Learn to make an all-natural witch hazel + herbal liniment can be used for varicose veins, muscle pains, strains and aches. This recipe comes from my new-favorite book, Heal Local by Dawn Combs. It’s a book centered around 20 homegrown or regionally sourced herbs that you can use to build a complete home apothecary. I can’t even begin to describe how useful I’ve found this reference to be in the past month that I’ve owned … Continue reading
Below are ten of my favorite plants to grow for crafting herbal remedies and homemade body care products. This is not an exhaustive list; there are so many other wonderful herbs and flowers out there to explore! However, if you’re just starting out and looking for some relatively easy-to-grow plants with a wide variety of uses, then this should be a great place to start. If you’re unable to garden where you live, check your … Continue reading
Today, I want to share how I make customized herbal honey throat sprays to treat my family’s sore and scratchy throats. I use raw honey in these, but you can substitute vegetable glycerine if you’d like to make a vegan product. (You can buy it HERE.) Also, remember that honey should not be given to children under a year old. I base my throat sprays on a recipe found in Rosemary Gladstar’s book: Medicinal Herbs, … Continue reading
Today, I want to teach you how to make your own yummy customized herbal cough drops so that you never have to buy the store bought kind again! A few notes to keep in mind: A candy thermometer will make these so much easier to make. You should be able to find an inexpensive one locally or try one of these from Amazon.com. (affiliate link) If you don’t have a candy thermometer, you can use … Continue reading
This Ginger Lemon Honey Tonic is one of the easiest, tastiest cold and flu remedies around! Raw honey helps fight infection and soothes inflamed tissue; lemons are full of healthful vitamin C and antioxidants (plus, they taste great!); and fresh ginger root helps fight the sore throat, cough, lung congestion, chills and stomach-ache that often accompanies the flu. Everything you need to make this remedy can be purchased at your local grocery store: Honey (raw … Continue reading
A ginger tincture is easy to make and is wonderful for treating: nausea motion sickness stomach flu congestion chills Because it’s concentrated, you only need a few drops at a time to be effective, making it much easier to dose to a person reluctant to swallow anything. I find that mixing a few drops into a glass of ginger ale, or a spoonful of honey, makes patient compliance much higher! While ginger is an excellent … Continue reading
It never fails… this is the way the end of every year goes for us: November: feel great December 1 – 24: feel great December 25: go hang around a bunch of sick, coughing people in small, closed-in spaces December 26: feel great December 27: whole family wakes up at 3:00 a.m. with sore throats, headaches, chills, coughs and generally blechy yucky, achy feeling. Fortunately, I’m always prepared for colds and flu and this year … Continue reading
