First Annual Urban-Herb Walk In East Lansing Michigan!

Stinging Nettle in Bloom! Stinging Nettle is anti-inflammatory, nutritious, diuretic and delicious! Pick it early in the season for best taste & best nutrition.

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS HERB?

My goal is to change the way you look at "weeds" forever! Medicinal & Edible Plants are all around us- let me show you what to look for, when to pick and how to preserve for at home remedy making!

Join me August 21st at 6:30pm at our home in East Lansing Michigan for my first annual Urban Herb Walk!

Natural snacks and herbal tea will be provided. A $5 donation is greatly appreciated!

Children are welcome! We'll be walking around the neighborhood for about an hour so wear comfortable shoes, bring children a favorite snack, toy and a stroller if needed.

We herb walk RAIN OR SHINE!

RSVP at this Link!

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Low On Iron? Try this Root for Anemia & Digestion Support

yellow dock in early summerYellow Dock is everywhere.

It's a subtle plant that has big benefits for our bodies. The root should be dug up in fall when the top of the plant has turned completely brown. It's roots are- not surprisingly, bright yellow (thus the name yellow dock) This key identifier is a good way to know you have the right plant.

Once the roots have been dug up, split them and cut them as soon as possible, waiting more than a day or two will give you a difficult task as they get hard quickly. 

It's high in organic food based iron and has the ability to correct anemia in a matter of days. Iron supplements don't compare as they are created in a lab and are not naturally recognized by the body as plants are. Plants do a better job of putting minerals into a usable form for animals and humans through the process of photosynthesis. Mother nature will not be outdone with her ability to make foods & plants that heal!

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Why You Should Try Herbal Tinctures

Homemade Black Walnut TinctureI recommend alot of tinctures to people. I even teach people how to make them. But I guess I should start over and tell you what a tincture is...

...Websters defines tincture (ˈtiŋ(k)-chər) as : a solution of a medicinal substance in an alcoholic or hydroalcoholic menstruum. The tinctures that I make are always herbal in nature and are steeped in a solvent of some sort, usually vodka. 

Water and vodka are both excellent solvents but the problem with water is it doesn't preserve herbal infusions (herbs steeped in water). Have you ever had a bottle of vodka go bad? Nope! These medicines can last indefinitely as long as they are kept away from heat, light and air. 

So why are tinctures so great? Aside from them keeping indefinitely?

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Herbs aren't Drugs, They're Food!

The Majestic Mullein Plant, Lung Support Herb & Much More!A friend reached out to me today & asked me if herbs were standardized.  Standardization takes place in laboratories; isolating compounds from substances so that they can bottle it and make the potencies all the same.  My friend is in nursing school and they mentioned this in class. Very interesting.

When people make the statement, "Herbs can't be standardized; This month you buy a bottle & it's one potency & next month you buy a bottle & it's totally different" is a misunderstanding of herbs entirely. 

One that would make this kind of statement thinks of herbs in terms of pharmaceuticals.  Herbs aren't drugs, they are food. Parsley has a action on the kidney (diuretic), is parsley a drug? No, It's a food.  Same with garlic, & many more foods. My response to this sort of thinking is; Can you standardize an apple?  No.  And no one would ever expect to have standardized apples because apples are food.  Although they do vary in fiber, sugar, minerals & so on based on where they are grown, how good the soil is how long the season was, etc.  Herbs are food too; & yes they will very slightly from crop to crop.  

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Homemade Hemp Oil & Herb Dressing

There are more than a few ways to make homemade salad dressing.  You can keep it really simple and start with apple cider vinegar and hemp or flax oil.  I prefer flax oil because it has a nice profile of Omega Fatty Acids 3,6 and 9.  This is my personal favorite brand (Nutiva) and best price to buy it.  I use apple cider vinegar by Braggs.  There are several options out there for Apple Cider Vinegar but always look for a brand that says, "with the mother" on the label.  Sounds a little weird but it basically means that it's unfiltered and that it will contain strands of beneficial bacterias and enzymes, the "living" part of the venegar that makes it so beneficial to you.  This is great for anyone with digestive issues like acid reflux or indigestion of any kind too. 

So Oil and Vinegar are the 2 basic components;  But what do you want to flavor your oil and vinegar with?  Well you can't go wrong with the following herbs:

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