Feverfew

Feverfew is a wonderful plant. It looks a lot like Chamomile and the two are often confused. It's easy to grow and grows well in most areas, up to zone 5, I believe. You can grow it in the ground or in a pot. It likes full sun but can burn if it's to hot and does best in partial shade in hotter areas.

Feverfew has a couple of extremely beneficial actions. It works much the same way as aspirin as a mild fever reducer and can help relieve inflammation. Because of these actions it makes a good gentle fever tonic and works very well for many people who suffer from Migraines and Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Some people swear by eating a fresh leaf or two a day to keep migraines away but many people find that the harsh oils cause ulcers in the mouth. However, It can be easily dried and used in teas and compresses.

To dry, just cut off stems with leaves, rinse well in cool water and hang them to dry. when dry and brittle just crumble off the brittle leaves and that's your herb. Stems, leaves and flowers can be used.

You can add about a teaspoon of dry feverfew to a tea ball for a cup of tea. It mixes well with most other herbs and can be sweetened.

To make a compress, simply fill an open weave cloth (such as cheesecloth or gauze) with the dry herb, dampen with very cold water and apply to the painful areas of head or painful joints. You can also dampen then freeze for a cold compress or if you find heat more beneficial, dampen with warm water.

Please, always check with you Care Provider before using any medicinal. Feverfew should never be taken if pregnant or by anyone taking any sort of blood thinning medications.

Taking responsibility for your own health is a powerful step toward whole, natural health but please do so with common sense and remember to check everything with a health professional.

Rosemary

Common garden Rosemary, so good in breads and butters, is also a good add to the medicinal cabinet.

It's a great bath herb, often used as a rinse for dark hair and to control dandruff. A homemade dandruff shampoo can be made with Rosemary and Soap Bark. It also makes a good facial cleanser and can be mixed with scrubs.

Added as a bath tea or added to bath salts, it will soothe away aches and pains and calm muscle spasms.

You'll likely find it in blends for depression and it's a very good herb for headaches and improving memory.

It's sometimes used in stomach tonics but should be taken with care by people with sensitive systems because it can irritate the stomach and intestines in larger doses.

Topically it eases the pain and swelling of rheumatism and helps heal bruises, sores and wounds.

It's a warming herb and stimulating topically or internally.

Rosemary is generally easy to grow and an evergreen in most areas. It can be grown in a container and does well with other herbs. It can be used fresh, dried or even frozen and keeps it's lively pungent scent and taste for quite some time.

WholeOzarks.com

There's a lovely store in Springfield called Renaissance Books and the woman who owns it has a website called WholeOzarks.com, where she advertises local things like enlightened workers, natural healing and organic foods. She offers one free add to small local businesses after she inspects and approves them and she's accepted and listed Healing House teas :) she listed me under health food stores.

I am so thankful !

And do check out the listings for many other wonderful local resources.

Peppermint

Probably the most famous of the mint family, Peppermint has been used for ages to calm upset stomach, relieve gas, colic, cramps and nausea. It contains menthol, which makes it good for congestion and is among the safest herbs for medicinal use.

It's as easy to use as it is to grow. You can take a fresh sprig and add it directly to your iced or hot tea. Put a spring in your sugar bowl or honey jar to flavor. Make your own extract and add it to your baking and cooking. You can make your own simply dinner mints.

Dried it lasts for some time and is an excellent herb to have on hand for the winter. You can add it to drinking and medicinal teas and can be used to hide the taste of many bitters.

When blending teas use dried peppermint sparingly. Where you might add 1 part each of other herbs a 1/2 part of peppermint will likely do the trick.

Peppermint is often thought of as a winter herb, candy canes and peppermint patties, but it's a cool herb and goes well with a hot summers ice tea.

When harvesting Peppermint for medicinal purposes the whole plant can be used. For cooking and baking, it's best to gather only the smaller leaves because as they get bigger they can become a bit bitter.

When planting Peppermint, many people prefer to grow it in a container since it's likely to jump any boarder you make. but I don't mind at all and when I mow the yard the air is filled with the scents of mints and balms :)



...

A Wonderful Opportunity

Recently I was given the opportunity to be a part of gift bags that will be making the rounds of some craft fairs in England. Sara, of http://sarastexturecrafts.blogspot.com/ , generously offered to add some things to her gifts bags for the fairs. I made up 20 sample teas with business cards to be added. I'm so excited and feel so blessed to have the opportunity to be included. It's a wonderful way to promote and I'm hoping to be able to do the same as soon as my car is repaired!

Anyway, thank you so much Sara! and enjoy your summer :)

Extracts and Tinctures

Pure extracts and tinctures are expensive to buy but very easy to make. You can use them in cooking and medicinals and, they also make very nice gifts.

You'll need a good quality Vodka (any vodka will do but the better quality of Vodka will make a better extract).
Your herbs or spices (can be fresh or dry herbs but fresh works best).
A clean glass jar with tight fitting lid.
Strainer (cheesecloth works well).
Cool, dark storage space.

When using fresh herbs, slightly bruise the herbs to help release the essential oils. Add about 1 part fresh herb to 4 parts Vodka or 1 part dry herb to 5 parts Vodka, in clean glass jar. Cover tightly with lid and store in cool dark space for 4 weeks. Shake vigorously once a day. After 4 weeks you can strain the herbs out and the store your new extract or tincture in glass jar with tight lid. Dark glass is best but any will do. Store in a cool place out of direct sunlight. Will keep indefinitely.

A metal lid may rust, ruining your extract but you can add a piece of plastic (like a plastic food bag) to the jar before adding the lid.

Make all your own extracts and tinctures and you'll know exactly what went into them :)

Fenugreek

Fenugreek - Trigonella foenum-graecum



**Fenugreek is a uterine stimulate and should never be used by anyone who is pregnant.

It can be used during labor however to stimulate the uterus and Is a good combination with Red Raspberry leaves.

Also increases milk flow for breastfeeding. but remember, what the mother ingests, the baby ingests.

It's long been used as an aphrodisiac but I have found it works better for men then women.

It can be used to ease moontime cramps and pain.

Is often used in medicinal blends for Diabetes and the Liver.

It can be used to relieve constipation and stomach upset.

Topically it makes an excellent balm or poultice for boils and has been used to decrees cellulite.

All parts of the fenugreek plant may be used, seeds, sprouts, plant ...

Fenugreek is a bitter and is usually combined with other herbs to disguise it's taste. Honey can be added to sweeten but sugar can break down the medicinal chemicals of most medicinals in way that makes them less beneficial.

Fenugreek can be used in teas, tinctures, balms, salves, poultices ...

Depression

I am not a Doctor nor have I ever claimed to be.

I fully believe depression due to chemical imbalance can be permanently cured. I believe the key is to stay with a regime for years. Most people want a quick fix and if it hasn't completely changed them in a few months they're on to something else. The thing is, to rebalance the chemical output that had been imbalanced for the persons lifetime, takes years to correct. Essentially, you're retraining your system. That also includes retraining the way you think, act, react and feel, to a certain extent.

The herbs and vitamins assist by chemically balancing, calming, centering .... but we also have to physically, mentally and spiritually retrain and relearn how to be in balance.

We all get addicted to things everyday, (some people are addicted to collecting hats) and in a sense we have become addicted to the imbalance and the feelings and thoughts that go with it. We become accustom to reacting to things in a certain way and expecting things to be a certain way and so on and so on.

I believe that if we choose to change along with the changes created with the herbs and vitamins that we can cure ourselves.

I know it sounds impossible but we can truly choose to be happy. It's that simple and yet can be very difficult to do.

To start, you just a pick a thing each day to enjoy, appreciate, be happy about and thankful for. If you can't actually feel those things then pretend you do. Become an actress or actor each day until it starts to feel real. And it will, I promise. You have to stay with it tho. Never give up no matter what happens. If you have a bad day and then start again the next.

As you go, try to add more things to be happy about each day. Concentrate on those things. When something goes wrong or you start feeling worse force yourself to think on those things again.

Eventually, one day you'll wake up and discover that you don't have to force yourself anymore :)

None of that means you won't feel sad sometimes. Things happen that cause natural depression thru-out our lives, which are simply part of the circle. We can never choose how others will act, only how we react to them, or to the situation.

We have been given many gifts that are most often overlooked or forgotten and I think the power of choice is among the greatest and most important.

You should always consult your Care Provider first ! For depression caused by chemical imbalance I would recommend taking Multi B complex, C and E every morning. St johns wort 2 to 3 times a day with food but not with any other supplements.

**While taking St Johns wort you should take care about being in the sun, it causes sun sensitivity in most people. You should also not use it if you're taking any antidepressants at all or, if you are pregnant or nursing.

Healing House Teas Opens

On Earth Day, April 22, 2008, I opened Healing House Teas. It's been a long time coming, something I've been working toward for some time now.

Starting with medicinal teas, I'll eventually add bath teas, salves, balms, salts and other things.

When I told my son I was finally ready to open Healing House he said "I think that's your calling Mom." and I think he may be right. It has always been a part of my path, always felt natural and right.

Anyway, I am so pleased to bring you Healing House Teas. Please do stop in at HealingHouse.etsy.com :)