With the summer heat, it’s worth the effort to make some tasty, nutritive drinks on hand to quench thirst and provide nourishment. I especially enjoy having shurbs on hand, because as much as I love coconut water as an electrolyte and thrist-quencher, I can’t seem to enjoy single use cans Read more…
There are lots of easy and safe ways to use herbs to help prevent and treat common colds and flu. But today, when we have so many herbal traditions and plant medicines to choose from, it can be overwhelming to figure out what to take, how to take it, and Read more…
Summer is on – how is your skin doing? This question never occurred to me until I reached my 40s, when I realized that all the years I’d spent sunbathing as a teenager and feverishly hiking and camping in my 20’s and 30’s was catching up with me. My fair Read more…
We all know that a home-cooked meal made with whole ingredients is far healthier than a package of processed food from the store. The same is true for skin care. Most of us are becoming increasingly thoughtful about what we put in on our skin, and a DIY approach can Read more…
I have been making my own skin creams for over 10 years, and I’ll never go back to store bought! My skin is now accustomed to these fresh, nourishing creams, and I love being able to infuse my garden flowers like calendula and lavender right into my skin care. Also, Read more…
It’s glorious spring time again! One of the ways we welcome the spring season in my family is making a big batch of dandelion cakes. Inspired by Susan Weed’s recipe, we harvest the cheery dandelion blooms from our garden and make a delicious breakfast (see recipe below). Those blossoms are Read more…
So many of us today are changing diets to promote a more healthy digestive system, and are cutting out gluten, grains, dairy, coffee or other potential allergens that are, sadly, a pleasure to the taste buds. While a healthy gut is definitely worth the sacrifice, I thought I’d share a Read more…
For many of us, salve making is our introductory experience into crafting our own herbal medicine. It’s our entry into the alchemy of turning living plants into a medicine we can use to heal our bodies. It happened to me – when I infused calendula, plantain, and comfrey into olive Read more…
As we approach the holidays and post-election season, it’s a good time to think about how to fold in some good self-care so we can enjoy (and even relax!) during the hectic holidays. My self-care focus this year: calming and nourishing the nervous system. Why the nervous system? Between a Read more…
Lip balms are one of the easiest herbal preps to make – the recipe is flexible, you can easily customize it with your favorite oils and herbs, and you can even give them color and shimmer without using any synthetic ingredients. You can make lip balms just for color, or Read more…