence indicating these were part of religious rituals, and those spiritual pursuits continue today. Even animals ingest psychedelic substances, not just mushrooms by any means, so as with all herbal knowledge, the predominant theory is that we humans learned from the animals that there are benefits to using these substances, despite the obvious inherent risks. (Not surprisingly, hallucinating animals are not acting at their top form in terms of survival.)  This article on Psychology Today is a fascinating read about animals tripping and what role in survival hallucinogens may play.

Medicinally, mushrooms are revered for their immune support and are the first kingdom of choice recommended by many natural health practitioners when supporting a person through a major health crisis such as cancer. As a side note, I’d like to say it is my personal belief that we are extremely lucky to be living in an era where we can be treated by modern medicine with all its advanced technology and practices, and we are also able to work with the herbs and natural ingredients that have kept our species alive for all of humanity. There is no need to choose one and throw the other aside. In China there is a common practice called fu zheng therapy used with cancer patients to add in individualized herbal blends to their care regime to support them through chemo and radiation, and to rebuild their immune systems. This enables the patients to suffer less from the harsh medical treatments by counteracting some of the side effects while also boosting their own natural defenses. This is just an example of how the two systems, modern and ancient, can work together in a complementary way for the best experiences and outcomes. If you want to see a fascinating video about the power of mushrooms, this one below will make you a true believer in the power of fungi:

Even when just trying to bolster immune systems through a flu season or a particularly stressful time, mushrooms such as reishi and chaga can offer deep, dynamic support. In an herbal docu-series I recently watched, the following were recommended as discussion starting points with your natural health adviser: reishi for colon cancer, turkey tail for breast cancer, shiitake used in cooking to protect bone marrow and keep white blood cells from plunging, and chaga for intestinal cancers. (All those links are to Host Defense supplements which is Paul Stamets‘ company. He is the expert in the video above↑.)

If you are dealing with a serious health condition such as cancer, you really do need to consult with a trusted natural health practitioner such as a naturopath or a TCM or Ayurvedic practitioner. If you want to consult a clinical herbalist, you can find one on the American Herbalists Guild website and keep in mind that many do consultations over skype or the phone so they don’t have to live near you. Be sure to interview them first and make certain you are on the same page with them in terms of values and expectations because you want to work with someone who will be an advocate for you, not pressure you into doing something you aren’t comfortable doing. For example, an advocate will work with your regular physician and specialists by communicating directly with them instead of pressuring you to just do what they recommend whether your doctor agrees or not.

One way to try getting more mushrooms into your diet is to try some functional foods and beverages such as these coffees and hot cocoas from Four Sigmata. I’ve tried several of their products and there is absolutely no mushroom taste to them, only mushroom benefits.

Thank you for reading and please share with anyone looking to add a little mushroom magic to their life.

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P.S. Here’s a joke I heard: A mushroom walks into a bar and the bartender said, “Sorry. We don’t serve food here.” And the mushroom replied, “But I’m a fun-gi.” Hehe. Much better when told in voice instead of writing but still, the morel of the story is, I’m a sucker for a good pun.

 

Stress, Anxiety, and Depression

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This is a repost of one of my most popular articles from December of 2017. I would like to add saffron to the anti-depressant category because current research is proving that even just cooking with the herb is helpful in uplifting moods. It is also proving beneficial as an appetite suppressant and as such it is showing up in weight loss supplements. Also, I’ve written about CBD several times now but it needs to be listed here too because it can definitely help some people with their anxiety.

Ahh, the holidays….nothing like high expectations and extra obligations to turn up the heat on stress and anxiety levels. It’s a shame that the most joyful, festive, family-oriented time of year also has to be one of the hardest for many people. Stress and anxiety cause problems all year long of course, but it seems like this time of year people are rushing around much more with longer to-do lists and shorter fuses. Luckily for us, the natural world has plenty of help to offer, so much so that it seems pretty clear that nature would really like to tell all of us to chill out a bit. Since there are so many options out there, I’ve limited this post to just a few herbal and natural choices that cover the range of stress and anxiety from mild to intense but it’s still rather long. If you don’t see what you are looking for, feel free to contact me.

Nervines are a class of herbs that focus on the nervous system. They share similarities with adaptogens, which I posted about earlier, which are a different class of herbs that offer help with stress and anxiety by balancing out the body overall, with specific attention paid to the endocrine system. A great, concise article about the difference between adaptogens and nervines and when to use which can be found here. Nervines are good for any kind of stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and certain types of pain. They range in their strength from gentle tonic (such as Skullcap) to powerful sedative (such as Valerian). Most fall in-between the extremes and you can find plenty of blends that allow the herbs to work in a synergistic way.

Kava Kava is one of the most popular calming herbs, but it’s also an herb that has some warnings attached to it. Although it’s been in use in the South Pacific for its relaxing and euphoric qualities since ancient times, there have been a couple of issues recently that could indicate Kava might be damaging to certain people’s livers. It’s all quite inconclusive but some products do come with a warning on it, and some stores just stopped selling it, although it is still readily available in capsules, tinctures, and teas both online and found at brick and mortar stores. If you have an overload of toxins in your body, or a compromised liver for any reason, you might want to stick to other calming herbs or blend of herbs. Also, if you are taking it as a tincture, be prepared for it to numb your lips at first~ that just means it’s a potent product and it is a good sign.

Valerian which is also found in tincture, pill, or tea form is deeply relaxing and often part of herbal sleep aides. If you are not familiar with the herb, be forewarned that it has a strong scent although it doesn’t taste bad at all. More than once I’ve smelled the herb near someone or in their pocket and mistakenly thought the person was ill because it is that strong (and I have an over-active nose). If you need to address insomnia, Valerian is a good place to start.

Skullcap is also found in insomnia formulas but is milder and can be used throughout the day as a tonic for the nervous system. This is a particularly good herb for you if you find that your brain gets stuck on repeating anxious thoughts or has circular patterns of negativity.  Capsules and tea forms are also available.

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Blends are a healthy option if you are not sure which herb is best for you. Herb Pharm makes one which has a unique lavender taste and also comes in capsule form.

For children, the line Herbs for Kids makes a couple of non-alcoholic blends, a Valerian based one and a milder Chamomile based option. Herb Pharm also makes a kid- friendly blend to help with nighttime and nap-time that is also alcohol-free.

Most people know St. John’s Wort is good for minor depression such as the kind caused by seasonal affective disorder (SAD). It takes two to three weeks to feel the benefits of this mild tonic nervine but it really does have the ability to make one’s outlook a bit sunnier. In fact, St. John’s Wort can increase one’s photo-sensitivity so if you live in a sunny climate, do be aware that your skin just might surprise you with its quicker than usual darkening  or reddening. I actually love this about the herb because SAD is related to lack of sunshine and vitamin D, so what does St. John’s Wort do? It increases your sensitivity to the sun! I actually make my own and use it every winter to combat the grey PNW days. All the citrus essential oils act in the same way by the way~ they too increase your photo-sensitivity and they are also anti-depressants, so if you are using them in a body oil or body spray you should keep that in mind.

A word about deciding how to take your nervines. Tinctures are a great option because if you put the liquid right under your tongue you will feel the effects almost immediately. (It might burn so have some water nearby to wash the rest down your throat.) Stress and anxiety often lead to less than optimal digestion which may inhibit the results of a capsule or tablet, so if you use a tincture or tea, that alleviates the potential problem of not getting the most out of your supplement (and therefore your money). Of course, use whatever form works best for you because in the end, the best form is the form you actually take.

There are other natural products that help with stress and anxiety as well. B vitamins are important for daily stress management and are often even labeled with the word ‘stress’ right on the front them. If your daily tension levels are high then looking into a total B could prove beneficial.

As discussed earlier, vitamin D plays a role in SAD and is especially important in places where the word ‘overcast’ is in the daily forecast. Using a liquid formula is the most affective way to take D, other than getting at least a half hour of sunshine on some bare skin every day. (And that includes no sunscreen for that half hour.)

For times when your anxiety is high because of a certain event, or you are anticipating something stressful, then GABA might be your answer. GABA is a neurotransmitter already found in our brain that has anti-anxiety action. This study gives a brief explanation of one test and what the results were if you are interested. My naturopath actually first suggested GABA to me for times when I had to take my kids to get shots because of the extreme stress around those situations. (The GABA was suggested for my kids but I needed it too!) We use the chewables or lozenges because they are faster acting and personally, I feel the effects far greater than with capsules.

Essential oils are really at their prime working on stress and anxiety. They are definitely nature’s messengers telling us silly humans to relax, enjoy beauty, and quite literally to stop and smell the roses, or at least the rose oil. Neroli blossoms used to always be part of bridal bouquets because of their calming attributes and the essential oil continues that tradition of being a powerful anti-anxiety oil. Lavender is well-known as a relaxing scent and it combines beautifully with almost any other essential oil. Combining it with Neroli creates an affective anti-anxiety spray or oil, and combining Lavender with a citrus oil creates a lovely uplifting scent for diffusing or wearing. As mentioned above, all the citrus oils are anti-depressant (and also mildly stimulating), but the best ones for uplifting your mood are  Orange, Grapefruit, and Bergamot.

Clary Sage is often referred to as a ‘euphoric’ and it combines well with Bergamot for an uplifting, anti-depressant effect. I like to make body/room sprays that are half Clary Sage and half Bergamot.

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Making body oils is a great way to wear your anti-anxiety and anti-stress essential oils like a shield. You can put the oil on the bottom of your feet, all over your body, or make a stronger scented perfume oil or spray that you can reapply to your pressure points throughout the day. There are so many natural options for help with stress and anxiety that you really don’t need to just push through those moments, days, or seasons alone. Of course, always consult a medical professional if you are struggling to the point of it disrupting your daily activities, but know there are plenty of natural options to help you enjoy your life fully and with optimal health.

Peace to all of you this season and please share this with anyone who might be looking for a little natural help with stress, depression, and/or anxiety, and subscribe for more posts like this one on a weekly basis.

Quick Fixes for Acne

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Now I’m not talking about cystic acne here or any other more serious acne condition, although some of this might help those conditions, but what I’m referring more to is the occasional bumps and blemishes that everyone deals with (especially teens and women of child-bearing age) from time to time. Most people understand there is a connection to what is happening internally to what shows up externally and it isn’t solely a matter of how you care for your skin, though the common myths of chocolate causing acne or skin being ‘too oily’ persist. Chocolate only causes problems if you have a dairy intolerance and you eat milk chocolate, or an intolerance to chocolate itself, which would be a darn shame. Food intolerances definitely play a role in skin health though and I certainly experienced that with gluten before going gluten-free. It was one of the things I noticed before ever getting tested for gluten intolerance because of course I had more than an inkling I had a problem with gluten before confirming that which is how I got tested in the first place. I don’t expect many people are tested for gluten intolerance unless they themselves ask to be, which is just another way one has to advocate for themselves when it comes to the modern medical system. As a side note, my physician who ran the blood test said that she doubted I was gluten intolerant because “not many people are”. (Not true.) Then her nurse called back with the results telling me that the results showed such reactivity to gluten that I was a celiac. (This was misinformed. You can’t tell if someone is a Celiac through a blood test.) So she told me to go to a gastroenterologist who took one look at me and said, “You probably aren’t celiac. You’re too dark! Celiacs are from northern Europe and you look southern European.” (This is problematic for two reasons other than the fact he was diagnosing me from my coloring~ Italy has the largest confirmed population of celiacs and I am pretty sure they are considered southern European. Also, I’m French, German, and Irish~ not exactly southern European.) I said, “Shouldn’t I just get the test done to make sure I’m not celiac since that’s a serious, hereditary disease and I have kids?” And he said, “Why? All you can do is not eat gluten whether you are gluten intolerant or celiac. It’s the same protocol either way so I wouldn’t recommend it. Your blood test shows you clearly shouldn’t eat gluten so don’t eat gluten.” I was too baffled by such an unusual exchange to argue especially since normally I find doctors to be overly exuberant about tests, but since he was recommending I not have an uncomfortable procedure for once, I went with it for better or worse.

Anyway, back to acne. Acne is one of the rare occasions you can use essential oils directly on your skin without a carrier. You can put a drop of tea tree or lavender on a blemish to diminish it. It isn’t immediate but it will work over a couple of days time. From an internal standpoint, acne generally is associated with digestion and/or hormones. Food intolerances are clearly part of the digestive component and they can wreck havoc on skin in other forms from eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, and more. Avoiding the foods one is intolerant to is obvious, but also improving digestive processes can help long-term. Using digestive bitters and/or enzymes before eating helps with breaking down the food. Adding fresh or dried herbs to food can also improve digestion, or drinking herbal teas with an aim to cleanse the liver can help. (Most skin blend herbal teas you find on the shelves of stores include herbs which cleanse the liver and blood, and therefore deliver cleaner building blocks to the skin.) Taking probiotics and/or eating foods that have natural probiotics in them, such as kombucha and apple cider vinegar, help too. Fresh veggies, especially greens, are generally recommended, but in my research into digestive health I’ve learned that if you have digestive issues, you will get more from your veggies if they are cooked in some way, such as in soup. Fresh veggies have the enzymes which is great, but if the digestive system is compromised it needs more than those fresh enzymes to break down the food a bit and truly reap all the benefits from the veggies. I personally like sweet potatoes best of all for skin.

As far as hormonal fluctuations go with teens and also with women’s monthly cycle, taking adaptogens on a regular basis can help with hormonal balance. Teens do need to exercise some caution with adaptogenic herbs because adaptogens work primarily through the endocrine system which houses and transports hormones, and although adaptogens are generally very safe for most people, they should really be said to be safe for adults. Ashwagandha should be used only in small amounts and for shorter amounts of time with breaks in between. Ginseng should not be used by people under age 30. Seriously! It’s a potent herb for increasing (especially masculine) vitality and can cause ill effects if used incorrectly. Adaptogens such as Eleuthero and Astragalus are good ones for teens.

For women, chaste berry or vitex is the classic women’s hormone regulatory herb. There are teas, capsules, and tinctures to enable easy use. It can also be found in blends to support cycles and aid reproductive health overall.

Using clean and green products on the skin is important too. This line from Alba Botanica has been great on my son’s teen skin. I got him on the following as soon as he started having a blemish or two, and it works like a charm: the cleanser, astringent, these patches or the gel (use one or the other), and there’s also this scrub for the body is other areas besides the face are a problem. If he forgets to use it because he’s not at home, then inevitably one or two little buggers will pop out, but as soon as he uses the products again, they go away, usually literally overnight. It isn’t expensive either which is a nice plus.

If you are interested in something a little fancier and definitely as clean and green as you can get, evan healy has a whole line dedicated to acne. We haven’t tried those specific products of hers yet since the Alba has been doing the trick, but I’ve used many of evan healy’s other products such as this serum and they are extremely high quality and definitely work well.

What have you used that has worked on acne?

 

 

The Modern Woman and True Tales of Divorce

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For those of you who don’t know me personally, I’d like to share that I’m currently going through a divorce. I won’t be sharing specifics here, but it’s been rather difficult the last few months to carry on with the pace of things that modern motherhood dictates, to say the least, as well as continue to consistently write, look for more freelance and herbal work, give herbal and English classes, look for more ESL work, realizing all the education and experience I have don’t readily add up to any sort of mainstream job, especially one with benefits, meanwhile going through intense grief equal to death of a loved one and being a full-time mom to two teenage sons and shielding them from the worst of things, plus all my family and closest friends are thousands of miles away. That’s all I intend to say about that, and don’t worry, I’m making it through and have found pieces of myself I’d completely forgotten about over the years and I’m very happy to get reacquainted with those bits and explore where they will take me. (More on this at the bottom of this post.) This is all just to say, that this article I found on the natural media site (New Hope Network) of which I am a part really struck a chord. You don’t have to be a mom or going through a divorce to know deep down that this modern set-up we call life is deeply out of balance and wrong on many levels. All the talk about self-care seems so…..superficial to me most of the time. When I read those self-care tips I always think, it’s not enough. It’s not enough to schedule a hot bath and mask on Sundays, or meditate 10 minutes a day, or get 30 minutes of exercise or 10,000 steps. The pace of things is just not sustainable when life is so full of distractions and deadlines and agendas. I don’t know about you but mostly those tips make me stressed out about being expected to add yet another thing to my plate.

If you are feeling overwhelmed, please read on. This article below by Julie Marshall has not only a couple of darkly funny and wholly relatable stories (you aren’t alone!) she has some tips for easing the overwhelm. Personally, I need to get better at delegating and letting the kids help more. It’s always good to see these reminders because daily life goes by so quickly that it’s easy to think if you just power through a day the next one will be easier. Powering through can only last so long though.

Bad Gateway
Art by Simon Hanselmann at the Bellevue Arts Museum

Here’s the article which I’m sharing as part of the New Hope Influencer Co-op, a network of health and wellness bloggers committed to spreading more health to more people. Scroll to the end for more real talk about divorce.):

Task Masteress

Facing an online work deadline while making dinner for her visiting parents, 11-year-old twins and one emotional teenager, the final straw for Katherine Kingston
was the moment her tired, overworked husband walked in the door and started complaining about his workload.

“I’d had it,” says Kingston, who also works part-time from home. “I walked out the door.”

Overburdened and stressed-out women like Kingston are not hard to find, according to articles and blogs nationwide. Look in the mirror, or talk to your best friend or neighbor, and you will discover another household taskmaster who is juggling work, volunteering, raising kids, and managing every detail that falls between morning and night.

Experts have a name for it: Mental overload, the process in which women who multitask as the CEO of the household try to balance ridiculously busy lives. Underlying the managing of digital calendars, chauffeuring kids to piano lessons and meeting work deadlines is the emotional labor women undergo to manage the feelings and emotions of everyone circling within their orbit—and all of this adds up to serious emotional and physical tolls.

This health scenario affects all women of all ages and lifestyles, experts say. But there are many things women can do to alleviate stress and find balance, including exercise, meditation and advocating for their own health.

The day she walked out the door, Kingston ended up at a friend’s house, where she found relief in a cup of tea and a compassionate ear. “It’s one thing I do that really helps.”

Serious Symptoms

As a naturopathic doctor at Boulder Natural Health in Boulder, Colorado, Rosia Parrish sees an increasing number of women suffering fatigue, weight gain and overall neglect of their health, she says.

“It’s because they are so taxed caretaking for others, and they don’t prioritize their own health,” she says. It’s these women who wind up with hypertension, prediabetes, obesity, hair loss, insomnia and low libido.

These are serious symptoms and conditions that can get worse, in some cases leading to anemia, heart failure, thyroid disorders, autoimmune disease, viral infections, digestive disorders and more, Parrish says.

Self-care is important, and Parrish advises a host of options, such as mindful practices, breathing exercises, staying hydrated, being in nature daily, exercising often, taking daily Epsom salt baths and getting adequate sleep.

For Kingston, knitting, pottery and time with friends help her relax, refocus and de-stress, but her favorite decompression method is a dance class at a local calming yoga studio.

“There’s always a motivational theme in class,” she says. “Last week was creativity as it relates to dance and to life. I was able to move about freely, while being introspective and creative.
I got mind, body and emotional health in just one class.”

Summer is a great time to dance, because it’s the hardest time of year, says Kingston, 42, who has the twins and a 14-year-old at home, and a husband who works 60-plus-hour weeks outside the house. In addition, her elderly and
ill parents recently moved to town so she can help with their care.

“The problem is that I can never get away from work. The kids, the house, my paid job. If I go to the back porch so I don’t have to hear the kids yelling or look at the pile of laundry, then I see the gardening that needs to be done,” she says.

“My husband and I have no time to connect, and everyone wants my attention. I feel dumped on,” Kingston says. “And then my in-laws come to visit. Last summer, my mother-in-law looked under my kitchen table and explained to me how I should clean it.”

As soon as the in-laws left this summer, Kingston developed a horrible sinus infection and earache from the stress.

Why do women take on this role if it’s so stressful? “Perhaps it’s biological,” Kingston says.

Science doesn’t yet offer a clear answer, Parrish says, adding that there are some positive benefits to being a multitasker.

“Women are achievers, successful in their career and family, and they can mobilize others, including family members, to achieve.”

And although some men do help with household chores, when it comes
to emotional labor, women seem to carry most of the load. As clinical psychology doctorate student and writer Christine Hutchison puts it, “Women, on average, have a PhD in emotional labor, and men are trying to pass third grade.”

Emotional Labor

Licensed clinical psychologist Marla Zeiderman laughed out loud when she heard about a mom who was at back-to-back meetings, while her husband, who was at home with the baby, fired off text questions such as “Where is the flyswatter?” and “Should I give the baby the whole pouch of purée?”

Zeiderman hears this scenario play out many times in her work at Kaiser Permanente. “I laugh, because it’s all too familiar,” she says.

“If you poll moms at home and moms in the office, you find the same stories. While there are plenty of dads involved in the household, generally it’s the mom who stays on top of everything that’s going on in the business of the family.”

The result can be toxic chronic stress, Zeiderman says, which can make you vulnerable to anxiety and depression, worsen existing illnesses such as asthma, and chip away at the ability to handle stress at all.

“I ask people, ‘Are you chewing your nails? Road raging?’ because these are warning signs that can lead to those bigger health problems.”

Once aware, women are more willing and able to break the cycle, Zeiderman says.

Talking with friends is a wonderful way to de-stress, Zeiderman says. Date nights and apps with short meditative exercises (such as Aura apps) you can do in the grocery store are a good bet, other experts say.

Shifting your priorities to find balance is key, Zeiderman says. “The worst thing
I could possibly suggest to anyone is to get up earlier to get it all done.”

Instead, women should look at the bigger picture and ask themselves how important is it to drive to six more soccer practices?

“Every successful CEO will delegate,” Zeiderman says. “Women may ask me, ‘How do I get the help I need if my spouse doesn’t even know where soccer practice is?’“

Probably the most important thing to do is sit down and work out the partnership, Zeiderman says. “Get vulnerable and tell your partner, ‘I’m overwhelmed; I can’t take all of this on,’ and then accept that everything won’t go exactly the way you want it to, but your child will probably get to soccer.”

10 Ways to Ease Your Burden

If you’re going to be the family CEO, then act like a CEO by delegating and putting systems into place that will ease your burden. Here are a few ideas to start now.

  1. Streamline Meals. Declare standard meals for certain nights of the weeks, such as Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday or Spaghetti Wednesday, and then delegate those meals to other capable members of the family.
  2. Embrace the Carpool. Find another over-stretched mom at your child’s practice (trust us, she won’t be hard to find) and chat with her about the idea of starting a carpool so you each have certain nights or weeks where this task is completely removed from your schedule.
  3. Get Kids Involved. Delineate clear tasks with a points system (for example: take out the garbage = 1 point, clean the toilets = 3 points, etc.) on written notecards. As each child completes a task, they place the card in a basket. Each card in the basket (or reaching a certain points mark) goes toward a reward.
  4. Take Advantage of Convenience. You may just be in the life stage where it makes sense to pay a little more for the pre-cut veggies or to take advantage of a cleaning service or dinner prep service. What is a take that takes up too much of your precious time? There’s probably a convenience item or serve that can make your life easier.
  5. Do Errands in One Swoop. Make a list of 10 or so errands you must do and knock them out in a single block of time. Pay all bills digitally at the same time. Pick up all cards and gifts for the next month or two in one trip. Make a single or twice monthly trip to the bank, pharmacy or post office. Try to schedule all doctor or dentist appointments at a convenient time on the same day.
  6. Make Extra Meals. Cook meals in big batches and freeze leftovers for the days when there’s no time or energy to get dinner on the table. Soups, casseroles, pasta dishes and cooked meat all freeze and thaw well.
  7. Get Out of Your Head. Make a list of everything that needs to get done in one place (a physical paper list or on your smartphone) in the order of priority. Just writing out the list can relieve stress that you’ll forget something and will give you a clear plan of what to tackle next.
  8. Unplug at Night. Every evenings, enforce a no-electronics rule for you and anyone in your home where all devices must be closed down at a certain hour. This gives your minds time to unwind and greatly increases your odds of sleeping well.
  9. Treat Yourself. Each week, choose something that you’re doing only for yourself, whether it’s a yoga or fitness class, massage, self-improvement class, lunch or coffee with friends, or a trip to the quietest corner of your local library.
  10. Say No. You can’t do everything, and only you can make the decision about where, when and how to share your talents, time and energy. Say no the next request or project that doesn’t fit in or bring you joy, and do so unapologetically. (The End)

I hope this last month of summer brings you joy, peace, and simple, easy living. Just keep in mind, life goes on, no matter what~ it doesn’t matter if there’s laundry to be done and gardens to weed and shelves to dust.  I remember being surprised at the person in the mirror the week my husband left. I was at my son’s orthodontist appointment (b/c life really does keep going on) and walked into the restroom where I saw someone familiar out of the corner of my eye, and that person was me in the mirror. I think it was the fact I was someplace unfamiliar that made my own familiar reflection seem so shocking~ I still looked a lot like my old self with an in-tact family and it seemed oddly wrong to still look like the same person. I mean I looked terrible, but I was still me, if that makes sense. I took a picture of myself in the mirror (below, left) to remember what I looked like at the worst moments with the intent of taking occasional updated pics to prove to myself things were getting better. The picture on the right is one from about a week ago, which means 4 months in the divorce process. I am getting better, but I was wrong about the first days being the worst ones. Those days at least had the numbing element of shock to them. That wore off to uncover many, many more layers to deal with.

Take care friends. XOXO

 

 

 

Culinary Herbalism

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For most of human history herbs have been the only form of medicine. The medicinal use of herbs can be traced back through every ancient civilization, all around the world. Not only were herbs used as medicine, they were used in religious and spiritual ceremonies, daily routines, for beautifying and cleaning purposes, and of course, as food. The medicinal properties of herbs used to be widely understood among everyone so there was an understanding that using herbs as part of meals warded off diseases and contributed to optimal health. Herbs are still widely used today as food but mostly for taste alone, while their healthy benefits go largely unrecognized. The more one understands how truly life-enhancing herbs are, the more they can be fully appreciated and enjoyed.

One way to enhance salads with herbs is to throw in fresh whole herbs or edible flower tops. I love putting in fresh basil and cilantro into my salads, and I use them as half the greens base, not just a few here and there. Fennel is a delicious addition too, although the upper parts are generally considered a vegetable and the seeds are considered herbs, all three of those plants mentioned help with digestion. Cilantro also shows evidence of helping to eliminate heavy metals such as lead from the body, so it is a good fit for eating with fish (fish tacos!) or other foods that might have some metal toxicity. Basil shows anti-inflammatory activity and anti-microbial activity as well as is an herb for the digestive system.

Another way to incorporate herbs into salads is to make an herbal vinegar and/or an herbal oil for salad dressing. These can be used in other ways of course, but since it’s summer and prime salad season and it might be time to try a new dressing about now. It is so easy to infuse vinegars and oils and they make lovely gifts too.

To make a vinegar, start with a clean, sterile glass jar. Add in the fresh (rinsed and dried) or dry herbs of choice, the amount depending on how strong the herbs are and how strong you want the taste. For example, if you are using garlic, rosemary, black peppercorns, and basil, you will want less garlic and peppercorns, and more rosemary and basil. Fill the jar about a quarter full of the herbs, then pour the vinegar over the herbs and filling until nearly to the top of the jar. Let it sit 2-4 weeks, depending on how strong you want it, then strain out the herbs and decant into pourable bottles. Adding back in a few herbs for presentation and further herbal potency is an option.

An oil can be made in the same way as a vinegar except you definitely want to use dried herbs with oils. Any water content in the herbs (or jars) can be a problem with oil, as in a botulism problem. You can also make culinary oils using the quick method just as you can make medicinal oils, though the heating time can be less than medicinal oils. As with vinegars, once the herbs are strained and the oil poured into bottles, dried herbs can be added back in for a pretty presentation and added flavor.

Vinegars can last for years while oils should be used up within a few months. If you notice mold or cloudiness with either your vinegar or oil, get rid of it.  Experiment with your favorite herb or herbal combination, or look to a traditional combination such as the herbs used in a bouquet garni to get started. A bouquet garni traditionally uses bay leaves, parsley, and thyme, but other common additions are rosemary, oregano, and basil (pictured above.) 

I’ll be teaching a DIY class at 21 Acres on August 3rd with more fun culinary crafts such as making vanilla extract. I’d love to see you there!

 

Current Legality of CBD

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Has there ever been a more confusing natural supplement in terms of legality than CBD? I remember when ephedra was the star of legal matters about 15 or so years ago, but CBD’s legal status has stayed questionable for even longer than any other supplement I can remember. It can be readily found where I live in western Washington, but every state is different and it varies in other countries as well. I’d love to know what the status is where you live so if you have a moment, comment on where you live and CBD’s status, or contact me with a quick status report.

The answered questions below have been provided by New Hope Network. I am a member of the New Hope Influencer Co-op, a network of health and wellness bloggers committed to spreading more health to more people. In short, we share what’s happening in the natural foods and products industry when we feel it relates to our audience, and I always get questions about CBD, so if you are curious, read on.

Federally legal, but illegal in certain states, marijuana’s cousin, hemp, is steeped in regulatory confusion. Get answers to some of the top legal-based questions about CBD.

  1. Did the 2018 farm bill make it legal to sell CBD in all 50 states?
  2. Yes … and no. The farm bill removed hemp from the Controlled Substances Act. The farm bill did not, however, preempt—or bar states from regulating the production of hemp or limit them from enforcing laws that are stricter than the farm bill. So, while hemp is federally approved, states can individually prohibit production.

 

  1. Can CBD be listed on an Ingredients label?
  2. There is no law that explicitly prohibits a brand from declaring CBD as an ingredient on its product label. Nor do FDA regulations impose a requirement to disclose constituents of botanicals, such as CBD. However, such disclosure is permitted. Moreover, FDA’s position regarding CBD is not the law, but rather the agency’s interpretation of the law.

 

  1. Can CBD brands republish or share their customer testimonials?
  2. Customers of CBD products use them to treat cancer and various other ailments. They often share success stories with the CBD brands, but those brands cannot republish the testimonials. The First Amendment provides broad protections of free speech—but it doesn’t give a company unlimited rights to endorse or republish its customers’ statements without interference from the FDA. Disease treatment claims, including republished testimonials, are prohibited for supplements as per Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994.

 

  1. The farm bill legalized hemp; so, does the FDA have the right to interfere with CBD in products?
  2. Yes. The 2018 farm bill addressed problems that have plagued the hemp industry over the years, including interference by the government agency that enforces the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The 2018 farm bill does not, however, affect or limit the FDA’s authority under the Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetics (FD&C) Act.

 

  1. Was CBD first studied as a drug before it was marketed as a dietary supplement or food, as FDA claims? And … CBD is found in hemp, which is in foods, so what’s the real deal?
  2. It’s complicated. The FD&C Act prevents certain articles from being sold in supplements and foods if the article was subject to a drug trial before being marketed in a food or supplement—and CBD was. This is the basis for the FDAs opinion that CBD is illegal as a dietary ingredient. Overcoming FDA’s objections is multifaceted and also includes whether drug trials were substantial and well publicized. In other words, there’s not one clear answer to these questions.

 

  1. Does the FDA’s position on CBD apply to a brand if the product label states that the product is hemp extracts?
  2. Yes. Many U.S. companies aiming to profit on the rising demand for CBD are now selling “hemp extracts” in the United States. The FDA isn’t fooled by nomenclature.

 

  1. The FDA recently accepted three GRAS (generally recognized as safe) notices for hemp seed-derived food ingredients that included CBD. This is confusing. What exactly IS the agency’s position related to CBD in food and supplements?
  2. The ingredients in question contained CBD and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), but only in “trace amounts” according to the FDA. The seeds may pick up such amounts, the FDA explained in a constituent update, “during harvesting and processing when they are in contact with other parts of the plant.” In a marijuana Q&A regarding the addition of CBD and THC to foods, the FDA said its GRAS conclusions do NOT affect the agency’s position and scrutiny.

 

  1. Are CBD-selling companies required to invest in safety studies or research?
  2. In theory, yes. Dietary ingredients introduced into the US market after October 15, 1994, are required to have a new dietary ingredient (NDI) notification—a dossier of safety and toxicity results. In reality, very few ingredient suppliers have undertaken NDI’s and the FDA has rarely gone after companies for violating this tenet of DSHEA legislation.

(End of share)

I’ve written before that I do notice a difference in my anxiety levels when I take CBD, and others have told me they really have a surprising amount of relief from using it externally on nerve damage or aches and pains. If you haven’t tried it, and you want to, I suggest doing it soon before CBD goes the way of ephedra (no longer available). Hopefully it won’t as more education circulates about the fact that CBD does not cause a ‘high’, but just to be on the safe side, try it sooner rather than later.

The legality of CBD seems like an issue that won’t have a universally applicable answer any time soon, if ever. I’ve even heard rumblings about credit card companies refusing to allow their systems to be used for CBD or legal THC purposes. I have no idea where that is headed, but it seems everyone has an opinion on these botancials. What’s yours? Have you tried CBD? What did you think? I’d love it if you comment or contact me about your thoughts and experiences.

Thanks for reading and please share with others curious about CBD. Have a lovely rest of your week!

Lavender Lore

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This Saturday I’m giving a DIY class on using French lavender and French green clay to make bath and body treats to celebrate Bastille Day (a day early). I thought I’d share a bit of the history and folklore of lavender here that I’ll be sharing in the class before we start crafting.

Lavender first originated in Arabia, then spread to the Greeks who considered it sacred. Egyptians used it in mummification process and were the first to make it into perfume. The name lavender comes from the Latin word lavare, “to wash” because the Romans used lavender to scent their baths. It was expensive at that time and only used by the wealthiest Romans. Lavender has long been used for cleansing purposes, and it was even used to ward off plague in the middle ages. By that time it was more common and less expensive, so even poor villagers would tie lavender around their wrists in hopes of keeping the plague away.

Lavender’s essential oils are antibacterial and it is used externally as well as the herb being used internally in tea, tinctures, or eating the flower tops on salad. The essential oil is sometimes used internally but only do so on the advice of a trained professional. Taking essential oils internally can be dangerous, even deadly, and they have a drying effect on the internal tissues, plus it is not a sustainable use of the herb. Keep in mind, the essential oils are present in the herbs themselves, (that why they smell the way they do!) whether using fresh or dried herbs, so those e.o. qualities are there without the potency of just the essential oil alone.

There are four categories of lavender with many hybrids and species. Lavandula stoechas is the category sometimes known as French lavender. They all more or less have the same characteristics and can be used interchangeably, but French Lavender has long been prized in perfumery for its strong scent.

Lavender in general has also been traditionally used for its therapeutic benefits and actually is known for beginning the research into the medicinal qualities of essential oils. The story goes that a French chemist and scholar named René-Maurice Gattefossé had an accident in this laboratory which resulted in burns. The story says he plunged his arms which were on fire into a vat of lavender oil “accidentally” although some say after he put out the flames he intentionally put lavender essential oil on the burns. Even though the specifics of the story are unclear, either way, he had such great results and so little scarring that he continued to study the medicinal qualities of essential oils and used that knowledge of lavender on WW1 burn victims. This is said to be the real beginning of the study of essential oils for medicinal use.

Essential oils are 99% of the time, not to be put directly on the skin without a carrier. Lavender essential oil is one exception to this rule as it is tolerated ‘neat’ by most people, and can be therapeutic in cases of burns, bug bites, cuts, and acne.

Lavender essential oil is known to be a relaxing scent that blends well with all other essential oils. It is great for uplifting moods and allaying anxiety. A blend I recommend for anxiety and panic attacks is lavender and neroli, while a good blend to help fight depression is lavender and orange or lavender and grapefruit. All the citrus oils are anti-depressant and lavender adds in a relaxed component. BTW, if you clicked on those links and are surprised by the price of neroli, it’s important to know that neroli is one of those higher-priced precious oils but there is a less expensive option. You can get neroli absolute instead, which is already blended with jojoba oil.

In the class I’m giving on Saturday, we will be making lavender bath and body oil, bath salts, lavender and French green clay masks, and a facial toner. It’s so fun to craft with people~ I’d love to see you there! Thank you for reading and please share with lavender lovers everywhere.

 

Infused Witch Hazel

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I wanted to show you the end of the process since I showed you the beginning a few weeks back. This is the witch hazel after four weeks of infusion. The witch hazel has clearly been infused with all the beneficial qualities of the rose petals and calendula because the color of the liquid has turned from crystal clear to a deep, warm orange. I prepped some for a facial toner with geranium and carrot seed essential oils, and left the rest without any essential oils in case I needed it for an after sun spray, in which case I’ll use lavender and peppermint essential oils instead.

Witch hazel is anti-inflammatory, soothing, cleansing, and balancing to skin alone, but infusing it with botanicals makes it a medium for adding more antioxidants, healing, and enhancing properties to your skin. It’s also just fun and so rewarding to see the color change that takes place when infusing it with herbs, so it makes for a particularly good green beauty craft for young teens/tweens and it’s also gentle enough for them to actually use.

Thank you for reading and watching! I also added a couple of other new videos on YouTube on making natural perfumes if you are interested in actual recipes. Watch the alcohol based version first because in the oil based body perfume video I tell you how to (somewhat) alleviate a problem with essential oil perfumes that I bring up in the first one~ the fact that products made with essential oils just don’t stick around as long as chemical fragrances due to their ‘alive’ and volatile natures.

Happy holiday week to all the Canadians and Americans and anyone else out there who has a holiday this first week of July :0).

 

Throwback to Gluten Free in KY

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Today I’m sharing a post I wrote several years ago when we were in the thick of food intolerances and avoidance-s. I’m sharing it this week because we are in Louisville again visiting family, and we still do try to mostly eat gluten-free. The only gluten I can eat is in sourdough einkorn and spelt, and my sons feel better off of it for the most part as well, especially my oldest. If you are thinking of visiting Louisville for the famous Kentucky Derby or perhaps to check out the Mohammed Ali museum, you have plenty of gluten free goodies to look forward to. Here’s the post from my old blog:

Photo Credit: Ray Schuhmann
Photo Credit: Ray Schuhmann

Part of the reason I haven’t written much lately has to do with a trip to see my family in Louisville, KY, which turned out to be a very easy place to visit with multiple food intolerances in our crew. The other reason is the sheer craziness of summer with two high-energy boys~ it takes some time to adjust from school year days to summer days and honestly, I’m still adjusting. But, here’s what you will find in Louisville if you head that way (maybe in May…?) It is the Derby City after all.

Annie May’s Sweet Café is a gluten and nut free place that also has a large selection of vegan items. We went there for lunch and immediately regretted having not gone earlier in the trip. My son thought their vegan cream of broccoli soup was ‘epic’ and three of us got sandwiches we very much enjoyed and I was the only one of the three who is even gluten intolerant. The desserts we ate were delicious~ mostly cookies with cream in the middle, some vegan and some not depending on the person. My sons and I had the vegan kind which were dipped in chocolate too and probably the most decadent thing I’ve had in years. I don’t know what the vegan cream was in the middle but it definitely tasted like the real thing and I did not ask because if I knew how to make those things I might never leave my kitchen again.

Just down the road is Bluegrass Burgers which advertises on its sign outside, “Gluten free buns and beers” but it isn’t just buns and beers actually because I asked about the veggie patty and the black bean patty (they have both!) and those were also gluten-free and vegan. They were nice and patient about my questions, something that can be hard to find at restaurants where the going trend is to hate on people with food intolerances. They were extremely friendly and their food was great but there is one warning, their fries are way too good. Seriously, if you don’t want to eat a ton of them, just say no because once you start it’s all over~ they are seasoned to perfection and more addictive than chocolate covered cashews. Highly recommend this place. (And chocolate covered cashews for that matter.)

And of course there’s pizza. There are several places that have gluten-free options, but we chose Blaze Pizza because they have vegan cheese, all the pizza pies are individual size, and they cook them quickly in a wood fire so there (theoretically) isn’t much wait time. I was impressed that when I ordered the gluten-free crusts and vegan cheeses that they asked me if they needed to change gloves when handling those pizzas. They knew what they were doing when it came to allergies and I felt quite safe feeding their food to my kids and eating it myself. We liked the taste but it kind of reminded me of Chuck E. Cheese pizza, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, something about it was just similar…the thinner crust, snappier cheese, slightly sweet tomato sauce. But if that isn’t to your taste, there are plenty of other pizza places that have gluten-free crust options, such as Mellow Mushroom, Impellizzeris, Puccini’s, Uncle Maddio’s, and Cottage Inn Pizza, so basically wherever you are in Louisville you are never far from gluten-free crust.

Something else you are never far from in Louisville are natural foods stores, so in a pinch you can always find allergy free food at Whole Foods, Lucky’s Market, or shop local and visit Rainbow Blossom at one of their five locations.

A surprising amount of allergy-friendly food can be found at the most unusual place of all, and I say that mostly because the town’s name is Santa Claus but also because the amusement park there, Holiday World, is, well, an amusement park (and water park) which generally aren’t hubs of allergy free dining.

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Photo credit: Santa’s Little Helper

This place is about 70 miles from Louisville and well worth the trip if you are traveling with kids or just like rides, water parks, and Christmas music in July. Just check out this list of allergy-free foods that you can get there and you’ll be adding Santa Claus, Indiana to your must-do list. The only thing I caution is to have the list handy with you before you go in to order because the people behind the counter weren’t always up-to-date on the offerings. There seemed to be one person in charge who handled the allergic folks and the rest of them waved her down to deal with us. That was fine with me, as long as there was one person dedicated to keeping us safe I was thoroughly impressed. We also had to wait extra time for the allergy free food so another caution is to go before your four-year old is in low-sugar-sunburnt-over-tired-and-hungry-tantrum-mode, but really it wasn’t too long of a wait, 15 minutes maybe. Of course 15 minutes with a hungry child is a lot longer than 15 minutes with just yourself to worry about, so you’ve been forewarned. But both my sons said the place was better than Disney Land, so check it out.

I’m sure there are plenty of other restaurants that accommodate gluten intolerant people but I just want to highlight one more because their menu is very clear with calling out gluten-free items, along with vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, and whatever other kind of ~ian you want to call yourself, they’ve heard it all before. Ramsi’s Café will fill your worldly cravings when you’ve tried all the gluten-free pizza (impossible!) and eaten all the burgers on gluten-free buns that you can handle. Kids are welcome but if you are going to leave them behind for an evening out with your significant other, this is the place to go. When you are finished with dinner be sure to walk up and down Bardstown Road for some fun shopping and people watching, or grab a movie at the nearby Baxter Avenue Theaters. Enjoy!

If you are interested in pics from this year’s visit featuring a three month old golden retriever puppy, there are a few on my Instagram account. Here are some throwback pics of Louisville trips in the past few years:

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My sister and oldest son 2 or 3 years ago at parents’ house

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In this order left to right: me, painted pegasus, BFF (2016) at Captain’s Quarters

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Epic water gun battle at parents’ house

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Mom and me at Distillery Commons

More DIY Herb Classes

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I’m excited to share with you guys the rest of this year’s herb classes I’m teaching at the gorgeous 21 Acres. The following are the workshops already planned, but I’m also collaborating with them on private events, so if you have an idea in mind of a special GNO, or a unique work outing/team building experience, you can contact 21 Acres or me to coordinate a class. I am also available to facilitate herbal events at other places as well, so contact me if you have something in mind and let’s chat!

https://21acres.org/event/girls-day-out-french-spa-beauty/

https://21acres.org/event/make-your-own-herbal-mood-boosters/

https://21acres.org/event/folkloric-medicines-101-make-your-own-herbal-crafts/

https://21acres.org/event/become-a-master-perfumer/

https://21acres.org/event/cut-the-sniffles-herbal-immune-boosters/

https://21acres.org/event/holiday-culinary-gifts/

https://21acres.org/event/holiday-green-beauty/

Come if you can and please share with anyone who might be interested. Even if you aren’t around for an herb class, if you are in the area then you should really check out 21 Acres in Woodinville. They have a lot of great events there, a working farm, a market with local foods, camps for kids, and the people who work there are all warm and inviting. Definitely a good vibes place! (I took that pic up top there btw.)

Have a great solstice everyone!

 

 

Summer HABA (Health and Beauty Aids)

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Here are some of the recent samples that I received from the New Hope Network. The surprise flavor winner is this Kids Probiotic from Kyo-Dophilus. It’s a surprise because my kids generally like gummy vitamins far more than any other kind of chewable supplement, but this one is vanilla flavored and very good. In fact, every time my oldest took one he had to comment on how good it tasted, so I eventually had to try one, and he’s right, it’s really good! If you can imagine a small chewable tablet tasting like vanilla ice cream, then that’s pretty much what these are, but they are dairy free, gluten free, and soy free. They have 1 billion CFU and three different strains targeting regularity and immune health. If you are having trouble finding a probiotic your child will take, I’d give these a try. Suggested use if for kids 4 and up, but younger than that can take half a tablet crushed and mixed with food or juice.

Also for youngsters, this adorable face stick sunscreen is specially designed for babies. It is by Earth Mama, is SPF 40, and the active ingredient is zinc oxide so this is a healthy, mineral based sunscreen. For a reminder of which ingredients are good and which are sketchy, read the post here. It is a very clean formula with natural, moisturizing ingredients and absolutely no (potentially irritating) smell. Plus the packaging is really sweet and I have to admit I have a weakness for good packaging.

For the older-than-infants set, this sunscreen by Goddess Garden is for those with sensitive skin. It is SPF 30 and also has zinc oxide as its active ingredient. It is reef safe (so is the baby face one above), vegan, cruelty free, and water resistant. This rubs in much more easily than any other mineral sunscreen I’ve ever tried so I’m sold on it. It is labeled as ‘sheer’ and it really is! When I rub it on I can see a little bit of residual shine, but not the layer of actual sunscreen which I normally see with other brands.

goddessgarden-sunscreen

Sun Chlorella is apparently the only company that properly pulverizes their chlorella for optimum access to the nutrients. This is one mega-green-tasting supplement and I’m very used to taking green powders. I like it, it tastes exceptionally healthy, although I add a squeeze of lemon to it because it is just so very green tasting and the lemon gives it a lighter kick. They do make tablets too if you are not one to drink your greens. It is full of great nutrients, including B12 which as any vegetarian or vegan knows is nearly impossible to find in non-meat sources. They have 25% off their website for June, so if you want to check them out, now’s the month!

Curaleaf sent a CBD tincture that is flavored with lavender and sweet orange and is by far the tastiest CBD oil I’ve taken. As CBD always does, it helped me feel less anxious in situations which normally trigger my anxiety. They also sent a menthol lotion which came in handy the other morning after I woke up with a sore neck and shoulders. I used the CBD lotion and it worked quickly to soothe the pain away. These patches look interesting too.

curaleaf

I haven’t had a chance to try this allergy supplement from Tango Advanced Nutrition because my sons and I seem to be getting off easy this year with allergy season. There are not a lot of herbal allergy supplements though so I thought I would share this one called AllerPhase in case you are looking for something to try. It has great reviews on amazon with 57% being 5 stars, so if you are suffering with allergies, this just might be your saving grace.

Thanks for reading and I hope you are enjoying the beginning of summer (here in the northern hemisphere anyway). I can’t believe we are coming up on solstice already in a couple of weeks and soon this entire year will be half over! When will they make a supplement to slow down time?

 

Infusing Witch Hazel

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Witch hazel is a great ingredient to have in your natural beauty cabinet. It is anti-inflammatory, soothing and healing, great for acne and other skin conditions, balances pH, and can be used to cleanse the skin. It is most often used as a toner, the step between cleansing and applying serum and/or moisturizer, and can be mixed with other ingredients to create a more multidimensional product. I have shared a couple of toner recipes here already, this more basic one and this one with a glycerine infusion, but you can also infuse the witch hazel itself with herbs to customize it for your particular needs. I like to infuse witch hazel with green tea for toner concoctions, but for this tutorial I’m infusing healing herbs for after sun spray for a class I’m giving later in the month.

If you follow me on instagram, you might already know that I’ve chosen to infuse two herbs into witch hazel intended for after sun spray. Calendula and rose are both well-known skin herbs that add extra healing qualities to the witch hazel and essential oils (added later) for sun damaged skin. Either one would be a great choice, but since I happen to have both of the herbs in stock, I am using both. After the infusion sits for 2-4 weeks, I will strain the herbs from the witch hazel, pour the liquid into spray bottles, then add essential oils. It’s surprisingly easy to do, just like making a tincture, and really the hardest part is straining it without making a royal mess.

Here’s how to infuse witch hazel:

You will need the following:

witch hazel infusion

Fill the jar about half full with the dried herbs, cover with enough witch hazel so that the herbs are completely saturated and there is at least an extra inch of liquid on top. Push the herbs down (they will float to the top) with a wooden chopstick until they are completely covered. Put a piece of plastic wrap over the cover if using a metal lid, otherwise just cover with a plastic lid and shake gently. Let it sit in a cool dry place for 2-4 weeks. The longer it sits, the stronger the infusion will be so wait the full 4 weeks if you can. Strain and use as is or add other ingredients such as aloe and/or essential oils such witch hazel infusion1as peppermint for cooling or lavender for skin healing (or both).

Store in a cool, dry place, preferably the refrigerator since it is specifically for over-sunned skin. It will feel especially cool and soothing if it is fresh from the fridge, and if you do put aloe vera gel or juice into the mixture, it really needs to stay in the refrigerator to last for about 10 days. If there is no aloe in it, it will last for longer, so you can count on it being potent for a good three months or more, assuming no stray germs got into it during the creation process.

Thank you for reading and enjoy the sun safely! Please share with anyone prone to over-sunning themselves in the summertime.

 

Herbal Classes

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I’m excited to announce I’ll be giving herbal classes at the gorgeous 21 Acres starting this summer. Teaching these workshops has been a long term goal of mine ever since I started this website about a year and a half ago, because I love giving people the opportunity to be creative in a community setting, working with herbs and other natural ingredients in ways they might not have thought of before, and also having all the materials there makes it easier to delve into an herbal crafting project rather than having to track down the supplies on one’s own. I’d love to have you join me there for crafting more natural wellness into your life. Here’s the first one, coming up soon!

https://herbalsummerselfcare.brownpapertickets.com

Please share with anyone in the greater Seattle area, or anyone who wants to travel here too of course :0).

Plant Based Diet Hacks

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Whether you are vegetarian, vegan, or just trying to add more produce to your meals, plant-based meal planning seems to be a here-to-stay trend, and I think it’s a good one. There are no diets that are perfect for everyone, so I like the term ‘plant based’ to acknowledge there are many ways to look at eating more plants than animals in general. According to Blue Zones studies, the people who live the longest and are healthiest in their long lives are pescatarians, and even at that, they are not rigidly so. Flexibility, open-minded-ness, and intuition will take you much farther in terms of optimal health than any strict diet rules. (Unless you need to avoid something for allergy purposes of course. That’s always a hard and fast rule.) The most recent sample box from New Hope Influencer Co-op had some great veggie options to make plant-based eating easy and interesting. Here are some of the foods my family and I sampled:

My 15 year old loving the veggies

Elma Farms POSHI marinated vegetable snacks are delicious. The bags say that you can snack on them right out of the bag, which we did, or use them on pizza, salad, or pasta, which I will try in the future. I’ll definitely be buying more of these to send in my son’s lunches and to use at home for easy veggie additions to meals. The packaging is beautiful too. Loved these.

My sons and their friends greatly enjoyed R.W. Garcia Co’s organic Bar-B-Q corn chips. The whole bag was gone in one play date with four teen boys chowing down. I never knew my kids even liked Bar-B-Q flavored chips so that was good to find out. I definitely appreciate the fact they are organic.

If you are a potato lover, you will definitely want to check out these potatoes from The Little Potato Company. The ones we tried were Garlic and Parsley flavored and quite good. It’s an interesting idea that I hadn’t seen before~ whole potatoes packaged with a seasoning pack that just gets added once the potatoes are cooked in the microwave for 5 minutes. We added olive oil too, as the package suggests butter or oil can indeed be added with the seasoning packet. Talk about a quick, filling, easy veggie meal!

This dairy-free ‘cheddar’ snack from Ancient inGRAINed Snack Co called Ka-pop tasted to me like a real cheddar popped cracker. It will definitely get any vegan or dairy intolerant person through a cheesy cracker craving! They are thick and substantial too, so it isn’t like you are eating air like some popped snacks. This is actually a filling dairy-free cheddar tasting snack.

Jenny’s Gourmet Foods has this pressed ‘salad bar‘ which is more like fruit leather than a bar, but I like the play on words that they did there. My son ate this and gave me a corner of one (there are two strips in the package) and we both liked it. Because of the texture it really reminded us of fruit leather except it isn’t sweet at all. It is also more substantial than fruit leather and my son called it ‘filling’, and with the exceptional ingredients in it, that’s a good way to get filled up.

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Seeds of Change makes these Quinoa and Brown Rice packs that are an easy way to get your whole grains into a meal. You can add steamed or roasted veggies to the grains, or throw the grains on top of fresh greens to make a hearty salad bowl. This one with garlic is tasty and I love the ease of these, especially for summer grain bowl meals. These would also be a great choice to take camping or for other travels this summer.

bfreepita

We haven’t tried these gluten-free pita breads yet from BFree foods, but I am very excited to do so. If you have been eating gluten-free for a while, you have no doubt already noticed a lack of pita bread or naan out there. I tried BFree products while in Dublin and thought they were great, and in fact mentioned them in my 2017 blog post on Dublin, about how I was hoping I’d find them here at some point. I am so excited they are available in the U.S. now and that they have the rare, illusive, gluten-free pita! This is a  much needed addition to our world.

Serenity Tea Sips sent along a lovely combination of Bergamot and Jasmine tea complete with black and green teas, rose buds, mallow and jasmine blossoms, and flavoring which I assume is the bergamot. This is a loose leaf tea and it smells wonderful. As soon as I’m finished with my current container of matcha, I’ll be sipping this tea in the afternoons for a pick me up with a dose of calm energy, thanks to the rose buds, mallow, and jasmine. Calm energy is the best kind for stamina, focus, and feeling good. People often associate calm with tiredness, but calm is the frame of mind that allows for optimal thinking, decision-making, focus, and long term stamina.

I’ll share the supplements from the sample box next time. Thank you for reading and I hope you found something new to try.

 

Peppermint Perks

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(Featured image courtesy of New Hope Network)

If you have ever grown peppermint in your garden, you already know that it is an herb that likes to multiply and thrive. I like to think that its natural abundance has to do with its bountiful health benefits, especially in the summertime. Although sometimes associated with winter because of candies and cocoa, peppermint is actually a great herb for summer because it can cool the skin after too much sun, and ease foot and leg pain from too much activity. Of course, peppermint is great year round, but since we are quickly approaching summer and it might already be prolifically growing in your yard, I thought I’d share parts of this article by Jessie Shafer, RD from the New Hope Network. As a reminder, I am a member of the New Hope Influencer Co-op, a network of health and wellness bloggers committed to spreading more health to more people.

I am also currently creating a class that includes peppermint for after-sun care, and I am debating having the class make a cooling body spray or a body butter or balm. Which would you prefer for sun-soaked skin? I’d appreciate the feedback! In the meantime, here are 7 Science-Backed Health Benefits of Peppermint from Jessie Shafer:

For centuries and in cultures around the world, mint has been used in similar ways: Ancient Egyptians prescribed mint to ease upset stomachs, and it was served as an after-meal digestive aid in ancient Greece and Rome. Both Chinese and Ayurvedic medical traditions also have relied on mint to relieve digestive distress.

1. Reduce daytime fatigue

A 2018 study of 24 participants with an average age of 25 years showed that those who were given a peppermint oil capsule experienced less fatigue during a cognitive test. In another study, participants who were in a room where peppermint oil was diffused showed significantly less daytime sleepiness than those who were in an odorless room.

2. Relieve menstrual cramps

As a proven muscle relaxant, peppermint may provide some relief from the pain associated with menstrual cramping. In a 2016 study, 127 women with chronic painful periods experienced reductions in the intensity and duration of menstrual pain. The outcome was just as effective with peppermint extract capsules as with a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. Nausea and diarrhea, however, were lower in the group taking peppermint than the group taking the pharmaceutical drug.

3. Unclog sinuses

Ever experience a cooling, opening effect on your airways after eating a breath mint or sipping peppermint tea? What you’re feeling is menthol—one of the active compounds in peppermint—at work. Research demonstrates that menthol improves the perception of airflow in your nasal cavity. Additionally, the antibacterial, antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties in peppermint may relieve infection-induced sinus clogging.

4. Calm an upset stomach

Animal studies show promise that peppermint eases pain in the digestive system by preventing smooth muscles in the gut from contracting. In a systematic review of nine research studies, which included more than 700 people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), treatment with peppermint oil for two weeks provided significantly better relief of symptoms than for those who took a placebo. Also, a review of 14 clinical trials involving 1,927 children and adolescents with gastrointestinal disorders showed that peppermint oil reduced the frequency, duration and severity of abdominal pain.

5. Decrease symptoms of seasonal allergies

Rosmarinic acid is a compound found in peppermint, as well as rosemary and other plants in the mint family. In one three-week study involving 29 people with seasonal allergies, those given a supplement containing rosmarinic acid ad fewer instances of itchy nose, itchy eyes and other allergy-related symptoms than those given a placebo. In an animal study, rats that suffered from allergic rhinitis—an irritation and inflammation of the mucous membrane inside the nose—experienced fewer allergic symptoms such as sneezing and itchy nose after being given peppermint extract.

6. Diminish tension headaches and migraines

Research has shown that peppermint oil induces a significant increase in blood flow of the forehead’s skin after local application, measured by laser Doppler, and provides a cooling sensation, possibly easing acute headache pain. In a 2010 study of 35 people with chronic migraines, the majority of whom were women, those who received peppermint oil aromatherapy applied to the forehead and temples showed a statistically significant reduction in pain after two hours, compared with those treated with a placebo oil. In another study involving 41 patients who experienced a combined total of 164 headaches during the trial, the effect of a locally applied peppermint oil preparation on tension-type headache was examined. In those patients, peppermint oil applied to the forehead was shown to be as effective as taking 1,000 mg of acetaminophen.

7. Fight bacterial infections

Peppermint oil has been shown to kill several types of bacteria that lead to human illnesses, such as E. coli, Staphylococcus and Klebsiella pneumoniae, a bacterium linked to pneumonia. Also, in one study, peppermint oil was found to kill and prevent the growth of common food-borne bacteria, such as Listeria, Salmonella and E. coli, in mango and pineapple juices. Further, in a systematic review of 52 relevant articles in the PubMed database, menthol from peppermint oil was found to reduce common bacteria living in the mouth that can lead to oral problems such as dental caries and periodontal disease.

How to make peppermint tea:

  1. Tear 5–10 organic peppermint leaves into pieces, and place them in a small tea strainer inside a teapot or cup.2. Bring 2 cups filtered water to a boil and pour over the strainer (the strainer should be submerged in the water); cover pot or cup and let leaves steep for 5 minutes.

    3. Using the back of a wooden spoon, gently bruise mint leaves to release their oils. Remove strainer, pressing the leaves to extract as much liquid as possible.

(End of article)

The above infusion is not just for drinking by the way, it can be added to a foot bath or a whole body bath for aches and pains. Peppermint foot soaks are a great way to relieve foot/leg fatigue from standing all day or extra activity time. As with all herbs, if you use peppermint for one thing, such as allergy relief, you still get a multitude of other benefits such as lifting of brain fog and fatigue, not to mention the anti-bacterial bonuses. I just love how wholly positive herbs are and how they truly enhance all aspects of life~ they are beautiful to look at and have around, and they offer even more beautiful benefits when we take them internally and apply them externally. How many other things in life are so buoyantly beneficial?

Thank you for reading and please share with anyone who might need ideas on using all the peppermint in their garden.

 

How to Use Powdered Herbs

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There are many ways to take herbs or use them externally: pills, teas, tinctures, syrups, honeys, oils, extracts, and more. Using powdered herbs is another way to work with herbs and I like to use certain types of herbs this way for several reasons that I’ll discuss below, but first, which classifications of herbs work as powders? I’ve found digestive blends and adaptogens to be especially easy to use when they are ground into powders and often, blended together. Herbs in powdered form means you can use the whole herb with no fillers nor additives, which is sometimes preferable, plus you are not discarding any part of the herb whatsoever so you really do get all the nutrition. With teas and tinctures and other extraction methods you always end up throwing away (or hopefully composting) some of the benefits with the discarded herbs. With powders you get the full benefits of the herbs with nothing else added.

You can make your own powders by using an old coffee grinder and dried herbs, or a food processor, or if you are more patient than I am, a mortar and pestle. You can also buy herbal powders, but if you are interested in using herbs from your own backyard, simply pick them, dry them, pick a method above for grinding them into powder, then store them in a clean glass container with a tight fitting lid. I generally use 1/2 teaspoon at a time in a warm beverage, and anywhere from 1/2 t to 2.5 teaspoons in smoothies. I use less for the kids (up to 1.5 teaspoons in a smoothie) and have worked my way up to the bigger amounts through the day. I also sometimes add powdered herbs to yogurt and/or granola.

When you take a powdered herb you get the fiber as well as all the vitamins, minerals, and other properties of the herb, so if you add to much to your daily diet too soon, the fiber can cause digestive problems. Also, not all adaptogenic herbs are suitable for kids. A couple of common adaptogens that are suitable for kids are astragalus and tulsi. Ginseng is one adaptogen that is definitely not for people who are pre-pubescent or currently going through puberty, and ashwagandha is also one to use long-term only after puberty, although it can be utilized for short term use on kids.

The reason I like digestive blends and adaptogens in powder form so much is because they are so easy to add to the daily smoothies I make for my sons and myself. The digestive blend I make helps the digestive system to work properly, and it also is full of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, so it’s a potent dose of nutrition without any fillers (like a gel capsule) nor any additives like an alcohol base. The body doesn’t have to work as hard to get the benefits of the herbs since they are free and clean and already in a tiny form. The adaptogens are also herbs I use daily for both the kids and myself and they go right into our smoothies too. I continue to use adaptogens  all day long in my coffee and teas. The warm drinks make a great delivery system and I like beefing up my drinks with potent herbs. Powdered herbs can even be added to matcha, which really is a powdered herb itself. I know I’m very late to the matcha craze and that is because I already drink a lot of coffee and teas throughout the day so I didn’t have a burning desire to add another tea to my life, but oh my goodness, if you haven’t tried it, try it, at least once. It’s so darn good and so full of health promoting properties that I think I’ve found a new love in my life. The place I feel it most is in my eyes (which I realize may sound strange) and in this article on organicfacts.net it verifies that one of the health benefits is for the eyes, plus it gives a nice overview of all the health promoting properties of matcha. I can seriously feel it benefiting my eyes, just like I can literally feel sweet potatoes benefiting my skin. (Is that odd? It’s kind of a tingling sensation. Anyone else??) I’m especially excited about matcha because it’s a powder and I intend to add tulsi powder to my matcha teas which is a powerful adaptogenic herb with so many beautiful benefits and is so revered that it’s also known as Holy Basil. Here’s just a few of the traditional attributes of tulsi:

  • Calming to the nervous system
  • Healing to digestive and respiratory systems
  • Protective to cardiovascular system
  • Potent anti-inflammatory and anti-aging
  • Prevents hypoglycemia and migraines
  • Lowers cholesterol levels
  • Repairs skin damage and eases fevers

Plus I just love the grassy taste of it. Usually I use blends of adaptogens, but tulsi is one that I like to put a half teaspoon of alone in my coffee and tea.

You can also turn herbal powders into pills if you wish. There are capsules you can buy, often found in the bulk sections of natural food stores but if not, definitely online. You can also add honey, ghee, agave nectar, or maple syrup to your powdered herbs and mix it all together to form a paste. Make balls with the concoction, let them harden up a bit in the refrigerator, then add them to hot drinks or pop them in your mouth like a lozenge that you somewhat chew on and somewhat just let melt. Don’t swallow these~ they will not go down smoothly. Here’s a quick video on how to do this:

Thank you for reading and please share with anyone looking to incorporate more herbs into their life.

 

Make Your Own Insect Repellent

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This is somewhat counter-intuitive, but bugs do not like essential oils. That always struck me as odd since bugs and plants seem like they should be natural friends, but I guess the strength of essential oils is off-putting to them. This works out really well for us because we can lather ourselves up with essential oil laced products and smell divine while playing in nature, without having to endure the nasty smells and questionable ingredients of over the counter bug sprays. Citronella is an essential oil that is already commonly used in mosquito repelling products such as candles, but there are other essential oils that can be just as effective and perhaps more appealing to put directly on your body and/or your clothes.

One way to take a precautionary measure before even getting dressed in the morning is to apply a body oil with essential oils on your arms, legs, and stomach. To make a body oil, you just need a base oil or a mix of base oils such as sweet almond oil, grapeseed oil, or jojoba oil, and add whichever essential oils you want to wear. Almost any essential oil or blend of essential oils will deter bugs, but especially good picks are lavender, peppermint, thyme, and lemongrass. You will want there to be 5-7 drops of essential oils per 1 teaspoon of base oil. (There are 6 teaspoons in an ounce, so aim for 30-42 drops of essential oils per ounce.) Make sure to shake the mixture before blending, and allow time for the oil to dry before putting your clothes on for the day to avoid oil stains. This can be reapplied throughout the day, but it is probably easier to make a spray for day time reapplication.

To make a bug spray, add essential oils to distilled water in a spray bottle (preferably dark glass) in the same proportion as above, 5-7 drops of essential oils per teaspoon of distilled water. You can spray this as often as needed on yourself throughout the day and it will help deter bugs and also provide a nice little scent pick-me-up when you do so. Again, any essential oils will be helpful, but the ones mentioned above would be a great place to start. Of course, citronella is always an option too.

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In Valerie Ann Wormwood’s book, The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy, she gives this recipe for a great blend to keep away the little buggers:

4 drops Thyme

8 drops Lemongrass

4 drops Lavender

4 drops Peppermint

She recommends putting a couple of drops of this blend on a cotton ball at night and placing near open windows or around your head or body, especially while traveling. Another technique for traveling is to add a couple of drops to boiling water and placing it by an open window or if you are sitting outside, right on a table next to you. Even very hot water in a mug will dissipate the essential oils, so as long as you travel with an essential oil or two, or a blend like the one she suggests above, you don’t need to worry about a diffuser.

I actually do like to take a little terracotta diffuser with me when I travel. They are quite small and do not require any heat, so it’s a convenient option. These make cute little gifts as well, and are one way to easily use essential oils in your car or in other places where you don’t have the option to light a candle or use an outlet.

If you do happen to get bitten or stung by an insect, lavender can be applied neat to the area. Applying essential oils to the body without a carrier is 99% of the time NOT recommended, but lavender is one of the few that can be applied without a carrier and it actually is quite good for burns, bites, and other skin issues. Do use caution if you have sensitive skin though.

Thanks for reading and Happy May Day. The warming weather means more time outside and more potential encounters with insectss, so please share this article with anyone who might be interested in flower powered bug repellent.

In case you missed the links above, here’s more information on making your own body oil: https://botanicalalchemyandapothecary.com/body-oils-diy/ and more details on making a body spray: https://botanicalalchemyandapothecary.com/essential-oil-sprays-for-body-and-home/.

*This website has links to affiliations with amazon which provide a small incentive back to me. This helps to keep the information coming in such a way that is free to the reader. I only talk about products or services I truly love and believe in and hope this information brings every reader/watcher closer to their optimal health and wellness whether or not they buy anything through these links.

 

 

Is Your Sunscreen Safe?

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It’s almost May and even though I still see occasional social media posts about April snow (yikes!) most places in the northern hemisphere are warming up. More sun means more sunscreen so I wanted to reblog this information on which sunscreens are safe, and which are potentially toxic. If you are using a product daily, and over a large portion of your body, you definitely want to make sure it is indeed safe and increasing your health and longevity, not taking away from it. Mineral sunscreens are also much better for the environment, which always seems to be the case~ what is healthier for the individual is healthier for the whole. Here’s the blog post from last year outlining which ingredients are indeed safe, which are not, and some products to consider.

It’s that time of year again when we are bombarded with messages about sun safety and the need for daily sunscreen. That refrain has become a little dissonant lately though with more and more people questioning the ingredients in their sunscreen, with good reason. That ‘protective’ layer can house some awfully hazardous chemicals that have actually started to be researched as potential causes of cancer themselves, as well as having other undesirable qualities such as hormone disruptors, allergy-causing, and skin penetration. To review the specific chemicals and their risk factors, according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), check out the graph located in their article here. They list oxybenzone as the most hazardous chemical in sunscreens, so it is a good idea to double check that at least that one chemical is not in any of your sunscreen products.

The alternative to chemical sunscreens is mineral based sunscreens which are considered safer. Jessica Rubino, in her article for Delicious Living, explains mineral sunscreens in this way:

Mineral sunscreens use active mineral ingredients, such as zinc oxide and titanium oxide. They reflect the sun’s rays like a mirror to protect exposed skin.

UV protection

When buying sunscreen, protection from UV rays should be your top consideration. In that sense, mineral options take the prize, according to the EWG. Zinc oxide, in particular, delivers the best UVA and UVB protection (also known as broad-spectrum coverage), says Leiba. “Mineral active ingredients don’t break down as readily in the sun, offering greater protection for longer.”

Ingredient safety

Generally speaking, naturally derived ingredients used in mineral sunscreens are gentler than chemicals. Still, some considerations remain. Avoid titanium dioxide in powder or spray form; the EWG claims it’s linked to toxicity when inhaled. Also, it’s worth reading up on nanotechnology, which creates tiny particles that are often used in mineral sunscreens to make them easier to rub in. Since labeling regulations of nanoparticles don’t exist yet, ask manufacturers directly about their policies. EWG maintains that nano in sunscreen is safe, but research continues. (There do exist non-nano mineral sunscreens, such as the one from Babo Botanicals below.)

Appearance

Other than those that use nanoparticles, mineral sunscreens simply don’t rub into skin as well, often leaving a white film. In the quest for mineral sunscreens that apply more evenly, some  companies are trying non-nano ingredients, such as an aloe base and ZinClear, a zinc oxide. If you choose a safe mineral classic, expect to take an extra minute to rub it in.

In another article from Delicious Living, the following nine sunscreens were given the safety rating of 1 (safest!) by the EWG. Compare that to oxybenzone which has an 8 (out of 10) rating and it’s clear these mineral sunscreens are a far safer bet. That being said, I do want to point out that from what I have read and also gathered from my naturopath, people really need half an hour of sun on their faces and bare arms every day, without sunscreen, for proper amounts of vitamin D. Here in the Pacific Northwest, as well as other places around the country and world, proper amounts of vitamin D are not even possible without supplementation because of the lack of sun for many months out of the year. Vitamin D is important for immunity, skin, bone, and mental health, and blood pressure concerns, plus a lack of vitamin D has been implicated in breast cancer and prostate cancer, as well as many other chronic health conditions. Keep this in mind when determining your sunscreen usage. It’s not only important to choose your ingredients wisely, but also to know how to use your products to ensure optimal health. The following are listed alphabetically:

Andalou Naturals All-in-One Beauty Balm, Sheer Tint, SPF 30

andalounatural-sunscreen

With well-rounded complexion protection, Andalou’s BB product not only uses minerals to shield from harmful rays but also to lend a subtle, “sun-kissed” tint to skin. Fruit stem cells and superfruits provide an antiaging and brightening boost, too.

Babo Botanicals Clear Zinc Sport Stick Sunscreen, Fragrance Free, SPF 30

babobotanical-sunscreen

Containing 20 percent non-nano zinc oxide and a cocktail of nourishing botanicals to sooth the skin (think avocado oil and cocoa seed butter), this new launch a clear winner in safe sun care, and the EWG rating agrees.

Badger Unscented Sunscreen Face Stick, SPF 35

badgerfacestick-sunscreen

Badger continues to raise the bar for safe sun care, this time focusing on developing effective nontoxic preservatives specifically for mineral sun care. Badger’s line includes products for the whole family; this easy-to-apply face stick contains 22.5 percent zinc oxide for superior active lifestyle protection.

California Baby Super Sensitive Sunscreen, SPF 30+

californiababy-sunscreen

A brand that has rightfully earned the trust of moms, California Baby once again delivers on baby-centric safety, according to the EWG. Ideal for little ones, this fragrance-free product offers a comfortable application that is also sting-free for the eyes (moms can use it as a gentle-on-the-complexion option, too).

Goddess Garden Everyday Natural Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 30

goddessgarden-sunscreen

A go-to for anyone seeking daily, no-fuss sun protection, this product contains an efficacious blend of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide in a base of soothing aloe leaf juice, shea butter and coconut oil. Plus, it’s organic. A great choice for your body—and the earth.

Hampton Sun Sunscreen Lotion for Baby, SPF 45

hamptonsunforbaby-sunscreen

Another extra-gentle, excellent choice for babies, this product complements its UV-protective mineral blend with soothing chamomile and sunflower oil.

Jersey Shore Cosmetics Anti-Aging Mineral Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 35

jerseyshore-sunscreen

Sun protection is your No. 1 defense against aging. But extra protection is a major boon. Top-rated by the EWG for its UV protection, this SKU also contains vitamins E and D3 for antiaging prowess.

Juice Beauty Sport Sunscreen, SPF 30

juicebeautysport-sunscreen

Tailor-made for an active and beautiful lifestyle: Protect with chemicals, support with plant extracts, antioxidants and vitamins.

Mineral Fusion Mineral Sun Stick, SPF 30

mineralfusion-sunscreen

Mineral Fusion knows what skin needs—and the company is no stranger to delivering it with carefully crafted mineral formulations. This product starts with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, then gives skin a vitamin and antioxidant boost.

In short, avoid chemical sunscreens, especially ones with oxybenzone in them, and instead opt for mineral sunscreens with zinc oxide and titanium oxide. Also, if you must use a spray sunscreen, only use ones made with zinc oxide, not titanium oxide, because the EWG lists it as unsafe when inhaled in that form. Enjoy the sun and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.

*This website has links to affiliations with amazon which provide a small incentive back to me. This helps to keep the information coming in such a way that is free to the reader. I only talk about products or services I truly love and believe in and hope this information brings every reader/watcher closer to their optimal health and wellness whether or not they buy anything through these links.

Natural Bloat Busters to Always Have on Hand (and You Probably Already Do)

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The discomfort of trying to sleep with a bloated stomach is terrible. It’s always evening and nighttime too when the bloat is at its worst, after all the meals have been eaten and certain foods throughout the day trigger our digestive systems to retaliate. Bloating is often caused by food intolerances, but can also be caused by other things such as eating too fast or too much. We often know what will bloat us~ dairy, beans, wheat, soy, or some other food or food group that we know we personally should avoid but sometimes we just can’t. It’s hard when food is such a communal activity and you don’t have a true allergy as an excuse to avoid certain foods, and sometimes it’s a favorite food and we just eat it anyway and hope for the best. There are some things that can be done in prep of those trigger foods though, and things that can be taken after eating the foods, or even later when the bloating is intense and maybe you don’t even know what triggered it.

Before you eat, enzymes can be taken to help break down your food. A broad spectrum enzyme will cover all the bases, but if you have one particular food group that is your personal trigger, you can take an enzyme supplement that targets that specific food. Some examples are: for gluten and casein intolerances take these, this one for lactose intolerance, or for beans, this one can help.

You can also take herbs called bitters to help stimulate the body’s natural enzyme production. You should take both bitters and enzymes about 10 minutes before you eat. Enzymes can also be found in fresh produce, so having fresh fruit and/or vegetables at every meal will also help with digestion. You can also prepare your stomach for work by drinking a tablespoon of organic apple cider vinegar (with the mother) in a cup of water before eating. Doing so can also help ease heartburn issues for some people.

Right after a meal, you can eat about a nickle-size amount of fennel seeds to help digest your food, or mix some fennel essential oil into a base oil like sweet almond oil or sesame seed oil, and rub that on your stomach. (Five drops of essential oil in 1 tsp. of base oil.) Fennel is also the main ingredient in Gaia Herbs’ Gas and Bloating tea. Traditional Medicinals has a helpful tea too called Gas Relief. Having a soothing herbal tea on hand to sip after meals is a nice way to fight the discomfort of bloating.

Probiotics can make a huge difference in how well you digest your meals. Taking them regularly will help keep your microbiome in optimal shape, but taking them right after eating possible trigger foods is especially important. It’s a good idea to switch brands to get a wide spectrum of probiotic strains in your system, but if you find one that works really well for you, stick with it. My all time favorite is VSL-3 and I highly recommend it if you suffer from IBS, colitis, or have had multiple rounds of antibiotics in your lifetime. My kids like Rainbow Light’s probiotic gummies.

If those don’t work, you can use activated charcoal to make the bloating go away. This is not something to use all the time though, because it soaks up not only the bloating agents, but also the good nutrition, so only use it when you have tried other things first. It really does help one to get to sleep though if you have a bad case of the bloats keeping you up at night. Activated charcoal is also something you can use if you suspect food poisoning, so it really is a good supplement to have on hand at all times.

Some people get relief from food intolerance issues by drinking kombucha daily. This hasn’t been a magic bullet in my family like it has with some other people I know, although we do drink kombucha, we still need other digestive aides to tackle our multiple food issues here at times. We are much better than we used to be, but dairy, soy, and many other beans still cause problems. If your food intolerances are mild, adding kombucha to your days just might be all it takes to keep you bloat-free and pain free.

Digestive discomfort can be such a nuisance, so it’s nice to know there are things that can help ease the issue, especially when it’s disrupting sleep. Thanks for reading and please share with anyone who might need some tips on keeping away their ‘bloat baby’.

 

What’s in a Name?

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Shakespeare probably didn’t know how appropriate this quote would be:

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”  Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

There is a lot of confusion out there on what rose oil is compared to rose essential oil compared to rose hip oil. It surprises me every time someone says something like, “Oh I would never put undiluted rose hip oil on my face” or “What do you infuse in your essential oils?” or “Do you make essential oils at home?” I get these comments and questions all the time and it throws me, until I realize they are not talking about the thing that they think they are talking about. If those questions sound reasonable to you, rest assured you are not alone. I was talking to an aesthetician this weekend who is a brand rep for a natural beauty company, and even he was confused on what rose hip oil is. He thought it was an essential oil, which it is not. It is a highly potent base oil, closer in properties to olive oil or coconut oil, and can absolutely go directly on the face undiluted. Rose hip oil is full of antioxidants and vitamin C, in fact you will find it in vitamin C supplements, and has been used for its beautifying properties for ages. It is known to improve texture and tone of the skin, lightening dark spots and reducing fine lines and wrinkles, as well as firming and brightening the skin. It can be found as an ingredient in many facial creams and serums, but can also just be used as is, on your face, hair, and body. Rose hips, sometimes spelled rosehips, are the little fruits left over after the rose petals have fallen away. The oil should be cold pressed, as heat can damage the active constituents.

Rose oil and rose essential oil are made with the rose petals themselves. To make rose essential oil, you need a rather large steam distillation system and quite a few roses, around 60,000 rose blossoms in fact to make one ounce of essential oil. This is why rose essential oil is one of the most expensive oils you can buy. (This is also why I get taken aback by the question of making my own at home. Although that is possible with the right equipment and access to a lot of fresh flowers, it is pretty rare. I can only think of a couple of herbalists that have their own distillation equipment, and they are people who live on farms, not the ‘burbs.) Rose essential oil is also known to be great for the skin, but it should be diluted before going on the skin. It makes a great addition to a toner, serum, or moisturizer, and is especially good for mature skin. You cannot “infuse essential oils” with anything, though you can add essential oils to bath and body products, thereby infusing them with the qualities of the essential oils. In other words, essential oils cannot be a menstruum (solvent) for other products, but they can be added to common solvents such as a base oil or alcohol.

Here’s a quick video to show you how to keep your rosehip oil from going rancid, which essential oils can be added to your rosehip oil to take it to full serum status, and how to get the benefits of rose essential oil at a more affordable price:

Rose oil is easy to make in any kitchen and far less expensive than rose essential oil. I’ve made it here a couple of times, once using the Folk Method and once using the Quick Method. This is a great way to use rose petals from your own garden because you can make as small of a batch as you want. Rose oil makes a great base for perfumed body oils, balms, and butters. It is easy and fun to make, and makes lovely gifts as well.

Rose water or hydrosol is another beauty staple for green beauty lovers. These are especially good in homemade toners. Roses have a long history entwined with beauty and love, and there are many ways to take advantage of the their traditional qualities. I hope this clears up any name confusion out there, and maybe entice some of you to look at including roses in some form in your face and body routines. We are in an age of self care and self love reminders, and roses do it all like no other.

Thank you for reading and please share with anyone who might have questions about how to use roses in their beauty regimes.

*This website has links to affiliations with amazon which provide a small incentive back to me. This helps to keep the information coming in such a way that is free to the reader. I only talk about products or services I truly love and believe in and hope this information brings every reader/watcher closer to their optimal health and wellness whether or not they buy anything through these links.

International Veggie and Grain Bowls

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I once heard Lynne Rossetto Kaspar on The Splendid Table (when she was still the host) advise someone who wanted to learn to cook to simply start with sauteing seasonal veggies in olive oil on the stove top, make any grain product to go with it and add the two together. She also said that meat could be added if wanted, or beans or some other protein, but to start with what produce is in season and whatever grain product sounds good with it~ rice, quinoa, pasta, bread, couscous…you get the picture. I love that advice and how easily you can add herbs, spices, and sauces to create many different flavors while using the same basic foods and techniques. Spring is a perfect time to put her advice into action with simple grain bowls that can take on any region’s flavors with a few choice ingredients and happily, just one or two pots. Here are five recipes to take you on a world tour to add some cultural flavors without much fuss to your week.

The following parts of this post (until the last paragraph) were provided by New Hope Network. I am a member of the New Hope Influencer Co-op, a network of health and wellness bloggers committed to spreading more health to more people. These recipes were created by New Hope Network and Jane Burnett, RD, with photos by Jennifer Olson.

Recipe 1:

middle eastern bowl

Middle Eastern flavors: The cuisine of various countries in the Middle East—including Indian, Arab, Israeli, Greek, Persian, Turkish and Armenian food—is diverse, but typically used ingredients include chickpeas, olives, olive oil, rice, dates, honey, mint and parsley. Family-style eating, in which people take their food from a communal plate in the center of the table, is common in the Middle East. For authenticity sake, place the grain bowl components in the center of the table and let diners assemble their own.

Tahini-Chickpea-Pistachio Bowls 

Makes 6 servings; Vegan

For the Pickled Red Onions

2 cups water

½ cup red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons agave syrup

2 cups thinly sliced red onions

For the Tahini cream

½ cup tahini

6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

¼ cup water

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

½ teaspoon salt

For the Bowls

1 pound cauliflower, cut into small florets

4 cups ¾-inch sweet potato cubes (2 medium)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon yellow curry powder

½ teaspoon dried thyme

2 cups cold water

1 cup dry quick-cooking bulgur (TRY: Bob’s Red Mill)

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/3 cup pitted and chopped kalamata olives

½ cup shelled, roasted pistachios

½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley


  1.  The night before serving, prepare Pickled Red Onions: In a saucepan over high heat, bring water, vinegar, salt and agave syrup to a boil. Remove from heat, and stir in sliced red onions. Let mixture cool to room temperature; then refrigerate overnight.
  2. Preheat oven to 400°. Prepare Tahini Cream: In a blender, combine all Tahini Cream ingredients; blend until smooth, and refrigerate until ready to use.
  3. In a large bowl, toss cauliflower florets and sweet potato cubes with oil, curry powder and thyme. Spread vegetables in a single layer on a baking sheet with no edges. Roast cauliflower and sweet potatoes for 30–40 minutes, stirring every 8–10 minutes, until tender and browned.
  4. In a pot over medium-high heat, bring 2 cups water and bulgur to a boil. Cover, and simmer for 12 minutes or until bulgur is tender. If bulgur is soggy after 12 minutes, reduce heat to low and cook 1–2 minutes more. Remove pot from heat, and stir in chickpeas and olives.
  5. To serve, divide bulgur mixture among bowls. Top with roasted cauliflower, sweet potatoes and Pickled Red Onions. Serve with a generous dollop of Tahini Cream, and garnish bowls with pistachios and parsley.

PER SERVING (1½ cups): 505 cal, 21g fat (11g mono, 7g poly, 3g sat), 0mg chol, 641mg sodium, 66g carb (14g fiber, 7g sugars), 16g protein

Recipe 2:

Mexican bowl

Mexican flavors: Mexican cuisine is primarily a fusion of indigenous Mesoamerican cooking with Spanish elements added in. Staples of the
food culture include corn, beans, avocados, tomatoes and chile peppers. This flavorful grain bowl incorporates all the familiar flavors of Mexican food, with a spicy, creamy polenta as the base.

Green Chile Cheese Polenta Bowls

Makes 5 servings; Gluten free, Vegetarian, Staff favorite

For the Black Bean Relish

1 (14.5-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 Roma tomatoes; seeded and chopped

½ cup chopped red bell pepper

¼ cup diced red onion

1 ripe avocado; pitted, peeled and diced

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

½ cup loosely packed fresh cilantro

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

¼ teaspoon salt

For the Polenta

4 cups water

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup polenta (corn grits or stone-ground whole cornmeal)

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon butter

½ cup medium Hatch flame-roasted green chile (TRY: 505 Southwestern)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 (5-ounce) package coarsely chopped kale

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

½ cup pepitas, toasted


  1.  Prepare relish: In a medium bowl, combine beans, tomatoes, bell pepper and red onion. Toss avocado with lime juice; add bean mixture along with cilantro, garlic, oil, vinegar and salt. Gently toss to combine, and set aside at room temperature.
  2. In a large saucepan, bring water and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil. Whisk polenta into the boiling water, and decrease heat to low. Simmer on low for about 15 minutes, whisking often until mixture thickens and corn granules are tender. Remove pan from heat, and stir in cheese and butter until melted. Stir in green chile, cover, and set aside.
  3. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil. Add kale, and sprinkle with pepper; sauté 3–4 minutes until kale starts to soften.
  4. To serve, divide polenta among bowls and top each with a portion of the sautéed kale and Black Bean Relish. Sprinkle with pepitas, and serve warm.

PER SERVING (1¾ cups): 551 cal, 23g fat (11g mono, 5g poly, 7g sat), 21mg chol, 762mg sodium, 68g carb (12g fiber, 3g sugars), 19g protein

Recipe 3:

Italian bowl

Italian flavors: Gathering and lingering over food is central to Italian culture.
The dishes employ simplicity, relying on high-quality ingredients rather than elaborate presentation. Many dishes feature tomatoes, bell peppers, potatoes, wine and cheese. A natural plant-based cuisine, modern Italian focuses on the nuances of its regions, though nationwide the emphasis is on food produced by the earth.

Italian Herbed Farro Bowls

Makes 6 servings; Vegetarian

2 cups uncooked farro

6 cups water

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 large fennel bulb, cut into 1 /8-inch slices

2 cups ¼-inch carrot slices (3 large carrots)

1 cup halved cherry tomatoes

1 cup dry white wine

½ teaspoon fennel seed, crushed

Juice and peel of 1 lemon, divided

1 tablespoon dried, mixed Italian herbs

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 (5-ounce) package baby spinach

¼–½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

¼ cup snipped flat-leaf parsley

½ cup coarsely chopped almonds, toasted

¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

  1. Rinse farro. In a large saucepan, place farro and water. Water should cover farro. Bring to a boil; then reduce heat and simmer until tender, stirring once or twice, about 30 minutes. Drain excess water.
  2. Meanwhile, in a very large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil. Add garlic and sauté until softened, about 3 minutes. Add another 1 tablespoon oil, along with sliced fennel and carrots. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are crisp-tender and browned, 10–12 minutes. Remove skillet from heat, and add tomatoes, wine and fennel seed. Return to heat, and cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated and tomatoes are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons lemon juice, lemon peel, Italian herbs, salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and add spinach leaves; toss until spinach is slightly wilted.
  3. To farro, add remaining 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, red pepper flakes and parsley; toss.
  4. To serve, divide farro mixture among bowls and top with vegetable mixture. Garnish with almonds and Parmesan.

PER SERVING (1¼ cups): 322 cal, 13g fat (9g mono, 2g poly, 2g sat), 2mg chol, 354mg sodium, 35g carb (7g fiber, 5g sugars), 10g protein

Recipe 4:

Korean bowl

Korean flavors: Korean cuisine is steeped in agricultural traditions and known for having a lot of side dishes. Here we combine some of the most common flavors in one bowl. Kimchi—which is salted, seasoned and fermented cabbage and radishes—is used as a condiment and present at almost every Korean meal. Other frequently used ingredients include soy sauce, ginger, garlic, napa cabbage and gochujang, which is fermented red chile paste. Look for it in the Asian section of your local natural products store.

Spicy Korean Quinoa, Veggie & Tofu Bowls

Makes 6 servings; Gluten free, Vegan, Staff favorite

For the Citrus Soy Dressing

¼ cup fresh orange juice

3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce or tamari

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon lemon zest

For the Bowls

1 (14-ounce) package extra-firm tofu, well-drained
and cut into ½-inch cubes

3 tablespoons gochujang (Korean fermented red chile sauce)

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 cloves garlic

8 ounces thickly sliced baby bella mushrooms

8 cups thinly sliced napa cabbage (1 medium)

4 cups sliced zucchini

½ teaspoon salt

4 cups hot, cooked quinoa

1 large, ripe avocado; sliced

¾ cup spicy kimchi

4 teaspoons black or white sesame seeds

Sriracha sauce (optional)

  1. Prepare Citrus Soy Dressing: Place all dressing ingredients in a jar with lid; close lid, and shake vigorously until blended. Refrigerate until needed.
  2. In a bowl, carefully toss tofu cubes with the gochujang; refrigerate from 30 minutes up to overnight. While tofu is marinating, prepare vegetables.
  3. Preheat oven to 400°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, and rub generously with 2 tablespoons oil to prevent tofu from sticking. Spread tofu in a single layer on baking sheet. Bake tofu in lower third of oven for 10 minutes. Remove, and carefully turn tofu pieces over with a thin spatula.
    Bake another 10 minutes, remove and turn again. Bake another 5 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil. Add garlic and mushrooms; sauté 5–6 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and liquid has cooked off. Remove mushrooms to a plate, and set aside. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to same skillet, and reduce heat to medium. Add cabbage and sauté, stirring often, for 8 minutes. Add sliced zucchini and salt to skillet with cabbage. Continue to sauté until cabbage begins to brown and zucchini is tender but still bright green, about 8 minutes.
  5. To serve, divide hot quinoa among bowls. Top with piles of cabbage and zucchini mixture, mushrooms, baked tofu, avocado and kimchi. Drizzle 2 tablespoons Citrus Soy Dressing over each serving and sprinkle with sesame seeds and Sriracha, if using.

PER SERVING (1½ cups): 472 cal, 17g fat (9g mono, 6g poly, 2g sat), 0mg chol, 573mg sodium, 56g carb (8g fiber, 8g sugars), 18g protein

Recipe 5:

Thai bowl

Thai flavors: Balance and texture are paramount in Thai cuisine; most dishes contain elements of sweet, salty, spicy and bitter tastes. This dish hits all those familiar flavor spots: sweet from the apples and red peppers, salty and spicy from the peanut sauce and bitter from the brussels sprouts. Chef David Thompson, a Thai food expert, says that Thai cuisine—unlike many others—rejects simplicity and is about “juggling disparate elements to create a harmonious finish.”

Jasmine Rice, Edamame & Apple Bowls with Peanut Sauce

Makes 4 servings; Gluten free, Vegan

1 cup uncooked white or brown jasmine rice

1 cup frozen, shelled edamame

3 tablespoons coconut oil

4 cups trimmed and quartered brussels sprouts (1 pound)

1 large sweet red pepper, seeded and julienned

2 medium Granny Smith apples, julienned

½ cup purchased or Homemade Peanut Sauce (see recipe below to make your own)

½ cup coarsely chopped roasted peanuts

Fresh cilantro leaves

  1. Cook rice according to package directions. Add edamame to rice for last 3 minutes of cooking time. Remove from heat, but keep covered.
  2. In a large skillet, heat coconut oil. When oil is melted, sauté quartered brussels sprouts and red pepper slices until brussels sprouts are crisp-tender and bright green but starting to brown, 5–6 minutes. If skillet gets too dry, add a few tablespoons of water. Turn off heat, and cover skillet on stovetop to allow vegetables to steam for 2–3 minutes more.
  3. To serve, divide rice-edamame mixture among bowls. Arrange sautéed vegetables and apples over rice. Top each serving with 2 tablespoons purchased or Homemade Peanut Sauce*, and garnish with peanuts and cilantro.

PER SERVING (2 cups): 638 cal, 27g fat (10g mono, 6g poly, 11g sat), 0mg chol, 91mg sodium, 78g carb (14g fiber, 24g sugars), 18g protein

*Homemade Peanut Sauce: In a bowl, combine 1/3 cup natural peanut butter; 1 tablespoon each minced garlic, soy sauce or tamari, peanut oil, sesame oil and rice wine vinegar; 2 teaspoons honey and ¾ teaspoon ground ginger; whisk to combine. Add 5 tablespoons water and ¼ teaspoon Sriracha; whisk again.

Thank you for reading! I hope at least one of these bowls sounds tasty to you and inspires you to experiment. Please share with anyone who might need some new ideas on implementing more plant-based meals in their life.

Making the Most of Thyme

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Plug in diffuser, candle diffuser, and essential oil

Thyme might not be one of the more popular essential oils, but it is a potent one to have and to use. Just as the herb is highly medicinal with recipes as old as Hippocrates’ using thyme for the respiratory system (see that recipe here if you missed it), the essential oil is an all around anti-germ powerhouse. In Valerie Ann Wormwood’s book, The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy, she includes thyme essential oil in her travel kit in order to use it to wipe down the sinks and counters and such of the places where she stays. It is indeed a great one to include in cleaning concoctions because it is antiviral, antibiotic, anti-fungal, and anti-parasitic.

Thyme is great to inhale for its immune boosting and invader fighting properties. It is especially good for difficult viruses and superbugs such as the flu and MRSA. Diffusing the essential in the air is a great way to experience the healing benefits of thyme. In my ceramic diffuser which holds water on top, I add three to six drops of thyme and let the candle burn for no more that half an hour. In my water-less wood and glass diffuser, I add 15-20 drops of essential oils at a time.

Even better than just inhalation though, is to make a body oil with thyme and add that to your feet, or anywhere else on your body, so it soaks directly into your bloodstream.

Making a body oil is incredibly easy and really any vegetable oil will work, so if all you have available is olive oil, that’s completely fine, but jojoba and fractionated coconut oil are particularly good for soaking right into the skin quickly so you aren’t left with oily palms to deal with. You want about five drops of thyme essential oil per teaspoon of base oil. You can reuse a small glass bottle with the mixture and add it to your body three times per day, or add about a teaspoon of the mix to a hot bath. Thyme essential oil can also just be used in a bath straight, up to five drops in the tub, but do not use the essential oil directly on the skin (neat) without a carrier. Thyme can even be used in a shower by flinging a couple of drops onto the back wall of the shower stall, where no direct stream of water hits, and the steam will work with the essential oil quite beneficially.

Thyme essential oil is herb-y smelling and distinct, so it might not be one that a lot of people are drawn to right away when picking out essential oils, but it really is worth having around for it’s immune boosting and germ fighting properties. Perhaps that is why thyme has traditionally been associated with warriors and courage~ it is certainly an avid defender against invaders of all sorts. In fact, it is even a good one to add to blends for keeping away mosquitos and other bugs as well. Life circumstances have thrown me a bit lately and along with the jolt came a rather severe cold, so I’ve been very glad to have thyme around for both the fortitude and the immune boosting. My sister has been an even more important healer and helper at this time so I’ve been well taken care of during this rough patch.

Take care of yourselves, and of each other, and when you need a little extra green help, don’t forget thyme is on your side.

 

 

 

New Foods and Supps for Health

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The New Hope Blogger Box always has great gluten free goodies in it, and this month’s was no exception. I love granola and was thrilled to find Jessica’s Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Granola in the box because if there is anything better than granola, it’s granola with chocolate chips. This is a delicious treat for breakfast or an afternoon snack, with just right amount of sweetness. I ate it with unsweetened vanilla coconut yogurt or milk with a half teaspoon of my anti-inflammatory digestive spice mix.

My oldest son was thrilled with these unique Tahini Bars from the company Mighty Sesame. These are gluten free and only 100 calories a bar, and make for a nutty tasting, not-too-sweet snack or even a dessert. These bars come in different flavors but we tried the Pistachio Halva Bar and it was a hit, especially with my son who has taken all but one in his lunch bag. (I managed to grab that one for myself!)

Swanson Health’s Vanilla Protein Powder is packed with 20 grams of vegan sourced protein and one serving of veggies. I used this in the smoothies I make every morning and it blended in nicely and tastes good. It has 120 calories per serving which is similar to the other vegan protein I regularly use, and zero sugars. One bag has 20 servings in it.

My oldest son agreed to be the guinea pig for a natural deodorant by Prep U Products. He is almost 15, bikes uphill 1.75 miles to school everyday, and has PE there every day as well. He then bikes home. He also has sensitive skin and we have been through at least five (or more) brands of natural deodorants to find one that works and doesn’t irritate his skin. This deodorant works for him. It is gentle enough not to irritate, and yet it actually works throughout the day despite his physical activities off and on all day long. This is a golden find.

Here’s a supplement to get you fully transitioned out of cold and flu season safely and healthfully. Nature’s Answer has combined elderberry extract with probiotics which specifically target the immune system to create a powerful immune support supplement. This has 32,000 mg elderberry (which is an herb traditionally used to boost the immune system) per serving as well as 10 billion cfu probiotics. This is a great supplement to have on hand through cold and flu system and it doesn’t even need to be refrigerated. The directions are to take two per day with food or water.

The supplement’s color is so pretty!

Two bars that deserve mentioning are Hemp Health’s Cookie Dough Hemp Bar and gt brands’ good Snacks! Chocolate Peanut Butter protein bar. The hemp bar uses hemp for the main protein source and is quite tasty with a surprisingly good nutrition profile, including a decent amount of iron. It also has 12 grams of protein per bar, 5 grams of fiber and 4 grams of sugar. They have several flavors and other hemp products as well. The good snacks’ chocolate and peanut butter bar is delicious with a nod towards Reese’s peanut butter cups, though not as sweet. These have 15 grams of protein, 11 grams of fiber, and 9 grams of sugar. Both of the bars are gluten free, soy free, and vegan.

I’ve posted about Bellucci’s Olive Oil before, but in case you missed it, these olive oil packets are perfect for lunch bags, camping, or picnics. Now that spring is finally officially here (in the Northern hemisphere anyway) nothing sounds better than some outdoors noshing. With Bellucci you can actually trace your olive oil from the batch number to its roots so you know you have an authentic product, which is important because there is a surprising amount of oil out there masquerading as EVOO.

Thank you for reading and I hope you see something new to try. Happy Equinox!

Supplements and Beverage Featuring CBD

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CBD continues to take the natural products industry into new and uncharted territories, mostly because the legal status of CBD is still seen as somewhat precarious. If you are confused on CBD, you are in very good company. Despite the confusion, CBD’s fan base is growing substantially at an extremely fast rate as the benefits of CBD become more known, which are many, including help with anxiety, focus, acne, aches, serious pain, and more. As a reminder, CBD comes from hemp but does not have psychoactive components (like THC), so though your mood may change from getting anxiety relief from CBD, don’t expect a euphoric high (nor the munchies!) Here’re what came in the latest New Hope Blogger Box of samples.

Most CBD supplements so far have been oils which you take through a dropper or capsules. Plus +CBD Oil has come out with gummies that have 5 mg CBD per serving. They are tasty, not overly sweet, and the dosage is just one per day. They have several different lines of CBD products with different potencies, and many ways to take them such as balms, sprays, and capsules, so they are a nice place to start if you are brand new to CBD and want to give it a try. What I personally notice most when taking any CBD product, including these gummies, is a reduction in feelings of stress and anxiety. I notice it most when driving, as there are certain instances that normally cause those feelings of stress and anxiety to pop up (traffic, getting turned around, running late, turns with heights that seem roller coaster-ish). When I take CBD I feel calmer and more able to make sound decisions while behind the wheel, even when in a situation that would normally throw me off my game a bit. I know others really get relief from aches and pains with CBD~ more on that next.

Myriad Wellness makes quite a few CBD products including ones for pets. (It’s my understanding that CBD can help pets with anxiety, aches, and pains just as with humans. People recommend it for many reasons, from nurturing rescue dogs to easing cancer pain.) They sent their muscle and tension stick in the New Hope Blogger Box which has 125 mg of CBD in it. Normally I don’t have a lot of muscle pain, but sometimes at night my legs will be a tad sore from over exertion or just a new exercise that day. The other night I was feeling that bit of soreness so I lathered on this CBD infused stick because the directions say to “apply liberally.’ I might have gone a bit overboard because this stick not only has CBD, it has menthol and camphor in it so the tension relieving action is a very active feeling, not a subtle ‘Hm, I-think-it-might-be-doing-something action’ at all. Once I put this on, I knew it was definitely working right away. It might have been overkill for the slight soreness I felt, but I know for sure I can recommend this product to the athletes I know. And by the way, I tried the regular strength which was plenty strong, but there is also an extra strength if you tend to get hard-core sore. 

Just as adaptogenic herbs are big in the functional food department, CBD can be now be found in drinks. Acme Naturals sent three of their Tree Below Zero sparkling juice beverages which have 25mg of hemp oil extract in them. So far I have tried the mandarin blood orange and it tastes kind of like a mimosa since it has an effervescent orange flavor. It is really good and apparently is even an award winner for both best tasting Hemp/CBD beverage and one of the 2018 Top 5 most innovative beverages. They also pride themselves on being FDA compliant and Health Canada certified, made with sustainability, no preservatives and no artificial ingredients. It’s a nice way to incorporate CBD into your life without adding more supplements.

There are more supplements and foods that I will share next week from the New Hope Blogger Box, but since these are all CBD infused products I wanted to give them space to themselves because CBD is both insanely popular and also still confusing to a lot of people. If you are having trouble finding CBD products in stores, look on Amazon or go directly to the website of the product in which you are interested. Most of the CBD websites are also shops.

Thank you for reading and please comment below what your experiences have been with CBD products. I’d love to hear!

 

Sourdough Baking with Einkorn Part 2

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I wanted to follow up on sourdough baking because it can sound daunting and time-consuming when first looking into the process. It took me many months of mulling it over before finally deciding it was worth trying if my gluten-sensitive son and I could eat really delicious bread and digest it without problems. It has turned out to be more than worth it and I have been baking about three or so loaves a week without it taking too much time, so I thought I’d share what exactly that looks. As a reminder, if you are gluten sensitive like my son and I, einkorn might work for you too, but if you are celiac it is not an option because it does contain a form of gluten.

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After an overnight rise.

Mostly I do an overnight rise, which saves a bunch of time. When I don’t do an overnight rise and start in the morning instead, the timing is still hard for me to get quite right because I’m new to it, but that’s OK because even then it’s a forgiving process. For example, one day when I wanted to make a sourdough focaccia for dinner and I started the process in the morning instead of overnight, by the time I was ready to actually start baking it was too late for me to manage getting the loaf shaped, herb-y, and into the oven in time for dinner. It was not a big deal though, I just put the dough into the fridge and made the focaccia the next day, which turned out great by the way without any eggs, sugar, or dairy. That is another great thing about baking our own bread~ the ingredients are simple and pure with most loaves being just flour, water, and salt, (plus the starter which is also just flour and water.) With the focaccia there was also some oil, the herbs, and a tablespoon of white wine, but in the hard crusted sourdough loaves I mostly have been baking, the ingredients are really just flour, salt, and water.

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Floured counter top

With an overnight rise, the timing looks like this: You put the starter and water together and mix until creamy, then add the einkorn flour and salt and mix until the water is absorbed. You will need to let it sit for 10-15 hours on a counter top and rise to about twice its size. I put plastic wrap over the top and also a towel, just to keep it dark. This probably takes all of 10 minutes at most, and I do it any time in the evening that happens to work. In the morning the dough is nice and big and looks alive, so whenever I have the time to be home for about an hour and a half or so, I start to work with it. I flour my counter top and scrape the dough out of the bowl with a spatula. I flour the top of the ball of dough and pat it down, bring the sides in, turn it over and rotate it a few times to seal the bottom. Then I put the dough into a colander with a linen couche that has been floured and I can cover the dough on top as well. This takes about 10 minutes or less. I then preheat the over to 500 and put my Dutch oven in there to preheat as well for 30 minutes. After the loaf sits for at least thirty minutes and the oven has preheated as long, the dough goes into the Dutch oven which goes into the oven, and then the heat gets turned down to 450. The bread bakes for 40 minutes, cools for an hour or two after that, then it’s all ready to be enjoyed.

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Baked and ready to take out of the Dutch oven.

As you can see, the actual time spent working with the loaf is pretty minimal. It has to sit once for a long time (10-15 hours) and then sit again for a short 30 minutes, then bake for 40 minutes. Not bad for fresh, delicious, hard-crusted bread that we can digest without any problems. I should add that about once a week I also refresh the starter which takes about 5 minutes.

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The above is just to give you an idea of what the timing looks like to bake your own sourdough bread a few times a week at home. For actual instructions, you should check out Carla Bartolucci’s YouTube tutorial on it. That’s how I learned, along with her book, Einkorn. Both her videos and book are very easy to follow and they are all you need to get started with einkorn sourdough baking.

If you are on the fence about trying it yourself, I encourage you to go for it. Contact me with any questions and I’ll try to help or at least point you in the right direction. Or if you already bake with sourdough starter, let me know your tips and tricks and how old your starter is.

Next week I’ll be posting about some samples I received and there will be quite a few CBD products, so stay tuned! Wishing you health and happiness to you and yours.

 

Herbs for Constipation

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Ayurveda doesn’t shy way from talking about bodily functions. In fact, ask any Ayurvedic practitioner about elimination and chances are they will have a rather strong opinion and be able to give you a lengthy description on what it should like, how often it should be happening, and when it should be happening in relation to your meals. I’m not an Ayurvedic practitioner myself but one of my herbal teachers and mentors, Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa, was steeped in Ayurvedic herbalism so I do remember long class discussions on the subject. As for the looks, think of an overripe banana~ brown, in-tact,  and buoyant. With timing, food should take about 18-24 hours to travel from one end of your digestive system (mouth) to the other. If the timing is shorter than that, you may not be getting all the nutrients out of your food. If it’s longer than that, you could be experiencing chronic toxic build-up. If you don’t know how long the process takes for you, eat something that you will recognize when it pops back out such as beets, which like to make quite the dramatic exit if you aren’t expecting the bright red color. (You’ve been forewarned.) Elimination should happen for every meal, so around three times a day is ideal.

One way to get things moving first thing in the morning is to drink a cup of lukewarm water with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. This can also be done at other times of the day, on an empty stomach, but first thing in the morning works best. It’s a nice morning ritual for general cleansing as well.

For occasional issues with constipation, there are two common herbs used traditionally as stimulant laxatives: senna and cascara sagrada. Both should only be used occasionally, because as with any stimulant laxative, herbal or otherwise, they lose effectiveness over time as they train the intestines to rely on the outside stimulation. They do normally produce results within hours of ingesting, (pills, teas, or tinctures), but keep in mind, they are not fixing the root of the problem. Herbalism works best when focused on balancing out health issues at their root, so although these herbs can get you through a rough patch, it’s important to dig deeper into the problem and make adjustments there, so look into the foods you are eating, the amount of water you are drinking, the amount of exercise you might be getting, etc.

There is an herbal combination called triphala that can be taken long-term to enhance intestinal health and kick constipation to the curb (as long as the root of the issue is also properly addressed.) Triphala is a combination of three herbs: Amla, Haritaki, and Bibhitaki. These three herbs each have special benefits for the three doshas, Pitta, Vata, and Kapha, therefore when they are all together they are considered tri-doshic, meaning good for all three doshas. (You can take a dosha quiz here to find your personal doshic profile.) This tri-doshic quality is one of the reasons it is one of the most well-known and popularly used Ayurvedic formulations of all time. In fact, it has been around for over 2,000 years and still going strong. This combination might take longer to work than the herbs above, but within 24 hours elimination should occur and you don’t need to worry about taking it for an extended amount of time. Although it’s a relatively safe formula for most people, Banyan Botanicals lists these cautions: “Contraindications can include diarrhea, dysentery, and if you are pregnant or nursing. There are no known drug interactions with the herbs that make up triphala.1, 6 Some studies do report findings that would advise caution in people taking blood-thinning medicines,7, 8 as triphala may affect platelet function. From an Ayurvedic perspective, if your stools are dry and hard, consider using haritaki in place of triphala.” (Banyan Botanicals)

When I worked at health food stores, the box of tea that was far and away the top seller was Smooth Move by Traditional Medicinals, which, as you might have guessed, is for constipation. It has senna plus other herbs that support the digestive system, and is only supposed to be for occasional use only. They have a couple of different flavors for the teas and also capsules.

As with many health issues, making sure you are drinking plenty of water, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, and actively moving your body everyday will get you far on your path towards optimal health. Herbs offer another level of support in those health, body, and life goals.

Wishing you health, happiness, and at least one herbal ally in your life.

 

 

 

How to Make an Herbal Syrup

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Herbal syrups are a kid-friendly and throat-friendly way to take healing herbs. They don’t have to be doled out in medicinal spoonfuls either, you can add them to tea, pancakes, or cocktails just like any other syrup. Elderberry syrup is a classic immune booster for wintertime cough and cold season, but other herbs such as licorice, thyme, and sage make excellent upper respiratory syrups as well. Even Hippocrates himself had a recipe for bronchitis that included thyme: For Bronchitis, 2 cups water with 3 T thyme, steep 10 minutes then drink twice/day~ Hippocrates.

I made licorice syrup with cinnamon in this tutorial. Licorice has many uses, from respiratory to digestive to adaptogenic properties. It is also anti-viral, making it a great cold and flu fighter. Some people are a little frightened of licorice because when taken in excessively large doses, it can raise blood pressure. Licorice is one of the top ten herbs used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) though, and it is included in many TCM herbal blends for a variety of issues, (though usually in smallish amounts.) If it has worked for thousands of years for a multitude of different issues for so many, I think most people are safe to take licorice for their throat, stomach, and cough complaints. That is of course up to you and your personal health advisers. Other herbs can be used instead of licorice, with the same instructions, and you can of course use sugar as the sweetener if you want. Honey and agave nectar have soothing, coating properties to aid healing, and in agave’s case, less of a glycemic impact.

Herbal Syrup:

›Materials: Dried herbal material such as licorice, elderberries, or thyme, water, honey or agave nectar, a pot, a clean glass jar.

›Combine the herbs and water in a pot in a ratio of 1:2. (Example, 1 cup herbs to 2 cups water)

›Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, 30-40 minutes until reduced by approximately half.

›Strain the herbal material, put the liquid back in the pot and add the same amount of sweetener, over low heat, for another 10 or so minutes. In other words, if you have 3/4 cup of liquid left after cooking and straining, then you add 3/4 cup of sweetener.

›Let it cool, then bottle and refrigerate for longest storage.

This video shows you how easy it is (please ignore my messy house and hair. This was done within some time constraints and really needs to be updated. Soon…..) :

I hope you and your loved ones are making it through the winter season without any illnesses. The snowcopalypse that shut down the Seattle area is finally easing a bit and I have even spotted some robins already, so spring must be on its way. Take care and please share with anyone looking for an herbal boost.

Sites Merging

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Hello and thank you for following one of my blogs. You may have noticed I’ve been using Spice of Life Blog only for the purposes of linking to my newer site, Botanical Alchemy & Apothecary. From now on, only BA&A will appear in your WordPress reader, or if you subscribed via email, in your inbox. You don’t have to do anything to still have access to all the content, I just wanted to give everyone a heads’ up that the blog Spice of Life will now be completely merged with Botanical Alchemy & Apothecary.

Thank you again and Happy Valentine’s Day!

Valentine’s Day Herbal Gifts

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Homemade gifts made with heart and intention are perfect for the holiday that celebrates love. Valentine’s Day is a warm reminder during this cold season that love should be celebrated fully and joyfully in all its forms, from friendship to family, and of course that special someone. Everyone can appreciate an herbal gift that conveys not only love, but also health, beauty, and green thoughtfulness.

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What plant could be more associated with Valentine’s than the rose? A flower of beauty that signifies love, it also has healing attributes that qualify it as an herb. Drinking rose petal tea is relaxing, due to its mildly sedative properties, and it also has some historical use as a headache reliever. The petals are used extensively for skin health, anti-aging, and beautification, while rose hips are full of bio-available vitamin C. Rose oil makes a lovely base for a massage or bath oil, and bath salts with rose petals would make a relaxing gift that encourages self-care and rejuvenation. Baths full of rose petals are picturesque and you will see plenty on Instagram, but if you don’t want to clean up wet petals after a restful bath, I suggest packing them in a muslin bag. You get all the benefits without worrying about the messy clean-up afterwards. The proportion of salts to rose petals is completely up to you, but if you want to add essential oils to the mixture, keep the essential oils down to about 10-20 drops per cup of mixture. Example: 1 cup Dead Sea Salt, 1/2 cup rose petals, 15 drops of lavender oil, and 10 drops of rose absolute in jojoba. Mix all together in a bowl before adding to a jar with a tight cap for gifting. Don’t forget to add the reusable muslin bag inside the jar, or tie it on the outside. 

Making a rose petal mask is another lovely way to gift roses and encourage self-care. Make a powder from dried rose petals either by using a mortar and pestle or a food processor. I actually use an old coffee grinder for making herbal powders and it works great. Mix the rose powder with either French Green Clay or another clay that suits the skin of your recipient (or yourself if this is a self-love gift) in the proportion of 1/3 rose powder, 2/3 clay. Example: 1 tablespoon rose powder mixed with 2 tablespoons clay. Store in a dark glass jar and mix one tablespoon at a time with either a water, a hydrosol, honey, or yogurt to apply. Actually, adding the powder mix to any of these one ingredient masks will make a multifaceted concoction, and you can choose if you want more of a firming, brightening, or evening out action. Leave on for 10-15 minutes, then rinse off with warm water. Skin will be moisturized, clean, firmer, and more even-toned.

Making a massage oil out of rose oil is as easy as adding the desired essential oils to the homemade rose oil. Aim for no more than 50-60 drops of essential oil per cup of base oil. You can also add in more base oils to the rose oil, so the mixture is more suited to the recipient’s particular skin. The heavier the oil, the more appropriate for dryer skin, and the lighter oils are more beneficial for oilier skin. Massage oil should not soak into the skin but rather allow for easy gliding, so sticking with sweet almond oil, avocado oil, apricot kernel oil, and grapeseed oil are good choices, especially when mixed together. Here’s a sample recipe including the aphrodisiac scents of rose, vanilla, and jasmine:

Massage Oil

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Making Massage Oil
1/2 cup Rose Oil (olive oil infusion)

1/2 cup Vanilla Oil (sweet almond infusion)

1/4 cup Avocado Oil

1/4 cup Apricot Kernel Oil

30 drops Sandalwood absolute in jojoba

40 drops Vanilla CO2 essential oil

5 drops Jasmine absolute in jojoba

 

I hope your Valentine’s day is full of love for your family, your friends, your partner, and yourself. We are experiencing the most snow in most of our lifetimes here in the Seattle region right now so I’ll be herbal crafting away happily this week. I also managed to make my first sourdough loaf this past weekend and it turned out splendidly! There’s a pic on my Instagram if you are interested.

Thank you for reading and Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

 

 

Sourdough Starter

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It is rather early in the process to share this out, but I’m so excited about it that I just can’t wait. I’ve started to make sourdough starter from einkorn flour and although it isn’t ready for baking yet, it’s actually started to bubble and show signs of life. It takes quite a few days to get it started, and then regular maintenance to keep it going, so why do it at all you might ask. Basically I’m doing it for taste, for health, and for optimum digestibility.

I first got interested in sourdough a few years ago when I read an article about a baker in California somewhere (San Jose?) that made sourdough bread that people with gluten sensitivities could actually digest. His starter was especially potent and his stand at the farmer’s market was so famous that he got into a national magazine about it. (I can’t remember which one~ it was years ago but I do remember I was reading the article in a doctor’s office waiting room so I couldn’t take it home.) Considering my sons and I have had issues with gluten for many years, I wanted to hear more about what makes sourdough more easily digested. After looking into it, I found out it has to do with the fermentation process which balances prebiotics and probiotics in any kind of fermented food such as yogurt of kimchee, which we all know are foods recommended for digestive health. It also seems that sourdough degrades gluten a bit in the baking process, unlike baker’s yeast, although it doesn’t degrade it completely so celiacs need to stick with gluten-free sourdough breads. Sourdough’s digestibility also has to do with the wild yeasts present, instead of baker’s yeast, which is over used and many people have mild to severe intolerances to it, whether they are aware of it or not. Sourdough bread also causes less of a sugar spike according to several studies, and is generally considered to have a lower glycemic index number than other breads.

Not all commercially prepared sourdough breads are necessarily good options. Look for artisan loaves at your local grocery store or farmer’s market, or join me in making your own! I’ve been following the YouTube tutorials by Jovial Food’s founder, Carla Bartolucci, as well as the tutorial in her book, Einkorn. She uses einkorn flour to make sourdough starter, and to bake all of her breads with, because einkorn is an ancient form of wheat that is also known to be more digestible than our current wheat today, even by some who have gluten intolerances. Einkorn still contains gluten, but due to the make-up and action of the gluten in this grain compared to modern wheat, it reacts differently in baking and also our bodies react differently to it. Baking with it is a little trickier than with modern wheat, which is why it has been largely ignored in the mass marketplace, but as Barolucci explains in her book, that ‘flaw’ is probably the same mechanism that makes it a blessing to those of us with sensitive digestive systems. I’ve made cinnamon scones and bread with einkorn before, and seem to be able to digest it, but I’ve also put a lot of effort into healing my intolerances. I’m excited to bake with sourdough and see if I can really make some breads that the whole family can eat, enjoy, and digest without any problems.

Here’s what I have so far: 581583FA-CC61-4980-BD9B-664CA0C9580B

It took about six days for the starter to show any signs of life, and it’s still not quite ready to bake with because according to Bartolucci, the starter needs to bubble up within six to ten hours of refreshing to be truly ready for the job of baking bread. Mine is close. I’ll post pics on Instagram as soon as I get a loaf baked. I’m not in any hurry though, knowing that this starter will last forever, as long as it gets routinely refreshed. I feel like I have a lifetime to work with it and am happy I’ll be able to pass some of it on to friends and family who bake.

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Here’s what refreshing looks like by the way:

Push away the top layer of the starter and scoop out the better looking stuff underneath into a fresh bowl.

Add warm water and stir it up into a creamy state.

Add more flour, mix it all together and form a ball, then place it in a clean container with a lid and let it rest for 12-24 hours.

Have you baked with sourdough before? Do you have a starter of your own that has a story? I’d love to hear how long you have had your starter and how you first obtained it~ whether it was given to you or you started from scratch like I’m doing. Any tips and tricks would be appreciated too! Thank you for reading, sharing, and subscribing.

 

Vanilla Oil DIY

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Vanilla is a delicious, comforting, and sensual scent that is much loved. Like so many other good things, vanilla also happens to be a little bit high maintenance. For starters, it is second only to saffron in expense, largely due to how vanilla has to be handled and processed, plus it also cannot be made into an essential oil in the same manner as other plants (through distillation). You can find absolutes and CO2 extracts, but usually these are already premixed with a carrier oil and quite expensive. No worries though, because just as with vanilla extract, it’s simple to make your own vanilla infused oil to use in any bath/body product you want such as the base of a perfumed body oil, in body butter, lip balm, bath oil, or body scrub, etc. I’ll most likely be making all of those in fact, and more, because vanilla is just so all-around lovely and mood lifting.

Ingredients:

2 or 3 whole vanilla beans

2 cups carrier oil such as jojoba, sweet almond, or grapeseed oil

Prepackaged
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Set up a double boiler arrangement with the water simmering. (I use a pyrex measuring cup in a pot of water.) C1719A6F-412D-401F-859C-9BA7BCDE381C Cut the vanilla beans down the middle and scoop out the insides into the top of your double boiler, then chop up the beans and add them as well. Pour the carrier oil over the beans, stir occasionally, and add more water to the bottom of the double boiler as needed. 2370B7C6-7D90-4DC7-B5E5-20FD7B049162 It will take an hour or two, so do this when you know you’ll be home for a while. Strain the oil once it has cooled, or just leave the vanilla bits in the oil to impart more scent over time. (It’s impossible to get all those little seeds out so don’t worry about that.) I put half of a vanilla bean into each of my containers to keep the infusion process going. 3D4EB8D7-3071-42D4-9D7A-8536996187CD You can add vitamin E for preservative properties if you aren’t going to use the oil within a month or two. Different carrier oils have different shelf-lives, but jojoba has the longest of the three I mentioned. The other two, almond and grapeseed, have about a year or so of shelf-life. I don’t think any vanilla infused oil is at risk of not getting used within a year though, it smells too good!

Thanks for reading and please share with the vanilla lovers in your life. Happy health and sweet scents to you!

Bouquet Garni Traditional Herbs

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Yesterdy I gave a class on culinary and medicinal herbs at my son’s middle school, and one of the crafts we made was a bouquet garni. I learned a lot of folklore while prepping the class, and thought it would be worth sharing it here too. I just adore the old symbolic language of herbs and flowers which speaks to the deep significance and intertwining relationship of herbs to humanity. The range of health benefits in herbs and spices generally known simply for their flavoring amazes me too. If there is one thing that is for certain, it is that adding more herbs into daily meals can not only enhance the food, but also your health. When in doubt, spice things up!

A bouquet garni is a bundle of herbs that can be used in soups, sauces, beans, casseroles, etc, to not only add flavor but also impart healing benefits. All of the traditional herbs used have digestive benefits, plus a lot more. The most basic traditional blend is Bay leaf, Thyme, and Parsley, with optional herbs such as Rosemary, Oregano, and Basil. These can be wrapped in the outer layer of a leek, or tied together in a bundle (hence the word bouquet) with cooking twine, or the dried herbs can be used in a muslin bag.

Thyme was used in ancient Greek and Roman times to symbolize warrior type bravery. It was given to warriors before going to battle to keep them courageous, and it was given to them afterwards to show appreciation for their valiant bravery. During the Middle Ages, ladies embroidered thyme on knights’ tunics to impart courage, and the knights also would put fresh thyme in their armor. It has also been used traditionally to cure nightmares by putting a sprig of dried thyme underneath a pillow. The health benefits of thyme have traditionally been mostly for the respiratory system, helping coughs and sore throats especially. It has also been used for digestive system support. It also is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal which means it actually reinforces the body’s defense systems. Thyme syrup is a traditional remedy for coughs and colds, and can still be found in supplements today. Hippocrates even had a recipe involving thyme for bronchitis: 2 cups water with 3 T thyme, steep 10 minutes then drink twice/day.

Bay laurel has a long history of being symbolic of victory, fame, status, and scholarship and wisdom. The words ‘laureate’ and ‘baccalaureate’ have originated from the significance of laurel leaves. Additionally, laurel leaves were believed to inspire creativity, so, they were placed under the pillow at night for creative inspiration through symbolic dreams. Olympians were crowned with laurel wreaths, and graduates wore bay leaf crowns before graduation caps. Both traditions can still be seen today (do a quick image search and you will see both!) Health-wise bay laurel has a wide range of traditional benefits. It has been used as a potent antibacterial, and a strong digestive aide. The herb is also associated with easing stress, lowering inflammation, used as a diuretic, for diabetes, and also in skin care and other cosmetic products, as well as topically for sore muscles and even arthritic pain. Bay leaves are always pulled out of soups, beans, etc, before the food is eaten because the texture is not very edible.

Parsley was revered by the ancient Greeks, who considered it sacred to the dead. They made parsley garlands to honor tombs and it was also planted at burial sites. The herb was dedicated to Persephone, queen of the underworld. Romans ate it profusely and were the ones to discover it deordorized the breath after eating garlic. Traditionally used for anemia (it has more iron than spinach), digestive problems, and as a diuretic. It is full of vitamins and minerals.

Rosemary has been used from ancient times by Greeks to adorn young women, Romans used it as hedges, and Egyptians in tombs. The genus name, rosmarinus, means “dew of the sea,” because it grows near the sea in the Mediterranean region.  It is used as a brain tonic, especially for memory and is also considered stimulating to both body and mind. It is a digestive tonic, antiseptic, antibacterial, and antifungal. It makes foods more digestible and also preserves them due to antioxidant properties.

Oregano has been used medicinally for 50,000 years according to evidence found in a noblewoman’s burial and an ancient Greek ship. It was also used as a preservative of food b/c of antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. It is an extremely well researched herb, and is one of the most widely used on the planet. A wide range of studies have established oregano as a powerful antioxidant, antiseptic, and antibacterial agent. It has more antioxidants than any fruit of vegetable according to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, with 4 times more antioxidant activity than blueberries. Oregano’s name means “mountain joy.”  Historically, oregano was often associated with good luck and happiness, which explains why it was in Greek and Roman wedding ceremonies where brides and grooms often wore crowns fashioned from oregano branches. Oregano growing on a loved-one’s grave signified a happy afterlife for the one buried.

To make the bouquet garni, simply collect these herbs, or any of them which you want to use, and tie them together with cooking twine, or if using dried herbs, simply use 1 bay leaf with 1 teaspoon each of the other herbs directly in the pot or in a muslin bag. Be sure to take the bay leaf out before eating, but the other herbs can stay in. Here’s a recommended bundle:

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs of thyme (or 1 t. dried)

2 sprigs of parsley (or 1 t. dried)

2 sprigs of rosemary (or 1 t. dried)

2 sprigs of oregano (or 1 t. dried)

Tie together with cooking twine.

Put directly into soup, sauce, beans, etc, then take out before serving the food.

Unfortunately the class kept me too busy to take pictures until the very end. At that point, I was able to snap a few of the herbal mandalas they made while learning about the different parts of an herb that might be used. They all turned out so different, each one beautiful in its distinctness. A good lesson in itself. Here are 3 of the 18:

Thanks for reading! Best health to you and yours.

 

 

Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Chip Scones

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The other day I was working on some herbal crafts for a class I’ll be teaching in a couple of weeks, and things were not quite working out as I wanted. I was starting to get frustrated, and for some reason thought that trying to work out a new gluten-free, vegan scone recipe might be just the answer. It could have turned out badly, adding to the list of creative projects gone wrong, or at least sub-par, that day, but luckily, these turned out good. Really good in fact. These rival the gluten-free, vegan scones we used to be able to get at a local bakery which just closed last month, and they came together quickly~ no refrigerating the dough or anything that makes a more time consuming baking project. You can make these with butter and milk if you aren’t interested in keeping these dairy free, and two eggs will work instead of the flax meal + water. The cinnamon is optional but it gives the dough extra pizzazz. I used Bob’s Red Mill’s Gluten-Free Baking and Biscuit Mix which is a self-rising flour mix. If you don’t used Bob’s, pick another mix that is self-rising, such as Pamela’s.

Gluten-free, Vegan Chocolate Chip Scones

2 1/2 cups Gluten-Free Baking and Biscuit Mix (Bob’s Red Mill)

1/2 teaspoon of Sea Salt

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

6 tablespoons coconut oil, kept solid (room temperature)

3/4 cup coconut milk (I like unsweetened vanilla but you can use any kind of milk you wish)

2 tablespoons of flax meal mixed with 6 tablespoons of warm water (or 2 eggs)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or make your own)

1 teaspoon cinnamon powder

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, add the water to the flax meal and set aside for about 10 minutes. In a bigger bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, cinnamon, and baking powder until thoroughly combined. Add the coconut oil, working it in until the mixture is unevenly crumbly. There will still be a lot of loose, dry flour at this point. Whisk together the coconut milk and vanilla  with the flax mixture and then add it to the dry ingredients, along with the chocolate chips. Thoroughly mix.

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Transfer the dough to a floured work surface. Gently pat and round it into a circle. Cut the dough into 8 shapes, or more for mini-scones. 

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Put the scones spaced-out evenly on the prepared pan.
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Bake the scones for 20 minutes, until they’re golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and let cool on a wire rack after first cooling about 5 minutes on the pan.

Store in the fridge in an airtight container and eat within three days, or put them in the freezer.

These scones are by far the easiest, quickest scones I’ve ever made. When you are in the mood to bake something but don’t have much time, these should definitely be on your go to easy-bake list. Please share with anyone who bakes gluten-free goodies, and subscribe for a weekly wellness post.

 

Fragrance vs. Essential Oils

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Today I’d like to share a few minutes of my workshop on making your own natural perfumes with essential oils. What I’m sharing below explains why it is important to be conscious of the fragrances we are inundated by, and also how beneficial essential oils are to our physical, mental, and emotional bodies and to the earth as a whole. There are two main reasons I make my own body oils, perfumes, and salves~ to avoid fragrances and to enhance my overall health with essential oils. The sad truth is, there is no way to avoid fragrances completely because they are everywhere, but you can absolutely very easily avoid them in your personal care routine. By not having artificial fragrances in the products you wear on your body all day/every day, you will be taking a huge step in a cleaner, greener, healthier body and environment.

This is what the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has to say about it: –“Fragrance”: Federal law doesn’t require companies to list on product labels any of the chemicals in their fragrance mixture. Research from EWG and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics found an average of 14 chemicals in 17 name-brand fragrance products, and none of them was listed on the label. Fragrances can contain hormone disruptors and are among the top five allergens in the world. Our advice? Look for products that disclose their fragrance ingredients. From: https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/top-tips-for-safer-products/

I made the perfume pictured with vanilla extract that I’ve been curing for about four months. Once you know the proportions and the ingredients that can be used, it’s easy to then take it a step further with infusing the oil and/or alcohol with herbs for scent or other healing or aesthetic reasons, such as making rose oil for your base, or concocting a bay rum cologne. It’s extremely easy to get started right away though with simple ingredients you have in your kitchen right now. As long as you have an essential oil or two on hand, you can make yourself a perfume in less than five minutes. Here’s the quick and dirty on why limiting your exposure to artificial fragrances matters:

To learn more, visit my workshop intro page here: https://botanical-alchemy-and-apothecary.teachable.com/p/make-your-own-natural-perfumes-with-essential-oils

Happy New Year~ I hope it’s a healthier, happier, greener year for everyone. Please share this with anyone you know who might be interested, and please subscribe for weekly wellness posts.

Cleansing for the New Year

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This is a repost of a blog I wrote around this time last year. Happy New Year everyone.

Is anyone else ready to put away the dairy and desserts and cleanse for the New Year? I personally love a good cleanse, though I’m partial to the low-suffering kind. I know people who think it’s not a real cleanse unless you take in nothing but fresh juice and water, but that never made sense to me. Our bodies like balance, and balance by extremes is not really balance at all at the human level. Just look at how bad yo-yo dieting is for people or how hard it is on the body when there are huge weight fluctuations. Gentle detox is a way to cleanse while giving the body support to adjust, instead of shocking the body and then reeling from its effects. Of course, there is a time and place for everything and if you know what you are doing and have the right support, then by all means juice away your days. If you prefer a cleansing reboot that doesn’t leave your blood sugar levels bouncing and your mood-o-meter permanently set to hangry, keep reading for some options.

Adding powdered greens to your daily routine is one way to activate detox mechanisms in your body. While cleansing you should be drinking extra glasses of water anyway, so adding a scoop or packet to one of your glasses or bottles of water is a great way to get extra goodness. It is worth noting that some green mixes, like Paradise Herbs, are formulated for energy~

while others, like the Food Science one below, are formulated more specifically for cleansing. Greens in general, whether in a powder or in a whole fresh or cooked form, are cleansing though so an energy greens mix will still work towards detoxing your system. Both these mixes came in my New Hope Blogger Box and they are tasty as well as healthy blends, but there are of course other reputable greens out there. Just be sure to read ingredients lists thoroughly.

Adding a cup or two of detoxifying herbal tea a day is another easy way to help your body cleanse. There are plenty of blends out there, such as detox teas by Yogi and Traditional Medicinals that are as easy as boiling water. Flora makes a tea concentrate that you just pour a bit out and add hot water to. They promote their cleanse every year on Facebook so you can actually join a group of others using their product to get tips and expand your knowledge a bit into the world of detox. (Plus if you join in you just might get a coupon I believe.) They do have a dry blend as well.

If you want to do something a little more involved than greens and teas, making up a batch of kitchari is what one of my herbal teachers drilled into us as the most healing, cleansing, tri-doshic thing you could do. Kitchari is a meal from the tradition of Ayurveda that is made up of mung beans and basmati rice (brown or white depending on your preference), spices, and ghee. You can eat it once a day to support a general cleanse, or you can eat kitchari three times a day and nothing else but herbal teas for 6 days straight for a more intense detox. As with all things herbal, kitchari is a traditional dish that you can find a thousand variations for so this recipe can be modified as you like. What follows is how my herbal teacher told us to make it and it has never failed me. It’s a calming meal, easy on the digestive system, and healing.

Kitchari Recipe:

1 C mung beans

1 C brown basmati rice (my herbal teacher actually used white basmati rice, so your choice really)

1 tbsp. ghee (vegans can use coconut oil)

1 tsp. each turmeric, cumin, and coriander

After soaking the mung beans overnight (or at least 6 hours), cook them in 4 C of water until they are thoroughly soft, about half an hour.

Cook rice according to its instructions, depending on white or brown, then mix together with beans.

Warm the ghee in a sauce or sauté pan and add the spices, cooking until fragrant, about 2 minutes or so.

Mix the spices and ghee with the rice and beans and you are finished. Eat as often as you like.

I’ve never been big on resolutions, but I do like the spirit of renewal that January sweeps in. A gentle cleanse sets a nice tone for the year~ a reminder to think better, feel better, act better, and be better. Best wishes for health, fulfillment, beauty, and peace to everyone for the New Year. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

 

The Language of Nature

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Wreaths, trees, and greenery find their way inside our homes near the winter solstice, which is so fitting. It’s not always easy to be outside for long in the winter months, so it seems natural that we have traditions which bring nature inside. I love the smell of fresh evergreens inside, and I also just love the fact that we still hold onto these green traditions throughout the plastic-ness and consumerism of the season. Nature has a way of communicating authenticity, and actually a whole lot more. The language of flowers, herbs, and trees is a language that used to be readily understood and I hope does not go completely extinct. It was at one time a language that was prevalent, back when nature was a part of every day life and herbs were used in all parts of life from sun up to sun down~ from the herbs used in the houses and in bedding to keep away vermin, to the food they ate, and the medicines (the only option!) that kept them alive. They used herbs in rituals, for spiritual purposes, celebration, decoration, and communication.

If that sounds strange, think about what a red rose signifies. If someone gives another a red rose or 12, they are probably not giving a token of friendship, a get-well bouquet, nor a flower of condolence, right? A red rose equals love, a very specific type of love~ romantic love. This seems to be an enduring symbol that has lasted far longer than any other plant language symbols, but it is by no means the only way that plant with symbolic meaning. Here are a couple of examples:

Thyme used to symbolize warrior type bravery. It was given to Roman soldiers before and after campaigns to wish them luck and honor their courageousness. A few hundred years later, ladies used to embroider thyme into handkerchiefs for knights going to battle. Thyme means warrior, bravery, courage.

Bay leaves used to symbolize scholarly achievement, honor, and victory. The Greeks and Romans were active in embracing this symbolism by crowning the most learned of the statesmen with bay leaf crowns, and also those with the highest status. Bay laurel even gives it’s name to baccalaureate, and also the word laureate, as in ‘Nobel Laureate’ or ‘poet laureate’ for example. If you search online, there are plenty of examples of graduates donning bay crowns even today, so at least that tradition is still alive in some way.

Since it is nearing Christmas, I thought I’d share some holiday plants with their symbolism. I found a bouquet in the book, Tussie Mussies, by Geraldine Adamich Laufer that she calls “Christmas Joy” and would make a lovely wreath as well. Also, using these same meanings, one can put together an essential oil blend with a special holiday message. The bouquet has the following in it:

Pine: Warm friendship, vigorous life, spiritual energy

Cinnamon: Love, beauty, my fortune is yours!

Burnet: A merry heart

Rosemary: Remembrance

Bedstraw: The manger

Holly Berries: Christmas joy

Cone: Conviviality, life

Another bouquet in her book celebrates the New Year. It is called, “New Years Resolutions” and has the following:

Vervain: Good fortune, wishes granted

Sumac: Resoluteness

Rue: Beginning anew

Parsley Flower: At the very beginning

Hyssop: Cleansing

Elderberry: Zeal

These bouquets or wreaths might be fun gifts to bring to some hosts over the holidays, and a conversation starter if you include the meaning of the plants used. Essential oil blends can be used instead for a longer lasting gift, and of course there are plenty of other herbs, flowers, and trees to choose from. For example, Mint, another traditional winter holiday scent, symbolizes burning love, and also wisdom and virtue. There is also an old saying: “Grow mint in your garden to attract money to your purse,” so this plant has a lot to offer in the way of New Year’s wishes.

However you celebrate the winter holidays, I hope you are filled with peace, happiness, and good health. From all accounts, I’m not the only one eager to see 2018 come to a close and hoping for a lighter and brighter year ahead. In order to embrace this dark, quiet, inner-focused time of year, I’ll be taking a wee break from posting here until January. Hopefully I’ll be back with some news on a couple of other projects I’m working on so stay tuned! All the best to all of you and see you next year! Cheers!

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Body Butter DIY

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It’s winter (here) and almost Christmas, so it’s a perfect time to whip up some body butter for both self-care and homemade gifts. And I do mean ‘whip’ quite literally, as you can see for yourself below. This recipe is very similar to the one I shared here before, so as you can see, this is recipe is ripe for customization. Pick your solid butters and oils, add some (liquid) herbal oil, and choose your essential oils to make your own unique moisturizer.

Body Butter

1/2 C Shea Butter

1/8 C Coconut Oil

1/4 C Cocoa Butter

1/8 C Rose Oil (Olive Oil based)

10 drops Lavender

10 drops Vanilla (in jojoba oil)

10 drops Frankincense

Put all the ingredients, except for the essential oils, into a measuring cup that can go into a pot of water that will heat up to a simmer. Let the solids completely melt, then take the measuring cup out of the water and let the liquid cool. You can put the measuring cup on ice, or put it in the fridge or freezer with a clean towel on top of it. It takes a while to cool, anywhere between a half hour to an hour depending on how it is cooling (freezer or on ice or just sitting out or whatnot). If you lose track of time and find the measuring cup hours later rock solid, don’t worry, just melt it again. When the liquid starts to get a bit cloudy and feels room temperature to the touch, add the essential oils and start whipping it with an electric mixer or in a blender until it turns creamy and opaque. This could take 5-10 minutes, depending on how cool the liquid is upon starting. 

Pour the butter into a clean jar and keep it out of heat and light for storage. This is a very emollient body butter, good for hand or foot cream, elbows, or any part of the body that is very dry. It isn’t recommended for the face though because those hard oils and butters can be pore clogging. It smells decadent and it is really fun to make something that starts off mostly solid, melts into a liquid, then whips into a totally new texture.

If you are looking for more homemade gift ideas, check out this post with a variety of ideas, or this one on making bath salts. I hope you are enjoying the season and not feeling the frenzy that this time of year can sometimes whip up. Please share with anyone who might enjoy this post and if you haven’t already, subscribe for a weekly wellness post.

Survey Incentive

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Hello! This is just a brief post letting you know about a survey you can take involving the natural foods/products industry. The first 250 people to take it will get a $10 Amazon gift card, so if you want to do it, act fast! Here’s the link:  bit.ly/2rsd9WO Stay warm and stay well! 

Supplements and Substitutes for New Year’s Resolutions

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That time of year is approaching where we review our habits and try to replace the ones that no longer serve us with better options. The New Hope Blogger Box had some products that will start the year off right with the intentions of better and healthier. One easy way to improve daily nutrition is to drink some powdered super foods each day. These greens from Natural Factors are fermented, organic, non-GMO, gluten free, and contain medicinal mushrooms as well as 6 grams of protein. Adding one serving of greens in the form of powdered super foods really packs a nutritious punch and could be a great habit to add in to the upcoming new year’s routines. I’ve been mixing this with water and it tastes good and…. green. Although it is very tasty to me  this way, you can always add it to juice or to smoothies or a smoothie bowl as well.

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This immune supporting supplement from Redd Remedies features medicinal mushrooms too, which doesn’t surprise me a bit. I have a feeling medicinal mushrooms are going to start being ubiquitous in 2019 as their benefits become more well known, and supporting the immune system is one of their specialties. Immune Everyday also has the adaptogen, Ashwagandha, in it, as well as vitamin C to keep the immune system working optimally.

Probiotics are generally thought of as for gastrointestinal health, but the link between gut health and brain health has long been known and the gut is even called the ‘second brain’ in many circles. This probiotic supplement from Klaire Labs has kept that brain-gut link central in the formulation of these powdered packets. I suggest you read more about how this probiotic supports positive moods on their website, but here’s a snippet to spark your curiosity: “Target gb-X is a probiotic supplement specifically designed to support positive mood by influencing the gut-brain axis through the microbiome. It is powered by Ecologic BARRIER, a 5B CFU blend of 9 probiotic strains, that has been clinically shown to decrease overall cognitive reactivity to sad mood, rumination, negative thoughts, and aggressive thoughts.”~ from Klair Labs website.

Thinking of taming an overly enthusiastic sweet tooth in the new year? These syrups from NuNaturals are sugar free and net carb free and come in a variety of flavors. Besides being low glycemic, they are also gluten free, vegan, and non GMO, so they actually suit just about any diet, but might be an especially good find for those following a keto diet. Please share with any keto-devotees and they will surely be very grateful for a bit of sweetness in the new year.

For those wanting to reduce their soda consumption, Tohi has some tasty alternatives. These juice drinks are packed with antioxidants, have no artificial ingredients, and are invigorating without caffeine. The (only!) five ingredients on their ingredient list is as refreshing as the taste, and if you need a reminder of why antioxidants are so important, it’s because they help fight signs of aging as well as the internal wear and tear that can lead to disease. in short, antioxidants support healthy aging, healthy beauty, and a healthy immune system.

And if you missed last week’s post, it has even more supplements that can set up New Year’s resolutions for success. Here are a few of the items targeting brain health, skin health, and anxiety, but check out the whole post for more.

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I hope your season is filled with joy, peace, and health for you and your loved ones. If you haven’t already, please subscribe for a weekly wellness blog post, and as always, sharing is caring. Happy Holidays!

Health and Beauty Stocking Stuffers

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The New Hope Blogger Box of samples came just in time for the holidays, with plenty of little gift ideas to enhance health and beauty. These might just be something  you want on hand for your New Year’s resolutions as well, but I like the idea of gifting things that are healthy luxuries to make life better in some way.

CBD oil is still growing in popularity and if you are not quite sure if it’s going to get you high or not, it will not. (You can read more about CBD oil here.) It will instead do a lot of helpful things such as ease anxiety, help with aches, pains, insomnia, and more. I was actually already thinking of gifting some to people who have expressed interest in it but haven’t gotten any themselves (it’s still a tad hard to find) but you can find it at Charlotte’s Web, and as you can see below, they make other hemp products as well.

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This next grouping is ideal for anyone who lives in the modern world and has to use their brain at all (in other words, all of us) but especially students who really put in the hours studying and stressing, because really, being a student is hard work.

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We all suffer from stress and anxiety at times, and I do mean ALL of us. I’ve done some research into everything I write about here, and anxiety in all forms is far more rampant that I had any idea of originally. I can confidently say that if you feel like you are alone dealing with some form of anxiety, you are far from alone and there are things you can take that help. There are also things you can do, like exercise and meditate, but herbs and a couple of other natural supplements are quite good at taking anxiety down to where you are functioning better. Anxie-T by the company, Life Seasons, combines well-known anti-anxiety herbs with L-theanine and GABA, all of which help ease anxiety through different paths. (L-theanine is an amino acid I also wrote about here, and GABA is a neurotransmitter I wrote about here.) And just a reminder that the CBD oil above, and any good quality CBD oil, also helps with anxiety too. There really are a lot of things out there in the natural world that can help!

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Anxie-T by Life Seasons
Genius Juice by the herbal company, Wishgarden Herbs, is a combination of herbs that provide clarity and focus along with what they call “clean energy” which seems to mean energy which is high quality and not ultimately draining resources which leaves one tired. In other words, these energy boosters do not rob the future to energize the present. The adaptogens in the blend are certainly known to build true energy and bring sharpness to thinking powers as well as provide stamina and long-term mental health. As I mentioned before, perfect for students but also, who doesn’t need a brain boost every once in a while?!

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Genius Juice by Wishgarden Herbs
If you have not heard of Rescue Remedy, then get ready to add a new product to your first aid kit. I think I can safely say this is the most widely used flower essence product ever, with people using it regularly for stress and anxiety for themselves and their pets, as well as for traumatic events. It is one of the rare supplements out there that is specifically known to help a person mentally, emotionally, and physically during times of trauma. Its original form is a liquid which you add to water or take directly on the tongue, but now you can find it in pastilles, or lozenges as below, and more. What better thing to have in your mouth while taking a test or waiting for an interview or for a doctor’s appointment or any other time you are especially stressed out? It’s great for after a stressful event too (such as a trauma like a car accident, a broken bone, a romantic break-up, etc) which is why it’s a great thing to keep in a first aid kit.

Rescue Remedy Plus
With B5 and B12

For those that love all things beauty-enhancing or those that might be struggling with skin issues of any sort, here are a couple of skin focused treats.

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PURENEW Professional Skin Clear Advanced Skin Care is a mouthful to say, and it’s a mouthful of supplements too! Each packet has 6 capsules of skin-food super nutrition such as antioxidants, collagen, fish oil, and more. This product is from a company called Catalo with whom I’m not familiar, but this seems to be a well-thought out product and if your New Year’s Resolution involves caring more for you skin, this will certainly start you off in the right direction.

PURENEW Skin Clear
Supplements inside

The Marine Collagen is from Nordic Naturals which is a leader in healthy oils for all ages, stages, and even for pets. Collagen helps not only skin thrive, but also supports bone and joint health as well. This collagen is sourced from cod and enhanced with vitamin C, also crucial for skin health and antioxidant protection. If you are starting to notice fine lines, wrinkles, and skin losing it’s firmness, collagen can help with all those issues and is a lot less expensive than botox.

Nordic Naturals
Marine Collagen

For those that like to be active here are a couple of things that can support that lifestyle. Country Archer has certified gluten-free, hormone free, and antibiotic free Turkey Jerky. Jerky is one of the few ways to take lean protein along wherever you go, and finding a lean and clean version like this one is even rarer.

Country Archer Turkey Jerky
High protein

Also in support of an active lifestyle, though like with stress and brain help really we can all use an energy boost every once in while, these energy tablets from PepPods are packed with nutrients and a bit of caffeine to give energy with nutritional support for stamina so again, it’s not robbing the future to energize the present. These energy tablets are gluten and sugar free, vegetarian, and gmo free.

And lastly, some Numi tea for the conscious consumer tea lovers in your life who want to support a fair trade company which takes giving back very seriously. They have organic herbal, green, white, and black teas, so a sampler is a great way to try them all.

Numi Teas
Organic, Fair Trade

Whatever you choose to do this holiday season, I hope it involves health, happiness, friends, family, and lots of joy. Peace and health to all!

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

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Just a quick recipe this week that can be a healthy side at your Thanksgiving meal. With all the complicated foods that can be part of the meal prep, this one is thankfully straight-forward and simple with just chopping taking up most of the time. Truthfully though, we eat this dish all winter long because it’s so tasty that it’s kind of addictive actually. The garlic is really what makes it so special so add as many cloves as you like, and any kind of sweet potato works, including the ones called yams.

Before cooking
After cooking

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Leeks and Garlic

4 sweet potatoes

1 large leek

at least 6 garlic cloves but as many as you want

olive oil to cover

black pepper to taste

sea salt or seasoning salt to taste (I use the seasoning salt and it’s also really delicious with eggs, fish, and any vegetable dishes.)

Preheat oven to 425. Cut the sweet potatoes up into bite size pieces and spread on an oiled cookie sheet or use parchment paper. Spread the cut up leek on top of the sweet potatoes and place the garlic cloves all around. Pour olive oil over the veggies, just enough so each bit has been touched with the oil. There’s no need to saturate the veggies though b/c stirring will help get the oil everywhere throughout the cooking time. Salt and pepper over the entire pan sparingly b/c you can always add more afterwards. I’ve always found the garlic and the slight caramelizing that happens with the veggies in olive oil during the cooking process give more than enough flavor and have never needed to add more seasoning afterwards. Cook for about 30-40 minutes, stirring two or three times at ten minute intervals. You’ll know it’s done when the sweet potatoes are soft and there are a few brown bits on the leeks. This is also a great breakfast/brunch dish with a fried egg or two, or can be spread on a tortilla after smashing with a fork (cook for longer time for softest veggies), add cheese and have yourself a nutrient-packed vegetable quesadilla.

For those celebrating, have a great Thanksgiving. Celebrating gratitude is indeed a beautiful thing, though Thanksgiving can bring about many other feelings for people rather than thankfulness~ holiday stress, food stress, family stress, and financial stress. I hope it’s stress free for you and yours and if it does cause anxiety, reach for help and don’t be afraid to say no to traditions and expectations that aren’t resonating for you anymore.

Take care and may your season be happy, healthy, and filled with light.

 

Mission Possible Challenge

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This post is part of a blogging challenge called: Divine Mission~ Possible, created by fellow blogger litebeing chronicles. The idea is for people to write about what their mission is, where they are on it, and really anything that relates to that. If you would like to join the challenge, please do! The challenge lasts through November and I did last year’s and found it to be quite inspiring to read the other bloggers posts and have to think through my own (Sense-ational Scents).

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I believe we are all here for a reason, or rather reasons, and that we all have special attributes, unique characteristics, and specific experiences that make up our paths and passions. Whether we fully enact these missions is up to us, though it is my belief that how we show up in the world on a daily basis is part of our mission, and every single day our missions leak out of us whether we like it or not. If we are on a path that resonates with our passions and values, then the ‘leaking’ is going to be mostly light-filled and uplifting. If we are not, then the leaking will come out as confused, inconsistent, and disembodied, though it may still be beautiful, but lacking clear energy behind it. (By the way, have you ever noticed how similarly spelled mission and passion are~ there must be something there!)

My mission relates to herbs, ecology, natural health, green beauty, and educating. 6E725201-6137-4617-B2DF-7FFBFFC0C674[1]The state of the environment is deeply concerning to me and specifically the state of our collective relationship to the environment. We (including myself) are not in flow with nature, giving and taking in a balanced way, but instead taking and taking with little regard for sustainability. It is my belief that the more people engage with nature in all ways, understanding nutrition beyond trendy diets, how herbs can help create and maintain health, how what we put on our bodies and the chemicals we surround ourselves with impact our moods, hormones, overall health, beauty, and aging, then that relationship with nature will start to be repaired. We have the ability to turn around humanity’s destructive ways, but it will take individual relationships to do that.

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Personally I love to create with herbs and building community through bringing people together to learn about herbs and making products with them. That is the next step in my mission and one that I’ve begun through the online courses I created, but creating with people in real life is something that I feel is an important step in this digital, often lonely era in which we live. I’ve actually been engaging in Facebook groups lately (although FB is not my favorite place to hang out!) trying to get a feel for what people need/want/are missing in terms of natural health and herbs and wow, there is quite a lot of misinformation out there. I’m hoping to provide people with reliable resources and inspire others to always seek out herbs and other natural products to help create and maintain optimal health and well-being. Even if it seems like something that seems just genetic, like hair loss, or there’s nothing to be done about it, like food intolerances or gum recession, or something that requires pharmaceuticals, like high blood pressure, there are always natural options to try, even if just as complimentary therapy to whatever pharmaceutical is needed.

How we treat ourselves is also how we treat others, including the non-human beings we share the earth with such as plants and animals, and earth itself. The more we take care of ourselves in natural, holistic ways, the more it reflects in our our overall wellness and longevity, and in every relationship we have. It’s a microcosm of the macrocosm and interconnected on every single layer. For me, I want to help make it a joyful, beautiful experience, because healthy food isn’t about deprivation, it’s about enjoyment and long-term goals, and green beauty isn’t basic, it’s luxurious, and herbs and other natural remedies are not folk tales, they are effective and our birthright. I’ll admit, being ecologically aware can sometimes be depressing, but I truly think if we focus on the beauty and joy of the natural world and how we interact with it, then we can collectively create positive change.

These values, passions, and missions have been a part of my life since childhood, and if you want to read more about how they have manifested in my life, I wrote about that here: Herbal Journey.  I would love to hear about your life missions and where you feel you are on that path. If you want to read more of these, you can find links to others on litebeing chronicle’s page.

I’m inviting energy healer, Nicole, to join in on this challenge and anyone else who would like to give this some thought and share. Good Luck on wherever your mission takes you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Body Oils DIY

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Making your own body oils is a great way to customize your base oil blend and your essential oil blend. Ayurvedic tradition advises massaging yourself with oil daily as a way to ground yourself and calm out-of-balance doshas. In Ayurveda, there are three doshas that govern all things~ the seasons, the time of individual lives (youth, adulthood, old age), and our own bodies, minds, and spirits. The three doshas are Vata, Pitta, and Kapha, and there are online quizzes to help you determine your  dosha profile. I like this one because it gives you your results immediately but you can take several and compare them. They will probably all be slightly different but should give you an idea of your personal profile. When you think about your dosha makeup, it is best to think of what you were like as a kid, because imbalances build up and your current state might not match your fundamental dosha profile. It’s important to understand that we all have all three aspects in us, it’s just that one or two will generally be more predominant. Think of a number scale of 1-10. One person might be 3 parts Vata, 5 parts Pitta, and 2 parts Kapha. Another person will be 4 parts Vata, 2 parts Vata, and 4 parts Kapha. Why does it matter then? It matters because the aspects that are predominant are the ones most likely to get out of balance. Any dosha can be out of balance, but if you are predominantly Pitta for example, it is more likely that your Pitta dosha will be out of balance, meaning Pitta type problems (such as inflammation). When a dosha is out of balance, it means it needs to be calmed, and since each dosha responds differently to various foods, herbs, activities, etc, so it is important to know what your personal profile is and what might be acting out of balance.

If you want to customize your body oil to suit your dosha, I have pins on a board that can help you do exactly that: https://www.pinterest.com/herbbaker/ayurveda/

Beyond Ayurveda, body oils are also just a great way to indulge in aromatherapy for health, well-being, and the pure pleasure of the scent. You can base your essential oil blend on mental/emotional needs, chakras, moods, or simply for the perfumery. For a base oil, you can use sweet almond oil, grapeseed oil, castor oil, jojoba oil, apricot kernel oil, or sesame seed oil either singly or blending them. Personally, I like to blend 2 or 3 oils together and often use an herbal oil as one of the oils in the blend, such as rose oil. I usually reuse a 3.4 oz dark glass bottle but you can use any size glass bottle that you have. The size I use lasts about a month with morning and night use. Dark glass is best but as long as you keep it out of light and heat it should be fine.

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I use three 1/8 cups + one 1/16 cup of base oil for my 3.4 fl oz bottle. For example: 1/8 cup herbal oil, 1/8 cup almond oil, 1/8 cup grapeseed oil and 1/16 cup apricot kernel oil.
Fill your bottle with the base oils you are using, leaving room for the essential oils. Add in the essential oils, using 30-40 drops per ounce of base oil. You can add more if you know you tolerate essential oils well, but if you are just beginning to work with them, stay on the lower end (30 drops per ounce). For example, in my 3.4 fl. oz. bottle, I add between 100-120 drops of essential oils. You don’t need a lot of essential oils to get their benefits, so don’t worry that you don’t have ‘enough’. They are subtle but dependable workers and they will always do their job. Also keep in mind that no matter how strong you make your oil, the scent will not last as long as chemical fragrances so reapplying throughout the day is a good option. You aren’t going to want to put body oil all over yourself during the day though because oil stains clothing and it’s just not feasible, so if you want the scent to be around you all day then I advise making a smaller container as perfume that you can apply to your pulse points throughout the day. If you want to learn how to make perfumes with essential oils, either in an oil base, alcohol base, or as a solid perfume, then please check out my course in exactly that, which also has guidelines on blending for different purposes (health or scent), why chemical fragrances are bad for us and bad for the earth, and why blending with top notes, middle notes, and base notes matters. Another option for a hit of the scent during the day would be to make a body spray that you can dose yourself with when the mood hits. 6A0F62A7-0DF4-4480-A34A-36C47974495D[1]

The best times for body oil application are upon waking and before going to sleep, so I often make up a day blend and relaxing night blend. For the day time some good uplifting scents are: bergamot, clary sage, and frankincense, which is actually a great anti-depressant blend. Citrus essential oils such as orange, lemon, grapefruit, and lime, are good for joyful energy and are often part of weight loss blends because of that. Citrus essential oils can increase photo-sensitivity, though so do be careful if you are in a sunny part of the world and be sure to wear your sunscreen with citrus oils. Rosemary is stimulating for the mind and traditionally used to aide memory, and it blends well with orange for confident energy and clear thinking. Although lavender is a relaxing scent, it is also the most blend-able essential oil and can combine with just about any of the other essential oils, either for day or night. In a bedtime blend I always include lavender and a wood, such as sandalwood or cedar. The wood oils have a lovely grounding ability which can work for daytime too, especially if you tend to feel scattered. Just like the tea, chamomile essential oil is calming and relaxing and perfect for a night blend, and neroli is a traditional anti-anxiety scent. In fact, neroli blossoms used to be used in bridal bouquets for their anti-anxiety action so it’s a great choice for day or night. By the way, neroli and sandalwood can be bought premixed with jojoba oil for a more affordable purchasing option since those two are rather expensive.

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When in doubt, just follow your nose because whatever you like best is going to keep you motivated to use it, and feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Body oils are a great way to moisturize your skin with the purest, greenest, and healthiest ingredients possible, plus you get to customize the scent for your own personal needs and tastes. Have fun with it and keep in mind that you can pour some body oil into your bath, or use it as massage oil, or even give body oils as gifts. Please share with anyone who might be interested and if you haven’t already, subscribe for more wellness posts like this one.

 

 

Dairy-Free Creamy Cauliflower Soup

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I originally wrote this recipe for Basmati.com which has a wealth of Ayurvedic inspired wellness information, but I wanted to share it here too because it is one of my favorite soups. It has several steps but it is all very easy to do and it’s worth it, trust me. I’m not one of those people who embraced using cauliflower as rice or as any kind of grain substitute as was all the rage for a while there, so I’m not a huge lover of all things cauliflower, but this soup is delicious. The garlic and leeks are what really make it special so I add in a lot of those, but you can definitely tone it down if you don’t care for the allium family that much. Garlic is so healthy for the cardiovascular system and also for keeping germs and viruses away though that I recommend large doses if you can handle it.

In a family with gluten, dairy, soy, egg, and nut intolerances, indulging in creamy anything is quite rare. My oldest son and I are big soup lovers, though, and he especially loves creamy soups, so I’ve tried my hand at several vegan recipes using coconut milk, but we just aren’t always in the mood for the subtle taste of coconut. I’ve discovered that with enough olive oil in the cooking process, and by roasting the veggies first, we can end up with a creamy soup without any dairy or dairy alternatives whatsoever – and the taste is truly superb. It is one of those meals that you have to remind yourself is actually incredibly healthy –  just veggies, olive oil, herbs, and spices –  because it really does taste like a decadent treat. Here’s the recipe:

Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup

  • 1 medium to large head of cauliflower
  • 1 large leek
  • 2-4 cloves of garlic, depending on taste (I use 4 because I like it good and garlicky)
  • 1 small-medium yellow onion
  • 4 cups of vegetable stock
  • About 2-3 Tbs olive oil
  • ½-1 tsp sea salt
  •  Several turns of fresh ground pepper to taste (you can always add more, so start on the smaller side)
  • 1 tsp or more Herbs d’Provence or thyme

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and pour olive oil onto a cookie sheet (or some other roasting pan) and rub it around until the bottom is covered, or cover the bottom with parchment paper. Chop the cauliflower and leek up into bite size pieces and put them on the pan to roast with the garlic cloves. Pour olive oil on top of the vegetables, trying to make sure each piece has been touched. I do this by pouring the oil in a crisscross fashion over the pan, and then I roast the vegetables for about 30 minutes, turning them over once or twice during that time. They will be done when there are brown bits on top in places.

Meanwhile, chop the onion and sauté it in about 1 Tbs olive oil in a large pot on medium-high heat until translucent (about 3 minutes).This is also when I like to put the salt, pepper, and herbs d’Provence (or thyme) in the pot, but remember: you can also add more salt and pepper later, so start with small amounts. The soup is so flavorful with the garlic that you might be surprised at how little salt in particular that you need.

Add the four cups of vegetable stock to the pot and bring to a quick boil before turning it down. When the vegetables are finished roasting in the oven, put them in the pot of soup and let it all simmer together for about 5 minutes before turning off the burner and letting it cool a bit prior to blending. Pour the soup into a blender and watch it turn into creamy deliciousness in less than a minute, and then taste to make sure it has enough salt and pepper to your liking.

This soup is best with an herb-y bread to dip into it, such as focaccia or rosemary bread. I usually make my own focaccia style bread sticks with Trader Joe’s flat breads by adding olive oil, some seasoning salt, rosemary, basil, and oregano to the top of the flat breads and baking them at 425 for 10 minutes.

Easy gluten-free focaccia
Makes great bread sticks
Ingredients are gluten, dairy, and egg free

Canyon Bakehouse has a delicious gluten-free and dairy-free focaccia also, but if you can eat gluten I recommend rosemary bread such as The Essential Baking Company’s yummy version.

Please share this with anyone who might be interested, and please subscribe for a weekly wellness post if you haven’t already. It’s free and you can unsubscribe any time.  Happy Halloween to all who celebrate!

 

Gluten Free in Dublin, Ireland

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This is a post I wrote for my former blog back in early 2017, after a trip to Dublin. I happen to be feeling restless lately and a friend of mine just jetted off to Dublin (for work, but she’s gotta eat!) so I reread this post in order to remember all the restaurant names to recommend to her and I thought I might as well share it here too. These places are great whether you need to eat gluten-free or not, but if you are avoiding gluten, Dublin is an easy place to meet all your needs.

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Dublin was a surprisingly easy place to accommodate food intolerances and allergies. We found the food there to be fresh, healthy, and enlightened, as in menus marked with gluten information or restaurants having Paleo picks (not that we eat Paleo but it is generally gluten-free) and one even celebrating a month of the Paleo diet by offering an entire menu devoted to it. This restaurant, Saba, was right around the corner from our hotel and I could have ordered many things off their menu without having to worry about gluten. When we ate there we ordered rice with our pick which is decidedly un-caveman-ish, so we weren’t beholden to the Paleo diet thankfully, and got an excellent meal out of it.

Another place right around the corner from our hotel was our favorite restaurant of all, a healthy little breakfast, lunch, brunch place called Cocu. There are three locations and it looks like they are even open for dinner at one of two of those places so there are plenty of options for checking it out. Their menus are simple although a little hard to describe so I encourage you to look at them yourself and be inspired. Maybe so inspired that you open up your own version of their tagline “A Healthy Obsession”, and if so, please let it be within 15 minutes of Redmond, Washington because we truly were obsessed and it’s one of the first things I missed when we got back home. Basically, the main lunch items are these bowls where you choose your meat or vegetarian main which is cooked with certain spices/sauces/veggies to complement it, then add two sides such as mixed greens or rice or sweet potatoes or something else, then add a topping such as seeds, nuts, or herbs. It’s all in a big bowl together and works every time, no matter the combination. They also have soups, wraps (not gluten-free), and hot pots which is something like red lentil curry over rice and you add tofu or chicken which was my favorite dish there. Anyway, I could go on because I haven’t even started on the coffee bar area, breakfast items, or side pastries which included many gluten-free items, but unless you are in Dublin right now and can check it out yourself, there’s no point in sharing any more of the obsession.

It’d be a shame to go to Ireland and not get fish n’ chips, and luckily Beshoff Brothers has us gluten-free gourmands covered. This is not a fancy place, just as a proper fish n’ chips place should not be, but it was clean and bright and their gluten-free menu had onion rings on it which I can’t recall seeing anywhere ever before this place. This wasn’t our healthiest meal but it actually wasn’t overly greasy and we both were quite satisfied with our meals, (not gf for my husband, gf for me).

You can even have your sandwich cravings easily satisfied at O’Briens Sandwich cafes. They can make you a sandwich on gluten-free bread which also happens to be egg free, dairy free, and soy free. (Yay!) They use a brand called BFree which isn’t carried in my neck of the woods (yet) but I hope it’s coming soon because they have pita bread which is so hard to find. Do be aware that if you want your sandwich toasted though, it is toasted in the same oven as the traditional breads. I did have mine toasted and felt perfectly fine for the record, but you have to judge for yourself your own level of sensitivity. There are plenty of O’Briens around Ireland so you aren’t ever too far from a sandwich which is a nice change of pace.

Another restaurant that my husband and I found ourselves returning to the very next day after a fantastic dinner and ordering the exact same meals as the night before is Balfes.  They have plenty of gluten-free options and the food is fresh and delicious. I had a salad with chicken on it that used guacamole instead of dressing and oh my gosh, why haven’t I done that before?! It was brilliantly executed and my husband loved his meal also. We even thought about going there for a third night in a row but ended up just being too lazy.

Marks & Spencer (M&S) has plenty of gluten free options in their ‘food hall’. They do have a section of gluten-free items such as pastas, cakes, breads, granola, etc, but I only bought the granola because their baked goods all have egg in them. They have a lot more to offer though in their prepared foods sections which seemed to make up about the entire store. I’ve never seen so many individually wrapped meals in my life~ Trader Joe’s has been way outdone. My husband and I got breakfast from there several times and take-away dinner at least once. He was especially fond of the place and kept saying things like, “Look at that lettuce! It’s practically standing up it’s so fresh! It’s like it’s trying to get our attention by waving it’s arms and saying ‘pick me!'”. The fresh produce there did seem exceptionally vibrant considering it was January and I wasn’t aware that Ireland had a robust winter farming industry. I still don’t know what the deal is with their produce~ if it’s grown in greenhouses or imported from somewhere else on some wicked fast plane or what, but they have a good thing going though however they are managing it. Also, I should say that before going I had the impression M&S would be extremely expensive but we found their prices to be quite affordable which was a definite plus.

There are health food stores called Nourish around Dublin that have gluten-free options such as crackers, cookies, etc. The one I went into on Grafton Street didn’t have a huge selection but I did buy some crackers and chocolates from there which were tasty. But here’s a warning to take to heart~ if you rely on melatonin to help reset your body clock and beat jet lag, bring your own because we were told at Nourish that it is illegal to sell it in all of Ireland.  Fortunately I did bring some along but we were hoping to get more there and were sorely out of luck. What does Ireland have against melatonin? Another mystery to solve I guess.

Before going to Dublin I found a lovely listing of restaurants that are gluten-free friendly. I was so thrilled with finding it but in all honesty I didn’t have to go back to it often because it seemed everywhere I checked out had gf options. I made it a habit to look at every menu that I passed just to see how gf friendly it was and I found Dublin as a whole to be extremely aware and accommodating on that front as well as on all fronts really. It was a friendly, polite, energetic, and open place that I hope to return to soon and maybe get a chance to see the countryside a bit. If you are wondering where to take your next big vacation and gluten matters feel like a confinement, rest assured that Dublin will embrace you and your gluten issues with open arms and fantastic food.

One last thing to mention, before going I made sure to request gluten-free foods for our Delta airlines flights. They actually did a great job with the meals and I always got mine before they delivered the other passengers’ meals so I never had to wonder if they’d remember or not. I actually couldn’t even eat all the food they brought me which always included fresh fruit and/or salad which is so nice to have on a long flight. I was impressed.

Please share with anyone heading to Dublin, and if you haven’t yet, subscribe for a weekly wellness post. Also, please comment below on any experiences you have had in traveling through Ireland~ I’d love to hear it!

Online Courses and Immune Supporting Herbs

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I hope everyone is staying well as the cold and flu season kicks in. I’ve increased my astragalus intake and echinacea is on my list to buy to have on hand, just in case. Astragalus is an adaptogenic herb that is best known for its immune boosting properties. It is the kind of herb that works best long-term, so taken in smallish amounts over the course of the winter months for example, or anytime of year where you find yourself fighting a disease, bacteria, or virus. It is safe for kids too and can be found in kids’ formulas. Echinacea on the other hand is not for long term use. It is best used when you feel yourself getting sick with a cold or flu, and helping you to fight it for the duration of the cold/flu, but then you stop taking it when you have recovered. Using astragalus in a larger amount than the maintenance protocol can also help you during a viral or bacterial situation, but that is not traditionally its best use. Another immune boosting option is a medicinal mushroom such as reishi. I’m going to make a crystal ball prediction that medicinal mushrooms will be the next group of herbs to climb the trendiness ladder which the adaptogens currently dominate. I see they are already increasing in popularity lately as people search for immune support through cold and flu season, as well as for support through serious illnesses such as cancer. These mushrooms just might be my next mini-course.

Speaking of my courses, I wanted to give everyone a head’s up that this is the last week that my online courses will be completely free. I am still working out how to best get the ingredients for the classes out to students so the courses will soon include an option to purchase kits with the classes so people don’t have to go searching for the herbs, essential oils, and other ingredients. All the materials will instead arrive at their door and the classes will truly be hands-on and time-friendly then. In the meantime, you can go through the classes for free with all the information presented first, then (usually) a demo video after the information. I say usually because the adaptogens mini-course is purely informational at this point, though that might change in the future. The courses do include links so you can order the ingredients as you go through them, but I want to make kits readily available so you aren’t buying more than you need and everything comes at one time. So far I’ve gotten a lot of great feedback on the courses and been able to make some improvements thanks to the many comments. The most popular course so far has been How to Make Natural Perfumes with Essential Oils and it was actually the first one I made. It covers the basics of essential oils vs. fragrances and how essential oils are made, how to blend for scent and/or emotional and mental support, and how to actually make alcohol or oil based perfume and solid perfume, and more. The adaptogens one was next because as popular as adaptogenic herbs have become, there still seems to be a lot of confusion on them. The mini-course covers why adaptogens are so popular now (hint~ it has to do with chronic stress in the modern age), what systems in the body are effected directly and indirectly, and five popular adaptogens with their traditional uses. The Art and Craft of Herbalism is the latest one I finished (I’m working on more to be released soon!) and has recipes and instructions on how to make herbal concoctions at home, including infusions, extracts, oils, syrups, and more. It’s a real DIYer’s herbal handbook.

Here are the promos for each course:

How to Make Natural Perfumes with Essential Oils:

Adaptogens:

The Art and Craft of Herbalism:

Take care of yourselves in every single way that fills you up. Keep in mind self-care should include mind, body, and spirit. Please share this with anyone who might be interested, and if you haven’t already, please subscribe for weekly wellness delivered to your inbox.

Smoothie Recipes

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When I first started really trying to kick food intolerances, I began making protein smoothies for breakfast because my naturopath and my own research into healing food intolerances made it clear that protein is vital. That was years ago but I still do it every single day because I have found my blood sugar stays stable with a big dose of protein to start my metabolism in the morning. It’s an excellent way to take herbs too, powdered or tinctured, and I like to sneak in as many greens as possible. Now I’m making two smoothies in the morning in an effort to get more protein into my youngest before he goes off to school because he says he gets hungry before lunchtime. I sneak greens into there as well, and some herbs too. The first recipe is what I make for myself.

Berry Green Protein Smoothie

1 T. of chia seeds

1 teaspoon herbal adaptogen mix and 1/2 t. digest mix (optional but recommended)

1 leaf of kale torn into pieces or a handful of spinach

1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder by Vega

1/2 of a frozen banana

around 3/4 cups frozen berries

First I fill the blender with 1 cup of cold water (more or less) and add 1 T. of chia seeds and let them soak for about 10 minutes. Chia seeds soaking

Next I add my 1 teaspoon herbal adaptogen mix and 1/2 t. digest mix,

then about 1 leaf of kale or a handful of spinach if I am out of kale.

Kale added

Next the protein powder goes in, along with about half a frozen banana (I freeze them myself) and about 1 C of frozen mixed berries. I use Vanilla Protein Powder by Vega because my naturopath recommended it when our family was avoiding a whole slew of foods due to intolerances. It is a vegan protein powder that is exceptionally tasty and clean, with greens built in.

Frozen fruit

After that I warn anyone nearby that I’m starting the blender because it’s loud. Feel free to replace the water and seeds with milk of choice in either of these recipes.

Berry Green smoothie

The following smoothie recipe is more kid friendly because of the vanilla yogurt, and I put in less greens and herbs. The yogurt makes this smoothie fluffier and more whipped. My youngest still gives me a little bit of a hard time about it and drinks less of a serving than I would like, but the rest of the family happily drinks all of theirs so it’s worth it.

Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie 

1 tablespoon ground flax seeds

1/2 teaspoon adaptogen mix (optional)

1/2 teaspoon digest mix (optional but highly recommended)

Small handful of spinach or kale (optional)

1/2 cup Vanilla Siggi’s Yogurt

one scoop of Vega’s Vanilla Protein Powder

1 frozen banana

1.5 cups frozen strawberries

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Fill the blender with 1 cup or so of water and 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds. Let the seeds soak for about 10 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon adaptogen mix and 1/2 teaspoon digest mix. Next goes in a small handful of spinach (as long as no one is looking!) and 1/2 cup Vanilla Siggi’s Yogurt which is full of protein and not too much sugar. Add a scoop of Vega’s Vanilla Protein Powder, a frozen banana, and about 1.5 cups of frozen strawberries and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract if you want. Blends up to be enough for three servings, one of which is rather small though.

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My youngest also insists that the smoothie tastes *much* better when sucked through a straw. We have a few plastic straws left in our house from bygone years, but now I wouldn’t buy them even if I could find them. I went looking for eco-friendly alternatives and only found metal ones, which will hopefully work for his very discerning taste buds, but I found these other alternatives in an article by Delicious Living which I want to try out, especially the 10 inch smoothie straw. Here are the eco-friendly straws from the article:

EcoStraw 10-inch Smoothie Straw:

ecostraw

Hewn in the United States, this Pyrex, dishwasher-safe straw is wider than standard straws to accommodate viscous liquids like smoothies.

Susty Party Paper Straws:

sustystraws

Compostable in municipal facilities, each beautiful, celebratory 7.75-inch straw comes from renewable, sustainably harvested paper. Plus, they’re made in the U.S.A.

CocoStraw Stainless Steel Drinking Straws:

cocostraw

Made with food-grade stainless steel, these unbreakable straws are perfect replacements for plastic varieties. Each four-pack comes with a cleaner, too.

Seattle is one of the first cities to ban plastic straws and utensils, but hopefully these disposable items will be nothing but a thing of the past soon. Might as well get used to the more eco-friendly alternatives now.

Please share with anyone who might be looking for a new smoothie recipe or plastic straw alternatives, and please subscribe for weekly wellness blog posts.

 

 

 

 

Herbs and Essential Oils for High Blood Pressure

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High blood pressure, otherwise known as hypertension, is extremely common, and it’s no surprise considering this is one health issue where stress and anxiety can have immediate, measurable affects on a diagnostic reading. This is also a health issue that tends to build, with warning signs well in advance of having a situation that requires medication, which makes it an ideal sort of issue to tend to with herbs and other natural remedies such as diet and exercise, when there are warning signs in the very beginnings of impending imbalance. Warning signs can be occasional higher than normal blood pressure readings, aging with a family history of hypertension, a new life situation that involves a lot of stress, or habits that can lead to hypertension such as smoking. This is the time when herbs work best, when there is an imbalance beginning and the gentle nudges of herbs can help correct the situation if diet, exercise, and overall lifestyle are also supportive. If you are already at a point where you are on pharmaceuticals for any issue, including hypertension, then the herbs can still help, but it will take longer and you will have to be very careful and very communicative with your doctor. Don’t go off your medicines without consulting your doctor, and if your doctor doesn’t want you to supplement with herbs, you might need to get the support of a naturopath, TCM practitioner, or clinical herbalist to talk with your doc. (Or get a new doctor who is curious and open-minded enough to explore all options that might be best for his/her patients.) I must say that I’ve generally found the physicians in my life quite open to whatever health issue I wanted to explore through natural means, but not everyone has been so lucky.

Herbal allies~ Our old familiar friends, adaptogens, can support optimal health concerning blood pressure as well as many other things. To learn more about adaptogens and their many beneficial attributes, check out my free mini-course about them. This is a class of herbs that you take small amounts of for a long period of time, so this is not a quick fix, but instead a deep, fundamental shift toward healing and balancing. Adaptogens have both the ability to adapt to what a person needs and therefore are known to ‘not cause harm’, and also the ability to help the person adapt to stress of all kinds~ environmental, emotional, physical, mental, etc. The name pretty much says it all. Specific adaptogens that are especially good choices for regulating blood pressure according to David Winston and Steven Maimes are: tulsi (holy basil), astragalus, cordyceps, reishi, and jiaogulan. And just fyi, all those except for astragalus are also adaptogens that can help lower cholesterol. Astragalus is a great immune booster though and is traditionally viewed as an overall cardio-protective herb, so any of these herbs would be great additions to a daily health regimen. Another adaptogen that have a normalizing affect on blood pressure is schisandra which can help raise blood pressure when it is too low as well as lower high blood pressure.

Adaptogen mix
Tulsi in coffe~ yum!

One familiar herb that can help hypertension is hibiscus. Drinking two or three cups of high quality hibiscus tea, either warm or iced, can have a lowering effect on blood pressure. Garlic is another old favorite herb that can help with blood pressure as well as many other things such as lowering cholesterol, warding off bacteria, fighting fungal infections, and it is high in antioxidants. Including fresh or cooked garlic in meals is the best way to take in this medicinal superfood, but there are capsules for those who can’t quite fit a few garlic cloves into their meals on a daily basis.

Hawthorn berry is the classic Western tradition cardio-tonic herb. It is an herb that is taken for general cardiovascular health, including all heart specific issues, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. It has also been traditionally used for anxiety and sleep disorders. It has always been very well regarded and often used in Europe, and that remains the case, although the leaves and flowers have grown in popularity and are now included in herbal supplements, along with the berries, as in this supplement by Gaia Herbs. Hawthorn and hibiscus are combined in this tea if you are looking for a way to get both into your system at the same time. Hawthorn is a potent herb that should not be taken lightly for heart related ailments, especially if on any pharmaceutical drugs. Talk with your naturopath or other natural health advisor to see if this is a good herb for you.

A tea blend for lowering blood pressure from the Western Tradition by David Hoffman is the following: 2 parts Hawthorn berries, 2 parts Lime blossom, 2 parts Yarrow, and 1 part Mistletoe. The tea should be drunk three times a day, and can be modified for the specific person. For example, if it’s night time, valerian might be helpful for sleeping, or if anxiety during the day is a problem, you can add skullcap.

If you want to add essential oils into the healing mix, Valerie Ann Worwood sites four specifically for lowering blood pressure. They are: clary sage, hyssop, lavender, and marjoram. You can diffuse these in a room, make a room spray any combination of the four, wear them in an alcohol or oil based perfume, or add them to a bath.

Diffusers
Base oil in first
Add essential oils
Alcohol based perfumes

Don’t forget the healing power of getting out into nature, doing physical activities you sincerely enjoy, and relieving stress in any healthy way that resonates with you. As always, please share with anyone who might benefit from it, and subscribe for weekly posts similar to this one. Best health to you and yours!

One Ingredient Facial Masks

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Giving yourself a home facial treatment is a great way to give yourself some extra love. There are a lot of options hanging out in your kitchen, and endless combining that can be done, but sometimes a simple one ingredient mask is all you really need to give your skin a little oomph, especially on days when even adding water and stirring sounds like to much effort.

Papaya can be used as an all natural chemical peel and it’s much gentler on your skin than a chemical peel at a spa. The enzymes in papaya help to get rid of the old layer of skin on top, and reveal the smoother, fresher, more vibrant skin beneath. Those enzymes are the same ones that help us digest our foods which is why you can buy papaya enzyme supplements, so mash some up for your face, then eat the rest. You only need to leave it on your face for 3-5 minutes, then use a warm, damp cloth to wipe off, preferably with upward, circular motions, starting with your chin. Enjoy the glow!

DA23CAE6-126C-4AF2-A146-2ADB531467A9 Honey can be used as both a mask and a natural cleanser. This is a great option for oily, sensitive, or acne prone skin. Honey has also been traditionally used to lighten and brighten skin and correct hyper-pigmentation as well as fight acne and oil. It combines well with other natural ingredients such as the ones below. Leave on for 5-20 minutes, the rinse with a warm, damp cloth.

WP_20180925_15_15_10_Pro Aloe is a great firming mask. Slice a fresh aloe leaf down the middle long ways, and rub the fresh juice on your skin. Leave on until the mask had dried, or until the firming and tightening feeling has subdued, then rinse off with warm water. Your skin will not only be firm, but moisturized as well.

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Plain yogurt and kefir are good for the face (I only have flavored ones right now for the pic)

Plain yogurt or kefir can be used directly on the skin for those same probiotic benefits that the gut enjoys. The lactic acid in dairy is a natural exfoliater too so even plain milk can be used as a mask, though yogurt and kefir have more to offer the skin. Leave on for 5-20 minutes, then rinse off with a warm, damp cloth. (I only had flavored yogurt and kefir for the pic, but use plain instead.)

3BA59B87-0361-43B1-A6BC-2843136F1B3B[1] Egg whites are firming and smoothing and are often found in retro face mask recipes. Add one to your face and let it dry before rinsing off with a warm, damp cloth for smoother, firmer skin.

20A39EE2-15D3-442C-8963-E972EC7E3C9C Just about any fruit can be mashed up and spread on the face for a quick mask, so if you have some fruit that is turning before you can eat it, just mash it up and use those nutrients for your skin. Fruit has natural enzymes (such as the papaya up at the top of the page) and also vitamins and minerals that the skin can soak up. Good options are avocados, bananas, mangos, and peaches.

WP_20180307_10_29_27_Pro If you are in the mood to mix a few ingredients together, any of the above can be combined for a more multi-dimensional mask, or you can add a clay like green, red, or white clay to create something a bit more solid, or even add a milk powder or ground oats. Ground herbs can also be used in a mask, such as rose petals, rose hips, or turmeric. Be careful with turmeric because it can temporarily stain skin, especially fair skin, and permanently stain things like clothing. If this happens to your skin, use an oil like sweet almond oil, combined with sugar over the stained area, rub gently, and know that it is temporary. Turmeric has been used in Asia and India for centuries in skin care for it’s brightening and healing qualities, so it has a long tradition of healing and beautifying behind it. A friend of mine from India told me it is even used by brides in the beautifying rituals before weddings.

If you have extra time, it’s nice to start with the papaya chemical peel, then use a mask that draws out impurities such as green clay, then put some great nutrients back in with a mask of more mashed fruit and an egg white, honey, or aloe.

Enjoy a little extra care once or twice a week. Even if it’s only for five minutes, the glow will last far longer. Please share this with anyone who needs a quick self-care pick-me-up, and please subscribe for weekly wellness posts like this one. Be well!

 

Good Mood Food and Supps

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Summer is singing its swan song, at least here in the Northern Hemisphere, and that unfortunately means moods that can dip as quickly as the sun on the horizon. (I’m not ready for sunsets that begin before dinnertime!) Luckily there are plenty of herbs to help with darker days and the accompanying Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and even foods that can help to brighten darker moods. I ran across this article from Delicious Living highlighting nine foods that give moods a boost, plus the New Hope Blogger Box had two supplements for help with mental and emotional health. I’ll share the foods after the supplements.

Gaia Herbs, one of my go-to herbal companies, has Mood Uplift. This formula has adaptogens, Gotu Kola and Schisandra berry, as well as nervines including St. John’s Wort, Oats, Passionflower, Vervain, and Rosemary. In other words, this is an excellent combination for long-term stabilizing and building with the adaptogens, and also immediate anxiety and stress relief coupled with brain wakefulness, focus, and memory benefits, thanks to the nervines. And remember how there were studies out a year or two ago about herbal products being adulterated or not what they claim to be on the box? This is not a company that you have to question. They have the real deal herbs and the quality is superb. You may have noticed that in all my blog posts and courses I link to Gaia Herbs often for their herbal pills and tinctures, and that’s because they are reputable, high quality, and well formulated. If you are going to add herbs into your health regime, please pick high quality products. You deserve it.

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The other mood supplement in the New Hope blogger box is Source Naturals’ Theanine Serene with Relora. As you can probably tell from the name, it includes L-Theanine which is an amino acid that helps with anxiety. You may have heard of it as a substance in tea that promotes calm feelings as it’s been a rather well studied natural anxiety reliever . This product also has GABA in it, Holy Basil, magnesium, and other ingredients to not only calm the mind but also the body. This seems like an excellent choice for someone who has a hard time calming down at night before bed, or someone who is fidgety and can’t quite get out of ‘amped up’ mode at any time of the day. I also enjoy Source Naturals’ GABA for quick anxiety relief. GABA was first recommended to me by my naturopath for times when I had to take my sons for blood testing~ both for the kids and for me. It did help with getting my kids through dreaded needle moments, and pulling up funny doggie videos on my phone also helped.

It’s actually fairly easy to make sure there are foods on your plate daily that support your mental and emotional well-being. Looking at the foods on this chart, they are not only common foods, they are also, not surprisingly, all whole foods. Here are some great options to help bolster moods and brain health:

Lentils Blood-sugar moderating fiber, energizing iron and calming magnesium

Use in a recipe: Nutty Lentil Burgers
Berries Promotes mental clarity

Use in a recipe: Berry Crisp
Beets Folate, which increases blood flow to the brain and relaxes blood vessels

Use in a recipe: Beet-Raspberry Lentil Bowl
Broth Provides hydration, which is important for mental clarity

Use in a recipe: Leek, Mushroom and Zucchini Noodle Soup
Mushrooms Provide a source of vitamin D, which is linked to a cheery mood

Use in a recipe: Kale-Stuffed Portobellos with Millet
Millet As a whole grain, millet provides mood-boosting protein, B vitamins, calcium, iron, potassium and zinc.

Use in a recipe: Warm Millet Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Pine Nuts
Walnuts Deliver healthy omega-3s, crucial for mood health.

Use in a recipe: Cherry-Walnut Bites
Salmon  Also provides healthy omega-3s, which are important for brain health.

Use in a recipe: Walnut-Crusted Salmon with Edamame Mash
Cabbage This cruciferous vegetable provides tryptophan and selenium, which relax your body and mind

Use in a recipe: Chinese 5-Spice Shrimp with Mango-Carrot Slaw

Don’t let the blues keep you down. There are so many options out there to help mitigate stress, anxiety, and even feelings of depression. Always seek help if you feel you are at a point where your life is negatively impacted by your moods, and know that there are plant allies at the ready to help. Please share this with anyone who might be looking for a little natural help with stress, depression, and/or anxiety, and subscribe for more posts like this one on a weekly basis. Take good care of your brain and body so your brain and body can take good care of you!

Free Herbal and Essential Oil Courses

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Hello! Just a quick post to say that I’ve made all three of my courses free temporarily while I figure out how to bundle the courses with actually getting the hands-on material (herbs, essential oils, base oils, jars, etc) to the people who take the courses. Feel free to share this with anyone who might be interested in taking the courses while they are free since I love getting feedback that I can use to improve the current ones and also the ones I’m working on now. They are under the tab ‘courses’ on the website although I’m thinking of changing that to ‘workshops’ or ‘classes’ because ‘courses’ sounds a bit too time consuming. What do you fine folks think? Here’s a quick link to the courses: Courses They will probably stay free for about a week so enroll quickly if you intend to do so.

Coloring Hair with Herbs

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Henna gets a bad rap. There are real concerns when using a henna based hair dye, which I’ll address, but the truth is that it is a great option for those who want to color their hair but are concerned for the health of their hair, either long term or short term. Blending other herbs with the henna can create an array of beautiful colors, and also enhance the health of the hair, although henna itself is healthy for the hair on its own, and don’t worry, there are mixes out there that already do the combining for you. Not every ‘natural’ hair dye is free of ammonia and other toxic chemicals though, so beware when buying. Hair coloring products should literally only have herbs in them and nothing else to be truly health promoting for the hair, the skin, the respiratory system, endocrine system, and the planet. And yes, all those aspects of health (and more) are indeed touched by the hair dye used, but even so, it’s important to know a few things before committing to herbal hair coloring, the first being that it is indeed a commitment. Henna coats each strand of your hair with color while chemical dyes actually break apart the outer layer of the hair and deposit color (contributing to frizz). This means when you want to change hair color with chemically dyed hair, that is fairly easy to do. With henna, your color is locked in and cannot be broken back up by chemicals. You can go darker (with darker henna mixes) but you cannot easily go lighter, or get any chemical processes on top of the henna, such as highlights or balayage. That being said, there are ways to lighten your hennaed hair a bit, but it takes time and there’s no couple-of-hours-at-the salon option. I have lightened my hair in the summer with lemon juice and there are tutorials on YouTube that cover lightening hennaed hair with olive oil or honey or a mixture of both. Some spices even help lighten hair when used in the honey/olive oil mixtures because they contain natural peroxide, as does honey. Whatever the option though, it takes multiple applications, as in around 6 or more, so if you are the type of person who likes changing their hair color often, then you should probably hold off on henna for now.

Another important thing to consider is that the colors are pretty much shades of red, brown, and black. There is no way to henna yourself to blondeness. You can get an amazing array of colors with the blending of herbs though, and since the color only shows on the hair when the dye is darker than the hair it is going on, you can also have variation in your hair instead of one shade all over your head, if you that’s what you want. For example, my natural color is dark brown but I have a lot of white hair (early greying runs in my family and I’ve been getting whites since I was a kid, so there are plenty there by this point!) When I put the henna blend on my hair, I mix it to be lighter than my dark brown, so that the lighter color shows on my white hairs and the dark brown remains dark brown, so it’s basically natural highlights. The brand I use is Henna Color Lab and it’s only available online. I’ve found that I have to mix a little of the light brown into the medium brown for the perfect shade for me because when I just used the medium brown it ended up getting too dark which is why I’ve done some lemon juice lightening. It’s always a good idea to start with a much lighter shade anyway and see how it goes since you can always go over it with a darker one, but the reverse is not true.

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The first time you color your hair with a henna based mix, you should know that the color continues to change for 24-48 hours. For me, when I first take the color off and dry my hair (heat helps the dye do its thing) the color looks too light and a tad orangey, then overnight it turns much darker and in fact usually looks too dark that next morning. Then the color settles into the normal brown that matches my hair. For me that means about 2 Tablespoons of the light brown and 3 Tablespoons of the medium brown, mixed with warm water (no need to boil) and a drop or two of rosemary essential oil. My friend mixes an egg with her henna mixture for extra nutrients but I’ve never tried that since the smell of eggs is not my favorite and the mixture stays on the head one to two hours. Speaking of smells, the henna mixes have a strong earthy scent, much like a clay face mask. I personally love it but my kids can’t stand it although they complain less when I add the rosemary to it.

hennamix
It’s green!

I only use the color on my roots and while it sits for an hour or two I generally put a deep moisturizer on the rest of my hair, either the herb amla which is especially good for curly and wavy hair or another natural mask such as Yarok’s Feed Your Moisture Mask or Rahua’s Omega 9 Mask. I get the amla from that same henna company as the color dyes. Their herbal masks are listed under treatments. 

FC8D6792-A37D-4F77-8DC3-808324C75670 Since the color is only going on my roots, one package of hair dye lasts several applications and the packages are not expensive at all, so this is one case where the natural way of doing things really is money saving. I really don’t mean to make this sound like an ‘everyone should henna their hair’ post though because it really does depend on some serious factors of time, choice in colors, and ability to change your hair color on a whim which is a valid concern. For me with naturally wavy/curly hair (which is dry), that’s been greying for a long time (grey hair is dry),  and had chemical dyes for years (also drying), it really wasn’t a hard choice for me to decide herbs were the way to go if I wanted healthy hair for the long-term. I’d heard so many bad things about henna though, that it took me a good year of researching different companies and formulas to find one I trust. I’m not affiliated in any way with Henna Color Lab by the way. I just really like their products for their ingredients and the results I get and if you read the reviews on their site, I’m not alone. There are probably other great herbal mixtures out there but when I was looking at hair dyes at natural foods stores I found a lot of ammonia and other unsavory ingredients which is why I ended up buying online.

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Ingredients for the medium brown: Indigo, Henna, Amla, False Daisy Plant, and Neem. No ammonia, metallic salts, gluten, pesticides, preservatives, or synthetics. Cruelty free and vegan
If you are interested in other traditional remedies for thinning and greying hair, this post has some options for working both internally and externally. If you are curious as to what henna dying involves, it’s basically the following:

  1. Wash hair with shampoo
  2. Mix the powdered henna + other herbs mixture with hot water (egg or drop of rosemary essential oil can be added but not necessary)
  3. Put the mixture on the parts of hair needing the color
  4. Put a shower cap on and wait 1-2 hours
  5. Rinse it out with water and then conditioner
  6. Blow dry hair

That’s it. It’s healthy for your hair so you can do it as often as necessary, although the mix does say not to use shampoo for 24 hours. I usually do my roots once every 2-3 weeks. To cover stubborn greys you can do the above procedure until step 5, but instead of rinsing it out with conditioner you just rinse with water and then apply a new application of the dye. This is especially recommended for the first time you henna.

Here are pics of my hair when I first started with the henna, and one from a couple of months ago after using henna for a couple of years. In the first two pics I had put it all over my hair once, then did my roots a few times over the course of a couple of months. That last pic shows my roots right after an application but most of my hair is still wet.

Roots
Color variation
After a couple of years of henna

If you have any questions about henna, feel free to contact me and I’ll either have an answer or help you look for one.

Be good to yourselves, and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty.

How to Make Vanilla Extract

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This is one of those things that’s so easy to make yourself that you’ll wonder why you never did it before. It’s basically the exact same thing as making an herbal tincture although you don’t need to pack it so tightly with the vanilla beans, and you might want to let it cure a bit longer than the average tincture.

Step 1: Find Beans

Bulk Bin
Prepackaged

All you need are a few vanilla beans which you can buy in grocery store bulk bins, online, or packaged in jars or bags like above in a spice aisle, alcohol such as vodka, rum, bourbon, or brandy, a jar and time.

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Step 2: Choose Your Alcohol

I chose vodka because I want to use this extract in my DIY natural perfumes as well as in baking, and vodka has the most neutral scent. I’ll definitely be using the extract in the waffles that I make all the time, and these zucchini muffins too, so it’ll be versatile and well used with the vodka. As with all things herbal, there are plenty of variations with which to experiment, but basically you want at least 4 vanilla beans per cup of alcohol. First split the vanilla beans down the middle lengthwise with a sharp knife.

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Step 3: Slice the beans long-ways

It’s hard to tell, but the bean closest to the knife has a long slice down the middle. Next, put the beans in a clean glass jar, then pour the alcohol over them, making sure they are completely submerged.

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Step 4: Fill a jar with the beans and alcohol

Cap the jar or bottle tightly, then shake it daily (or at least every other day after the first week) for at least four weeks.

Day 1
Day 1 with label
Four weeks

Step 5: Wait and Agitate (the jar)

At this point the vanilla extract can be used, but you will probably still smell the alcohol, so it depends on whether you are baking with it or using it in a non-heated recipe like frosting if you taste just vanilla or the alcohol as well. (The heat in baking and cooking will get rid of the alcohol taste/scent.) After two to three months, the vanilla extract should smell only of pure, rich vanilla. That means, if you want to make holiday gifts of homemade vanilla extract, you will want to get this started by early October. (Yup, already thinking along those lines!) Also, the more beans you originally put into the mixture, the more vanilla-y it will be, so keep that in mind. You want at least four per cup, but you can definitely add more than that. Vanilla beans are the second most expensive spice, after saffron, due to the delicate harvesting and curing of the beans, so sticking with four per cup is perfectly fine.

Step 6: Finish and Enjoy!

You don’t have to ever take the beans out actually, though if you are giving some of yours as a gift, taking out the old beans and adding a fresh one to the container looks lovely and continues to add depth and richness to the extract. (You don’t even need to cut it down the middle at that point.) Vanilla extract lasts indefinitely if stored in a lidded container in a relatively cool, dark place.

Enjoy, and if you love making your own herbal concoctions, check out my latest course on the Art and Craft of Herbalism. Take care and enjoy the transition to cooler days, crisper nights, and crunchier walks. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

Natural Supplements for Osteoarthritis

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When looking for supplements to help ease arthritis pain, it’s important to include anti-inflammatories as well as those that work on cartilage. As far as an anti-inflammatory, turmeric is a proven herb for reducing inflammation all over the body. (That’s turmeric that my friend brought back from Hawaii in the pic up above.) It is usually combined with black pepper for best absorption, although it doesn’t have to be in order to receive benefits, especially if taken as part of a meal in food or drink. If taken in a pill, look for one that does include black pepper such as Gaia’s line of turmeric supplements. Ginger is another herb that can be combined with turmeric or taken separately to ease arthritis pain, and Devil’s Claw is approved as one of those phytomedicines prescribed in Germany that I talked about earlier. (If you missed that post, German doctors have about six to seven hundred herbs they can and do regularly prescribe, as advised by the committee which oversees herbs and supplements and reports to their version of the FDA.) Devil’s Claw is not as popular in the U.S. as it is in Europe, although you can easily find it here. I personally have no history with that particular herb, but turmeric and I on the other hand have a long and happy history because although I don’t have arthritis, I have experienced some pain from joint damage that turmeric has all but erased. When I was pregnant, I had some joint movement in my feet, which is quite common. It resulted in a lot of pain, especially when my feet were stepped on, and let me tell you that happened often when my boys were little. I ended up getting a steroid shot at the base of my big toe to stop the inflammation from all the damage, and the doctor told me I’d probably just have to get one about once a year unless I ever opted for surgery. Sure enough, the pain started to come back after a few months, so I got another shot about a year after the first one. This time I decided to take turmeric daily to help with the inflammation (those first few years with little ones had my brain way too occupied to remember my herbal training but by this point the fog was starting to clear) and I’ve never needed another shot, nor have I been in pain besides rare long nights with crampy shoes. It’s definitely due to taking turmeric consistently and luckily turmeric has benefits for the digestive system as well, and is even touted in the Blue Zones books for being one of the superfoods that slows aging. Not bad side effects!

As for supplements to target cartilage damage, most people have heard of glucosamine and chondroitin. When I worked at health food stores I talked to many people getting powerful results from these two, if they stuck with it. But there is a best practice to follow when taking this combination because some people have a bit of stomach sensitivity to these pills, so starting below the amount recommended on the bottle is advisable. (Or just follow your doctor’s instructions.) If your stomach handles the lower dose, build up over a few days, adding another pill per day or every few days, depending on your sensitivity. In other words, if the bottle says take three pills twice per day, it’s better to start with one pill twice per day, then if that goes well for a couple of days then move up to two pills for the first dose then one pill for the second dose for a couple of days, and so on. This allows for the digestive system to adapt. It usually takes about six to eight weeks for the effects to really be noticeable, although I got a sample from the New Hope Blogger Box of some chewables that report a much quicker time to relief. Joint Health by Redd Remedies boasts results in an impressive 4-10 days, plus the suggested dose is just one per day and it’s a chewable, making it a nice fit for those who have pill fatigue.

Since I no longer have any joint pain, I’ll have to pass these along to someone and see what they think. Redd Remedies puts a lot of effort into their research with peer-reviewed, published human clinical trials and published safety data, so I’m betting this is an extremely effective product, but I’ll let you know if my tester runs into any issues with it.

Another supplement to consider is Bromelain, the enzyme found in pineapple. To get the anti-inflammatory action straight from the fruit, it needs to be consumed fresh, not frozen or canned, and you need to eat it often. I’ve heard of people getting great results from this enzyme but it really depends on the person and what works best for each individual’s body. Taking bromelain for your joints though has the added benefits of helping to break down protein in your meals so you get the most nutrients from what you eat. Isn’t it nice to hear about beneficial side effects instead of a long list of potential problems that accompany most pharmaceuticals?

It’s never too early to start taking care of your joints, and know that there is help available if osteoarthritis sets in. Take care of yourselves and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.

 

 

The Art and Craft of Herbalism

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If you have been visiting this blog for a while now, you may have noticed I’m a big proponent of self-advocacy. We all have the ability to make choices that impact our health, and our lives, in big ways and small ways, and the more we acknowledge our role in how we feel as we age and what options we have for our specific body types and health issues, the more we can then assist our bodies in our natural abilities to heal ourselves, instead of getting in its way. We all know that when we are sick, we are more fatigued, so we sleep more which gives the body time and energy to heal. If we do not rest when sick, the sickness continues and secondary issues are more apt to erupt. The body knows what it needs to heal, and furthermore, the body doesn’t just want to be disease free, we all want to thrive and feel our best for as long as possible. Observing our own health quirks and naturally adding in herbs and supplements that gently assist our body’s healing abilities, is a great way to stay in touch with our own personal needs and help correct imbalances before they turn into a diseases.

When I worked at health food stores, my best guess is that at least 75% of the customers who walked in the doors asked for help. They wanted to know about the latest thing on Oprah or Dr. Oz, or something their friend told them about, or they were searching for help with a new diagnosis whether it was a loved one’s or their own. These people were all of the mindset that there were things they could do to improve their lives or the lives of their loved ones, and they were willing to ask. I think this shows we naturally want to improve ourselves, and the feeling of powerlessness that can accompany a modern diagnosis is one of the most defeating feelings one can have. Nobody wants to be at the mercy of a corrupt pharmaceutical industry nor depending on doctors that can only spend ten minutes at a time with you because of insurance regulations. That might very well be part of your reality, but it doesn’t have to be the whole picture. Whether you are sick or thriving, have mild chronic issues or extreme sporadic ones, you can absolutely assist in reaching your optimal health.

This is why I wrote my latest course, The Art and Craft of Herbalism. Our ancestors knew how to work with medicinal herbs daily out of necessity, just as they knew how to cook out of necessity. This course isn’t for everyone. I understand many people would rather just buy what is on the shelf at their local store, or order something online, just as some people would rather buy their meals rather than cook them. But for those that want to create their own herbal medicines or even just have a better understanding of how it is done, then this course is for you. And for the record, I do a lot more buying off the shelf than making myself, but it is incredibly empowering to make my own herbal medicines when I want something specific that I can’t find, or I’m eager to save money. It’s far less expensive to grow your own herbs that you then use, but I don’t go that far back to basics in this particular course. There is still quite a bit of money to be saved by buying loose herbs instead of ones already boxed or bottled or tableted up for use. It’s incredibly easy to make tinctures, oils, balms, and other herbal concoctions, just as simple, natural ingredients can be put together to make beautiful, nutritious, and delicious meals. Herbal concocting is an art and a craft which lends itself beautifully to the cooking analogy I’ve been employing here, and considering the ‘home herbalist’ is also known as a ‘kitchen witch’, I’m certainly not the first to notice the similarities.

Here’s the promo: https://youtu.be/Iyy7e5fqZYM

If you are a maker, creator, artist, herbalist, or just plain curious, I’d like to invite you to take the course. Those of you who subscribe to this blog with your email address have already gotten a coupon code to take the course for free (let me know if you have not). If you follow this blog in the wordpress reader and would like to take the course for free and hopefully give me constructive feedback, (pretty please), I’d be happy to send you the code. Just send me your email address and let me know who you are in terms of wordpress-land and I’ll email you back with the code and my gratitude.

However you choose to live your life, I hope it is deeply fulfilling to your heart and soul, and blessing you with the thriving health you want. I’d love it if you shared this with anyone who might benefit from it and and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty.

Lentil Soup and Supps on the Go

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I took a short trip to Portland and the Oregon coast for a few days this week. On the little getaway I was able to try a couple of the New Hope Blogger Box supplements because they were conveniently packaged for portability. F8F114EC-3821-4B1C-B3BA-28D6734E4E12[1]

I didn’t take a lot of supplements with me since it was such a quick trip, so these two products were perfect to take along. The Green Vibrance by Vibrant Health is chock full of superfoods, probiotics, and tastes delicious. The chocolate coconut flavor does not disappoint. I was really happy to be able to take such a nutrient-packed supplement which covered a lot of bases all in one convenient powder packet. I believe the actual product does not come in these little packets by the way, but instead in a more eco-friendly container which works better for everyday use.

This collagen booster below from Fusion Naturals is vegan, tastes naturally fruity, and is in attractive packaging which I always thoroughly appreciate. It is lovely from the outside and delicious tasting so definitely a quality product. I like using a jar to shake up the powder with the water, but on the trip I just put the powder in a glass of water and stirred with a spoon. Either way works. 9FE53C8F-171D-4B58-812E-68D55A51E6F4[1]

Inexplicably, I’ve been craving soup this hot, hot summer. Cooking it sounded like too much of a sweat session (we don’t have A/C) so I’ve just left the desire alone, marinating until crisper fall days. Until today that is. It’s only 68 degrees and since I’ve just come back from the Oregon coast where we had one warm day, one cool day, and one in-between, that cool day really got my thoughts revolving around soup until there was no chance of putting it off anymore. Lentil soup is one of my favorites, and each time I make it the recipe is a bit different. The things I always put in are garlic, onion, leeks, and potatoes, but sadly I didn’t remember the leek at the grocery store today. I added a sweet potato this time, just because I had one on hand, and carrots which are regular items. Lentils are one of the few legumes that don’t need to pre-soak before cooking, but a rinse does the dry beans good and it also gives the cook a chance to pick them over and toss out any that are discolored or any items that are not in fact legumes that might have gotten mixed in with them, especially if you buy them from a bulk bin. Here’s today’s recipe:

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Lentil Soup

About 1 Tablespoon of olive oil

1 Yellow Onion

2 or 3 garlic cloves

2 medium sized carrots

2 potatoes

1 sweet potato

1.5 Cups French Green Lentils

5 Cups of vegetable broth

About 1-2 teaspoon (to personal taste. I like a lot of herbs in there.) each of Thyme, Oregano, Basil, Black Pepper, Sea Salt and a Bay Leaf

Chop up all the veggies in small pieces, making them all around the same size. Coat the bottom of large pot with olive oil (or another oil of choice) and start sauteing the onion until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the other veggies and cook for another couple of minutes before adding the thyme, oregano, basil, and black pepper. Cook another couple of minutes, then add the broth, lentils, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil then turn it down to a low simmer until the lentils are soft which takes about 35-40 minutes, but it depends on a couple of factors, including the age of lentils. Once the lentils are soft, then add the salt to taste. Take the bay leaf out once the soup is finished. It’s always better the next day and just gets better over the next couple of days. This version is good but I miss the leek or two I usually have in it. It tastes great with either bread or rice and of course, if you like a thinner soup, add more broth or water. Also, you can always replace the teaspoons of herbs with a bouquet garni, preferable wrapped in the outer layer of a leek.

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Enjoy the second half of August! Late summer moving into early fall is my favorite time of year. More soup recipes will be coming shortly I’m sure, as well as some bread recipes for serving with them and I’d be forever grateful if you shared this with anyone who might be interested and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty. Best health to you and yours!

 

Allergy Friendly Picnic Foods

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In the latest box of samples from the New Hope Network, there are some new items that make great for great picnicking. Well, the cassava flour and smoothie mix in the picture above are not exactly picnic picks, although making a baked treat with the cassava flour would certainly be lovely and allergen-free, but I’ll blog about those items another time. It’s August and it already feels like prime picnicking weather is waning so let’s get to it!

Beet chips from Bare Snacks were a big hit with my oldest son. He didn’t remember eating beets before (although he has) so I thought the strong taste might be too much for him since beets are one of those foods you generally have to have a few times before really appreciating them. He loved them though and I was impressed with the nutritional value~ simply baked beets and salt, no oil, no frying, and the nutrition information even boasts iron. How often do you see iron in a chip? I liked them too but my youngest refused to try them~ not surprising.

What was surprising was both my sons agreed that this turkey bar from Country Archer Jerky Co. was delicious. Normally if one of them likes something the other one has to hate it, so this is truly a rare food moment when both agree. They said it’s delicious, slightly spicy, kind of hard on the outside but chewy on the inside reminiscent of a pepperoni log’s texture. I didn’t try it myself since I’m still fairly new to eating poultry and thought my boys would be better guinea pigs. What excites me most is that my youngest said that he would eat these if they were in his lunchbox because he is so hard to pack lunches for, especially when it comes to protein. Now they just need to make a broccoli bar that tastes like meat or candy and he’ll be set.

What I did try and really liked though are these Quinn Snacks Pretzels. I didn’t notice at first that they were gluten-free, so I was excited when I realized they are indeed gluten-free, soy free, dairy free, corn free, and made from ancient grains. They are crisp, delicious, and addictive, just as pretzels should be. So addictive in fact that I was the only one who got to try these. Yum!

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Now this is for the serious picnicker: Bellucci Organic Oil in individual squeeze packs. I imagine drizzling the oil on fresh bread, or adding it to a salad or sandwich once the picnic is underway so nothing gets soggy in the transport. (Miracle!) These seriously make me want to get a red checkered blanket, a classic wicker basket, and a bottle of wine and do it up in style. Their website has some lovely recipes too. By the way I’ve heard a lot about fake olive oil out there being surprisingly rampant. This company is the real deal and they even encourage you to trace your bottle to its beginnings in Italy. Fantastico!

My personal favorite and the family favorite of all these are the Laiki rice crackers from Grains of Health. They are surprisingly good and as a family with multiple food allergies over the years, we’ve had our fair share of rice crackers. These have an almost buttery taste but they are dairy-free, and the texture is thick and somewhat ‘puffed’ but not airy. You actually feel like you are eating something when you eat these, and they are good. Really good. We didn’t even try them with something on them because they have so much flavor they don’t need anything else, although I imagine they would be great as part of an hor d’oeuvre tray as well because they are nice and sturdy.

The can of Zero Sugar Mountain berry soda from Dry Soda Co. was an all around family pleaser as well. It isn’t very carbonated, has a natural taste, and stevia makes it a bit sweet without the calories. We also tried their other line of sodas which do have cane sugar in them and thought the Lavender was quite good. It has a subtle taste that would pair well in a cocktail, especially for a summer evening. These are so pretty too that they’d make a nice treat to bring to a dinner party, and they are versatile with being a stand-alone drink or mixing with liquor or champagne, or to make a mocktail for kids~ just add some orange juice to the vanilla one, and add a skewer of fresh fruits like pineapple and raspberries. This is a Seattle company by the way, so “Howdy Neighbor” to them.

The wraps from Angelic Bakehouse looked delicious but I had to give them to my wheat-eating friend for her family to try and am awaiting their thoughts. Even though sprouted wheat is easier to digest, I didn’t want to take the risk and thought regular wheat eaters would have better comparative opinions anyway. If you are looking for new ideas for wraps or other recipes, they have some great ideas on their website. I am especially drawn to this Guacamole Chipotle wrap and this Hummus and Veggie Sushi roll looks great for back to school lunches.

I’ll cover the supplements in the sample box in the next blog post, once I have a chance to give them some time to work. I’m especially excited about a new collagen product in the mix, and some essential oils from a brand I haven’t tried before. Be good to yourselves and do something you love today, and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article..

 

 

 

Herbalism Today and Blue Zones

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I think it’s fair to say that there’s been a systematic denigration of the use of herbs in America in the last few decades. Part of this stems from the very fact that herbalism has been in use since the dawn of humanity, and if it weren’t for herbs being used medicinally, I seriously doubt humans would have lasted long enough to have achieved the medical technological advances that we have now. That extraordinarily long history means herbs are tied up with myth, religion, and spirituality, as are all things from the ancient world. The world was not divided as it is now, with spiritual leaders, artists, scientists, politicians, and on and on all leading separate existences. Herbs fed humans daily, kept them alive and healthy, as well as kept vermin and germs away, so of course they were also part of the spiritual customs and traditions of each culture. They were both daily allies and miraculous magic workers. This intertwined ancestry is sacred still to many, but unfortunately others see it as a reason to label herbalism as just ‘old wives tales’ and consider it all ineffective, despite thousands upon thousands of years of use. It’s important to note that other parts of the world still embrace herbs as part of their medical system. According to the World Health Organization, around 75% of the world’s population still depend on herbal medicine for basic health care needs, and we aren’t just talking about third world countries. European doctors regularly prescribe ‘phytomedicines’ alongside other modern medicines, with German doctors reporting along the lines of 80% of them regularly using medicinal herbs in their practices, and in England and Australia both, herbalists are recognized health care providers. Also according to the World Health Organization, Japan leads the world in highest per capita consumption with 80% of Japanese doctors prescribing a traditional Chinese medicine within the last year. This shows that herbs are indeed effective, and they were seen as such in the U.S. too until the 1920s when the pharmaceutical industry really got going. (The numbers quoted above are from a book published in 2007 but seem consistent with what I’ve heard in the last couple of years.)

Another reason that herbs are often discounted is the fact that herbs exist in a different paradigm of health than our modern western view. In our culture today, if we don’t have a disease, that constitutes ‘healthy’ for the most part. We go to a doctor if we are unwell. The doctor runs tests and either offers us a procedure, or a pharmaceutical, or further testing, or if nothing is found than we are told to watch the symptoms and come back if need be. There is not much support for the in-between time in the modern American system, but that is the space where herbs (and other natural medicines) thrive. Herbs work to balance the body’s imbalances before reaching disease state. In this paradigm, health is a state of homeostasis, where minor issues are clues to overall body tendencies, and those can and should be addressed gently and consistently with herbs, and those medicinal herbs also provide beneficial side effects. This is a sharp contrast to what we are used to thinking of as medicine, and the truth is that most people are not in the habit of being self-aware enough to regulate their health before a disease state. Once a disease state has been reached most people want the fastest ‘cure’ which often means a relief of the symptoms, not a cure of the underlying imbalances that caused the issue in the first place. Not that every disease can be avoided with the proper herbs and care, but most people are at least vaguely aware of their personal patterns, genetics, and their weakest body systems that are apt to lead to sickness, so it is not such a far leap to start looking for ways to build weak areas up with herbs, nutrition, other natural products, and activities. It certainly beats knowing your genetic predisposition to certain weakness and yet doing nothing. There are always options. Self awareness leads to self care and self advocacy, and that is a healthy long-term outlook.

Speaking of a healthy outlook, my book club is now reading a book on Blue Zones (thanks to Lani for picking it!) which is a concept that’s interested me for some time so I’m excited to delve into it. Since I haven’t actually gotten the book yet though, I got familiar with the topic through this Delicious Living article that gives the quick and dirty on what makes a community a Blue Zone. Below are 9 pillars from the article to give you an idea of Blue Zones, but for the whole article, click the link above or the map below. Also, if you want to join our book club and read the book I linked to, let me know what you think!

bluezonesmap

The Power 9 are the nine lifestyle principles, as outlined in The Blue Zones, that Buettner and his team documented during extensive research trips to the world’s five blue zones—Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Loma Linda, California; Okinawa, Japan and Icaria, Greece. These principles, he explains, are common elements of the lifestyle and diet habits and overall outlook the centenarians share in each location he visited. They’re a recipe for longevity, he says. “But it’s an à la carte menu; you don’t have to do all of them.”

Here’s how you can incorporate these proven principles in your own life and home—or even your community.

1. Move naturally

Be active without having to think about it.

2. Hara Hachi Bu

Painlessly cut calories by 20 percent.

3. Plant Slant

Avoid meat and processed foods.

4. Grapes of Life

Drink red wine (in moderation).

5. Find Purpose Now

Take time to see the big picture.

6. Downshift

Take time to relieve stress.

7. Belong

Participate in a spiritual community.

8. Loved Ones First

Make family a priority.

9. Right Tribe

Surround yourself with those who share your values. (End of article info.)

These seem to be pretty simple concepts that make sense. We all want the same things, to be happy and healthy, to stress less and enjoy more, to be around loved ones and feel our time here is significant in some greater way. Let’s try to make it happen. And if you are wanting to add herbs to your life but are unsure of where to start, adaptogens are a great place. They help the body adapt to stress, and who isn’t overly stressed these days? Check out my free mini-course for more information on adaptogens and keep an eye out for my longest course yet which will be dropping soon. It’s where most of my energy has been going lately and just for a little hint, it’s especially for the makers and creators out there. Take care my friends and remember that you are your own best advocate. Please subscribe (top right) for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.

The Future of Milk

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Would you like some almond juice in your coffee? Or liquid soy on your cereal? It doesn’t sound quite right but that might be what the future holds if the dairy industry gets its way. Apparently the FDA is considering banning the word ‘milk’ on plant based products because according to their standards’ definition, “Milk is the lacteal secretion, practically free from colostrum, obtained by the complete milking of one or more healthy cows.” That is not the full definition, but the full definition does not include plant based milks at all, even though dictionaries and long common usage have indeed used the word milk for plants. Here’s Merriam Webster’s definition:

1a : a fluid secreted by the mammary glands of females for the nourishment of their young
b (1) : milk from an animal and especially a cow used as food by people 

(2) : a food product produced from seeds or fruit that resembles and is used similarly to cow’s milk 

2: a liquid resembling milk in appearance: such as
a : the latex of a plant
b : the contents of an unripe kernel of grain

The FDA can’t wave a wand and wipe the shelves free of plant based milks that easily of course, and this is certainly going to get a lot of debate, and here’s where that debate starts: They are holding a public hearing to begin the discussion on July 26th in Maryland, but you can make an electronic or paper submission if you want to add your thoughts to the discussion. Something along the lines of, “Are you serious?” seems appropriate. Moooooving on~

Here’s a breakfast recipe from Delicious Living for Muesli. Recipe and photo below are both by Lori Eanes. Feel free to add any kind of milk you want.

Muesli

Muesli is a great alternative to expensive packaged cereal, and it’s filled with fiber, protein and flavor. Eat it with yogurt, almond milk or dairy milk, and you’ll stay full all morning.

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups old-fashioned, gluten-free rolled oats
  • 1 cup sliced almonds
  • ½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup raisins
  • 1 cup chopped, dried cranberries or apricots

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325˚. Mix first six ingredients (oats through vanilla) in a large bowl. Line an 11×18-inch rimmed baking pan with parchment. Pour mix onto pan. Bake 15–20 minutes or until coconut flakes are light brown. Cool.
  2. When cool, stir in raisins and dried cranberries or apricots. Transfer to an airtight container and use within a week, or freeze for longer storage.

PER SERVING (1 cup): 488 cal, 17g fat (8g mono, 3g poly, 5g sat), 0mg chol, 238mg sodium, 75g carb (10g fiber, 26g sugars), 13g protein

It’s hot here in the PNW where a/c is not the norm so cooking is the last thing I feel like doing, especially when it comes to dinnertime. Time to bring out all the salad recipes I can find I guess. Let me know if you have any dinner tricks for surviving summer heat waves~ I’d love some new ideas. Enjoy the rest of your week and please subscribe for more recipes and posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.

 

 

 

Adaptogens Mini-Course

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To be considered an adaptogen an herb must have the quality of not causing harm. Adaptogens are said to have plant intelligence in the way they support what each individual needs. To learn more about this quality, click the play button on the video below, and to learn more about adaptogens in general, check out my mini-course:

https://botanical-alchemy-and-apothecary.teachable.com/p/adaptogens

Thank you! Be well and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this mini-course.

 

Natural Help for Common Skin Issues

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Many people suffer from one or more of three common skin issues~ acne, eczema, and psoriasis. These can be frustratingly stubborn problems with a series of harsh topicals and prescriptions thrown at the issues with less than stellar results. The reason usually is, although it’s a myth that chocolate causes acne, the digestive system does indeed play a fundamental role in skin health. If you have a stubborn skin issue and haven’t looked into food intolerances yet, well, you are in for a treat because most likely once you get the food intolerances under control, your skin will glow with gratitude. There’s more to healthy skin than just a healthy gut of course, but you aren’t going to have the first without the latter, so step one is just making sure your digestive system is as healthy as can be. This may mean supplementing with bitters, enzymes, and probiotics to help the digestive system be optimally healthy, and if you do have food intolerances, there are other steps you can take to heal your system. By the way, you take bitters and/or enzymes before you eat, and probiotics after the meal is finished. Bitters activate your natural enzymes while taking enzyme supplements help to break down food with the added supplementation instead of boosting your body to make its own enzymes as the bitters do. Probiotics act later and deeper in the process.

Other important things to keep in mind when addressing skin issues are toxins in your food, products, and environments, your hormones (which really means your entire endocrine system), and your overall health which of course includes stress. That’s admittedly a lot to look into, so it might be nice to start with some natural topicals and specific supplementation for acne, eczema, and psoriasis. Delicious Living has a few suggestions to help with getting started:

Problem: Acne.

Clogged skin gland follicles lead to acne, the nation’s most common skin condition.

Cause: Pesky pimples are just part of the problem. Acne indicates any number of deeper health issues: hormonal imbalances, digestive upset, overactive oil glands or bacteria buildup, says Kate Tackett, ND. Although the condition is most common among 11- to 30-year-olds (approximately 80 percent of people in this age group experience it), many adults never outgrow acne and others may even experience acne for the first time in adulthood.

Topical solution: Look for serums and washes that use antimicrobial ingredients, such as tea tree oil, witch hazel and willow bark. Recent research also supports thyme for its acne-fighting properties. Salicylic acid (from willow bark) remains an effective go-to for alleviating inflammation and irritation. Green tea and neem may also help.

Try: Derma e Very Clear Acne Cleanser

Supplements: Use vitamin A to reduce sebum production; vitamins C, E and selenium to support skin “immunity” and skin cell repair; and probiotics to restore digestive imbalances. For severe redness, Benyamin recommends a high dose of 50 mg zinc (avoid long-term use at this dose; reduce it once redness subsides to avoid copper imbalance).

Try: Terry Naturally Acne Essentials

Problem: Eczema.

Eczema, from a Greek word meaning to “bubble or boil over,” is an itchy, red rash that can appear anywhere on the body and affects more than 30 million Americans. Although there is no cure, there are various ways to manage it.

Cause: As with acne, eczema triggers are vast—and vary from person to person. Common causes, according to Tackett, include excess stomach acid and leaky gut syndrome, candida overgrowth, food sensitivities, stress and contact with irritants found in cleaning and personal care products. Skin’s moisture loss can greatly exacerbate the condition.

Topical solution: Use gentle, nontoxic lotions that contain nourishing, plant-based oils and extracts. Research has shown that shea butter and sunflower seed oil can control and soothe dermatitis- related skin issues. Avoid “fragrances,” which are common skin irritants.

Try: Salcura Bioskin DermaSpray

Supplements: Probiotics balance gut bacteria and fight eczema-related inflammation. Omega-3s and hyaluronic acid restore moisture from the inside out.

Try: SeabuckWonders Sea Buckthorn Seed Oil

Problem: Psoriasis.

Less common than acne and eczema (10 percent of people inherit one or more of the genes that eventually lead to psoriasis, but only 2 to 3 percent of people develop it), psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that causes raised, red, scaly skin patches.

Cause: One main cause is silica (a trace mineral) deficiency, says Benyamin. Other triggers include genetics, leaky gut and diminished liver function.

Topical solution: Products that use salicylic acid can reduce scales and soften lesions, according to research published in Canadian Family Physician. Research has also shown that using aloe vera for four weeks can reduce psoriasis irritation. Jojoba moisturizes and soothes, while apple cider vinegar and capsaicin (the active ingredient in chili peppers) may alleviate itching and pain.

Try: Jason Natural Soothing Aloe Vera 98% Gel

Supplements: In addition to omega-3s and probiotics, look for beauty supplements that contain silica, with additional skin- and nail-supportive nutrients such as collagen and biotin. Tackett also recommends milk thistle for liver support and fiber to help eliminate toxins from the body.

Try: BioSil

If you like to drink herbal infusions, there are several blends that address skin health and usually focus on liver and blood cleansing herbs like burdock root and/or nettles. My favorite is Yogi’s Healthy Skin Tea with cinnamon and vanilla which is delicious and along with nettles has great digestive herbs and beautifying schisandra to support a healthy glow. There are plenty of other combinations out there if cinnamon and vanilla do not sound like your cup of, well, tea (oy!) and also green tea is always a great choice for skin health with all those antioxidants. Other herbs that are particularly healthy for the skin are Turmeric, Neem, and Amla, and be sure to drink plenty of water daily.

Wishing all of you skin that radiates your optimal health and natural light, and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article..

A Personal Note

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This blog has been trucking along for a while now, so I thought I’d check in with a personal note on the goals and philosophy for this space. It might seem a tad erratic with herbal tutorials here, food recipes there, and ready-made product information, but to me the goals are the same. My main interest is to empower people with the knowledge of what is out there in the natural world, whether that means their garden, their spice cabinet, or their natural food store, that can enrich their life and enhance their health. I’m a big believer in the idea that we are advancing in technological ways faster than we can humanly adapt, a concept that has been around for decades but has been mostly conveniently ignored, and this is my small way of grounding myself and anyone else who is interested back to the real world, the actual earth we inhabit, the roots that have brought us to this crazy point, and the traditions that have made us communal creatures. So much is lost each day to isolation, stretched schedules, imitation foods, and processed products, that the richness of life is threatened in the push towards better, faster, easier. But for what end? The Slow Foods Movement is a beautiful example of people taking a stand and saying we’ll take the more nutritious meal over the faster one, and that same idea can be applied to just about every aspect of life. Technology, and especially social media, are pushing images and information onto us and into us at an ever-increasing rate, leaving everyone a little on edge, if not completely frantic, and feeling always and forever behind. The laws haven’t kept up so how could our long-evolved emotions, our sense of time and space, our ideas of community, morality, humanity? They haven’t had the time and the future certainly isn’t carving out space for us to collectively take a time out and regroup, unless something major happens which certainly wouldn’t be pretty, so the best thing I can think to do is to try to be mindful of it all and not get swept up and away into the vacuum of a false reality. For humanity’s sake, for the plants’ and animals’ sake, and for the earth as a whole, we need to remain thoughtful. Humans are so darn proud of their capacity for higher thinking, yet we collectively choose to dull it on the regular. We must be mindful caretakers of each other and the earth we inhabit because it is quite simply our birthright. We can step up, or not, but the consequences of ‘not’ are unfortunately extreme.

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I engage in social media reluctantly, which is why I don’t do all the regular things bloggers generally do. There is a formula for it actually, the whole blogging thing, and I’ve studied how it’s done as is my nature, but I’ve decided against the things that do not resonate with me, which is most of it. This may very well mean this space will have to evolve into something else, but for now I’m happy to connect with people in a way that feels somewhat natural though it does involve the very technology and social media that I just now protested. It’s a complicated world and a strange time to try to fit into it in an organic way that embraces long held values, addresses fears, and is done in an effort to try to share in an authentic and positive way, but this is what I’m working towards. I guess this is just a meandering way of saying what Shakespeare said so succinctly: “Though this be madness, yet there is method in ’t.” Hamlet (2.2.204-09).

Thank you, very sincerely, for being a part of my world and allowing me to be part of yours. You are a true gift and a treasure.

All the best to you and yours.

Zucchini Muffins (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free)

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My sons still talk about the zucchini muffins I made years ago and ask me to make them again. I only made them once because shredding the zucchini by hand took me ages that first time, but now I’m ready to try again with perhaps the help of the blender. I looked up the recipe on my old blog and found I’d written it in 2014! Those muffins must have been better than I remember for my kids to still have a hankering for them four years later. Here’s the (slightly edited) original post with the recipe, though next time I’ll probably add another teaspoon of cinnamon which means a full tablespoon.

My friend gave me a zucchini the size of large 2 month old baby so I figured I’d switch my plan of making pumpkin scones to zucchini muffins. After looking for a recipe online that I could play with, I realized there wasn’t much out there that had all our needs covered~ gluten, dairy, egg, and nut free, so the “playing’ part was rather extensive. Anyone who believes that old adage, “Baking is a science, cooking is an art” has obviously never baked with food intolerances in mind. I can’t say it’s a perfect recipe as it was indeed my first go at it, but they didn’t crumble (and no xanthan gum!) and they taste pretty good. (My kids love them.) Plus we used that freaky zucchini so now my sons no longer have a prop pretending to be cavemen which was getting to be a bit much every time we were in the kitchen. I must admit though, it really did look like a primitive weapon. Here’s the recipe:

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Ingredients:

2 T flax meal + 5 T water (set aside at least 10 minutes)

2 C grated Zucchini

1/2 C apple sauce

1/4 C sunflower oil

1 t vanilla extract

1 C brown rice flour

3/4 C oat flour (make sure it’s gluten-free)

1/2 C millet flour

1/4 C tapioca flour

3/4 C brown sugar

2 t cinnamon (or more~ actually will do more next time, but it’s personal taste)

1 t nutmeg

1 t baking soda

Preheat oven to 350. Prep muffin pan with oil, spray oil, or liners. Add the grated zucchini, apple sauce, oil, vanilla extract, and flax that has soaked in water all together and mix well. In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients together before blending the wet and dry together~ easily done with a spoon, no need to get your mixer dirty. Fill the muffin pan~ 12 regular sized muffins. Cook for 23-25 minutes.

Two zucchini muffins
Don’t these look good for a recipe without xanthan gum?!

These were good out of the pan but I did think a little more cinnamon would have made them better so I sprinkled some cinnamon sugar on top. My boys don’t mind the extra sweetness although they’ll probably miss running through the kitchen yelling “Aaarrrgh” with the zucchini.

It’s not quite the 2018 zucchini season here yet although the berries have been going strong for a couple of months now, so I’m expecting it won’t be long before backyard summer veggies start popping up. Happy Summer Solstice! Make sure you enjoy the sun safely this summer and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.

Natural Sunscreens

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It’s that time of year again when we are bombarded with messages about sun safety and the need for daily sunscreen. That refrain has become a little dissonant lately though with more and more people questioning the ingredients in their sunscreen, with good reason. That ‘protective’ layer can house some awfully hazardous chemicals that have actually started to be researched as potential causes of cancer themselves, as well as having other undesirable qualities such as hormone disruptors, allergy-causing, and skin penetration. To review the specific chemicals and their risk factors, according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), check out the graph located in their article here. They list oxybenzone as the most hazardous chemical in sunscreens, so it is a good idea to double check that at least that one chemical is not in any of your sunscreen products.

The alternative to chemical sunscreens is mineral based sunscreens which are considered safer. Jessica Rubino, in her article for Delicious Living, explains mineral sunscreens in this way:

Mineral sunscreens use active mineral ingredients, such as zinc oxide and titanium oxide. They reflect the sun’s rays like a mirror to protect exposed skin.

UV protection

When buying sunscreen, protection from UV rays should be your top consideration. In that sense, mineral options take the prize, according to the EWG. Zinc oxide, in particular, delivers the best UVA and UVB protection (also known as broad-spectrum coverage), says Leiba. “Mineral active ingredients don’t break down as readily in the sun, offering greater protection for longer.”

Ingredient safety

Generally speaking, naturally derived ingredients used in mineral sunscreens are gentler than chemicals. Still, some considerations remain. Avoid titanium dioxide in powder or spray form; the EWG claims it’s linked to toxicity when inhaled. Also, it’s worth reading up on nanotechnology, which creates tiny particles that are often used in mineral sunscreens to make them easier to rub in. Since labeling regulations of nanoparticles don’t exist yet, ask manufacturers directly about their policies. EWG maintains that nano in sunscreen is safe, but research continues. (There do exist non-nano mineral sunscreens, such as the one from Babo Botanicals below.)

Appearance

Other than those that use nanoparticles, mineral sunscreens simply don’t rub into skin as well, often leaving a white film. In the quest for mineral sunscreens that apply more evenly, some  companies are trying non-nano ingredients, such as an aloe base and ZinClear, a zinc oxide. If you choose a safe mineral classic, expect to take an extra minute to rub it in.

In another article from Delicious Living, the following nine sunscreens were given the safety rating of 1 (safest!) by the EWG. Compare that to oxybenzone which has an 8 (out of 10) rating and it’s clear these mineral sunscreens are a far safer bet. That being said, I do want to point out that from what I have read and also gathered from my naturopath, people really need half an hour of sun on their faces and bare arms every day, without sunscreen, for proper amounts of vitamin D. Here in the Pacific Northwest, as well as other places around the country and world, proper amounts of vitamin D are not even possible without supplementation because of the lack of sun for many months out of the year. Vitamin D is important for immunity, skin, bone, and mental health, and blood pressure concerns, plus a lack of vitamin D has been implicated in breast cancer and prostate cancer, as well as many other chronic health conditions. Keep this in mind when determining your sunscreen usage. It’s not only important to choose your ingredients wisely, but also to know how to use your products to ensure optimal health. The following are listed alphabetically:

Andalou Naturals All-in-One Beauty Balm, Sheer Tint, SPF 30

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With well-rounded complexion protection, Andalou’s BB product not only uses minerals to shield from harmful rays but also to lend a subtle, “sun-kissed” tint to skin. Fruit stem cells and superfruits provide an antiaging and brightening boost, too.

Babo Botanicals Clear Zinc Sport Stick Sunscreen, Fragrance Free, SPF 30

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Containing 20 percent non-nano zinc oxide and a cocktail of nourishing botanicals to sooth the skin (think avocado oil and cocoa seed butter), this new launch a clear winner in safe sun care, and the EWG rating agrees.

Badger Unscented Sunscreen Face Stick, SPF 35

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Badger continues to raise the bar for safe sun care, this time focusing on developing effective nontoxic preservatives specifically for mineral sun care. Badger’s line includes products for the whole family; this easy-to-apply face stick contains 22.5 percent zinc oxide for superior active lifestyle protection.

California Baby Super Sensitive Sunscreen, SPF 30+

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A brand that has rightfully earned the trust of moms, California Baby once again delivers on baby-centric safety, according to the EWG. Ideal for little ones, this fragrance-free product offers a comfortable application that is also sting-free for the eyes (moms can use it as a gentle-on-the-complexion option, too).

Goddess Garden Everyday Natural Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 30

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A go-to for anyone seeking daily, no-fuss sun protection, this product contains an efficacious blend of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide in a base of soothing aloe leaf juice, shea butter and coconut oil. Plus, it’s organic. A great choice for your body—and the earth.

Hampton Sun Sunscreen Lotion for Baby, SPF 45

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Another extra-gentle, excellent choice for babies, this product complements its UV-protective mineral blend with soothing chamomile and sunflower oil.

Jersey Shore Cosmetics Anti-Aging Mineral Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 35

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Sun protection is your No. 1 defense against aging. But extra protection is a major boon. Top-rated by the EWG for its UV protection, this SKU also contains vitamins E and D3 for antiaging prowess.

Juice Beauty Sport Sunscreen, SPF 30

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Tailor-made for an active and beautiful lifestyle: Protect with chemicals, support with plant extracts, antioxidants and vitamins.

Mineral Fusion Mineral Sun Stick, SPF 30

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Mineral Fusion knows what skin needs—and the company is no stranger to delivering it with carefully crafted mineral formulations. This product starts with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, then gives skin a vitamin and antioxidant boost.

In short, avoid chemical sunscreens, especially ones with oxybenzone in them, and instead opt for mineral sunscreens with zinc oxide and titanium oxide. Also, if you must use a spray sunscreen, only use ones made with zinc oxide, not titanium oxide, because the EWG lists it as unsafe when inhaled in that form. Enjoy the sun and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.

Gluten-Free Waffles and Cinnamon Bread

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When my kids were going through a period of food restrictions due to intolerances, giving up gluten was by far the hardest part. Waffles came in handy as bread substitutes because gluten or no gluten, waffles are almost always yummy. I could pack them in my sons’ lunch boxes either plain, or with peanut butter between two just like a sandwich, and they loved it. (If you have never tried peanut butter on waffles before, you have to try it. It’s way better than it sounds.) Now they are able to eat gluten again, one more often than the other, but I still make the waffles gluten free and egg free for easy breakfasts. I make a double batch and just stick them in the fridge for a quick warm up on school days, and if they ever didn’t eat them all up within a couple of days I’d put them in the freezer, but that hasn’t happened yet. I like using Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix, but it does contain almond meal and buttermilk in the ingredients so if you are avoiding dairy and/or tree nuts, use another brand such as Enjoy Life Pancake and Waffle Mix and follow their instructions for flour to liquid ratio, and add in the other bits down below as desired.

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With Pamela’s mix, to make about 8 waffles, you will need:

4 T flax meal with 3/4 cups warm water (or 4 eggs)

2 T sunflower oil or another oil you like

1 t ground cinnamon

1 t vanilla extract

1.5 cups water

3 cups Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix

3/4 cups chocolate chips (optional but my kids’ favorite part)

To make:

Add the flax meal to the 3/4 cups of warm water and set aside for about 10 minutes. If using eggs, just blend everything together all at once. Eggs make more golden waffles but I use the flax meal because of the good omega-3 oil and the fiber, plus one of my sons had to avoid eggs for a while (intolerance) so I don’t like him to eat them all of the time. If using the flax, add the ingredients to the flax and water in the order I’ve written them above. Stir until just mixed, then load about 1/2 cup of the mixture at a time into the waffle iron. I spray my waffle iron each and every time with coconut oil, but I’m sure you know your specific iron’s needs.

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These make an easy snack too. When anyone first does an elimination diet or is told they can no longer eat certain (usually favorite) foods, it really helps to have tasty alternatives to rely upon to help ease that sense of loss. It truly is a grieving period, and for kids it can be especially incomprehensible, plus it’s hard on the parents who have to suddenly scramble as well. Even adults need to know they still can enjoy delicious foods every day, even if they are not exactly the ones they relied upon for years. Any time familiarity can be reestablished, a person’s sense of security, and therefore confidence grows, and it really does take all of that and more to stick with avoiding favorite foods. It also helps to know that if it is an intolerance, rather than an allergy, you really can beat it (in most cases) as long as you systematically work on building up your digestive tract as well as avoiding the trigger foods for as long as it takes. You will inevitably find new comfort foods, healthy choices that provide both healing and joy, but the process can bring up uncomfortable feelings until you hit on those perfect-for-you finds. Go easy on yourself until you get there.

Here’s another comfort food recipe for the gluten-challenged. This one comes from Delicious Living and I plan on giving it a next weekend. One of my favorite activities to do on Sunday afternoons is to bake while listening to one of my favorite podcasts, such as Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me or This American Life, and considering this is a bread, and it has cinnamon, I know it’ll be worthwhile for my family because we love bread and cinnamon (as you might have guessed from the quite large bag of cinnamon I keep on hand in the picture high up above.)

Gluten-Free Cinnamon Roll Bread

For the Bread:

  • 2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1½ cups milk
  • ⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • FOR THE SWIRL
  • ⅓ cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

FOR THE GLAZE

  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350˚. Grease bottom and sides of a 9-inch loaf pan; set aside.

  1. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, combine sugar, egg, milk, Greek yogurt and vanilla; add to dry ingredients, and mix until well combined. To make the swirl, in a small bowl, combine brown sugar, melted butter and cinnamon.
  2. Pour about ⅓ of the batter into prepared loaf pan. Spoon ½ of swirl mix into a few spots in the batter; use a knife to swirl around. Top with another ⅓ of batter, and spread evenly. Repeat the swirl step. Add the last ⅓ of batter. Use knife to create swirls.
  3. Bake in oven for 45–50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Remove bread from oven, and allow to cool. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and milk; pour over bread.

PER SERVING (1 slice): 223 cal, 3g fat (1g mono, 0g poly, 2g sat), 24mg chol, 206mg sodium, 43g carb (0g fiber, 26g sugars), 3g protein

May your days be filled with optimal health that is tailor made for you, and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.

CBD Oil and Einkorn

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If you are wondering what CBD oil and Einkorn have in common, the answer is nothing at all other than they are both related to things I recently received in the New Hope Blogger Box, and also they are both part of the latest and greatest in the natural foods and supplements trends. I mentioned the CBD oil in a previous post but even then I was still a tad confused on why exactly it seemed to be such a hot supplement lately. Today I read an article from Delicious Living that explained the supplement in far more detail than I had previously found in my earlier research. The whole article is worth the read, but I thought I’d pull out the key parts that answered my questions best, and hope they answer any you may have as well.

CBD is short for cannabidiol and is an extract of the hemp portion of a Cannabis sativa plant. This is the same plant where THC, the active ingredient of marijuana, is found and indeed the CBD and THC do similar functions in the body. THC has a psychoactive component though that CBD does not have, therefore you cannot get high from CBD oil. Both CBD and THC work on the body’s innate endocannabinoid system. The endocannabinoid system governs specific areas of your physiology, such as hunger, pain, stress and pleasure. On a molecular level, the endocannabinoid system works like a lock and key with receptors. The receptors are the lock, the cannabinoids are the keys. The benefits of pain and stress relief make CBD a potentially powerful medicine indeed, even without the pleasurable high.

Benefits: A type of CBD seems to benefit people suffering from childhood-onset epilepsy disorder. A panel of FDA experts in April unanimously declared a pharmaceutical-grade CBD should be approved to treat certain rare types of epilepsy. The FDA is expected to grant its approval later this year. A 2015 review published in the Journal of the American Medical Association looked at 79 studies published since 1975. Researchers found various cannabinoids—THC, CBD and others—were useful medicine. They were most effective treating chronic pain and muscle spasticity; nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy; and weight gain associated with HIV, sleep disorders and Tourette syndrome. THC and CBD were also found to improve sleep and reduce anxiety.

So that is what I learned from the Delicious Living article by Todd Runestad and some of it was directly taken from it, and other bits were quite modified. The bold is all me. Please read the whole article if you are interested in learning more because there is actually a lot he covers that I left out.

Einkorn flour is an ancient wheat, meaning it hasn’t been genetically modified to produce higher amounts of gluten like other wheat flours that are used today. For those who are sensitive to gluten, this might be a digestible alternative, although it still contains gluten and is not to be eaten by celiacs, nor during a period of time when you want to completely abstain from wheat and gluten in order to stop the body’s negative reactions. Once you begin healing your digestive system from the intolerances, you might find that Einkorn is safe to eat, even if you had been found to be gluten intolerant before the healing process. It is kind of like spelt flour, which is a low gluten flour and easier on the digestive system, though it still contains gluten and is still a wheat. Jovial Foods has an informative page on Einkorn that you should check out if you are considering whether or not to start adding wheat back into your diet. Also, if you are a current wheat eater, switching to Einkorn could provide some overall nutritional benefits as well, such as easier digestibility, more protein and less starch . Another reason to visit Jovial Foods’ website is because they have great recipes with Einkorn flour or gluten free flour, and most of their recipes have directions for either one. I made these Einkorn cinnamon scones and not only were they incredibly delicious, they were also quite easy to make. I did not have the cream that it called for, but I was able to substitute with Elmhurst’s cashew milk that had come in the blogger box, and it worked perfectly.

I also made these peasant breads with the recipe I use to make gluten free peasant breads, and they turned out well also. The left one shows the top, while the right one shows the bottom.

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Now that gluten awareness seems to have moved a bit into digestive health awareness with probiotics leading the way in healing and overall wellness, I believe we’ll see more and more products using Einkorn flour and berries as a way to ease back into eating gluten, and just as a healthier alternative to the highly processed and hybridized wheat flours that we use today. I hope that is the case anyway, because I for one am ready to start seeing fresh Einkorn bread in grocery stores and restaurants, and farmers switching to ancient grain Einkorn instead of the hybridized wheat that has taken over.

Best health to you and yours through the changing seasons, and be sure to listen closely to your body when trying new supplements or reintroducing foods to your diet after a time of abstaining from them. When reintroducing a food that was previously a sensitivity, be careful and go slowly, staying aware that symptoms may be different than before. Good luck and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.

Brain Health

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While creating a mini-course on adaptogens, I’ve been thinking about putting together a blend focused on brain health for my sons who are students and will be for many more years. The adaptogenic herbs I’m thinking of including are Ashwagandha, Tulsi, Gotu Kola, and Rhodiola. This would be a great mix for long-term energy and stamina, with herbs specifically targeting brain health, focus, and stress management, with anti-depressant and anti-anxiety action. This seems like an optimal mix for a student, or for anyone looking for long-term brain support. As we age it is especially important to make sure our brains get the best nutrition and care we can provide. No one else can do it for you~ this is self care at a fundamental level.

Here is an infographic from Delicious Living that has other ways to improve brain health on a daily basis. These tips are not only good for brain health but overall health and wellness in general, and they really aren’t hard. It’s a nice reminder of how eating more fruits and vegetables, reducing stress, exercising, and consciously limiting toxins improve every part of daily life. I’ve been thinking lately how the ripple effects of our thoughts and actions can be either be beneficial and building a better future, or damaging. It’s hard to always choose wisely, but self care can never be detrimental.

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Nutritious foods don’t have to be boring. The New Hope Blogger Box has some foods this time around that make superfoods snackable and drinkable. This Beet Latte from Raw and Root has goji and maqui berries along with the beet root to make this a deeply nourishing addition to any daily diet. This combination offers support for energy, heart health, weight loss, and more. Check out their website to see all the benefits of these three superfoods. This powder is going in my morning smoothies.

This dried Dragon Fruit from Jungle Orchards  has only 6g of sugars per package, plus 2g of protein. Dragon fruit is considered a superfood for its many benefits without the excessive sugar that many fruits have, especially dried fruits. This would make a great healthy snack for kids’ lunch bags when you want to send them off with extra fruit but not extra sugar. To learn more about the many benefits of dragon fruit (it was all new to me!) then check out this article which talks about weight loss, lowering cholesterol, improving energy, and more.

Avocado is delicious but has the one overwhelming flaw of being seriously high maintenance when it comes to catching its perfect ripeness, and also you can’t take an avocado anywhere without bruising. These freeze-dried avocados from Senor Avocado take the guesswork out of avocado ripening and they are fully transportable so lunch boxes can carry them. The healthy fats are still there, and the taste is the same as a fresh, but the texture is slightly different so no avocado toast with these. Instead, throw them on salads or soups, or just eat them as a snack or as part of healthy meal. There are different flavors but I really liked these Peruvian Pink Salt ones.

Enjoy the upcoming Memorial weekend (for those here in the U.S.) and be sure to take good care of yourself with some healthy delicious foods, some fun activities, and plenty of rest. Your body and brain will thank you for it. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.

Noteworthy Natural Supplements

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Allergies seem like one of those things that are destined to be suffered through or managed with over the counter medicines which may have unwanted side effects. There actually are alternatives though, with herbs such as nettles often recommended for helping to ease the allergy misery. Redd Remedies Sinus support has a combination of nutrients such as vitamin C, quercetin, nettles, and more to support allergy sufferers all season long, working on the sinus cavities, respiratory system, and the immune system. They have an adult formula (below) and a children’s formula. My husband tried it and said it eased the pressure in his sinuses in a gentle way and broke up mucous after only one dose, though this does seem to be something that improves efficacy with longer term use.

This multivitamin from Naturewise has a focus on joint support as well as extra nutrients for a variety of women’s health issues. This seems like a great option for women who want their multivitamin to do more than just cover the basics, and instead address multiple concerns in one supplement. (Two capsules daily.)

Source Naturals has an energy supplement that focuses on going deep for cellular energy. EnerVital has a multitude of nutrients including B vitamins, adaptogenic herbs, amino acids, antioxidants,  blood sugar regulating chromium, and green tea which does contain a bit of caffeine. This seems to be another supplement that will give results right away, but the efficacy will build over time. This is a great option for those looking to build energy and stamina long-term, but also need an energetic boost right away.

Barlean’s has a CBD oil supplement that is ‘extra strength’ with a bit of mint added for flavor. The mint is really subtle, but it does cut down on the hemp-iness of the taste. CBD oil is one of those supplements that is a tad hard to define because it works to keep the body in a balanced, healthy state, known as homeostasis. It has the ability to help with a variety of processes including relaxation, cognition, sleeping, eating, recovery and repair. This is one supplement that is quickly gaining in popularity and you will definitely be hearing more about it. A liquid delivery that goes under the tongue is a great way to get the most out of a product without putting it through the questionable digestive system.

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This extra strength pain relief supplement called Curamin from Europharma has impressive testimonials and a plethora of awards. I’m almost looking forward to some kind of flare up to give it a try. Maybe I should try running hills again and see how long it takes before my knees protest….

That’s all the supplements from the New Hope Blogger Box this quarter. I’ll share some of the fun food items from the box here soon. There are avocado snacks and dried dragon fruit that I’m especially looking forward to my kids trying.

Best health to you and yours and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.

Make Your Own Natural Perfumes Course

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If you are an email subscriber to this blog, you should have received an email from me inviting you to take my new course on making natural perfumes with essential oils for free. Thank you to all of you who have responded so far! If you follow this blog through the wordpress reader though, I do not have your email to offer you the same coupon code, but I’d still love for you to check it out and if you are interested in taking the course and giving me feedback (because this is a new format for me so I’m in a learning phase myself) I’d love to hear from you. Just contact me through my contact page with your email address and I’ll send you a free class coupon code. Here’s the course page with a promo video to help you decide if you’d like to try it out or not.

https://botanical-alchemy-and-apothecary.teachable.com/p/make-your-own-natural-perfumes-with-essential-oils

Have a great weekend and contact me with any questions you might have about taking the course. I love hearing from you! Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

 

Announcement for Subscribers

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Hello! I’ve been working on putting together an essential oil course and wanted to let you know that it is about finished, so please expect an email from me in the next day or two. I wanted to thank my subscribers for being here, and also was hoping for some feedback from you lovelies, so the email will include a discount code to view the course for free. There will be a limited number (because I assume not all of you will choose to take the course) so if you are definitely interested, please let me know so I can get you the information first. You can preview the course on my page “Courses” on this website.  Thank you for reading this blog and being part of this community!

DIY Bath Salts Mother’s Day Gift

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What mom doesn’t treasure her bath and beauty time? Whether you are making a gift basket for your mom as an adult, or helping little ones make gifts for your partner, natural DIY pampering gifts are easy to make and will actually be used and appreciated. If you are working with little ones, essential oils need to be handled with care because they are so potent they should not be put on the skin directly without a carrier, and also the scents can be overwhelming if you are using a lot all at once.

To make a custom jar of bath salts, you have some options. You can use sea salt, Epsom salts, pink, grey, or black salt depending on where you are and what you fancy. Epsom salts are best known for aches and pains, but pink and grey salts can help with those too, and they have a high mineral content. Sea salt and black salt are detoxifying, and all the salts are good for the skin. You can also blend different salts together if you can’t decide or want to make sure you cover all the salt benefits. Whatever salts you use, just fill a jar with them, and add the essential oils you want in a ratio of about 10-25 drops per cup, depending on how strong you want the smell. Mix with a chopstick and cap tightly.

To make it a moisturizing bath soak, you can almond oil or grapeseed oil to the salts slowly, mixing the blend as you pour. You will want about 1 3/4 cup salts, with 1/4 cup oil. When the oil and salts are all blended together, add your essential oils and stir some more to make sure everything is evenly distributed. Since this is a total of 2 cups, you can use 20-50 drops of essential oils.

If you are making this for someone who takes more showers than baths, then a salt scrub is another option. You want more oil than salt in that case~ 2 cups of almond or grapeseed oil, 1 cup of fine sea salt, and 20-50 drops of essential oils. You can always make an herbal oil first, then add that to the salts. Add the oil directly on top of the salt, then add the essential oils and stir well. You can use sugar instead of salt for a gentler body scrub. Prepare the exact same way as the salt but use brown sugar instead.

Another option is to add dried herbs to the salts. This of course looks lovely but can make a huge mess, so adding a large sized muslin bag or two to the jar of bath salts is a nice touch. The bather can spoon in however much they want into the muslin bag, then place it into the bath for a nice soak that they don’t have to worry about cleaning up later. Lovely herbs to add are rose petals, calendula flower tops, seaweed, and/or oats. The proportions are completely up to you, and in fact you can just use herbs for an herbal bath without any salts, or just add the salts and herbs together, or add essential oils to the mix as well. There are no hard and fast rules, so just follow your aesthetic sense or look to your (or her) favorite products to get an idea of what proportions might be most appreciated.

As always, be sure to label whatever you make and to write down the recipe. Here are some more DIY gift ideas if bathing isn’t the best treat for your gift recipient. Have fun with whatever you are making and Happy Mother’s Day to all the hard working mamas out there. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.

Natural Supplements for Bruises

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Homeopathic Arnica is one of the few first aid items I always carry around with me. Especially when my kids were younger and constantly falling and bumping into things, Arnica pellets offered instant pain relief and help with the healing process. I heard a mom tell her son the other day, “That’s a bruise. There’s nothing I can do for a bruise,” and I was torn on whether I should show her all the Arnica gels and creams that can be used on the skin, and the pellets and tablets that could be taken internally, or not. I decided it was not the right scenario to go on an Arnica educational tour, so I’m putting the information out into the world here instead, in case someone else has ever thought there is nothing to do for a bruise.

Arnica works great on minor bumps and bruises both in the immediate aftermath of the trauma and also as part of the longer term healing. It is also used to relieve pain due to muscle aches, overexertion, arthritis, and any kind of trauma. People often take 30c daily for a week before undergoing surgery, then resume taking it afterward, but the data on the efficacy of this is mixed. Taking any supplements leading up to surgery should always be discussed with your doctor.

Arnica is best known for helping with swelling and the discoloration associated with bruising. Taking the pellet or tablet form as well as using a cream or gel externally means double the healing action on the injury.

Dosages for homeopathy is a little strange and counter intuitive, but usually the higher the number on the container, the more diluted it is, and the more effective it is. The most common dosage recommendation for general use applications is 30C, but for immediate trauma, a 6C or 12C can be used. Boiron has this quick finder visual to see common dosing for using the pellets, Arnica Pellets, and a lot of other useful information as well.

If deciding on the right dose of pellets sounds daunting, stick to the tablets which tell you on the packaging how to take them, when, and why. There are tablets specific to arthritis, and ones for muscle strain, pain, and bruising.

Hylands has a whole website dedicated to Arnica information and considering Arnica is the most popular homeopathic medicine out there, it makes sense.

Bromelain is often recommended as well for bruising (and joint support), and believe it or not, probiotics play a role in controlling bruising as well as everything else they do. This is because you have to have a healthy microbiome in order to properly process vitamin K which is essential in proper blood clotting mechanisms. Another reason, as if we needed one, to take a good probiotic.

As we get older our skin thins, which is why older people are more prone to bruising. Building the skin up with vitamin C and Collagen are two ways to increase the health and appearance of the skin, while also combatting the tendency to bruise at the slightest provocation. Vitamin C should be increased in small doses over time because too big of an increase at once can cause diarrhea. Collagen can be taken as a powder, in a capsule, liquid, or even in tasty chews. There are several products now that target skin health in an anti-aging way that have both vitamin C and Collagen in them, so that makes it even more convenient to supplement your skin.

Bruising for no reason can be a sign of something more serious going on in your body, so if you have any concerns or things change drastically in a short amount of time, it’s always best to talk to your naturopath or doctor.

Arnica represents what I like most about natural supplements in the way that they offer help where modern medicine does not have anything to give. Plus, that help comes almost completely without negative side effects such as tiredness, hyper-ness, blood pressure manipulation, and on and on that normally go hand in hand with over-the-counter medications and prescriptions. Whatever ails you, if you think you have no options, or even if you just don’t like your current options, look again at what the natural world has to offer. You just might find the secret ingredient to your optimal health and wellness.

Be well and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.

 

Mystery Blogger Award

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Lately I’ve been working on another project so I’ve been a tad quieter than usual. I’ll be sharing that project in a couple of weeks here, but subscribers will get the info first with something free as well, so if you are a reader but not a subscriber, now’s a good time. The reason for that is simply because I need an email address to share privately what I’ll later share publicly here, (without the freebie).

Thanks so much to Tracy Joan Reid at Creative Hues for the award. Her blog is full of creative ideas to help you indulge your inner artist no matter how much time you have on hand. I’m so happy to connect to other bloggers in this way and enjoy the awarding that goes around since the internet is full of so much negativity, and the awards foster positive connections and good feelings.

Here’s the info on this award: “The Mystery Blogger Award is an award for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging; and they do it with so much love and passion.” –Okoto Enigma(Mystery Blogger Award creator)

I’m truly honored and love the idea of inspiring others in some small way. Here are the rules:

1) Put The Logo on your blog

2) List the rules

3) Thank whoever nominated you and add a link to their blog

4) Mention the creator of the award and provide a link

5) Tell your readers three things about yourself

6) Answer the questions you were asked

7) You have to nominate 10 – 20 people

8) Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog

9) Ask your nominees any 5 questions of their choice. One weird and one funny one.

10) Share a link to your best post

So, I guess I’ve completed 1-4 above, so now three things about myself:

  1. I was born in the year of the rabbit
  2. I cannot remember cars by what they look like so I memorize license plates
  3. I love to read

Questions I’ve been asked:

1. What is your best childhood memory? All the make-believe games my sister and I played.

2.What do you feel most proud of? My sons are caring people.

3.If you could travel anywhere where would you go any why? Italy and France are tied for this one. I love European aesthetic and culture, the old world beauty and values, and the food, but haven’t been to either of these two countries yet.

4.If you could only keep five possessions, what would they be? Is my dog a possession? If so, I guess I have to say her, and my lilies in the backyard, and…I don’t know, I feel like I could really get rid of just about anything.

5.What would you want your tombstone to say? Well, my favorite Shakespeare quote would be fitting although a tad cynical: Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. –Macbeth (5.5)

Nominating the following bloggers: 

Cauldrons and Cupcakes

Megala’s Kitchen

Chronosfer2

The Healthy Epicurean

Litebeing Chronicles

Refashion Nation

Fiesta Estrellas

Healing Energy with Nicole

My five questions to them:

  1.  What are your favorite creative outlets?
  2.  Do you prefer cooking or baking?
  3.  Have you traveled outside of your home country?
  4.  What is your favorite season and why?
  5.  What is the strangest dream you have had recently that you can remember?

Link to one of your best posts: This is one of my most read posts on this blog:    Nervines and Other Natural Help for Stress and Anxiety

Thanks again for the award Creative Hues. I’m happy to pass along the positive kudos.

XOXOXO

Sleep Help

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It feels funny to write about natural sleep aids because that’s the last thing on my mind right now. I just got back from South Carolina and thought the jet lag was causing me to be so fatigued but then my nose started running, my throat started hurting, and a headache joined in the party. I wasn’t too surprised because my husband is so sick he had to get antibiotics on our trip so the germs were in the air, and I didn’t have my arsenal of essential oils, herbs, and homeopathy along with me. For the record, I took Boiron’s oscillococcinum for two days (three doses per day) and have also been taking Herb Pharm’s Rapid Immune Boost plus some extra vitamin C. I’m also making up a batch of kitchari as I type this. Is it just me or do these colds and flues get worse every single year?

But, like so many people, I do have sleep issues from time to time, and have many friends who suffer from insomnia on a regular basis. We’ve all heard the advice of going to bed at the same time every night, only using the bedroom for sleeping, not watching TV right before sleep, avoiding caffeine in the evening, etc, but those efforts can be enhanced with herbs, essential oils, and other natural supplements. It’s important to look at what exactly the sleep issue is, whether it’s falling asleep, waking in the night and having trouble going back to sleep, or simply not feeling rested in the morning with no clear understanding of why. If there is an underlying medical reason, such as sleep apnea or prescription medication, then a doctor needs to help, so be sure to discuss sleep at a doctor visit even if it seems unrelated. Here are some things to try for general sleep problems.

First of all, take your calcium/magnesium supplement at night. Vitamins are best taken right after breakfast, but minerals, especially cal/mag, should be taken right before bedtime because they aid muscle relaxation and sleep, which is why they can be found in many sleep formulas that combine herbs and minerals. One of my herbal teachers said that in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), calcium and magnesium are the first things given to patients seeking help for their sleep.

Adaptogens help regulate sleep just as they help regulate energy throughout the day. Ashwagandha is the adaptogenic herb most commonly used in sleep preparations that help with sleeping through the night. It is not necessarily an herb to help you relax like nervines, Kava, Passionflower, or Valerian, (more about those below), but it will help with overall energy levels being regulated correctly with sustained energy throughout the day, and deep sleep throughout the night. Adaptogens in general help regulate the adrenal system and therefore hormones, and also aid in easing stress, depression, and anxiety, all of which can cause sleep problems. Tulsi is my personal favorite adaptogen right now and I’ve been taking it by putting a 1/2 teaspoon in my cup of coffee. I also put a combination of adaptogens in my breakfast smoothie, but I like the grassy taste of the Tulsi so much that I take it separately.

For help with relaxing before bedtime, nervines are the class of herbs that assist with body and mind relaxation. Skullcap can help turn off racing and repetitive thoughts, while Valerian is the most sedative of the group. Passionflower and Hops are good relaxers as well, and Kava is known to not only relax but to also impart feelings of euphoria. There are plenty of bedtime teas, tinctures, and pills with mixtures of these herbs, so finding the right herb or herbal combination for you can be looked at as an experimental challenge. If one herb or combination leaves you feeling cloudy or sleepy in the morning, try something a little less sedative and more regulating, such as an adaptogen based supplement.

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Fun herbal sleep fact~ Mugwort has traditionally been used to increase the vividness of dreams, and even can help with lucid dreaming. Taking it as a tea before bed, burning it as an incense, or making Mugwort pillows are all ways that the herb has been used for enhanced dreaming. (Please don’t fall asleep with anything actively burning.)

Melatonin should not leave anyone feeling ‘foggy’ in the morning because it really just helps one fall asleep, not stay asleep. It helps with jet lag as well and is most effective in a liquid or lozenge form. In fact, any time you can bypass your digestive system by taking any supplement in a liquid or sublingual form of any sort, the more likely you are to get all the benefits of the supplement, because most of us do not have digestive systems in optimal condition, plus those systems are often already busy with meals and such. This is one reason why herbal products are so commonly made in tea and extract forms. Melatonin is not an herb, but it is the same idea.

GABA can help relax the mind before bed if anxiety is causing sleeplessness. It is sometimes found in sleep supplements that have combinations of herbs and other helpful ingredients such as Utzzz’s Stay Asleep formula.

Working from the outside, essential oils can be a big help in relaxing the mind and preparing the body for a restful sleep. Lavender is the most used essential oil and it has relaxing qualities, but it is not the only relaxing essential oil by a long shot. Any herb that is traditionally used for its sedative qualities, such as Chamomile or Hops, will also have those qualities in the essential oil. Neroli has strong anti-anxiety qualities, so much so that the blossoms used to be in bridal bouquets for that very reason. The various wood essential oils, such as Cedar and Sandalwood are grounding, which is a good thing for sleep time. Aura Cacia has nice blends to help you relax, such as Pillow Potion and Tranquility. You can drop a couple of drops of essential oil on your pillow or if you bathe or shower at night, drop about 7 drops of essential oils into the bath or fling a few drops to the back of your shower wall. If you have a diffuser, adding a few drops of essential oil in your bedroom before bed works wonders.

You can also make an oil to rub on your body before bed, or it could be used in a bath 772A2685-3271-4BC2-8E93-7643A6C44649[1]instead of the straight essential oils. Rubbing perfumed oil on your body after a bath or shower is the best time to seal in moisture and get the most from the scents used. Relaxing essential oils can also be made into a body and/or room spray for a lighter touch to the scenting.

There is no reason to suffer through sleep problems without looking at all the natural options out there. Take care of your sleep, just as you take care of your diet and exercise, for optimal health and wellness. Sweet Dreams and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.

 

Iron

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There used to be a point in many afternoons when I’d feel so fatigued that it was sickening. A full-body tiredness that if I did not lie down and close my eyes it’d take all my faculties to keep functioning. This would often happen shortly before I’d have to meet my kids at the bus stop and I’d worry that I wouldn’t have the energy to get out there, or even fall asleep and miss it. When I talked to my doctor about this, she attributed it to my being a busy mom and said I was probably just tired for understandable reasons like pretty much all moms out there. I tried to explain it was beyond a regular tired feeling, but in any case it was dropped. I brought it up with my naturopath who checked my thyroid levels (my thyroid levels are checked yearly because of a family history of low thyroid anyway) and a whole slew of other levels that had the person taking my blood rather shocked at the number of vials she had to fill. The naturopath attributed the fatigue to sub-optimal hormone production across the board, a lack of protein, and my multiple food intolerances. And actually, all those things could have been the reason for the fatigue, except that they weren’t.

When my youngest son went to that same naturopath, she immediately knew he needed an iron supplement because he was not a big meat eater, nor a big greens eater. And here’s the catch with the greens, it is hard for the body to absorb iron from greens, and greens as well as iron supplements should always be accompanied by vitamin C, either a supplement or in food form. Plus my son had food intolerances which meant that his digestive system was impaired, another indication one might need iron supplementation. When I did further research on iron for him, it occurred to me that I had all the symptoms of low iron too, so I started taking the same liquid iron that he did and guess what- that sickening afternoon fatigue went away.

You see, in all those blood tests, iron was ignored even though my naturopath and I talked ad nauseum about my being vegetarian or pescatarian for most of my life and she was the one who got me to eventually add chicken and turkey to my diet, after about five years of insistence, to help build up lifelong deficiencies. (I’m still squeemmish about the poultry, but my naturopath would actually like me to eat liver and beef, so it’s a compromise.) My physician also was aware of my dietary habits but has never to this day ordered an iron test. But when I told both of them that my fatigue was better with iron supplementation, they both had the same reaction of, “oh, that makes total sense.” It’s not just my experience either. I’ve talked to several women of child bearing years who don’t eat any or much meat who have never had their iron tested. It just doesn’t seem to be a common test doctors think to run.

So I’m harping on about this because it is just my way of saying, you might need to ask for your iron to be checked if you have a mostly vegetarian or vegan diet, are a woman in child bearing years or are currently pregnant, have Celiac disease, IBS, or any other digestive system disorder, have heavy periods or internal bleeding, or have unexplained fatigue or other symptoms. It just seems to be one of those things that you have to be your own advocate on because it doesn’t seem to be en vogue for medical practitioners to think about iron straight away. If you need another reason to look into your iron levels, running low contributes to anxiety and cloudy brain.

It seems like iron maybe got a bad rap, or at least regulated to the ‘no need for supplementation’ space because too much iron causes constipation and ‘too much’ is likely more common in America than too little, considering the amount of red meat most Americans traditionally consume. I don’t know how it is in other countries, but most multivitamins/minerals here are iron free with the assumption being you’ll eat plenty of it in your daily diet. Those food habits are changing though, and thoughts on iron haven’t quite caught up with the decrease in red meat consumption and the increase of digestive disorders. It’s important to keep in mind though that even just taking an iron supplement can cause constipation if you aren’t taking the right kind. An interesting thing about combining iron with vitamin C is that while iron can be constipating, vitamin C can have the opposite effect, so not only does the C help the body absorb the iron, it actually helps counter the potential negative digestive effects.

The best way to take iron though, for both absorption and for avoiding constipation, is to take a liquid form.  Flora, Garden of Life, and Gaia all make liquid iron supplements that are much easier for the body to assimilate than pills, and the vitamin C is included in the formulations. I prefer the taste of Gaia’s but iron is just never going to be a great tasting liquid so consider yourself warned. If my picky son was able to drink it when he was around age 6 though, anyone can do it  And it is worth it to feel like you are fully functioning all day long, instead of battling fatigue and other confusing symptoms.

There are several herbs high in iron as well, such as Nettle and Dandelion. Both of those herbs are known as blood builders and purifiers with the added bonus of being excellent for your skin. Both are often taken to combat skin issues such as eczema. The leaves of each can be eaten fresh in salads (be careful of nettle’s little stingers), made into an herbal pesto, or the dry leaves make a delicious tea, either separate or combined. Tinctures and pill forms are also available and considering we are quickly approaching the season where we find nettles and dandelions growing wild, that also means it’s traditionally the best season to take these two herbs. Eating seasonally and locally applies to herbs too after all.

Best health to you and yours and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.

 

Toner DIY with Infused Ingredients

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Toner is used to balance the skin’s pH after cleansing, and it can be made from a multitude of natural ingredients, which makes it especially easy to blend your own at home. You can even just simply use a hydrosol as a toner, or witch hazel, or even just make green tea, let it cool, then bottle it and spray it on your face/body. (That green tea toner needs to be kept in the fridge and should be used within three days.) I like making toners that have more ingredients in them because I enjoy getting as many benefits out of my products as possible, and infusing those ingredients with herbs makes them even more nutrient dense and beneficial. My first toner recipe is very similar to the one below, but this time I first infused vegetable glycerin (also spelled glycerine) with rose buds to get all those wonderful rosy healing attributes as well as the gorgeous color and scent. You certainly don’t have to do this, but adding glycerin to your toners or other products makes them more emollient and protective because it brings the moisture from the air into your skin and adds a protective layer to the skin as well. Food grade glycerin can be taken internally as well, and makes for a kid-friendly extract because it’s sweet and alcohol free. Aloe is a firming agent and can be used alone as a mask on your face for quick toning and firming action. Witch Hazel is astringent and pH balancing and can also be infused with herbs. I used Geranium essential oil because it is good for all kinds of skin, and Carrot Seed essential oil for the vitamin A. I added a drop of Turkish Rose essential oil to complement the rose infused glycerin. Use whatever essential oils you like best, no more than 10 drops in 4 oz. of liquid though, and less than that if your skin is sensitive. This actually smelled quite nice without the essential oils but I like the therapeutic effects of the ones I added, but do start with smaller amounts if you are new to making your own skin care.

Recipe for Rose infused Glycerin:

Fill a jar 1/2 to 3/4 full with rose petals or whatever herb you are using. If using buds like I did, bruise and chop them up a bit first.

Add a mixture of vegetable glycerine and distilled water in a proportion of 1/4 distilled water to 3/4 glycerin. If you are using fresh herbs, no distilled water is needed.

Make sure the herbs are covered completely, shake them up daily for two weeks, then strain. Glycerin is ready to use.

The rose buds I used went from dark pink to white in about 24 hours. I was so surprised! Keep both the marinating product and finished product out of heat and light.

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Toner:

4 oz. Bottle (dark glass preferable)

1/4 C Witch Hazel

1/8 C Aloe Vera gel 

1 teaspoon rose infused glycerin (or plain glycerin)

Distilled water (enough to almost fill the bottle, just leave room for the essential oils if using)

1-2 drops Turkish Rose essential oil

4 drops Geranium essential oil

4 drops Carrot Seed essential oil

Put the first four ingredients in a dark glass bottle and shake it up. Add the essential oils (if using) and roll the bottle in your hands to blend. Shake before using.

Be sure to label your bottle and write down your recipe.

Making your own toner is a great place to start with DIYing your natural beauty regimen because it can be as effortless as one ingredient, and it’s hard to go wrong. Start simple and add ingredients as you figure out what works best for your skin and your sense of smell. Most of all, have fun creating, and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.

 

Gluten Free Peasant Bread and Quiche

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If you are following a gluten-free diet, then you know how hard it is to find a good peasant bread, or really any bread that feels special enough for holiday events or gifting. This peasant bread recipe is that something special. It is easy enough for novice bakers and can be made into an herb bread if desired. The texture is perfect for accompanying soups and salad, or just cutting off a piece and adding any sort of spread on it. I’ve  never had to toast this bread and I seriously cannot say that about any other gluten-free bread I’ve had, even the loaves of fresh bread from a nearby gluten-free bakery. Since spring brings with it Easter, Passover, Equinox celebrations, and Mother’s Day, I thought this would be a good time to share the recipe here although I have it on my previous blog so it might sound familiar to some of you. It’s the most visited post on that site by far.

The actual how-to will take you to another blog where I found a regular bread recipe that sounded like it’d be a good fit for gluten-free flours. This is because it is a no-knead bread, and that works well for gluten-free breads since kneading is done to activate gluten’s stickiness, but other flours do not react the same way. Gluten-free breads are always made with several different flours and starches in an effort to mimic that ‘glue’ that gluten naturally gives to wheat, rye, and barley. I use a lot of oat flour in my breads but you can substitute other gf flours or even just go with a gf bread mix such as one from Jovial, Pamela’s, or Manini’s. I find the bread turns out best with the flour combination below, but the pre-made mixes are great in a pinch, though if you do use one, adjust the salt according to how much the mix already has in it. (You’ll have to do a bit of educated guesswork.) Those three websites all have great recipes by the way, so if you are looking for more gluten-free ideas, check them out.

For the Peasant Bread, follow this link to the how-to, but replace the flour with: 1.5 C of gluten-free oat flour, 1 C millet flour, 1/2 C tapioca starch, 1/2 C brown rice flour, and 1/2 C sorghum flour. You can add 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum or psyllium husk powder for a more even texture if you wish, and I replaced greasing the bowls with butter with olive oil to make the bread dairy free. When greasing the pyrex bowls, really layer it on because I’ve ruined several crusts with not enough oil on the bowls. I think it works even better to spray the bowls with either coconut oil or olive oil instead of just using the liquid version so you can really layer it on. Whatever you use, use a lot. If you aren’t gluten free, try it in the original form and let me know if it’s good that way too. I bet it is and it’s so easy!

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Make this bread with the quiche recipe below for a special holiday meal or just to make a regular weekday feel special.

This quiche recipe from Delicious Living sounds perfect for Easter Morning brunch, but the way Amy Palanjian has written it makes it actually a great weekday option as well because you can make it ahead of time and just grab on busy mornings. Either way, it’s naturally gluten-free without substitutions. Here’s the full recipe courtesy of Delicious Living.

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Picture is Palanjian’s

Thyme’s vibrant flavor enhances mild goat cheese and eggs and aromatically complements parsley’s steady flavor. Make these easy, egg-based bites up to three days in advance, and store in the fridge for a quick power breakfast on busy days.

Ingredients:

  • 1 shallot
  • 1 cup packed and shredded baby spinach or kale
  • ½ cup lightly packed, minced fresh parsley
  • 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
  • 8 eggs
  • ½ cup crumbled goat cheese
  • ½ cup low-fat (1 percent) cottage cheese
  • ⅓ cup cornmeal
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375°, and grease a standard muffin tin with cooking spray.
  2. Chop shallot, greens, parsley and thyme in a food processor. Stir together with remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Divide evenly into prepared pan, filling each cup about two-thirds full.
  3. Bake for 20–22 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool for 2 minutes in pan, and run a paring knife around edges to loosen. Serve warm.

PER SERVING: 87 cal, 4g fat (2g mono, 1g poly, 2g sat), 127mg chol, 201mg sodium, 5 carb (0g fiber, 0g sugars), 7g protein

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How to Make Rose Oil (Quick Method)

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There are two traditional ways to make an herbal oil. The first method is referred to as the Folk Method, the Cold Method, or even the Solar Method although you can do it in the winter without the sun’s help, it just means that no artificial heat is used. Letting the sun help with herbal infusion is recommended though when that is an option, but here in the Pacific Northwest, there are few months in the year when that is viable. The cold method is what I used in the video series one and two where I infused olive oil with Roses for about 4 weeks. This method that I’m sharing below is called the Quick Method or the Hot Method because it is done on the stove-top and you have your oil in a matter of hours instead of weeks. So you might be wondering why everyone just doesn’t use the hot method if it’s so much faster, and the answer to that is the Folk Method in herbalism is generally the preferred method for best preserving all the healing properties of an herb. With the artificial heat comes the chance of over-heating and ruining some of the herb’s beneficial attributes, as well as the oil’s beneficial attributes. Many aspects of herbalism have a Folk Method vs. a Quick Method, with even the microwave being employed at times in Quick Method recipes, such as melting wax for lip balm for example. If you are mindful of keeping the heat on low and using a double boiler approach, this method should give you fabulous, fragrant oil that you can use the same day on your skin or in a more extensive recipe. If you are not pressed for time though, using the Cold Method is actually simpler and offers less opportunities for damage to the herbs and oil.

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Herbal Infusion in Oil using Quick Method (Hot Method) 

Put your herb or herbs into the top of some kind of double boiler. I use a measuring glass in a pot of water. Add the oil of choice (olive oil is most common and what I use, but you can use something different such as sweet almond oil or grapeseed oil). The oil should more than cover the herbs, with plenty of room for movement.

Fill the bottom of the double boiler with water, then place it all on low heat. This mixture should stay on low heat until the oil takes on some of the color and fragrance of the herbs, so count on at least one hour, then let the mixture cool before straining and bottling. Some recipes have the oil on low low heat for up to 48 hours so don’t worry about letting it sit on heat for too long. Dried herbs are preferred because anytime you introduce water into an oil preparation, you also introduce the potential for bacteria. Fresh herbs are called for in certain cases, such as with St. John’s Wort which makes a fantastic massage oil since it eases aches and pains, in which case it is recommended to dry wilt the fresh herbs for 24-48 hours before placing them in oil. Stir the herbs while they are on the heat every once in a while with a wooden chopstick.

Because I have Rose buds instead of Rose petals, I bruised and chopped the buds a bit with the largest blade I have before adding them to the oil. The more surface area available on your herbs, the better, and bruising them starts the process of releasing their oils and fragrance.

This often gets people asking, why not use herbal powder then…? You can use herbal powders, but straining the finished oil is difficult, and you might not ever get it completely free of the powder. If you do use a powder, plan on straining with a clean coffee filter two or more times, instead of straining with a cheesecloth over a stainless steel strainer. Once the herbs are strained from the oil, store in a glass jar in a cool, dark place for up to six months and always check for rancidity before using (the smell will be ‘off’). If you can refrigerate your oils, they will last longer.

Use rose oil as a moisturizer or serum alone, or add essential oils to it for even more benefits, or use the oil in recipes for lip balm, healing salves, or body butters. Rose is known to be hydrating, softening, beautifying, and particularly good for mature and/or sun damaged skin. Other good herbs to infuse into oils are calendula, lavender, or peppermint which is particularly revitalizing for tired feet and legs. Get creative with whatever you have in your particular corner of the world.

Happy Spring to everyone in the Northern Hemisphere. I hope the change of seasons has infused everyone with lightness and loveliness. Enjoy and please subscribe (top right or down below if on mobile) for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.

 

 

 

People and Plants

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This e-guide from Delicious Living speaks to my heart. Delicious Living made it in partnership with the company Gaia Herbs which is one of  my go-to herbal supplement brands. I have taken their extra-strength turmeric daily for years and it has made a huge impact in my life (and my aching feet). Plants have been our friends, healers, and joy givers for all of our human existence and it’s a mission of mine to keep that relationship alive and thriving. This guide not only reminds us how many ways plants are part of our lives and part of our health, it also gives some suggestions for herbs that can enhance your daily life and if you think about it, our lifelong health is nothing more than our daily habits so adding small positive actions, supplements, and wellness practices are what make the biggest impact on health, aging, and quality of life. Check out the e-guide and enjoy being reminded of how integral plants are to our lives, and how entwined their health is with our own.

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Cleaner and Greener Laundry

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It was recently my birthday and I was going to ask my friend for dryer balls because I knew she made them as gifts for others, but then it occurred to me to instead ask her to show me how to make them, and that maybe others would like the directions too. She is always up for a crafting date, even if it involves awkward videoing and way too many photos, (such a good sport!) so below is the tutorial of my multi-talented friend Lani teaching how to make the inevitable task of laundry a bit greener.

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Lani
Not everyone is ready to switch to a natural laundry detergent, but just about anyone can reduce their ecological imprint by cutting drying time with wool dryer balls. If you replace fabric softener completely with these balls, then that makes each load even more environmentally friendly, not to mention budget friendly. If you like the scent of fabric softener, you can add a couple of drops of essential oil to your dryer balls before throwing them in with a load and that gives you complete control over how your clothes smell, without unhealthy fragrances and such. Wool dryer balls are incredibly easy to make and there is hardly any packaging involved, plus no weird chemicals. You can buy them of course if you are not in the mood to roll wool, but trust me when I say, anyone can do this. Be aware of the kind of wool you buy because it needs to be able to felt. 100% Roving wool is what Lani told me to get and it worked well.

If you are perusing natural laundry detergents though, I have a fun fact for you. You know that brand Country Save? It was founded (in Washington state) by a guy named Elmer Pearson. Any ideas on what other product Mr. Pearson is behind…? The clue is in his name. Or should I have said glue, instead of clue? Yes! Elmer’s glue! He didn’t get rich off of that ubiquitous glue by the way because he never held the patent, but you can read more about him here if you are interested. Back to dryer balls, here’s what you need:

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Wool Dryer Balls

Roving Wool (One skein will make approximately 2 balls)

Pantyhose or nylon knee highs (that you aren’t going to wear anymore)

Scissors

A large eyed needle or crochet hook (There are two below the yarn, and together they look like tweezers, but they are just needles).

To start, wrap some yarn around three fingers about 10 times, then take it off your hand and wrap it the other way a few times. Here’s a video of Lani showing how to get the ball rolling (har har):

Continue wrapping up the ball into a round shape until the ball is around softball or baseball size.60CC06EA-3A85-42CD-B760-E6E47C36BC39[1]Once your ball is a good size, take a large-eyed needle or crochet hook to bury the end of the yarn into the ball. You can completely bury it, or cut off the end of the yarn after a few tucks if you prefer. Here’s Lani showing how it’s done:

Once the balls are complete with the loose yarn tucked in, they are put into nylon stockings, tied off with string that is not the same wool because you do not want it to felt, then thrown into the washing machine for a hot wash with any other items that are washed on hot. They are then dried on high heat. I have a big old top loader and it took two cycles of washing for mine to felt, and really I wasn’t sure if they had until after the high heat drying. Lani has a more modern front loader and says hers typically take 3 or 4 wash cycles before felting.

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To use these you need 3-5 balls so they are creating space in your load to allow for faster drying and they soften the fabric as they bounce around and pummel the clothes. You can add a drop or two of essential oils to the balls for scenting. I’d start small and add more the next time if it isn’t enough for you. I’m excited to use mine and to play with the scenting myself! Thank you Lani!!!

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What they look like after felting
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Bay Rum Aftershave and Toner

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Did you know you can make your own Bay Rum? That old school scent that men use as cologne and can be made into other things as well…? When I first ran across a recipe for it I had a small mental freak-out, along the lines of, “Wait, what? You mean Bay Rum is literally just bay leaves and rum? Of course!! Oh my gosh I have to make it!” So I did, adding cinnamon sticks and cloves along with the bay leaves, then finishing it with some vanilla extract. It smells manly and awesome, familiar in a nonspecific way. So far I’ve only made an aftershave/toner with it, but I intend to infuse more men’s inspired goodies because it’s such a traditional scent that even though it’s a tad old school, it is still so recognizable.

Making Bay Rum is the same as making any other herbal extract, just with Rum as the alcohol. As with all traditional herbal recipes, there are endless ways to do this. Here’s what I used:

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Bay Rum:

1/2 Cup Bay leaves

2 Cinnamon Sticks

4 Cloves

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After combining these into a glass jar, I shook them up daily or at least every other day for about four weeks. Then I poured the strained liquid into a glass jar and added 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

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1/4 Cup Bay Rum

1/8 Cup Witch Hazel

1/8 Cup Distilled Water

1 teaspoon Aloe Juice (or gel)

1 teaspoon Glycerine

8 drops Bergamot essential oil

8 drops Bay essential oil

Put all ingredients together into a glass bottle with either a spray top or just a screw lid. Shake before using each time and it’s best used right after cleansing and/or shaving. Can be used on face, neck, and body for its toner actions (balancing pH) and as cologne.

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It always amazes me how easy it is to make custom, small-batch, clean and green products. Looking at the old recipes of simpler times is so inspiring because they used ingredients they were surrounded by at any given time, such as the sailors who started using versions of bay rum to smell better after months at sea. Back then everyone seemed to have at least some knowledge of how to use herbs and what to do with other natural ingredients that surrounded them, and that knowledge connected them to the natural world and fostered respect and perhaps more than a little awe. This connection still exists, but the threads are thinning, and it concerns me that one day only a select few will carry on these traditions and this connection. I’d love to see an edible garden on every schoolyard and creative crafting of food and herbs in the classrooms. In a world of advancing technology and all the emphasis on STEM, it’s important to consider the role of nature, art, and creativity in the world we want to leave our kids.

Happy Creating and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

 

Eco-Friendly Beauty Companies

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No one has time to make all their own beauty products, so it’s nice to know which companies are truly ‘natural’ and also have a sustainable mission that guides their work. If a company claims to be all natural but doesn’t care about their impact on the natural world, then something is clearly amiss. These four companies highlighted by Delicious Living’s Jessica Rubino are a great place to start. I personally use a lot of evan healy products because they are effective, smell great, and are clean and green. I first heard of the product line when I read the book No More Dirty Looks and I’ve been using some (off and on) ever since. We also have used Badger sunscreen face sticks in the summer for years. One thing to remember is that a little goes a long way with these products, especially when it comes to face oil, so start small then add more if needed. You can always blot some off with a tissue if after ten minutes you feel shiny or greasy at all.

argonfaceoilBadger Argan Face Oil

Buying this nourishing, totally clean, USDA Organic product also supports B Corp values, which for Badger means concern for employees, from on-site child care to organic lunches.

 

California Scrub Co. Spicy Chai

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This small company blends essential oils with upcycled coffee grounds to create luscious scrubs packaged in glass jars—sustainable from start to finish.

 

 

Evanhealy Blue Cactus Beauty Elixir

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Unique ingredients from small farms, women’s co-ops and other community-focused sources combine in lovely,  handmade organic products, including this elixir.

 

 

True Botanicals Renew Pure Radiance Oil

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Clinical trials plus a team of scientific advisers back the company’s vision for natural products that really work. A double-blind study showed that this pick, made with organic oils, improves skin hydration and reduces the appearance of wrinkles.

 

 

Enjoy your weekend and the next time you need to buy a beauty product, look for something that makes you also feel good on the inside too and you’ll get twice as much out of it. The earth will thank you as well as your skin. Cheers to you and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

 

How to Make a Body Butter

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Making a body butter or cream is an especially magical process because the mere act of whipping the concoction creates the luxurious feel of the product and also the opaqueness. It’s really easy to do and there are so many ways to do it that I very rarely repeat the same process twice in the exact same way. That being said, I don’t always get the proportions exactly right for a proper whip to the recipe so do follow the ingredient recommendations closely of whatever recipe you choose at least for the first time or two. Even if the whipping doesn’t make your butter quite creamy, you will still end up with a soft balm that is just as good for moisturizing, and considering all these ingredients are natural, healthy, and non-toxic, you can use them on any part of your body that needs a little lotion-y love. Use whatever essential oils you like, but just know if you are using the recipe below the cocoa butter gives the finished product a decidedly chocolate-y scent, so figure that into your scent profile. For example, orange and chocolate might be good, cedarwood and chocolate though….maybe not.) I used vanilla absolute to round out the chocolate scent and the lavender to make sure it didn’t smell completely like food, plus lavender has so many skin benefits.

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Body Butter

1/2 C Cocoa Butter

1/4 C Coconut Oil

1/8 C Shea Butter

1/8 C Rose Oil (Olive Oil based)

20 drops Lavender

10 drops Vanilla Absolute

Put all the ingredients, except for the essential oils, into a measuring cup that can go into a pot of water that will heat up to a simmer. 3756C7C8-FDB6-4FEB-B5E5-051F1F1C9E5A[1]Let the solids completely melt, then take the measuring cup out of the water and let the liquid cool. You can put the measuring cup on ice, or put it in the fridge or freezer with a clean towel on top of it. It takes a while to cool, anywhere between a half hour to an hour depending on how it is cooling (freezer or on ice or just sitting out or whatnot). If you lose track of time and find the measuring cup hours later rock solid, don’t worry, just melt it again. When the liquid feels room temperature to the touch, add the essential oils and start whipping it with an electric mixer or in a blender until it turns creamy and opaque. This could take 5-10 minutes, depending on how cool the liquid is upon starting. Pour the butter into a clean jar and keep it out of heat and light for storage. This is a very emollient body butter, good for hand or foot cream, elbows, or any part of the body that is very dry. It isn’t recommended for the face though because those hard oils and butter can be pore clogging. It smells decadent and it is really fun to make something that starts off mostly solid, melts into a liquid, then whips into a totally new texture.

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Store in a clean glass jar with a tight fitting top, in a cool, dark place. Preferably a cool, dark place up out of nosey doggie territory. I was going to give this body butter to a friend so I had it down on the bottom of my shelf of herbal things where I knew I wouldn’t forget about it, but see that cork there…? My dog took the cork out of the jar (it does smell heavenly, and very much like food despite the lavender, I have to admit) and the jar hardened to a decidedly non-butter state. Definitely not gift-worthy anymore although I’ll still use it. Now it’s back to the stove top to make another batch, this time with a screw-lid jar.

This does harden a bit over a couple of days even with a properly closed container, so don’t be surprised if that happens. It still melts right onto (and into) your skin. We have all heard how skin is our largest organ and whatever we put on it goes into the body, so make sure you are only using the best, purest, products. You are worth it and your body will thank you. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

 

 

 

All Natural Snacks and Drinks

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The newest New Hope Blogger Box had some great options for gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free, health-minded people. Whether you are Paleo or a prefer a house of carbs (like I do), there’s something here to suit your snacking needs.

Oats are one of those things that cause confusion in the gluten-free world. There are two issues to consider: 1.Oats do not have gluten in them, but they do have a protein that is similar to gluten and it can cause problems for those who are both gluten-intolerant or celiac. 2. Oats are mostly processed on the same equipment as wheat and therefore there is a high likelihood of cross-contamination unless they are certified gluten-free. This makes granola off limits for many, especially those that follow a grain-free Paleo diet, or at least it did until now. The #NewHopeBloggerBox had this delicious sample in it from Grandy Oats, and it really is a fantastic substitute for oat-based granola. I’ve happily never had a problem with oats so I eat granola pretty much everyday, and this one tastes just like any other I’ve munched on lately.

If you are gluten-free and soy-free, finding a protein bar is nearly impossible. These Hi-Health bars are both, and some are vegan as well, using pea protein, while other flavors contain hormone-free whey. I probably should have used something other than a soy candle to prop up the bar since they are soy-free, but hey, it was handy.

Turmeric is all the rage these days, and with very good reason. It helps with inflammation, has adaptogenic properties, and is probably the most rigorously tested herb out there. Gaia makes taking your Turmeric easy and enjoyable with this golden milk powder. Just add it to warmed milk or milk alternative, and reap the benefits.

The literature with Gaia’s golden milk encourages the drinker to add one of their tinctures to the golden milk for extra health benefits. They suggest Ginger for digestive support, or Holy Basil for easing stress. Raw and Root puts extra herbal support right into their golden milk powder, with Ashwagandha, Gotu Kola, and others. (Gaia’s actually has Ashwagandha in it too. Turmeric has reigned supreme for some time now, but I think Ashwagandha’s star is rising if this box of samples is any indication.)

This is the second time Jackson’s Honest has been part of the New Hope Blogger Box so my kids were eager to dig into this bag. They have a heartbreaking story behind their mission based brand that has directly resulted in clean, organic, simple ingredient lists. This chip has only three ingredients: Organic Yellow Corn, Organic Coconut Oil, and Salt, and that’s clearly all a chip needs because these are delicious. Love to Jackson’s family.

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Speaking of clean ingredients, have you looked at your mayo jar lately? Chosen Foods Avocado Oil Mayo is clean, soy-free, non-gmo, and made with cage free eggs. Real food.

Cascadian Farms has a new flavor of granola and it tastes like a lemon blueberry muffin. I’ve never had lemony granola before and was skeptical, but it actually really works. This granola is not made with certified gluten-free oats though, so if you are following a gluten-free diet then this won’t work for you. I tried it because I’ve been systematically working to get over my gluten-intolerance so I figured a little cross-contamination wouldn’t cause me harm, and it hasn’t.

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Have a great holiday weekend! Do something special and try something new. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

 

New Supplements for Self Love

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Happy Valentine’s Day! Valentine’s falls on ‘Wellness Wednesday’ this year, so this is a great day to think about showing yourself some love. The #NewHopeBloggerBox happens to be full of supplements this time around that can definitely improve your health and beauty, and even your breath! Valentine’s isn’t supposed to be only about self-love after all. So let’s start there~

At first I thought this package from Lively Up Your Breath was gum, but it is actually a capsule full of liquid that you break open in your mouth, then chew or discard the capsule. (I discarded mine.) It has powerful ingredients such as peppermint oil and menthol crystals, as well as chlorophyll to provide both instant and long-lasting results. They are free of refined sugar, artificial colors and flavors, gluten, aspartame, and no preservatives.

Beauty is certainly in the eye of the beholder, but great skin never hurts. Neocell’s Super Ceramindes helps hydrate the skin from the inside out, which is helpful any season but especially in winter.

This is where self-love is important because if you are unhappy with the quality of your skin, especially when it comes to aging, there are different supplements out there that can offer help. Neocell also makes great collagen powders and supplements that I swear have kept my skin from getting the grey cast it always has by this time of year. I’ve been drinking a glass of the powder mixed in water first thing in the morning for a couple of months and it has helped my skin look alive in the dead of winter. It’s really just a matter of figuring out what works best for you, and no one is going to give you permission to take care of yourself, you just have to commit to doing it. (Trust me, I know it isn’t easy.)

That goes for weight issues too. If you have a problem with sugar cravings, you are certainly not alone, and you don’t have to fight them alone. Redd Remedies’ Crave Stop uses the herb Gymnema Sylvestra and the mineral Chromium along with other ingredients to help balance the blood sugar peaks and dips which helps control cravings.

CBD oil has been getting a lot of press lately for, well, just about everything. It seems to have an endless list of benefits from fighting inflammation, to balancing hormones, to reducing anxiety and much more. This one from CV Sciences is made with non-GMO ingredients, is gluten-free, and vegetarian.

Whether you are the type of person who has problems falling asleep or if you are the type that wakes up in the middle of the night to stare at the ceiling for hours on end, Utzy Naturals’ Utzzz’s Stay Asleep Natural Sleep Aid can help. This formula has great ingredients such as Ashwagandha, Chamomile, GABA, Calcium and Magnesium, and more, plus it does not have gluten, yeast, nor artificial colors or flavors. I’ve taken this already for a couple of nights in a row and it really has helped me fall asleep, and stay asleep through the night instead of waking up at 2:30 for one to two hours. I don’t feel any kind of residue upon waking like I have in the past with some other natural sleep aids, and in fact have awoken fairly bright and ready for the day. Well, ready for the walk to the coffeemaker anyway.

In the “Welcome to the Modern World” category, Source Naturals stays at the cutting age with their Screen Time Stamina, helping us collectively adapt to the age of technology. This may be a modern formula, but it’s chock full of time-tested traditional adaptogens, and plenty of other herbs, vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to support brain and eye function as well as stamina. Gutenberg would be proud.

Speaking of adaptogens, Oregon’s Wild Harvest Ashwagandha is organic and is simply the herb in a vegetarian capsule with no fillers. Ashwagandha is a classic adaptogenic herb that is best known for increasing stamina by balancing energy levels, which includes helping with sleep. (It is in both Utzy’s sleep formula and in the Screen Time Stamina above.) Adaptogens are popular right now and it’s not surprising considering they help our bodies, minds, and emotions manage stress and adrenal fatigue, and are known to have a very low likelihood to causing harm.

Another herb with adaptogenic qualities is Turmeric, and it is also anti-inflammatory with high anti-oxident activity. Natural Factors has paired Turmeric with L-glutamine for a post-workout recovery powder. These two ingredients are also highly helpful for the digestive system and I’m excited to try it as part of my quest to completely heal my food intolerances.

May your heart be full and healthy on this Valentine’s day and every day. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested. XOXOXO

 

Natural Support in a Classroom Setting

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My friend suggested I write about what, if anything, a teacher could do in his or her classroom to help students learn. There are definitely things one can do in a classroom, but what exactly can be done has a lot to do with who and where you are teaching. This friend of mine is actually in her home country of South Africa right now but we lived in Prague together as English teachers many moons ago, so that got me thinking about the differences in cultural classrooms and also the differences in ages being taught. We taught adults in Prague but we both have experience with kids too, both as teachers and parents.

DB4A47C5-BB47-4296-ACC9-D268FC499839[1]One thing just about anyone can do is to bring in fresh plants. This is something parents or students themselves can actually take the initiative on to freshen up the air in a classroom and depending on the plant, actually have added benefits. There are certain plants that cleanse the space of specific toxins, and the fragrance of herbs and flowers can actually benefit the moods and brain functioning of people. One year when my two kids were still in elementary school, I gave their classroom teachers each a pot of Rosemary before the state testing began, thinking the teachers would already know that Rosemary is great for brains, benefiting focus, clarity, and memory.  The teachers were surprised to hear that Rosemary was traditionally used in such a way and I’m not really sure if they believed me or not, but the plants stayed in my boys’ classrooms for the rest of that year.

If you travel from classroom to classroom, then plants might not be practical. Luckily, essential oils are portable and can be used in a couple of different ways. Diffusing essential oils in the classroom can help promote positive mental and emotional health. There are different options when it comes to diffusing, including plug-in ones, light bulbA59AF0A5-9A2C-4D76-B61A-3D62814D9DC0[1] rings, ceramic discs, and candle fueled ceramics. Orange or Bergamot essential oils would be good uplifting choices for returning to school after a long break. When it might be necessary to keep a class calm, Lavender is the obvious choice. When taking a big test, nothing beats Rosemary essential oil for clarity, focus, and memory help. When going through a study guide, if you have any essential oil scenting the room, it will help to have that same scent in the room during the actual test. (Just as at home studying can be amplified with essential oils and then the brain triggered during the assessment with the same scent.) It’s important to switch up the essential oils if used in this way, so assigning certain subjects with certain essential oils can help the brain function best. Also, doing blends might be the best option of all so the scents will be truly unique to a certain class and its specific material, so that way students won’t automatically think of the pythagorean theorem every time they smell Cedarwood for the rest of their lives, or whatever scent has been married to whatever subject. It’s truly something to consider! The role scent plays in memory cannot be overstated, due to the construction of the brain, so making use of it is wise, but being thoughtful about it is kind.

Besides diffusing essential oils, making sprays can be another way to scent the room, and also to combat germs. Thieves oil is the classic germ buster, but many essential oils have anti-bacterial properties, and some are even anti-viral. Thyme is especially good for cold and flu time of year, and besides being antiseptic, antibacterial, and antiviral, it is antifungal too. You can use the spray you make not only as an air freshener, but also to wipe down desks and tabletops. You can also use sprays made from distilled water and essential oils as a body spray to help keep yourself or your student healthy. Just diffusing the essential oils into the air will help keep down the germs, and almost all the essential oils have some antiseptic properties so you can’t really choose badly in that respect. While more essential oils are antibacterial than antiviral, the following have both antibacterial and antiviral properties: Cinnamon, Clove, Lemon Eucalyptus, Garlic, Lavender, Onion, Oregano, Tea Tree, and Thyme. (Reference: Valerie Ann Wormwood’s The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy.)

For more about what students and parents of students can do to combat anxiety and increase their study power, click the links, and here are two more posts on immune boosters for winter.

Although winter is an especially good time for bringing plants and essential oils into the classroom, students and teachers can benefit year round from a bit of nature in their shared space. Instead of gifting teachers apples, a potted plant or a bottle of essential oils might be the healthier option for all. Wishing you all the best in health and happiness~ do what it takes. You are worth it. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

 

 

 

How to Make an Herbal Oil Part 2

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Herbal oils are one thing that are not easy to find ready-made. They are instead extremely easy to make though, and once you have an oil ready, it can be made into massage or body oil, an all natural perfume, balm, salve, or butter. You can even just use it straight as a healing moisturizer and it makes a lovely gift. (Valentine’s day is just around the corner!) Adding some rose buds or petals back into a bottle of rose oil makes for an extra special gift presentation. If you missed the beginning of the process, you will find it here. This method is called the cold method and is very similar to making an herbal tincture.

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How to Make an Herbal Tincture Part 2

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This is the second video on how to make an herbal tincture. The first one showed the beginning of the process, and the one below shows the end. This is so easy to do yourself and I find the herbal tinctures I make myself to be much more potent and certainly fresher of course. You can also blend herbs together in the beginning of the process to make your own unique, custom blend, or blend your tinctures after they have been made. (Herbal extracts using only one herb at a time are called simples.) A tincture made with alcohol, kept out of heat and light, will be potent for about four to five years, while ones made with vegetable glycerine will keep for one to two years. The video below shows how easy it is to make your own medicine.

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Thank You and Addressing the Survey

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Just a quick note to say thank you to those of you who took the survey in my last post. The answers are anonymous so I can’t address you personally if you took it (because I don’t know who took it), which means I have to do it here. Two things come up in the survey that I wanted to talk to right away. The first is that someone mentioned learning more about growing and drying herbs. I’m not much of a grower myself with barely a raised bed of edibles each summer, but herbs are notoriously easy to grow. Of course, that depends on if you are growing what is native to your area or if you are trying to grow jungle plants in Alaska, but assuming you are growing somewhat native plants, most herbs are hearty, not too picky about soil, and are a good pick for kids because they generally don’t disappoint. As for drying, if you are in a hurry you can use a food dehydrator if you happen to have one, or your oven on it’s lowest setting (under 185 degrees) with the door cracked open. Those two techniques can dry herbs in a day. All you really need though is some sort of slatted drying rack, a cooling rack from your oven would do if the herbs don’t fall through, and a dry room with good ventilation. You want the herbs to not touch as much as possible, and flipping them over once a day or so is also a good idea. You can also tie small bundles together and hang them to dry which is space saver and less work once they are hanging. Either way will take from a few days to over a week, depending on what you are drying and the conditions of the room. You can dry herbs in the sun if you are just looking for a quick 1-2 day dry but still intend to use the plant as ‘fresh’. Hope that helps, but if not there are plenty of websites that go into detail about drying herbs so you aren’t alone and definitely can find what you need.

To those that indicated they would most like to learn about a particular disease and what would help it, I highly recommend starting with the book, Prescription for Nutritional Healing by Phyllis A. Balch CNC. It’s a great resource as a starting place. It does not go too deeply into herbs, but it does give sound herbal recommendations after each disease/condition. An old edition was given to every employee when hired at the health food store I worked at over 20 years ago, and we kept the new editions behind the checkout counter to hand over to customers for when they came in looking for natural help for whatever ailed them. It’s a great resource and I’ve held onto mine all these years despite the fact the cover is gone and the pages are starting to fall out. Here’s a brief video to see what the book looks like:

Also KP Khalsa has some online videos about herbs for specific diseases/conditions so you might want to look into those as well. I love that people are taking their health into their own hands. We hear a lot about self-care lately and that means something different to everyone, but when we apply that notion to our health it means really addressing the imbalances that inevitably occur so they do not go into a disease condition. Sometimes this means getting a diagnosis from a doctor, other times it might mean just thinking about long term conditions, or parts of our bodies that seem most susceptible to disharmony, and then changing daily habits or supplementing accordingly. Be an authority on yourself. You’ll be your own best advocate and it’s the surest way to your best health possible.

And just FYI, that butterfly was alive and well. I at first was nervous it might be injured or worse because it let me get so close without moving, but then I took the photo and it promptly flew away. Phew! 

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Herbal Journey

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The other day an acquaintance asked me how long I’d been interested in herbs, and I went into a rambling story of formal and informal studies that were in no way chronological (nor coherent most likely), and it made me realize that I haven’t actually thought through my personal herbal journey, which means I also haven’t shared it here and that just seems wrong. So, the following is my attempt to write down this very organic path that I’ve traveled so far and give some links if anyone else is looking to study herbs and wants to move beyond books and websites.

Although I was the kind of kid who liked to play outside, I was really more of an animal lover than a plant lover, who declared I wanted to be “Caterpillar Queen” when I grew up and was intent on going to ‘dog heaven’ instead of human heaven. (When you grow up Catholic, you think quite a bit about the logistics of heaven.) My favorite thing to do indoors though, was when my sister and I would get out big bowls and mixing spoons and combine all the good smelling products in the house to make ‘perfume.’ This appalled my now ex-husband until he understood we weren’t using things like vinegar and baking soda, but instead used all the shampoos, conditioners, liquid soaps, perfumes, after-sun gels, lotions, body sprays, anything scented, and poured them all together. It was great fun to make these concoctions though of course it was all pretend play, and now that I think about it, we probably are indeed lucky we never caused a bad chemical reaction in our reckless mixing. (That would have been one cacophonous-scented blast.)

In high school I was drawn to the local natural foods store and would buy small amounts of herbs from the bulk bins to try as tea, as well as books about natural products and natural living. I honestly don’t remember why or how it all started because it wasn’t something we grew up talking about as a family philosophy or anything. The natural world, and herbs in particular, just resonated with me in a way that was impossible to ignore. It might have had something to do with the fact that I never really felt well, always a headache, constantly tired, always a “nervous stomach”, and the world of herbs and other naturals offered promises of health and well-being while modern medicine seemed stark, rigid, mildly toxic. and lacking creativity. And the natural things did help, especially the cleanses, but it wasn’t until I went off gluten that I got the biggest uptick in health and well-being. With my herbal books I learned to make natural masks and full-on facials with ingredients found in the kitchen, which was very reminiscent of the pretend play my sister and I did as younger children.

Right after college (English major) I worked at the natural foods store where I had once shopped, and started an herbal correspondence course with Wild Rose College. It was a great program that made me study a bit of anatomy, the healing process, iridology, and more (besides the herbs) and it wasn’t easy, so check out their programs if you are interested. At that time the natural foods store also had an employee education program that most people ignored but I dove in and loved it so vocally that I was given it to run when the coordinator couldn’t do it anymore. I felt like the luckiest person ever to have all that great free educational material about vitamins, minerals, oils, herbs, homeopathy, and so much more.

Then I had an herbal internship with herbalist Michael Pilarski who primarily wildcrafted herbs, made medicine with those herbs, and is a well-known authority on permaculture. I enjoyed the medicine-making days the most and also got to attend herbal classes and a conference while interning with him. It was a great learning experience.

I later worked for a natural foods and products distributor which meant more education and insight into the industry as well as the natural products themselves. It definitely helped to already have a strong herbal background as I remember very clearly going into a shop on Whidbey Island where the skeptical owner handed me a cup of herbal tea which I immediately identified as burdock and I won her over. (I was in sales/customer service which sometimes drew people who knew nothing about the actual products.) Plus, if you know what burdock tastes like, it’s kind of an acquired taste. Thank goodness it was an herb I was familiar with because there are so many herbs out there it’s not possible to know them all and that was the quickest way to earn trust ever!

While working for the distributor I went through a year-long herbal certificate program at Bellevue College which was run by Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa. He has moved from the Seattle area now but was the president of the American Herbalists Guild for several years recently and has online courses mainly for people interested in using herbs professionally, but also classes for people just interested in a specific topic, such as Ayurveda. I believe he even still has some in-person programs like the kind I went through, so if you are interested in online or in-person classes, check out his website. I then had an internship with him for a couple of months where again my favorite aspect of it was making Ayurvedic kits to be used for spa-type rituals and panchakarma.

Afterwards, I started making my own herbal bath and body products with the name Dragonlily Herbs as well as giving classes in making herbal products. That did not last long though as first one baby and then quickly two took over all my time and energy. (And going back to school to get my MA in TESOL.) Now that the boys are older, I guess this is really just my second iteration of Dragonlily, with the addition of making my Luddite-soul fully embrace the online world.

Over the years I’ve also taken several other herbal classes about things I was specifically interested in such as the digestive system, thyroid, essential oils, skin herbs, and herbal crafting. Now that I’ve written all that down, I feel like I really should know a lot more than I do but there’s so much herbal knowledge out there from all different traditions and cultures that it’s hard not to constantly feel like what is left to learn is a vast ocean compared to what I already know. I’ve got a studious streak though so that endless learning aspect suits me just fine.

The links above to KP Khalsa’s site and the AHG will help if you happen to be looking for classes. Also Bastyr University and the American Botanical Council are good places to visit as well. I have some herbal classes in the works myself, both in-person and online, that will focus on my favorite part of herbalism~ medicine-making and bath and body crafting. If you are interested, let me know what you most want covered. The focus will be on simplicity, beauty, and health, with an emphasis on the kinds of products that used to be part of everyone’s daily life before mass-market, chemical-laden commercialization became the norm. We deserve to hang on to our roots and customize our own health and body care as only our own selves possibly could. (Now that’s self-care!)

More on that soon, but in the meantime, could you do me a quick favor? I’ve made a short survey and I’d really appreciate your feedback~ it is just three short questions and I promise it’ll take less than one minute.

Survey here

Thank you so much! I would love to hear what drew you to herbs and where you are on your own herbal journey. Looking forward to hearing from you and best health to you and yours. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

Wheat: Is it the Gluten or the FODMAPs?

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When I first went to a gastroenterology doctor to discuss my blood tests that were positive for gluten reactions, his advice to me was not to go through the scope for celiac testing because, and I quote, “Lots of people have trouble digesting wheat. You just don’t eat wheat. That’s all you could do if you were diagnosed celiac anyway.” This struck me as mighty unconventional in an industry that loves to order as many tests as possible, but I followed his advice and I think I now understand that he must have seen people with wheat issues day in and day for decades to form that view. (And this was over ten years ago, before the gluten awareness explosion.) It isn’t just the gluten though, people can have trouble with wheat because of the FODMAPs, which makes wheat a particularly hard food for a lot of people since the protein and/or the carb can be the problem. It’s no wonder so many people find some relief when taking it out of their diet, but it might not be the cure-all they were hoping for. If that sounds like you, don’t get discouraged, there’s more you can do.

While gluten, which is a protein in wheat, rye, and barley, is the issue for celiacs and other people with gluten sensitivity, for others it might be the carbs of wheat, which fall under the FODMAPs acronym. FODMAPs stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols, which are molecules in certain carbohydrates that some people have trouble digesting. Wheat is one of the culprits but other items which fall under the FODMAPs category are beans, many dairy products, some fruits like apples and apricots, and a variety of vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower. For a complete list, check out Fodmaplife.com but before checking it out you should know two things: 1. the list is extensive and can be overwhelming at first glance, but don’t let it deter you because 2. not everyone reacts to all the items the same. When you start to explore if you are one of the people whose digestive issues stem from FODMAPs, you will need to limit all foods high in FODMAPs, but you then can start adding some back into your diet and experiment with what really bothers your personal system and what can actually be tolerated and at what doses. So, in other words, the list is not a list of foods you can never eat again, think of it merely as a starting point.

An easy way to experiment with this and take the guess work out of your meal planning is to try Delicious Living’s Low FODMAP Menus for a Week. They have put together meals that avoid all the high FODMAP foods and instead focus on healthy foods that are easy on the digestive tract. Here’s a preview of what you’ll find:

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If you have gone gluten-free and have found some relief but not total relief, it is worth a week of effort to try low-FODMAP eating to see if you can’t be healthier (and therefore happier). Time to go shopping~

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The low-Fodmap diet is often encouraged for people who suffer with IBS. It is worth trying if you have consistent digestive issues that do not fully respond to other diets or remedies as many people find it to be just what they needed. You deserve to feel your best so don’t give up searching for ways to make you feel great on a daily basis. Best health to you and yours. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

 

How to Make Your Own Toner

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Toner is one of those things that I kind of hate buying but I can’t live without. It is used between cleansing the skin and putting on a serum and/or moisturizer, and it balances the pH of the skin as well as helps the serum/moisturizer spread evenly so you get the most out of those more expensive products. Since it is the first layer on your skin after washing it, it has the potential to really help your skin be its healthiest and therefore its glow-iest, but it’s a light product so there shouldn’t be too much in it. Leave it to the serums and moisturizers to pack in the heavier oils and such, but that doesn’t mean toner can’t have some amazing ingredients too. Making your own means you can tweak it for your specific skin needs and even add in ingredients that might be missing from your other skin care products. For example, if you know your skin could benefit from more Vitamin C but you happen to love your current serum which is Vitamin A based, you can make sure your toner is strong Vitamin C by using Hibiscus tea, Vitamin C powder, and/or orange peel.

One of the easiest ways to make toner is by using Witch Hazel as the base. In fact, you can just use Witch Hazel for a toner by itself or by adding essential oils to it. Witch Hazel balances skin, soothes irritations, tightens, firms, and refreshes the skin. You can use it to cleanse your skin by pouring some onto a cotton ball and wiping your face clean. To use as a toner, it’s nice to cut it a bit with distilled water, floral water, a hydrosol, or a glycerin extract of an herb such as rose or orange peels as mentioned above. You can also just use floral waters and hydrosols alone as a toner in which case Rose water is a popular choice.

I happen to be out of toner so I am making some with what I have on hand which is: Witch Hazel, distilled water, and essential oils of Carrot Seed and Geranium. Both of those essential oils have a plethora of beneficial properties for the skin from moisture-balancing to wrinkle-fighting, and are good for dry, oily, mature, and/or combination skin. Their wide-ranging benefits for all different kinds of skin types make them similar to Rose essential oil, but a lot less expensive.

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Toner Recipe:

1/8 C Witch Hazel

1/8 C Distilled Water (a floral water or hydrosol would work beautifully too)

4 Drops Geranium Essential Oil

3 Drops Carrot Seed Essential Oil

2 oz. glass bottle with a spray top

Be sure to label your product and to shake your toner before each use.

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Speaking of different skin types, here’s an infographic from Delicious Living on best natural ingredient for different types of skin. Some of these could be added to a toner, while others work better in a mask, serum, or moisturizer. Borlind_infographic_3

Happy creating and beautifying everyone! You deserve to shine with optimal health. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

 

Cold and Flu Season

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A few posts back I wrote about some great immune boosters that had recently been sent my way in the new hope blogger box. Now that we are in the thick of cold and flu season, I thought I’d also post some other natural products that help us fight the good fight against those nasty viruses and bacteria that like to get social this time of year.

Essential Oils:

Essential oils are great germ fighters and immune helpers with some more potent than others in their anti-bacterial and/or anti-viral properties. If you just want to have one go-to blend for fighting all the winter sicknesses that get around, then Thieves oil is what you want. Thieves oil has a great story to it, though whether it is more history or mythology is anyone’s guess. I like to think the story had to start somewhere, so why not in an actual event? The story has several variations, but basically they all say something along the lines of this: During the Middle Ages there were four thieves in France who used to rob the graves (or the houses) of those who had died of the Plague and managed to not get ill themselves. When they were eventually caught, they were given a lighter punishment in return for telling how they did it. The four thieves admitted they used herbs (most likely soaked in vinegar at that time) to keep themselves from getting the disease. They knew how to do this because among them were perfumers and spice traders who at the time understood the anti-biotic and anti-viral properties of their goods. Their blend has passed down to us through all these centuries, though the actual recipes vary depending on who’s making it. Usually the blends include: clove, lemon, eucalyptus, cinnamon and rosemary, and then different makers add in their own special favorites. You can find it as Thieves Oil, Medieval Mix Oil, Bandits Oil, and I’m sure other names as well.

Thyme oil is another great anti-germ essential oil. You can make a room spray for wiping down surfaces or use it in an diffuser for infusing the air with its strong anti-viral properties. Thyme also repels insects and combines particularly well with Lavender and Eucalyptus essential oils to kill any bacteria or viruses around, which makes it a great blend to have along for classrooms, workplaces, and travel.

If you have congestion in your nose or chest, nothing beats Eucalyptus Oil for loosening it up and helping you breathe. Putting it in a diffuser or flicking some on the back of a shower before starting the water are great ways to get the Eucalyptus into the air. If needed, I’ll put a drop right on the front of a shirt or on a pillow if it’s bedtime.

Herbs:

There are plenty of immune boosting herbs to help you avoid getting sick that also help you get well faster if you do get sick since sometimes it is just unavoidable, but there are two that almost always get center stage in any immune blend~ Echinacea and Astragalus. Tinctures and teas are a great way to take immune boosting herbs if you are already sick, and you can also add Astragalus to soup and you might be lucky enough to find it fresh in your local produce section. (It’s a root.) Herb Pharm makes quite a few immune support blends in tincture form, from a daily builder to use before getting sick, to a rapid defense once you are sick, one specifically for viruses, and one for kids. Yogi Teas has an assortment of immune boosting teas such as this one and this one. I put the powdered root of Astragalus into my adaptogen blend during the winter for daily immune system support and because it also has adaptogenic properties.

Elderberry is another cold season herb that is a must have in your personal natural medicine cabinet. It is in a lot of cold formulas and syrups so it is an easy herb to add. Besides this kind of formula there are lozenges that one of my son sucks on all school year long, though it’s more about the yummy taste in his mind.

A few other herbs to aid the immune system are medicinal mushrooms like Reishi, Oregon Grape Root, Lomatium, and Garlic. Any time you can add any of these to your teas, daily supplement regime, and/or diet help keep your immune system in top form.

Homeopathy:

There are a couple of homeopathic medicines that can really help shorten a cold or flu and lessen the symptoms. As soon as you start to feel flu-type aches and pains, fever, and such, your best bet is to take Oscillococcinum as soon as possible. This means having it on hand at all times, just in case, because it really only works if you get it in you before the flu really takes hold. Follow the directions on the box for how much/often to take it.

Another homeopathic medicine that really should be taken at the first sign of a cold or flu is Umcka, but with this one even if you don’t get it going immediately, it’ll still lessen the duration and intensity of the cold or flu when you do start taking it. I keep a cold formula and a cold/flu formula on hand all winter long because it always seems to be nighttime when one of us starts to feel bad. There are many versions of this medicine from a hot drink to an over-the-counter-style liquid, and it’s tasty enough for kids. (Mine love it.)

Vitamins, Minerals, and Others:

Vitamin C is of course the go-to vitamin for helping the immune system fight little invaders. Be mindful that our bodies get used to the amount of vitamin C we normally take so a large, sudden increase can result in diarrhea. Vitamin D has become more well-known lately for its role in immune system support so it can be found in some wellness formulas such as this Emergen-C fizzy drink, and if you are lucky, in the sunshine. Zinc is also recognized as an important component in immune boosting and can be found in the Zand Elderberry lozenges above as well as other wellness formulas.

Probiotics are an integral part of the immune system. Taking them regularly helps keep you well, and if you go through a round of antibiotics, hit the probiotics hard afterwards, and even during the antibiotic treatment. Just make sure to take them at least two hours after taking the antibiotics.

One more thing I feel compelled to mention is drinking anywhere from a teaspoon to a tablespoon of organic apple cider vinegar in a glass of water. The bottle must say “with the mother” in order for it to be actively healing. If you feel something coming on, then drinking this three times a day will help your immune system fight it. It is strong tasting at first so starting with as small of an amount that you can get down is fine. I promise it grows on you and you can increase the amount you put in water for greater health boosting. Apple cider vinegar does a host of  good and I drink it every morning all year long (1 tablespoon in a glass of water) to prepare my digestive system for the day.

Keep well everyone and please share this with anyone who needs some immune support this winter, and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty.

 

How to Make an Herbal Oil Part 1

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Making an herbal oil using the ‘cold method’ is very similar to making an herbal tincture. For the base oil you can use olive oil, almond oil, or grapeseed oil, but olive oil is the one most commonly used. Herbal oils are a great way to get the healing benefits of the herbs onto the skin where they can work on skin issues (Calendula or Rose), and also be absorbed into the body through the skin to work on things like sore muscles (St. John’s Wort). Herbal oils can also be added to baths or made into a healing  balm or butter, and essential oils can be added to herbal oils for added benefits as well.

The skin benefits of roses from their nutritious rose hips to the highly prized essential oil are well known. Making an herbal oil of roses is another way to make use of the healing and beauty-imparting benefits of roses. It is far more economical than the essential oil, and also less potent, but it makes a great base for any perfume blending or body butter creations. Rose oil itself is skin healing and beautifully scented enough to make a lovely gift just as is, even without added essential oils. After the oil has cured and been strained, simply add a few new rose buds or petals back into the strained oil for a luxurious look. How to video below:

Here is part 2 of this series, as well as how to make an herbal oil using The Quick Method.  Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

 

Plants Heal Places too

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Now that it’s winter I find myself daydreaming more and more about adding indoor plants to our home. Living in the Pacific Northwest though makes it hard to always pick plants that will survive with little sunlight.

We are lucky that we have a wall of big windows in our living room but the angle of the sun in the wintertime makes it nearly impossible to get direct light for long in the house, and that is when there is actual sun to be seen. Most winter days here are 8CAC41BA-B986-461E-BAC1-B87B5309F6AA[1]overcast or rainy or both.  We’ve managed to keep alive a few little plant-babies in the house but I want some bigger ones to really fill the space. I saw this article on New Hope Network’s website and it made me more determined than ever to  get myself to a plant store. The thing that struck me the most, other than the fact I have our aloe in the wrong place (kitchen, not bedroom) was that specific plants clean certain toxins. I mean everyone knows that plants are good for the air quality, but they have their specialties like proper healers do. That makes perfect sense but it just never occurred to me to look into which plants are best for what needs to be cleansed. Below is the article from New Hope Network, including the pics. The ones above are my own.

Article by Jenny Ivy: The winter months are upon us, and it’s time to focus on how to stay healthy as we spend most of our time indoors. Ever since it released its Clean Air study in 1989, NASA has touted the air-filtering benefits of plants, which help cleanse our indoor environments of pollutants and common toxic chemicals such as benzene and ammonia.

Here are seven indoor plants to stock around the house this winter. 

Aloe vera

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The aloe vera plant releases oxygen throughout the night, making it ideal for bedroom spaces. It also helps clear the air of benzene, a chemical found in detergents and plastics, and formaldehyde, which can be present in varnishes and floor finishes.

Toxic to pets? Yes

Peace lily

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The peace lily cleanses benzene, formaldehyde, ammonia and trichloroethylene, a chemical commonly found in paints, varnishes, lacquers and adhesives. This is a great plant to have in your home if you love buying flowers but don’t want to buy bouquets that will die after a few days.

Toxic to pets? Yes

Bamboo palm

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Bamboo palm is the third most powerful plant at removing formaldehyde in the air, according to NASA. It also helps filter out xylene, a chemical found in rubber and tobacco smoke. Give this plant plenty of room to grow, as mature height varies between 4 and 12 feet with a span of 3 to 5 feet.

Toxic to pets? No

Boston fern

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A common indoor plant, the Boston fern ranks ninth on NASA’s list of 50 air-purifying plants. It also is the most effective plant at removing formaldehyde. Additional research found this fern can eliminate heavy metals, such as mercury and arsenic from soil.

Toxic to pets? No

Areca palm

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The Areca Palm is considered the most efficient air-purifying plant, according to NASA. It also makes for an excellent air humidifier, transpiring 1 liter of water per 24 hours—this is the process by which moisture is carried through plants from roots to small pores on the underside of leaves, where it changes to vapor and is released into the air. This tropical plant from Madagascar eliminates benzene, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, xylene and other toxins from the air.

Toxic to pets? No

Weeping fig

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According to NASA’s Clean Air Study, Ficus benjamina was effective at cleansing airborne formaldehyde, xylene and toluene, which is the solvent in some types of paint thinner. The weeping fig grows best in bright, indirect light.

Toxic to pets? Yes

English ivy

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English ivy is helpful to treat inflammation problems in the body—issues such as arthritis, gout or rheumatism. You can either consume it in the form of tea or apply the leaves directly to the spot of inflammation, according to organicfacts.net. English ivy can also help reduce the amount of mold in the air in your home, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

Toxic to pets? Yes

(Me again) I hope you are inspired to add more botanical beauty to your life too! I am definitely making it a priority this month to find some hearty, shade-loving, toxin-busting plants for our home. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested. Thanks for reading and best health to you and yours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Make an Herbal Tincture Part 1

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Making your own herbal tinctures is one way to really connect to herbs, make exactly what you want, and save money. If you want to make extracts without using alcohol for example, you can use apple cider vinegar or vegetable glycerine instead. You can blend several different herbs together in the tincture, or just extract one herb at a time. In the video below I just use St. John’s Wort in alcohol for the demo. For more information about natural anti-depressants and anti-anxiety herbs, check out this previous post on nervines. Be sure to label your jars with as much information as possible and maybe even write in a notebook or on a calendar what you did and when you need to do the next part. There are different schools of thought about how long a tincture needs to cure, but most medicine-makers agree that a moon cycle is an appropriate amount of time, so about 4 weeks. (That is why I have the moon information on my label.) The next step will be straining the herbs out of the liquid into dark glass dropper bottles at which point the tincture will be ready to be used. That will be in part 2, in about in a month from now, so stay tuned, and while you are at it, why not make an herbal oil as well…

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Cleansing for the New Year

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Is anyone else ready to put away the dairy and desserts and cleanse for the New Year? I personally love a good cleanse, though I’m partial to the low-suffering kind. I know people who think it’s not a real cleanse unless you take in nothing but fresh juice and water, but that never made sense to me. Our bodies like balance, and balance by extremes is not really balance at all at the human level. Just look at how bad yo-yo dieting is for people or how hard it is on the body when there are huge weight fluctuations. Gentle detox is a way to cleanse while giving the body support to adjust, instead of shocking the body and then reeling from its effects. Of course, there is a time and place for everything and if you know what you are doing and have the right support, then by all means juice away your days. If you prefer a cleansing reboot that doesn’t leave your blood sugar levels bouncing and your mood-o-meter permanently set to hangry, keep reading for some options.

Adding powdered greens to your daily routine is one way to activate detox mechanisms in your body. While cleansing you should be drinking extra glasses of water anyway, so adding a scoop or packet to one of your glasses or bottles of water is a great way to get extra goodness. It is worth noting that some green mixes, like Paradise Herbs, are formulated for energy~

while others, like the Food Science one below, are formulated more specifically for cleansing. Greens in general, whether in a powder or in a whole fresh or cooked form, are cleansing though so an energy greens mix will still work towards detoxing your system. Both these mixes came in my New Hope Blogger Box and they are tasty as well as healthy blends, but there are of course other reputable greens out there. Just be sure to read ingredients lists thoroughly.

Adding a cup or two of detoxifying herbal tea a day is another easy way to help your body cleanse. There are plenty of blends out there, such as detox teas by Yogi and Traditional Medicinals that are as easy as boiling water. Flora makes a tea concentrate that you just pour a bit out and add hot water to. They promote their cleanse every year on Facebook so you can actually join a group of others using their product to get tips and expand your knowledge a bit into the world of detox. (Plus if you join in you just might get a coupon or more, depending on if you are one of the firsts to sign up.) They do have a dry blend as well.

If you want to do something a little more involved than greens and teas, making up a batch of kitchari is what one of my herbal teachers drilled into us as the most healing, cleansing, tri-doshic thing you could do. Kitchari is a meal from the tradition of Ayurveda that is made up of mung beans and basmati rice (brown or white depending on your preference), spices, and ghee. You can eat it once a day to support a general cleanse, or you can eat kitchari three times a day and nothing else but herbal teas for 6 days straight for a more intense detox. As with all things herbal, kitchari is a traditional dish that you can find a thousand variations for so this recipe can be modified as you like. What follows is how my herbal teacher told us to make it and it has never failed me. It’s a calming meal, easy on the digestive system, and healing.

Kitchari Recipe:

1 C mung beans

1 C brown basmati rice (my herbal teacher actually used white basmati rice, so your choice really)

1 tbsp. ghee (vegans can use coconut oil)

1 tsp. each turmeric, cumin, and coriander

After soaking the mung beans overnight (or at least 6 hours), cook them in 4 C of water until they are thoroughly soft, about half an hour.

Cook rice according to its instructions, depending on white or brown, then mix together with beans.

Warm the ghee in a sauce or sauté pan and add the spices, cooking until fragrant, about 2 minutes or so.

Mix the spices and ghee with the rice and beans and you are finished. Eat as often as you like.

I’ve never been big on resolutions, but I do like the spirit of renewal that January sweeps in. A gentle cleanse sets a nice tone for the year~ a reminder to think better, feel better, act better, and be better. Best wishes for health, fulfillment, beauty, and peace to everyone for the New Year. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

 

Digestive Herbal Blend

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Most of the herbs in our kitchen cabinets, such as basil, fennel, and ginger, not only taste delicious, they also promote healthy digestion in one form or another. I like to make up a powdered blend of digestive herbs that is basically a version of chai without the tea but with cacao. It not only improves digestion, helps balance sugar levels, improves circulation, and is anti-inflammatory, it also is anti-aging because it is chock full of antioxidants. Those are a lot of benefits for just a half teaspoon at a time, twice per day in smoothies and coffee! It could also be sprinkled on granola, added to oatmeal, fruit, or yogurt. You can add turmeric to this mix, or really any other powdered herb that you would like, and in fact all the ingredients are subject to personal tastes and can be reduced or eliminated if desired. As with all things herbal, this recipe is to be used as a rough guideline, not something that needs to be followed exactly, though you certainly can if you want to. The cacao has a bit of caffeine in it and is not a traditional component of chai, but I add it because I like the depth it gives the flavor profile, plus it is full of antioxidants. If you are mostly looking for an evening, after dinner tummy tonic, then leave the cacao out.

My blend is equal parts cinnamon, ginger, and cacao powder, then a quarter the amount of cardamom, then about 1/2 again (1/8 cup) of ground cloves and nutmeg combined, with a few turns of a black pepper grinder added at the end.

So here’s an example mix:

1 cup cinnamon powder

1 cup ginger powder

1 cup cacao powder

1/4 cup cardamom powder

1/8 cup cloves powder

1/8 cup nutmeg powder

A bit of fresh ground black pepper to taste

I use it in morning smoothies and in my after lunch coffee. If my stomach needs a bit of digestive help after dinner, I tend to eat a small handful of fennel seeds and if that doesn’t help, drink an herbal infusion of whatever I have on hand that is caffeine free and has digestive benefits. Of course taking bitters 10-15 minutes before a meal helps start the digestive process off on the right track, and taking a probiotic can ease tummy woes as well. This blends smells amazing and is tasty enough for gift-giving. Please share with anyone who might need a little digestive support during the holidays.

Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested. Happy Solstice!

 

 

 

 

 

Herbs and Supplements for Students

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Students have specific needs whether they are in middle school or pursuing their third Master’s Degree. Some of these suggestions meet the needs of all students, while some are just for the older set. Most of these herbs and products are focused on either brain function or stress management so people other than students can certainly benefit from them as well.

There are several herbs known for brain functioning enhancement, and interestingly enough, a few of them happen to be adaptogens too which help with overall stress management. Adaptogenic herbs Ashwagandha, Tulsi, and Gotu Kola have also been traditionally used for brain functioning as well as their adaptogenic over-all body balancing benefits. Ginkgo Biloba is another herb known to enhance brain functioning with benefits to clarity, mood, and memory also traditionally observed and is especially good for the aging brain.

Blends are a great option for getting several ingredients that work together in a synergistic way in one supplement. Gaia Herbs makes one that comes in capsules, while Herb Pharm has one in tincture form. Herb Pharm also has an alcohol free one for kids to help with concentration. There is another tincture option from Anima Mundi which is a newer line of herbal products that are well-formulated and well-made. The video below has a brain function supplement from Neurohacker Collective that actually came to me through the New Hope Blogger Box of which I am a member. The packaging of this supplement called Qualia is so beautiful that it is gift-worthy, and honestly, pictures didn’t do it justice so I made the video below. You should check out their website for more information because these supplements are packed with vitamins, minerals, amino acids, herbs, and surely other ingredients I didn’t even catch.

Also in that video is Spice Pharm‘s Chocolate Elixir which is a great herbal drink that tastes like hot chocolate, has Ashwagandha and Turmeric in it, and helps reduce stress and hunger pangs. They also make a Golden Chai which is another delicious, healthy option for students and anyone else who is a chai lover.

Other herbs for stress management include herbs under the classification of adaptogens and nervines. Adaptogens are for long-term balancing and should be taken on a daily basis throughout a lifetime, while nervines are more for getting through specific events or tough times, unless there is a continual need to fight anxiety or depression, in which case the nervines can be taken long-term as well. I have rather lengthy posts already on adaptogens and nervines so click the links if you haven’t already read your fill about those. If I were to send a care package to a college student, I would definitely include a powdered mix of adaptogens that are also brain specific like the three mentioned above, and a tincture or two of an anxiety/stress-buster blend.

Other products that can help students, especially those living in dorms, are powdered greens. It’s hard to get all the fresh produce that a working-hard brain needs when living away from home, so a greens mix is a nice supplement to include to enhance daily nutrition. There are several good ones out there but this one by Food Science of Vermont which I received recently in that same New Hope Blogger Box is doctor formulated and enhanced with probiotics and enzymes. Just mix half a scoop in 8 oz. of water or juice.

Essential oils can also be used for students of all ages for stress reduction and also for clarity and memory enhancement. Rosemary essential oil is the best known scent for memory, and actually the fresh or dried herb can be used for cognitive functioning as well so it’s a great plant to have in study areas, although not the best for sleeping rooms since it is stimulating. Any essential oil can be used for studying though, and in fact it is best to change up the oils used according to the subject being studied. If you or your student is studying for a math test for example, you could diffuse the essential oil of orange in the room while working on it, then during or just before the test sniff that same scent. Then when it’s time to study for History, you would use a different scent, such as cinnamon, then again have the scent available to smell during or just before taking the test. In other words, it doesn’t matter what scent you use as long as it is a scent you can smell at the time of studying, and then again at the time of test-taking. You can take the scent along with you by putting it on a cotton ball, sticking it in a sealed plastic bag, then sniffing it before the test, or even better, you can make an oil with it and put it on your neck before the test. (Use 6 drops of essential oil per teaspoon of base oil.) Scent really helps with memory so it is a great tool to use for studies.

Students of all ages are working hard and handling stress to differing degrees. There is plenty of help for them in terms of nutrition, brain functioning, and stress management. Please share this with any student or parent of student that you know who might be looking for natural help with the hard work associated schoolwork. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

 

Gluten Free Snacks

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These are new snacks that arrived in my New Hope Blogger Box that would be great additions to a holiday gift basket or as party food. These are all gluten and dairy free, with clean ingredient lists that you can feel good about sharing.

My favorite of these products is the Thrive Tribe Paleo Bites. These aren’t the kind of product I normally buy so they surprised me with how delicious and snack-able they are, uh, actually were. My oldest son and I finished them off quite quickly. The vanilla in these is the predominant taste and we’ll be buying these again for sure.

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My son also loved these gimMe Seaweed snacks. He likes to snack on the regular seaweed so I gave him these which have extra crunch with the added ingredients, and he really enjoyed them. I’ll be getting more of these too and with only 100 calories per package, that’s quite a healthy lunch box addition.

Jackson’s Honest  chips are as clean as you can get, and the colors are incredibly vibrant which speaks to the quality of the foods and their minimal processing. The sweet potato chips are just sweet potatoes, coconut oil, and salt. The purple potato chips are just potatoes, coconut oil, and salt. That’s it! Their company is on a mission to bring more healthy oils to the table because they have helped the owner’s oldest son who has a rare autoimmune condition. This is a company you can feel especially good about supporting, and about eating and sharing.

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The R.W. Garcia Co. chips are a nice change from a regular tortilla chip. They are flavorful on their own with the hummus coming through much more than the red pepper. Both my sons gave their thumbs up and my youngest is an extremely tough customer to please so these are sure to be crowd favorites.

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Happy snacking and merry-making! Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

 

Immune Boosters for Winter

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The samples I received from the natural marketing co-op I belong to were so good this time around that I’ll be doing two posts with some of the contents. We don’t get any compensation for these posts by the way, we’re just asked to write about anything that we like, and I like quite a bit. These are the immune boosting supplements that came in the #NewHopeBloggerBox which we’ll be using this winter to ward off the seasonal sickies.

New Englanders have a traditional herbal tonic that is catching on around the country which I’ve been wanting to try, but honestly been too nervous to make myself. This one is from Shire City Herbals and the ingredients include: Apple Cider Vinegar, Honey, Oranges, Lemons, Onions, Ginger, Horseradish, Garlic, Turmeric, and Habanero Pepper. So now you know why it has the name ‘fire cider’ and why I was hesitant to try to make my own. If a shot of this a day doesn’t keep the ickies away, I’m not sure what will, because it’s wicked strong.

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For a more travel-friendly vinegar option, these apple cider vinegar shots from Vermont Village have a variety of flavors and can be thrown into your gym bag or backpack. I had to add the shot to water myself because downing vinegar, even with ginger and honey added, is still not my favorite thing. With water though, it was tasty and apple cider vinegar is so good for your digestion (as long as it has the mother, which these do.)

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Probiotics are important year-round, but most important after a round of antibiotics. If you do happen to get sick this season, don’t forget to load up on a good probiotic during the antibiotic regimen and definitely after. This one from Ora Oraganic is very clean with no gluten, dairy, soy, GMOs, tree nuts, added sugars, filler ingredients, artificial colors or flavors, sweeteners, or preservatives, plus it has prebiotics which feed the probiotics.

This probiotic from Jarrow Forumulas targets women’s issues specifically, so it is a great one to take if you tend to get bladder or yeast infections, especially after a round of antibiotics. The box even reminds you to take it two hours after taking antibiotics which is a good rule of thumb for any probiotic during an antibiotic regimen. Then when you are all finished with the antibiotics, hit those probiotics hard.

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For an overall immune booster, this powdered drink mix from Oxylent is a great way to take in extra vitamins, minerals, and extra immune-boosting ingredients. It tastes like a liquid sweetart to me which is a nice antidote to the vinegar shots! 13C35F30-B2D6-40DC-9997-F2310C153E1D[1]

Oh dear, I missed one for the group pic! This supplement from Source Naturals is a unique combination of immune boosting herbs and ingredients to help one sleep, which is perfect for when the sniffles threaten sleeplessness. It is chock-full of good stuff so I’ll definitely be keeping this stocked in my medicine cabinet for when someone starts feeling a cold coming on at night. (It always happens at night, doesn’t it?)

Stay warm and stay well everyone! Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

 

Nervines and Other Natural Help for Stress and Anxiety

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Ahh, the holidays….nothing like high expectations and extra obligations to turn up the heat on stress and anxiety levels. It’s a shame that the most joyful, festive, family-oriented time of year also has to be one of the hardest for many people. Stress and anxiety cause problems all year long of course, but it seems like this time of year people are rushing around much more with longer to-do lists and shorter fuses. Luckily for us, the natural world has plenty of help to offer, so much so that it seems pretty clear that nature would really like to tell all of us to chill out a bit. Since there are so many options out there, I’ve limited this post to just a few herbal and natural choices that cover the range of stress and anxiety from mild to intense but it’s still rather long. If you don’t see what you are looking for, feel free to contact me.

Nervines are a class of herbs that focus on the nervous system. They share similarities with adaptogens, which I posted about earlier, which are a different class of herbs that offer help with stress and anxiety by balancing out the body overall, with specific attention paid to the endocrine system. A great, concise article about the difference between adaptogens and nervines and when to use which can be found here. Nervines are good for any kind of stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and certain types of pain. They range in their strength from gentle tonic (such as Skullcap) to powerful sedative (such as Valerian). Most fall in-between the extremes and you can find plenty of blends that allow the herbs to work in a synergistic way.

Kava Kava is one of the most popular calming herbs, but it’s also an herb that has some warnings attached to it. Although it’s been in use in the South Pacific for it’s relaxing and euphoric qualities since ancient times, there have been a couple of issues recently that could indicate Kava might be damaging to certain people’s livers. It’s all quite inconclusive but some products do come with a warning on it, and some stores just stopped selling it, although it is still readily available in capsules, tinctures, and teas both online and found at brick and mortar stores. If you have an overload of toxins in your body, or a compromised liver for any reason, you might want to stick to other calming herbs or blend of herbs. Also, if you are taking it as a tincture, be prepared for it to numb your lips at first~ that just means it’s a potent product and it is a good sign.

Valerian which is also found in tincture, pill, or tea form is deeply relaxing and often part of herbal sleep aides. If you are not familiar with the herb, be forewarned that it has a strong scent although it doesn’t taste bad at all. More than once I’ve smelled the herb near someone or in their pocket and mistakenly thought the person was ill because it is that strong (and I have an over-active nose). If you need to address insomnia, Valerian is a good place to start.

Skullcap is also found in insomnia formulas but is milder and can be used throughout the day as a tonic for the nervous system. This is a particularly good herb for you if you find that your brain gets stuck on repeating anxious thoughts or has circular patterns of negativity.  Capsules and tea forms are also available.

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Blends are a healthy option if you are not sure which herb is best for you. Herb Pharm makes one which has a unique lavender taste and also comes in capsule form.

 

For children, the line Herbs for Kids makes a couple of non-alcoholic blends, a Valerian based one and a milder Chamomile based option. Herb Pharm also makes a kid- friendly blend to help with nighttime and nap-time that is also alcohol-free.

Most people know St. John’s Wort is good for minor depression such as the kind caused by seasonal affective disorder (SAD). It takes two to three weeks to feel the benefits of this mild tonic nervine but it really does have the ability to make one’s outlook a bit sunnier. In fact, St. John’s Wort can increase one’s photo-sensitivity so if you live in a sunny climate, do be aware that your skin just might surprise you with its quicker than usual darkening  or reddening. I actually love this about the herb because SAD is related to lack of sunshine and vitamin D, so what does St. John’s Wort do? Increases your sensitivity to the sun! All the citrus essential oils act in the same way by the way~ they too increase your photo-sensitivity and they are also anti-depressants, so if you are using them in a body oil or body spray you should keep that in mind.

A word about deciding how to take your nervines. Tinctures are a great option because if you put the liquid right under your tongue you will feel the effects almost immediately. (It might burn so have some water nearby to wash the rest down your throat.) Stress and anxiety often lead to less than optimal digestion which may inhibit the results of a capsule or tablet, so if you use a tincture or tea, that alleviates the potential problem of not getting the most out of your supplement (and therefore your money). Of course, use whatever form works best for you because in the end, the best form is the form you actually take.

There are other natural products that help with stress and anxiety as well. B vitamins are important for daily stress management and are often even labeled with the word ‘stress’ right on the front them. If your daily tension levels are high then looking into a total B could prove beneficial.

As discussed earlier, vitamin D plays a role in SAD and is especially important in places where the word ‘overcast’ is in the daily forecast. Using a liquid formula is the most affective way to take D, other than getting at least a half hour of sunshine on some bare skin every day. (And that includes no sunscreen for that half hour.)

For times when your anxiety is high because of a certain event, or you are anticipating something stressful, then GABA might be your answer. GABA is a neurotransmitter already found in our brain that has anti-anxiety action. This study gives a brief explanation of one test and what the results were if you are interested. My naturopath actually first suggested GABA to me for times when I had to take my kids to get shots because of the extreme stress around those situations. (The GABA was suggested for my kids but I needed it too!) We use the chewables or lozenges because they are faster acting and personally, I feel the effects far greater than with capsules.

Essential oils are really at their prime working on stress and anxiety. They are definitely nature’s messengers telling us silly humans to relax, enjoy beauty, and quite literally to stop and smell the roses, or at least the rose oil. Neroli blossoms used to always be part of bridal bouquets because of their calming attributes and the essential oil continues that tradition of being a powerful anti-anxiety oil. Lavender is well-known as a relaxing scent and it combines beautifully with almost any other essential oil. Combining it with Neroli creates an affective anti-anxiety spray or oil, and combining Lavender with a citrus oil creates a lovely uplifting scent for diffusing or wearing. As mentioned above, all the citrus oils are anti-depressant (and also mildly stimulating), but the best ones for uplifting your mood are  Orange, Grapefruit, and Bergamot.

Clary Sage is often referred to as a ‘euphoric’ and it combines well with Bergamot for an uplifting, anti-depressant effect. I like to make body/room sprays that are half Clary Sage and half Bergamot.

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Making body oils is a great way to wear your anti-anxiety and anti-stress essential oils like a shield. You can put the oil on the bottom of your feet, all over your body, or make a stronger scented perfume oil or spray that you can reapply to your pressure points throughout the day. There are so many natural options for help with stress and anxiety that you really don’t need to just push through those moments, days, or seasons alone. Of course, always consult a medical professional if you are struggling to the point of it disrupting your daily activities, but know there are plenty of natural options to help you enjoy your life fully and with optimal health.

Peace to all of you this season and please share this with anyone who might be looking for a little natural help with stress, depression, and/or anxiety, and subscribe for more posts like this one on a weekly basis.

Herbal Gifts Kids Can Make (Adults too!)

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This time of year it can be nice to take a break from the holiday craziness for a couple of hours and be creative, work with nature’s gifts, and maybe even a kid or two, to make something for yourself or others. I remember watching Little House on the Prairie and being shocked at how excited they were for their Christmas gifts which were always something like a penny and a hand-sewn apron for their one and only doll. Those days may be long gone but we can still appreciate the small things, the natural gifts that are crafted by hand that can add a sparkle of ‘special’ to a bath, a meal, or a daily routine. Kids love to be creative and make things, something that seems to happen less and less in school these days, so really if you are crafting with kids you are giving them a gift in the making as well as in the giving. Part of the fun is the labeling and packaging too, so let yourself or your young helper/s let out their inner artist. Including instructions with the gifts is also a good idea just to make sure the receiver remembers how to use the gift days later when all the chaos and hubbub of gift giving is over, plus it’s a sneaky little writing exercise for youngsters too, and can be awfully cute. It’s also a great time to share the value of reusing glass bottles and other containers, as well as why choosing ‘natural’ over ‘artificial’ is important. Some ideas to consider:

For the cook~ Bouquet Garni, Olive Oil and Vinegar infused with herbs (For the bouquet garni you will need cooking twine or muslin bags, parsley, thyme, and a bay leaf or two, plus other herbs if you want.) Use dried herbs only with the oil, but vinegar can take dry or fresh. See video below for more details.

For the homebody~ Room spray / body spray (could even be labeled car spray for the new driver or car aficionado), body oil These links take you to other posts with videos.

For the bath and spa lover~ Bath salts, Herbal bath mixtures, Bath milks,  Salt Scrub, Massage oil (can be made the same as a body oil). See video below for more details.

For the traveler~ Herbal Eye Pillow (this link takes you to Pinterest tutorials), Relaxing essential oil perfume (this link takes you another post with a how-to video).

For the yoga and/or meditation practitioner: Chakra oils (This link takes you to another post with a how-to tutorial.)

For men~ Cologne (video below but using a recipe from Wormwood’s The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy), body oil, hair growth blend (Links to other posts with the how-to info.)

 

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Bottle of 2 oz. Castor oil with 5 drops of Rosemary Essential Oil with a dropper (for hair growth)
For the cat fanatic~ Catnip pillow (you can do this for dogs too, just sick some treats in there instead of the catnip.) Link is to Pinterest how-to tutorials.

I really enjoy the labeling process (as you can clearly see by all the options I included) so here are ideas to get you started:

Chalkboard Labels or these

Apothecary Labels

Craft Labels

Japan Style Labels

Natural History Labels

Art Nouveau Labels

European Tiles Labels

In case you can’t reuse the glass bottles and jars that you already have, here are a couple of options:

Clear Vintage Bottles

Green Vintage Bottles

Vintage Apothecary Jars

Craft Jars

Enjoy being creative and fashioning nature’s gifts into self-care treats for yourself or others, and please share with anyone who might be looking for DIY ideas, especially if they have little ones they are crafting with. Kids love creating and especially love working with herbs and essential oils. They just seem to have an instinct for the ancestral authenticity of it. I hope your winter season is full of natural delights and plenty of rest and rejuvenation. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

 

Thanksgiving in Prague

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This time of year always gets me thinking about the Thanksgiving I spent in Prague, over 15 years ago. We didn’t celebrate on the day that everyone in the states celebrated, we instead had a dinner party sometime between Canadian and American Thanksgiving because my flat-mate and I were from those two countries. We had another good friend who lived with us up until about that time in November when she changed schools (we were all English teachers) which meant she also had to change flats. She was from South Africa and if I remember correctly, it was her first Thanksgiving dinner.

The evening started out well, besides the fact my Canadian flat-mate’s turkey turned out to actually be a duck. (We couldn’t read that much Czech so it was an easy mistake to make, plus neither of us ate poultry at the time so we didn’t have any clue it didn’t taste like a turkey until our guests started commenting on the delicious duck to which we replied, “It’s turkey” and they all answered, “No, it’s definitely duck.”

After the dinner party which included English teachers from various countries and backgrounds, my South African friend and I headed out to meet a sketchy guy we barely knew at a club across town because we were young and thought it would be a fun, exciting end to the evening. My Canadian friend saw that it was all folly and most likely not going to end well, so she stayed home. She was the youngest of us there, but somehow managed to be the wisest more often than not.

Another teacher who had attended our Thanksgiving celebration decided to go with us which was not exactly good news to us. By that time the South African and I knew each other quite well and had a mutual understanding of people and timing that makes going out to late night clubs across town to meet sketchy strangers a little less of a bad idea. If one of us sensed it was time to turn around, we trusted the other to do it. This other young woman was a wild card in that respect and we both had our reservations about her, but what could we do? She came along.

At the club we ended up splitting up right away. The South African had recently moved into a flat occupied by a British couple who were in the middle of a very long break-up, and they happened to be at the club. They immediately drew her into their issues so she found herself playing peacemaker and go-between, as much as one can anyway with ear-bursting techno music pounding through the dark rooms. The other teacher disappeared in a social frenzy of partying as though she’d just been let out of her strict family home for the first time in her life. I was being dogged by a young American boy who actually was on his own for the first time in his life and seemed to decide I could be something along the lines of a babysitter with benefits. Not surprisingly, the sketchy stranger who told us we ‘had’ to go to that club that night never showed up.

My friend and I found each other and realized we were both having a terrible time so the plan to go home was quickly made with the last reasonable tram putting a tight timer on our ability to find the third one in our group. When we managed to find her and talked her into leaving, she confessed she had lost her keys. It was hard not to panic as we frantically looked everywhere in the dark until someone asked the DJ to make an announcement at which point the music stopped, the lights came on, and the announcement was made that “the Americans” had lost their keys. Other comments were also made which had an unflattering cadence but the Czech words were a mystery to us, but it produced a sea of eye-rolling and grumbles and side-eyed snickers.

I honestly can’t remember if she found her keys or not, but we eventually all left together. It was all very embarrassing and my friend and I were annoyed, which made the flaky social-butterfly annoyed at us in return. We walked as fast as we could to the tram knowing if we didn’t make it we would have to wait an hour in the cold, dark, midnight hour of downtown Prague which was much more than our thin coats were prepared for. Luck finally shined on us and we made it, but because of the tension all around, or maybe because she was embarrassed, the teacher with us refused to get on and instead started walking towards her room along the unlit, desolate streets of the city center. We couldn’t believe it and my friend ran after her to try to talk sense but I saw the stubborn set of her chin and knew there was no reasoning with her. I stayed near the tram with pleading eyes and hand gestures, but ended up just watching it ‘ding-ding’ away and it felt like it took all the warmth in the world with it. Sure enough, the South African came back alone, unsuccessful in her quest to keep us all together, so the two of us sat on separate benches, freezing, silent, worried, and desperately watching for the next tram.

Since it was the day we were celebrating Thanksgiving, I finally broke the silence by suggesting we think of things we were grateful for about living in Prague. The black quiet was even more complete after that because we were both so cold, worried, and miserable that neither of us could think of a single thing. Not one thing. It was the best Thanksgiving I’ve ever had in some ways, and yet despair so easily slipped up on us with some challenges, bad choices, and the cold that neither of us were properly prepared for that entire long, grey winter. (That is another area where the youngest of us came out on top. She was Canadian after all and had the most enviable winter wardrobe and warm accessories.)

Everyone made it home that night, and once I was in my warm bed, I’m pretty sure I was able to feel gratitude. There really was so much to be thankful for that year, the friendships, the beauty of the city, the life of young twenty-somethings living abroad with basically no responsibilities. I learned so much that year, and one thing is for sure, if you want to keep your humor about you, dress well for the weather. A warm coat, or the lack of one, can make or break one’s attitude in a big way.

Here’s a recipe for Sopsky Salat (pronounced shopsky) which is found at pretty much every restaurant in the Czech Republic. There are many ways to make it, and I went with what I had on hand instead of trying to make it completely traditional. It’s like a Greek Salad without the olives and it’s one of my favorites. I hope you like it too:

Sopsky Salat

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1 pepper (red, green, orange, or yellow)

1 cucumber

2 medium tomatoes

1/2 red onion

Feta cheese (as much as you want but I used about 4.5oz, or half that package shown)

1 T balsamic vinegar

1 T olive oil

salt (that is my favorite salt/herb blend ever!) as much as desired

pepper as desired

To make, simply chop and mix. Let the salad set in the fridge for at least an hour before eating for best taste. It actually is much better the second day.

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I like to spoon the salad on top of warm (gluten-free) bread and let the feta melt a tad. Delicious.

I hope all your Thanksgivings are full of warmth and gratitude. Na zdravi! (Czech for ‘Cheers!’) Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos Gluten-Free and Vegan

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This is a post from around this time of year three years ago from my first blog. I’m hoping to get all the relevant recipes over here now. We actually are not hosting Thanksgiving this year but I still need to bring a few dishes…tacos instead of turkey? Maybe….

Just when I thought I never wanted another corn tortilla again, I got a craving for a taco with some sort of orange veggie in it. Whenever we go out to dinner we often go to one of two places where I order a butternut squash quesadilla. I love them, but I hate dealing with squash and its hard shell that eats knives for lunch so I have never attempted to make them myself. It got me thinking though that wouldn’t a sweet potato taste just as good in that kind of meal? And if I could eliminate the cheese it’d be even better for our family, so onto the web I went and sure enough there are plenty of recipes for sweet potatoes and black beans together in all sorts of fashions~ tacos, burritos, enchiladas, etc. I went the taco route and used several different recipes to cobble together what is written below to work with what I had in my refrigerator. My husband and oldest son loved these by the way, as did I, and my youngest who only gathered enough courage to try one black bean and one piece of sweet potato admitted the black bean wasn’t bad. That says more to me than the fact that my husband is generally not a huge sweet potato fan, nor a big black bean fan, and really he prefers flour tortillas and definitely cheese and preferably meat. This recipe outshined all that. It is a keeper. (Unfortunately, the pics I took are not very good. Next time I make this, I’ll take better ones.)

Vegan, Gluten-free Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos

1.5 T vegetable oil (I used sunflower oil and olive oil)

1/2 t salt

1 yellow or red onion (I used red b/c that is what I had and the purple hue was so pretty)

1 pepper (I used 1/2 red pepper and 1/2 yellow pepper, but orange or green would work)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium-large sweet potato

1 can black beans (or 1.5 c if using dried beans)

1 t cumin

freshly ground pepper to taste

corn tortillas

guacamole (or avocados)

Preheat oven to 400. Using a large cast iron pan or some other oven-friendly pan* sauté the onions, peppers, and garlic until the onions are translucent in 1 T of vegetable oil. (I used sunflower oil). In a bowl coat the sweet potato which has been skinned and diced into bite size pieces with 1/2 T of oil (I used olive) and 1/2 t of sea salt. Add this into the sauté pan and cook for 1 minute before transferring into the oven for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, warm up the rinsed and drained beans on medium with 1 t cumin in a small sauce pan. Also warm up some corn tortillas** until they are soft. Take the pan out of the oven and if the sweet potatoes are cooked through add the beans and stir to get everything mixed together. Load the tortillas and top with guacamole or fresh avocados. It’s a symphony of flavors played just right. If it were up to me this is what I’d make for Thanksgiving, along with kale chips and pica de gallo salsa. It’s enough to make a pilgrim say, “Ole!” but alas, we are hosting this year and I’m going to have to stick to the more traditional items I’ve already planned.

 

 

* If you don’t have an oven proof pan, use one that you can top with a lid or plate and add 2 T of water to the mixture to steam it for approximately 5-10 min.

** I use Trader Joe’s corn tortillas b/c they are thick and sturdy, plus they are remarkably clean. Their ingredient list is all of: ground white corn masa flour, water, trace of lime. That’s it. Exactly how it should be. And they taste incredibly good, much better than any other corn tortilla on the market.

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Sense-ational Scents

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This is a post in conjunction with another blogger’s month long celebration of the senses. I’ve chosen the sense of smell for Litebeing Chronicles’ “Sense-ational Challenge” because essential oils are a beautiful, fully positive part of my life and they fulfill the requirements of ‘joy and delight’ that are part of the criteria as we celebrate the human, earthly experience that our spirits both endure and relish in.

Scents are a positive part of my day, all day long. I start every day by diffusing essential oils into the air to wake up the brain with happy, invigorating scents~ as I said before, the usual combination is Rosemary and Orange oil. While getting dressed, I first lather up my arms and stomach with oil blends that I make which are meant to lightly perfume my personal world with intention. (I’ll show you how to make your own down below.) After I’m dressed I spray myself with blends that I make that are either calming or stimulating, depending on the time of day. My favorite daytime combination is Bergamot and Clary Sage in a 50/50 ratio. This is an anti-depressant combo that is happy, uplifting, and awakening with calm undertones. It can be hard to remember at times that calmness is an important part of ‘happy and stimulating’,  because we often equate happiness and being energetic with a kind of jumpy attribute, like an over-caffeinated cartoon, but calmness preserves energy for long term use and is the happy place for the brain and body. Calm does not mean tired, although being calm is definitely a prerequisite for a good night’s sleep. During the day I use the sprays periodically as needed on both my body and the rooms I am in, and I also diffuse essential oils throughout the day. Lately I’ve been using Fennel essential oil around meal times because it encourages proper digestion and it smells good with food.

Here’s a quick video on making your own body oil or perfume with essential oils which is healthy for the body, brain, emotions, and even the environment. Be sure to reuse your glass bottles and know you are doing beautiful goodness for yourself and others by avoiding chemical fragrances with their endocrine disruptors and carcinogens, and instead opting for the natural beauty of earthly gifts.

If you don’t want to make your own body oil, Kate’s Magik makes lovely body oils that are also Reiki infused. They are labeled by intention, not scent, but the blends are all deep and decadent so you can’t go wrong by picking one out based on your intuition and intention. There’s one for Transformation and Change, one for Passion, Love and Creativity, one to Evoke Love and Trust, one for Grounding and Empowerment, and one for Clarity and Strength. These are great for both men and women by the way. I actually found these by getting one for husband’s stocking one Christmas years ago and we’ve both used them off and on every since.

When making my own perfumes and body oils I usually use Aura Cacia brand ingredients because they are readily available at Whole Foods and other natural foods stores. Be sure to make certain you use reputable brands that are pure and natural because chemical fragrances are not going to give you the mental and emotional benefits that naturals give you. Have fun, be creative, and delight in your sense of smell a bit every day. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

The next blogger doing a post within the blogging challenge is C at https://judahfirst.wordpress.com/ so follow along if you wish.

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Adaptogens

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Sunshine highlighting a path through long, golden grass

 

As I said in my last post, adaptogens are herbs that help our bodies respond to stress. I like to think of them as ‘slow health’ workers, akin to the slow foods movement, where you are thinking strategically about long-term health goals and supporting those goals through small daily doses of herbs that help get the body out of ‘fight or flight’ mode and into a healthier zone. We want our bodies to be relaxed so imbalances can be addressed before they turn into illnesses. The demands of modern life are such that if we don’t consciously address the pace, stress, overwhelm, and information overload, we can get caught in a continuous day-in and day-out stress mode cycle, which is definitely not a thriving place for our health and well-being. We hear a lot about self care lately and that very often translates into hot baths or massages which are great things to do, but we also have herbal allies to keep it real on a daily basis, keep us healthy long-term, and remind us that there are no prizes for being the most stressed out.

You can take adaptogens in pill form, tinctures, teas (herbal infusions), or as powders. In powder form, you are getting the whole herb and nothing else, which is a nice way to do it. I like to add one of my adaptogen powder mixes into coffee or tea, and the other mix I make, which currently includes Eleuthro and Rhodiola, I put into smoothies for my family and myself. You can also mix them into juice or just water, or add them to foods such as yogurt or cereal. It’s best to start with just a 1/2 teaspoon per day of an herbal powder, then add another 1/2 teaspoon later in the day once the first half teaspoon is perfectly tolerated. More can be added in time if desired, but adding too much too fast is a recipe for digestive issues and that will only add stress, not help it. Concentrating on being consistent is more important than how much you take because only a small amount is needed if taken over a long period of time.

Switching up your adaptogens is advisable, and don’t worry, you will still get the benefits of sticking to adaptogens over time. If you are new to adaptogens, this article will introduce you to probably the best known adaptogenic herb, Ashwagandha. Ashwagandha is a great place to start if you are new to adaptogens, but there are plenty of others to choose from as well, from many different traditions around the world. This article gives a brief overview of a few others, and these are some of my favorites you might want to look into: Tulsi, Rhodiola, Reishi, Fo-ti, and Schisandra, and keep in mind that combining adaptogens lets them work in a synergistic way.

280F9A5A-A3EE-4CF2-9387-2AEACC88EBEE[1] Ashwagandha and other adaptogens are showing up more and more in functional foods and drinks, such as SpicePharm’s Golden Chai (pictured above) and Chocolate Elixir, and Gaia’s Golden Milk as well as Amazing Grass’s Brain Elixir. There are cold drinks by REBBL that have adaptogens in their full line of flavors which I’ve found at my local Whole Foods but not online yet. (They are tasty!)

All this is to say, that adaptogens are abundant in numbers, available in ready-made products, and easy to incorporate into daily life so there is no reason not to make a conscious choice to have them in whatever way works best for you. Don’t let stress mode become your everyday mode and if it already is, then know you can make choices to get to a healthier space. You deserve it. The holidays are fast approaching so this just might be the perfect time to start building up your body’s stress response for the better. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

 

 

 

Natural Help for Thinning and Graying Hair

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WP_20170605_12_43_57_Pro[1]It’s funny, now that I’ve entered my 40s a new conversation has become common among my friends~ worry about thinning hair. I’ve been dealing with grays for a couple of decades so that isn’t new, but the realization that all that ‘dealing’ with grays might cause hair thinning was partially what led me to switch to henna and other herbs instead of conventional dying. (More on that in another post.) Other friends have the same issue, and certainly hair thinning isn’t just related to heavy processing, it’s a part of aging just like wrinkles and wisdom, and it’s often men who have that issue earliest and most severe, though women suffer with hair loss too. There are things you can do, whether you want to work from the inside-out, or outside-in, or attack hair loss from both sides and hopefully stop it in its tracks or at least minimize it. Taking action sends the message to yourself that you have some control so that alone alleviates some stress over the situation, and everyone knows that stress contributes to all things bad, including hair loss and graying.

The first and most basic thing is to make sure you are getting enough B vitamins. B vitamins are water soluble, meaning they don’t accumulate in your body like vitamins A and E, so it’s important to get Bs everyday. Vegetarians and vegans especially need to supplement with B12, and I’d say a total B with added B12 because all the Bs are together under “B” because they need each other to work together. That’s why there is B1, Folic Acid, B12, niacin, etc in a total B supplement. B vitamins are also essential in stress and anxiety regulation, as well as energy production, so they are pretty important in how you feel on a day to day basis. There is sound science around B12 and graying hair and hair loss, but I’ll let you read about that elsewhere and just continue on here with some other things you can do for prevention and recovery.

Collagen has become an important ingredient lately in the beauty nutrients arena. Collagen, which you can read much more about by clicking that link, not only is important for healthy hair, it’s important for healthy skin, nails, and bones. There are quite a few products that incorporate collagen into their recipes so it’s easy to find something that works for you. Neocell makes these delicious chews which is a nice way to take a supplement if you are sick of pills. Biosil is a popular supplement that is a collagen booster, and you can read about the difference on their website. It comes in caps or powder, has great reviews, and has been featured in Vogue recently in an article on growing out hair.

Hair, Skin, and Nails is a classic beauty multivitamin which has been around for ages. If you want to just know that your multi is helping you achieve your beauty goals, Futurebiotics has you covered. I love that they have one specifically for men too. That might be a nice stocking stuffer for anyone trying to get their guy to take a daily vitamin for his New Year’s resolution. There are good formulas from other reputable brands as well, like Megafood’s.

Still working from the inside out, there are herbs that are traditionally known to help hair stay vibrant, thick, youthful, and even to prevent graying and reverse graying. I can’t guarantee results with the gray reversal because it seems to really depend on the person, but two things can be said about these herbs in regards to that~ 1. it takes time to work. Don’t expect results for months, possibly even 6 months, and 2. even if they don’t reverse graying, they will make your hair healthier, thicker, and more youthful and help to prevent more grays. Not bad side effects, eh? If you know anything about herbs you probably already know one of them which I’m referencing: Fo ti. This herb comes from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and is an adaptogen with anti-aging effects on the entire body. It is traditionally used for longevity, disease prevention, and beauty, including beautiful hair. Also known as He/ho Shou Wu, which means roughly ‘Mr. Ho’s black hair’ because of the legend of a weak man (Mr. Ho or He) returning to vitality with the help of the herb, including his hair going back to black. Adaptogens are a group of herbs that not only all have wide reaching positive benefits including stress management and overall system balancing, they are also in that category because they are generally beneficial for all people without a great risk of harm. That said, they are also herbs to be taken in small doses over a long period of time, and as I’ve said before, keep in mind that herbs have fiber and adding them into your daily diet is something to be done with a light hand, else you might encounter digestive issues. Our bodies get used to the amount of fiber they generally have, and will get used to having more daily fiber, but it needs to be done slowly, especially in the case of Fo-ti. I’ll tell you how I take it below, after I introduce the other hair herb.

The Ayurvedic tradition gives us another herb known to reverse graying or at the very least, provide it with nutrients to increase its youthful thickness and luster. Amla is also an adaptogen with wide-ranging benefits, but specifically for hair, you can not only take it internally, you can also make a hair mask of the powdered Amla to invigorate your hair externally. It’s especially good on curls and texture, which is something I like to do when I henna my roots because it revitalizes the curl while henna can somewhat relax it. Internally, I take it by making a blend of Amla powder and Fo-ti powder and put a 1/2 teaspoon into my coffee in the morning and another 1/2 teaspoon in tea or coffee in the afternoon. I barely taste it and enjoy the earthiness, but if it bothers you, milk and/or a sweetener can be added, or throw it in a smoothie or mix it with juice. This is important: more does not make it work faster so start with just a 1/2 teaspoon and work up to two 1/2 teaspoons per day if you desire.

Working externally, a lot has been said about castor oil. If you want to fiddle with ingredients and concoct something more or less complicated, pinterest has you covered. If simple is more your style, put some castor oil in a dropper bottle and make your way around your head, rubbing it in gently, sleep with it and in the morning wash it out. Once or twice a week seems to be the recommended amount of doing this, with again, more not being better, but honestly I haven’t tried it yet because it also makes your hair grow faster and that’s not something I’m currently desiring.

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Bottle of 2 oz. Castor oil with 5 drops of Rosemary Essential Oil with a dropper
If I were to use castor oil for thickness, the only thing I’d add into it is Rosemary essential oil. Rosemary is of course a stimulant oil so I wouldn’t add more than a drop in if I intended to sleep with it, but it’s the best known essential oil for stimulating hair growth. There are many ways to incorporate Rosemary into your hair routine, including Rosemary hydrosol which can just be sprayed on your hair (aim for the roots) or adding Rosemary essential oil to your (all natural) shampoo, conditioner, and gel or mousse. Rosemary boosts memory and helps with brain fog as well, so don’t be surprised if your brain gets a boost along with your hair. I actually start every day with diffusing Rosemary and Orange essential oils to wake my sons’ brains up for school (and my own brain too!) with happy stimulation.

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As mentioned above, stress also plays a role in hair health just as it plays a role in overall health, so in the next post there will be more ways to combat stress and a little hint, you’ll be hearing more about adaptogens. In the meantime, why not make yourself some chakra oils and spend a few moments every day putting energy back into yourself. You deserve to be your healthiest self. Please share this with anyone you know who might be looking for some help with thinning and/or graying hair because we need to feel confident about taking action for our own best selves~ body, and mind, and to know we have options. I’ve read that November is men’s health month so especially pass this along to your favorite guys if it might be something that would interest them. The truth is, hair is important to how we feel, our self-esteem, and our self-concept, so let’s give it some love and care.

Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

 

 

Healing from Food Intolerances

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2730B37F-B732-45B4-8C22-BD6DD51DD537[1]Food intolerances are rampant these days, and it’s no surprise once you understand the relationship between optimal digestive processes and our modern world’s challenges to that system. First there’s the fact that our food is mostly not what our ancestors would have recognized as food. Unless you are eating heritage grains, organic, non-gmo produce, meat and dairy products, and very little processed food (canned food, frozen foods, boxed products you just stick in a microwave) then you are taxing your body’s digestive system. Many people blame Monsanto alone for the extreme rise in gluten intolerance, but I think there’s a lot more to it than that. Despite the challenges to keep your gut healthy, as promised in my last post about managing food intolerances, there are ways to heal and kick intolerances to the curb.

Antibiotics are also a major player in the weakening of our digestive systems, because they inevitably kill off the beneficial bacteria in our intestines while doing their rightful work on the bad bacteria they are supposed to be targeting. Practically no one has escaped a round of antibiotics in their life, and some people have taken them every year of their life, even multiple times. Antibiotics are necessary, but so are the probiotics that they are known to destroy, which leads to an imbalanced ecosystem in the gut. If you don’t make a conscious effort to reestablish the beneficial bacteria environment in your gut, then the bad bacteria, and especially candida, gain momentum and the ecosystem spirals downward. We’ve all heard a lot about probiotics lately and they are in fact major players in more than just digestion. They are a huge part of your immune system and studies show a major link to mental issues and what’s happening in the intestines, so much so that the gut is often called ‘the body’s second brain’. So, probiotics are really important all the time, but when you take a round of antibiotics they are even more important, and if you have food intolerances they are essential in recovery. My all time favorite probiotic is VSL3 which is the highest potency probiotic that I’ve found, but I linked to a couple of other good ones above. My sons love Rainbow Light’s gummy version which doesn’t require refrigeration which is a bonus for traveling.

But there’s more you can do to beat food intolerances and eat freely once again. First of all, just taking steps to curing yourself instead of only avoiding trigger foods sends a message to your brain that you are on the mend. This is important because it relieves feelings of hopelessness and that horrible feeling of being out of control which leads to stress. You are in control and you can get over food intolerances and in fact be healthier than ever so phew, less stress already, right? One thing you will want to figure out is if you have a candida overgrowth. This can be tested at a doctor’s or naturopath’s office, or you can self diagnose through questionnaires found on the web (there are quite a few!) and if you think you have an issues with it, get on a candida cleanse. Now some people do a cleanse that is quite restrictive in food choices which is great if you want to go that route, but personally I’ve always liked taking a candida cleanse supplement, and there are several good ones to choose from but the one I linked to is my favorite. Some doctors or naturopaths will prescribe medicine for candida, so if you are getting diagnosed that way then you can discuss options at that time with them, as well as the possibility of a prescription probiotic. If you have no idea if you might have candida then I’ll give you three clues to consider~ Have you had two or more rounds of antibiotics in your life and did you replenish your system with probiotics afterwards? Have you have ever had a yeast infection or jock itch? Are your cravings mostly the dairy and sugar kind? If you answered yes to any of those, it’s time to start seriously looking into candida cleansing. The good news is that once you kick candida then you are well on your way to recovery, the bad news is that candida really messes up your intestines so you’ve got some repairing to do.

Now, to repair the gut you want to obviously stay away from the trigger foods, but you also want to eat foods that will be easy to digest and provide the most nutrition for rebuilding a strong intestinal lining. Can you guess what is the best macro-nutrient for rebuilding? If you guessed protein, you’re right! Make sure you are getting plenty of protein in your healthy diet, and supplementing with extra L-glutamine is one way to give your healing an extra boost. There are products containing L-glutamine specifically for rebuilding your intestines so it’s easy to add to your daily routine, plus most of the products come with herbs and other nutrients that add extra support to the healing. My favorite is by Renew Life. I put it in a jar of water first thing in the morning and let it settle for a couple of minutes so I can easily shake it, then drink it. If I don’t let it sit and settle first, it is clumpy.

BittersBack to that easy to digest part I mentioned above, in order to get the nutrients out of the foods we eat and also to make digestion optimal, we rely on our bodies’ enzymes to break down that food into bits small enough for the body to assimilate in a healthy way. For many reasons, people can lack the ability to make sufficient enzymes in order to start that whole digestive process off right. If it doesn’t have the right start, things can only go (ahem) down from there. Seriously though, enzymes are important and there are two ways you can supplement in this case. You can take enzymes when you eat, or you can take bitters before you eat (about 15 minutes) to stimulate the pancreas to start pumping out enzymes. Bitters are a classification of herbs that are usually taken in tincture form so that you add a dropper of the liquid herbs to a couple of ounces of water, hold them in your mouth for a few seconds because it is the taste that stimulates the action, then swallow. If you know you are not digesting your food well to begin with, you can actually take both bitters and enzymes, then slowly decrease your enzyme usage as your pancreas gets more efficient.

These will help get you over your food intolerances and onto your best health. I’ll post an article about other herbs for the digestive system as well because there is a lot more healing that can be accomplished with herbs, but I wanted to just get the basics out there first and let you ‘digest’ them. And if nothing else, at the very least take a high potency probiotic supplement. That’s going to give you the most bang for your buck and treat the issue where it most likely started~ in an unbalanced intestinal ecosystem. Fermented foods like yogurt and drinks like Kombucha are fabulous additions too, but a high potency probiotic is truly essential in turning a food intolerance situation around.

The links above are for ease of shopping. Keep in mind that herbs and supplements are not something to buy based solely on price point. Use trusted brands from known stores and assume that for any natural product it will probably take 6-8 weeks before you see a difference, although sometimes it happens much faster. Also, if you are adding herbs into your healing mix, be aware that herbs have fiber and if you add more than your body is used to then you might get diarrhea. Your body can adjust to more fiber intake but it has to be done slowly so dial back your new herbs if that happens, and of course discontinue if you have a severe reaction.

Also, I have a background in herbs and also of working in the natural foods/products industry, which led to me figuring some of this out, but the whole picture came about from seeing a physician, Gastroenterology doctors, a naturopath, and a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner, plus loads of reading. I strongly suggest you also consult the medical professionals in your life because we are all unique in our bodily needs and healing.

Best health to you and yours! Always remember, you deserve to be optimally healthy to live your best life. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

 

Managing Food Intolerances

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I’m happy to share this e-guide from Enjoy Life Foods and Delicious Living about living with food intolerances or allergies. Just follow the above link and you can download the free guide right to your device/computer from Delicious Living’s website. If you have food allergies or intolerances you most likely are already very familiar with Enjoy Life’s products which are free from the most common food allergens and sure make life a lot easier, especially if you are new to avoiding certain foods.

This free eGuide will help you: 

  • Identify food allergies and sensitivities
  • Eliminate problem foods
  • Stock a Free-From pantry
  • Make great-tasting allergen-friendly recipes

My next post will help you actually overcome your food intolerances by building your digestive system up into its healthiest form, but while you are rebuilding that system you will definitely need to avoid the trigger foods, and that takes time. This e-guide can help, especially as we move towards the holidays. Please share this with anyone you know who has food intolerances or allergies~ it’s free and can only help.

Best health to you and yours and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

 

Chakra Balancing Essential Oil Set

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Yogis, healers, Reiki masters, and those who meditate agree, chakras are the keys to our body’s health on all different levels. Actually, they might be better described as keyholes, and essential oils are the keys to opening blocked ones and balancing out others. If you feel unbalanced or stuck in some area of your life, it just might be worth it to look into what chakra that stuck pattern might fall under, and administer some healing. Self-care is as simple as taking a moment to put essential oils around your chakras which will show intention of healing, and the essential oils will do their part in opening and balancing out the chakras deep through the body and in the aura.

There are fabulous articles on chakras out there, including this one which is intended for beginners. I’ve been reading up on using essential oils specifically for certain chakras for a while now with the intent of making a complete set and thought I’d share the process here. It’d make a fabulous gift for anyone who meditates or does yoga or Reiki, or is just interested in optimal health and well-being, or perhaps someone who obviously needs a bit of balance in an area (or two or seven) in his/her life.

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All you need are seven bottles, essential oils that correspond to the different chakras, a base oil or two, labels of some sort and of course a notebook to write down what you have concocted. I personally like the idea of presenting these in a lovely box so they are kept together safely and in a dark place. Above are some of my ingredients, but not all of them. If you don’t feel like you have a range of essential oils, don’t worry, I’ve actually read that in a pinch, lavender works to open and balance all the chakras, and if someone only has one essential oil in their possession, it’s most likely lavender, am I right?

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For the base I’m using sweet almond and jojoba oil combined. The base oil goes into the little bottles first, filling them up most of the way, but leaving room for the essential oils. For this size bottle (.33 oz), plan for 4-6 drops essential oil. (A little goes a long way!) Ideally, reuse your old bottles, or find new ones here, then reuse them.

InstagramCapture_0d7cf70b-5d22-4e4a-a917-e2e4f3a1fea4[1]That’s my son’s little finger helping there. He helped me out the day I made these~ you’ll see more of his fingers later.

Adding the essential oils to the base oil is the fun part! I have saved several charts on my pinterest page dedicated to pairing chakras and essential oils but I encourage you to get creative, use your intuition, use the many resources online, or you can just use my combinations below:

Root Chakra: 3 drops Frankincense and 3 drops Cedarwood

Sacral Chakra: 2 drops each Jasmine (absolute), Bergamot, and Sandalwood (absolute)

Solar Plexus: 2 drops each Frankincense, Rosemary, and Basil

Heart: 2 drops each Rose (absolute), Neroli (absolute), and Geranium

Throat: 2 drops each Jasmine (absolute), Clary Sage, and Sandalwood (absolute)

Third Eye: 5 drops of Lavender

Crown Chakra: 2 drops each of Frankincense, Ylang Ylang, and Clary Sage

In the above I’ve linked to absolutes instead of the pure essential oil in cases where the pure oil is very expensive. If you prefer not to use absolutes (which means the essential oil is already blended with a base oil, such as jojoba), then by all means, use the pure essential oil. If you can’t find them on amazon, try Mountain Rose Herbs. Aura Cacia and Mountain Rose Herbs are both reputable brands and their sites are worth checking out for recipes and information regarding their products.

Be sure to label them right away and don’t forget to mix them by rolling them back and forth in your hands. There are my youngest son’s fingers again! InstagramCapture_cfd82edb-914f-4b56-b6f8-b2d849a9346d[1]

Great times to use these oils include right before meditating, yoga, or when feeling ‘off’ in any way. They can be used one at a time or all at once. You just need a couple of drops to rub in a clockwise circle where the corresponding chakra is. If you are unsure on where the chakras are there are many images online. Here is one, but a simple search will turn up many more. The root oil can be added to your feet instead of trying to find that chakra since the important part for the root is to be grounded anyway. The others are fairly straightforward and easy to access.

Another idea for gift giving, since we are rapidly approaching that time of year, is to add a stone dedicated to each chakra along with the oils. Or if you know someone who is working on a certain chakra, such as the heart due to heartbreak or heart health problems, then make a larger bottle of just that particular chakra oil along with a dedicated crystal or two. To find out which stones go along with which chakras, I’ve posted some on my pinterest board.

I’ll be using these myself, but if I were to give them as a gift I’d put some pretty material in the box to keep the glass bottles safe, and maybe some  instructions for use, depending on the person.

Poor Bailey thinks these are for her. Sorry B, you can sniff but you can’t touch.

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This an updated piece on making your essential oil chakra set for yourself or to gift someone. I originally wrote this for MindBodyGreen.com and also posted it on my first blog. This version includes basic editing plus links to my pinterest boards with saved pins on essential oils, crystals/stones, and the chakras they correspond with. I’ve also included links to ingredients for easy shopping. For more info on that, check out my affiliation policy.  Happy creating and healing! 

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Ayurvedic Herbs

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Ayurveda has been around for over 4,000 years and the herbs and herbal combinations are still popular today. Now that’s staying power! It must be for a good reason….and it is. These formulas have withstood the test of time by being effective, gentle, and reliable. Check out this infographic from Delicious Living in partnership with Himalaya Herbals to see if anything rings true for your unique needs and health goals. Personally I love Ayurvedic adaptogens, digestive combinations, and of course turmeric for its amazing array of benefits. I’ll show you exactly how I use those on a daily basis in my upcoming posts. Stay tuned by subscribing!

See the original here: https://goo.gl/mhpeLe

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Essential Oil Sprays for Body and Home

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We all know by now to avoid that word ‘fragrance’ on labels, right? If you need a quick reminder of why, it’s because that word can be a multitude of different chemicals that do not legally need to be detailed out on labels. Those chemicals include known endocrine disruptors and carcinogens. When we think about the widespread use of ‘fragrance’ in a multitude of industries~ personal care products, candles, cleaning products, furniture, etc, and the exposure which occurs over a lifetime, then it gets pretty clear that avoiding fragrance as much as one can is the best choice for optimal health, both for individuals and for the environment. I’m going to be showing easy ways to use essential oils for scenting and the first is a body spray which can just as well be used as a room spray. The benefits of essential oils are endless. I hope you enjoy exploring them as much as I do.

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Herbalism for Today’s World

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In a lot of ways, herb usage hasn’t changed that much. We still use herbs on our foods to make them taste better and be more digestible, and we drink herbal infusions for their taste and health properties as well. Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, and Naturopathic doctors rely on herbs even today for balancing out bodily systems, and other health advisors such as nutritionists and massage therapists sometimes use herbs to produce certain specific effects in the body. Modern doctors on the other hand do not study herbs nor nutrition (for the most part), and pharmaceutical drugs have taken over as the one size fits all band-aide for almost any illness or ailment. Now modern medicine has its place and I absolutely do not fault doctors for not studying herbs and nutrition and for relying on drugs, because they have their own body of knowledge to learn and it’s incredibly important. No one wants to go back to leaches and non-medicated surgery I’m sure! But we need to remember our roots, (and our seeds, and our leaves), and know that often there are things we can do to help ourselves that don’t require pharmaceuticals with scary side-effects, nor a ton of money or effort. People used to know which herbs cured what in their own little communities, and they ate simple seasonal food because they had to, back when all food was organic and non-gmo. They also used herbs daily in other practical and even spiritual ways as well, to bless their homes and keep out ‘evil’, to keep vermin out of the house or out of their bedding, to help with bad smells of both house and body, and to beautify their surroundings and themselves. Many still do these things, and more, because herbs have never left our sides, they have weaved through our humanity over time and provided a vine of ancient memory we can tap into and remind ourselves of our humanness, despite our chronic phone addictions and race towards a more and more technologically advanced world. We are still people who eat, who get sick, who enjoy beauty, who fight the signs of aging, who want to connect with the world beyond the screen and breathe clean air, drink clean water, and resonate with the plants, animals, and people in our world. We are local beings and yet we are the first humans on earth to collectively live international lives through screens and keyboards. In this time of major transition, we need to remember that herbs were the first medicines, food was once all organic, and we still need this earth and her goods way more than she needs us. Let’s be good to ourselves, and good to the earth, and take a moment every day to remember that the natural world is still all around us, waiting for us to engage.

This is the role of the herbalist in today’s world, as I see it. We are here to remind others to stay connected to the earth and all its inhabitants, green or furry, scaly or funny, these are the connections that will support our health and well-being as we age and grow. Some herbalists concentrate on knowing all the herbs out there and their uses, others concentrate on a smaller set and understanding them inside and out, while still other herbalists concentrate on client consultation, and others are the makers who turn plants into medicine. I’ve worked with an herbalist who mostly wild-crafted herbs and also did a bit of medicine making, and another herbalist who taught and wrote about herbs as well as saw private clients. Personally I’ve taught classes, written about herbs, and I love making herbal elixirs of all sorts, and I have tried growing them with varying degrees of success. I’ve also worked in the natural foods and products industry where many know more than the average person about herbs and use that knowledge purely for personal and family use while others used it to set up their own stores or to consult customers on the floor. We all have our specialties and with modern-day access to global knowledge and traditions, the herbalists of today have an abundance of options when it comes to their personal practice. The things that do not vary though, are the respect for the plants and the earth, the understanding that our ancestors had intelligence that is often overlooked today, and a deep love for herbs and all that they offer in terms of health, beauty, and well-being. I am so excited to share this space with you and I encourage you to seek out the herbalists in your own communities. You might be surprised at the expertise you find and the local products available to you. I hope to get a list going here with local information for everywhere in the world, but that’s going to take your help. If you are an herbalist or know of a great herbal resource, please contact me via the contact page or comment below so we can start gathering resources together. Also, please follow this blog by subscribing because this is just the beginning~ there is so much more to share in terms of optimal health and beauty and I have a feeling we are going to gather a great community here. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

Take Care, Kristen

Autumn Mushroom 2017