Herbal Brews and Healthy Living Resources

Legal Implications of Practicing as a Herbalist

2012-01-25T17:57:00.000-08:00

Herbs and regulated but Herbalism is not(right now). Learning Herbs.com has a legal and regulatory video with Roy Upton you can purchase. I also have some information from a workshop I had a local herbalist give at my school on being compliant with the new laws and regulations just going into effect this year(GMP guidelines) on my social networking site for the school on the spruz social network.

Practicing herbalists, are just that---PRACTICING. Some herbalists believe that the big pitfall in herbal medicine as a modality is the lack of access to clinical training that herbalists receive if they want to practice and accept money--aka professional.

My Registration is with the only "professional association" of herbalists in the nation. It means that people I respect went over my qualifications and experience and I answer not only to my clients but to this Guild. I believe in some ways the Registration does nothing and in others it hold me to a higher level of accountability. Registration or certification as an herbalist is not necessary and many would like to keep herbalism away from Licensure or any other form of institutionalization.

It is suggested that those seeking registration with the AHG see clients and practice as herbalists for several years. There are many different types of herbalists. Some make medicine, some wildcraft, some see clients, some teach, some do a little of all of it.

If you see clients and take money, I do feel that it is important to have some sort of protocols and scope of practice for yourself. The AHG suggests an informed consent and full disclosure form when practicing to avoid any miscommunication. I think that because we are unregulated, and I am one that likes it that way, I am pretty methodical about how I practice since it is publicly on the internet and my community.

As far as selling. That is an entirely other realm. There are lots of new regulations. They pretty much suck to put it mildly.
There is a several hundred page document that was just drawn up on the matter. Yuck.
Basically if you sell you are supposed to follow a bunch of guidelines and protocols and make sure you document EVERYTHING, oh yes and have a commercial kitchen.

There is an article that a colleague of mine did in Plant Healer Magazine on the subject--Sean Donahue wrote it.

Cedar Fever-sigh

2012-01-05T20:16:00.000-08:00

Don't get me wrong. I love Cedar. I use it medicinally, I think its beautiful. In my opinion its only so prolific because we have created a system that is out of balance with overgrazing. It took me almost 18 years for cedar to begin to affect me. I sit here, sneezing, heavy lungs, runny, and headachy. About the same time last year, I was reminded by my husband that I exhibited the same symptoms. I don't want to admit but, I am yet another person in Central Texas suffering through Cedar Fever, or Juniperus spp season. Here is our pollen count. As the texts, emails, and facebook posts come in asking me if symptoms that folks are experiencing sound like Cedar symptoms, I say yes, it most likely is Cedar pollen. For images click here.
Juniper or Cedar trees(the common names refer to the same Juniperus spp we have growing all over. There are several species) are a common shrubby tree growing in Central Texas alongside oaks. You can find them all over the Southwest and even up in to Yellowstone. They tend to grow at lower elevations and drier areas. In Central Texas one of the most common species is Juniperus ashei, or Ball Juniper. Juniper, or Cedar Trees have both male and female trees, so between Dec -Feb the male trees expel massive amounts of pollen to get to the female trees, who make the well known bluish purple berries I love to use medicinally.
The tree is very aromatic, and the leaves and berries can be used as warming antimicrobials.
Unfortunately the pollen gets into our respiratory tracks and wreaks havoc for many people. Symptoms can include runny noses, headaches, asthmatics get more asthma symptoms, sneezes, itchy eyes and ears, and a feeling of lethargy and malaise.
So, lets get down to it, what to do. Everyone has their favorite remedy. I think you may just have to go through the list until you find what works for you. One thing you can do is not make it WORSE by eating or drinking things that inflame it or stressing out and lowering your immune system. Allergic response is an inflammatory response, which means it puts a strain on our immune systems, leading to that run down feeling. Lack of sleep and stress lower your immune system even more.

One of the first things you can do is a nasal rinse. Here is a video of how to do it complete with giggles. Big thing to remember is to make sure the salinity and warmth of the water is adequate. Also, use purified water. Neti pots or other nasal irrigation devices can be obtained many places and made a daily, or more like 3-5 X a day routine while suffering. Nasal irrigation gets pollen out of your nose, period.
Nasal Oil after a nasal rinse will help settle sneeziness. Drip a few drops of something as simple as olive oil into each nostril and sniff.
Another thing that happens is that the weather tends to be REALLY nice when the pollen counts get high. That means, you may open your windows, take long walks. Close the windows when pollen counts are high. Get an air filter. Where a mask if you go outside, yes I know its dorky, but I guess its all about how much you are suffering. One interesting observation was to make sure and avoid outside air before 10AM because that's supposedly when counts were higher.
Substances to avoid include ones that have a tendency to inflame and/or cause more mucous production. Wheat(gluten),dairy, and sugar are some big culprits.
Foods/Medicines to include would be spicy and/or pungeant and moist. Ginger, Turmeric, Chile Peppers, and other warming spices soups and curries.
Steam rooms with essential oils on a towel you can inhale to help your lungs open and expel the irritants
Some people swear by colloidial silver
Others swear by homeopathic remedies that have microdoses of cedar pollen in them which causes your body to respond against it and build immunity. Make sure it is the Juniperus pollen for this region if you try that
Immune building herbs include mushrooms like reishi and shitake(would also be good in food)
Other herbs that help with symptom relief include Yerba Mansa, Yerba Santa, Goldenseal, Ragweed Leaf--yes folks it works, Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Osha, and Yummy Elecampane.

Good Luck everyone. Just wanted to give you some hope, and here is one of my favorite pics
Warning, its not in good taste but it cracks me up

Digestive Herbs

2011-12-12T20:53:00.000-08:00

Herbs can influence digestion in several ways. Many culinary herbs we use today are thought of as adding flavor but their original inclusion was due to their affect on digestion.

The use of herbs in cooking is usually due to what is termed a carminative effect that their volatile oils have. Volatile, or essential oils is what give these herbs their flavor and aroma. Carminatives tend to stimulate digestion and dispel gas, and some can even relieve spasms. Common carminatives include fennel, dill, ginger, peppermint and cardamom. Many times if these herbs arent used in cooking, they are introduced afterwards as teas or other alcoholic drinks.

Another way herbs influence digestion is through adding the flavor of Bitter. The bitter flavor is often ignored in the U.S. and instead sweet, salty and sour is found. A bitter, as simple as it is, can cause a multitude of effects on the digestive tract, causing a hormonal cascade which results in movement in the digestive tract. Many of the carminative herbs mentioned before are also slightly bitter. Bitters tend to drain and move things out of the digestive tract. as well as stimulating secretions. Common bitters include dark leafy greens, dandelion, artichoke leaf, and Oregon grape or the Southwest alternative to Oregon Grape, Agarita.

Herbs sometimes contain mucilage causing a demulcent effect in the digestive tract. The mucilage is slimy and can act to soothe and coat the stomach and intestines. Mucilage is found in things like flax seeds, marshmallow, and aloe.

Herbs can contain prebiotic and probiotic substances and some can act as antacids. Some can do very specific things or many complex effects throughout the system. How the herbs acts depends on so many different things from quality, to dosage, duration of time the herb is used and the body constitution of the person taking the herbs. Unlike drugs, herbs they are much more personalized in who does best with what for how long. It is also a common belief among herbalists that whole herbs are best, and splitting them into phytochemicals--similiar to drugs only asks for more side effects to occur. The herbs come in a complex package of phytochemicals for a reason and have evolved that way for millenia. If we are lucky we can tap into their offerings, and trigger healing responses or, just better digestion following meals.

Case Study for the AHG Professional Application Process Nicole Telkes, Practicing Herbalist Austin Texas

2011-11-03T10:58:00.000-07:00

In memory of Juliette De Barclay Levy

This case study is offered not only as an example of successful use of holistic therapeutics for pets with extreme injuries but as a guide for others that need help learning how to care for disabled pets or those with chronic illness. Note Nov 2011. Mocha is still doing well!

Well-loved 7 year old healthy dog named Mocha was hit by car Dec 20, 2007. She sustained major injuries which eventually led to major paralysis. She was not only able to heal what was thought to be an incurable secondary infection that led to paralysis but then 6 months after healing she began to regain motor function. Mocha began walking again in March 2009, a year after she was left completely paralyzed in her hind legs. This is her story of healing herself with some help from her human friends..

Description of initial trauma

Well loved dog was hit leaving lacerations all over her body, broken jaw, and her front right leg crushed. Minor fracture in spine missed, leading to spine collapsing and cracking completely and rendering dog paralyzed in hind legs. Secondary infections followed eventually leading to MRSA inside the spine. Dog was given a 30% chance of making it thru surgery.

Medical History and explanation of emergency medicine for initial trauma

Well loved dog had prior history of demodectic mange as puppy which cleared. Dog is spayed. Flea allergy.

Following accident, well loved dog was immediately put on heavy medication to ease pain and infection. Veterinarian strongly recommended antibiotics, pain meds, and steroids. Initial healing was interrupted by spinal collapse. Paralysis led to a uti from catheter, and on to which led to MRSA(antibiotic resistant staph) crossing the blood barrier into the spinal column. In total, the well loved dog went through 3 surgeries. Well loved dog began to lose weight and long term steroid use led to degeneration of muscles. Antibiotics that were used had chance of causing aplastic anemia.

Assessment

Due to extremity of situation, herbs and other holistic protocols were employed in conjunction with western emergency medicine. Holistic strategy was to stabilize dog with specialized diet, additional supplementation, and massage. Adjunct herbal therapies were given to kill infection, tonify various body systems, and calm. The key methods in assisting her were to do deep immune building to foster strength to heal, and keep system eliminating well.

Later, herbal therapies moved into rebuilding and strengthening neural pathways and regular bodywork. One major motivator in her rehab was a cat next door I call “Rehab kitty” she would try to chase. “Rehab kitty” has since moved on since mocha began walking and no longer comes into the backyard.

Formulation and Protocols used

Please see attached sheet for protocols used.

Time Line of Recovery

Dec 20: Mocha goes to the emergency room and is stabilized after

being hit by a car

Dec 21: Mocha is tranferred to surgery and receives 8 pins in her leg, 6 staples

on her side and her lower law is wired together.

Dec 22 Mocha comes home, but has to be carried out to pee and poo, and is on

a bunch of pills

Jan 4 Mocha is recovering well and she gets her bandage off her leg. Her jaw surgery

may not hold so she may still lose her lower canine but the vet

decides to wait to see if it may still take. She is sore but improving.

Her pins require daily cleaning and she is still on a pain pill

Jan 10 Mocha looks extra tired and can't get up. She is shivering. We carry her

out to pee. She curls up in the sun and goes to sleep. The next

thing we know she is sitting up, panting and feverish. She can't

move. We take her to the vet immediately. She is diagnosed with

a back injury.

Jan 11 After a bunch of procedures it is determined that surgery is not the best

option. She has a subluxation/collapsed disc. She is put under observation

at the ICU for the weekend.

Jan 12 Mocha is on morphine and groggy but eats wet food from our hands and whines

when we leave. She is given a prognosis of an 80% success rate if

she is kenneled for 10 weeks. We will have to express her urine

from her kennel for awhile.

MAJOR HERBAL PROTOCOLS AND ADDITIONAL SUPPLEMENTATION BEGAN HERE

Jan 14 Mocha comes home on horse tranquilizers. It sucks. She is a zombie. We

wait for them to wear off. She cannot hold her head up.

Jan 16 The tranquilizers have worn off. She is perking up and eating and drinking. We have

to pick her up to take her outside. She cannot stand up but she

is in better spirits. Her ribs are very crunchy

Jan 17 She put a little weight on her back legs today. She is also being defiant.

That is a good sign that she is coming back into herself

February: Mocha is acting tired, she is in more pain and has a low grade fever.

We take her in and a urinary tract infection is discovered. She

also seems to have a lot of pain around her injury at the spine

Mid-February: Mocha is diagnosed with a potential MRSA infection in her spine

and urinary tract. Her front leg isn't healing due to the extended

prednisone use and she is losing sensation in her back leg

Late Feb, a last ditch effort is made to save mocha with a very risky spinal surgery.

She is given a 30% prognosis of making it.. She makes it through

surgery but we aren't sure if the antibiotic we are giving her is

going to even touch the infection. She comes home looking like Frankenstein

March Mocha is doing fairly well. She is better but still in a lot of pain and

paralyzed in the back legs. She requires around the clock care.

We are pretty exhausted at this point. She is getting a little bit

of pain sensation in her legs and tail but unable to move them.

April. Mocha is turning around. It turned out a UTI infection was complicating

the situation. We treated her with more yucky antibiotics and her

spirits greatly changed. She began to get a little perkier. She

is now paralyzed but the pain is beginning to subside. She receives

acupuncture and begins to sleep through the night for the first time in 2 months.

We find a used wheelchair on craigslist and it comes in the mail.

She DOES NOT like it.

Late April. Mocha barks at another dog for the first time in 4 months, then for the

first time in 2 months she wags her tail!!! She starts to wag more

and more. She walk herself with sling support 1/4 of a mile. She

begins rehab at the pet rehab department

May Mocha is now in the midst of 3X a week rehab donated by the surgery department

of Central Texas Veterinary Specialty Hospital. She is practicing

on her newly healed front paw, getting strength back in her front

end. In, fact she scooched herself Eddie Murphy Trading Spaces style

to her dog Bowl one morning before we were awake to get water.

May 4 Mocha learns to use her wheelchair thanx to the rehab department. She tools around

for 20 minutes with her tail wagging. She is off most of her meds

and supplements.

Summer: Mocha

is has her ups and downs. Her leg that was broken in 6 places is

sore a lot but she is tooling around quite well on her chair. Some

days are better than others. Overall, her spirit is coming back

a little more everyday. Its a different life but we are very happy

to have her with us.

MAJOR PROTOCOLS SCALED BACK BUT I KEEP HER ON WOOD BETONY (STACHYS SP) TINCTURE 1 DROPPERFUL 2X A DAY AND 1 FISH OIL GEL CAP A DAY

Fall 2008: Mocha is in her wheelchair and we notice her back legs are beginning to move.

Winter 2008: mocha tried to stand up on her back legs, does so and then falls over. She feels me pinch her back feet and pulls away from the sensation. The vet doesn’t believe me. I go back to the pet acupuncturist and keep up her protocols. She gets another UTI and takes an antibiotic again. She is not able to clean herself

Spring 2009: Mocha is now walking a ¼ mile by herself without a wheelchair. She can walk herself outside to relieve herself and she chases cats again

ALL HERBAL PROTOCOLS END EXCEPT FOR REGULAR FISH OIL SUPPLEMENTATION

Summer 2009 Mocha may have hurt herself. Her left leg is not responding as well so I change her protocol again and put her on supplements. Another acupuncture appointment is being scheduled

PROTOCOL #2 SEE SECOND SHEET

Evaluation and Special Notes on Caring for Pets:

Mocha is now happy and healthy. She has regained about 50% use of her back legs and she can wag her tail. She goes on a short walk everyday and no longer needs our assistance. Long term care will be needed to prevent UTI’s and stagnation due less movement. Rehab continues through walking, swimming, supplementation, and massage.

Because animals cant tell you when they are in pain or how much pain it makes treatment difficult. Pets also respond differently to herbs and they must be administered in different fashions. In this situation it is imperative to begin to really read your pets body language, which most of the time is very subtle any change in behavior of lack of interest in eating can signal something is not right.

Food is very important. When mocha was very ill I made her homemade dog food, as I did when she was a puppy and had demodectic mange.

A simple recipe for homemade food is roughly:

50% cooked grains(rice, barley, quinoa etc…no wheat)

20% veggies raw—shredded or chopped in

30% animal protein—it is supposed to be more but affordability makes this difficult.

I also added nutritional yeast and a tspn of yogurt or probiotic powder

I make a batch that was about 1-2 weeks worth and put it in the freezer, defrosting 3 days at a time.

When she was very ill with MRSA I added raw liver.

She is now on a NO GRAIN commercial formula. Both my dogs poo about ½ as much on the no grain formula and have had no digestive problems. These foods are more expensive but they eat and poo less. Homemade is best but can get overwhelming

Pet acupuncture and chiropractic treatments from Dr Van Winkle, helped a lot. I took Mocha for just a few sessions and immediately saw changes in her behavior as well as improvement in the movement of her limbs

MRSA Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a bacterium that causes infections in different parts of the body. It's tougher to treat than most strains of staphylococcus aureus -- or staph -- because it's resistant to some commonly used antibiotics.(definition from WebMD). MRSA is spreading rapidly in veterinarian clinics, one reason being that humans are taking less precaution than at a regualar health clinic with regards to hygiene and transferring it to the animals. MRSA is extremely painful and very difficult to treat once it gets into the bloodstream and into deeper layer of tissue. Barberry is used as an adjunct therapy in many hospitals in Europe(Michael Moore) when treating staph. I took this idea and ran with it, using our native species, Berberis trifoliolata as an adjunct therapy when Mocha was fighting the bug. As in a regular human hospital, vets will take on no liability for secondary infections caught at the veterinary hospital…….

Handicapped Pets Website is an excellent resource for folks dealing with disabled pets http://handicappedpets.com/

Not only did I find a used wheelchair for mocha for 1/3 the price of a new one, but they also have discussions and forums to help you with everything with expressing the bladder to discussion forums on a wide range of ailments

Unique ways to give herbs to pets:

How do you know whether or not to give something to a pet and in what does?

I always drop test my pets before dosing according to bodyweight. It works out to around 7 drops per 12 pds of weight of tincture. Water extractions are around 1.5 tblspn per 12 pds of weight.

Not everybody’s dog will take supplements well. A few dog friendly ways to give supplements include:

Making meat broth infusions or decoctions of supplements, and then turning those into ice cubes to add to food. This is a really good menstruum for pets just out of surgery. My dog would not drink water when she was going through surgeries but would drink beef broth, which I snuck other things into….

If a pill is necessary, ghee is a good medium, it also nourished the nervous system.

To help with upset bellies, frozen yogurt or a tspn of yogurt in food works well.

Thoughts on pain

I thought a lot about whether or not to give the wide range of pain pills to my dog. I really had to evaluate whether they helped or not. I am very much against using steroids. I used them anyway against my better judgement and now really wish I had insisted on taking her off of them after a week or two. The longterm use was overkill on the vets part and I think led her depressed immune system getting ravaged and leading to MRSA. Fear based decisions are always prominent when dealing with emergency medical situations. Remember to listen to your gut no matter what. The hard part of pet pain is evaluating the situation when something cant tell you how it feels. At one point I decided, enough with the meds, I will just do herbs. After carefully watching her, my partner and I decided to put her back on the pain meds. We weren’t sure but she seemed to be more responsive ON pain meds and more apathetic off of them. What I have learned most is that pets will NOT complain. Some may briefly, but it is VERY difficult to tell how much they are hurting. I feel that it is better to have them on low dose pain meds with some skullcap(skullcap with pain meds strategy in humans according to Adam Sellers) than on just herbs. One example of how little pets complain just hit home yesterday when one of my friends next door neighbors was abusing an animal with neglect and it literally laid down and died from the pain rather than complain thru whimpering and crying.

When do you stop trying

Well, most of us stop because of financial constraints or because the animal is going thru too much trauma. I wasn’t ever sure until Mocha was declared infection free that we were doing the “RIGHT” thing. I really wanted to do what was best for her. I also felt like it wasn’t fair to allow a hit and run be her last life memory. . At one point I even contacted pet psychic to see if she could offer any insight. I slept with her and watched her closely. One of my good friends is disabled, and her advice to me is that if it was time to put her down, I would know. I never did “know” so I kept trying. I felt that Mocha kept trying and as long as she did, my partner and I did. Luckily I had an empty credit card and refused to look at the balance as we okd surgeries and vet visits. I felt like her life was more important than debt, and like one of my friends said “lots of people go into debt for stupid stuff, at least you did it to save something’s life”. I ended up starting a fund for her and a bunch of friends donated what they could. I looked all over for funding but will tell you firsthand, don’t count on any organization helping My vet clinic ended up donating all of her rehab and call her super Mocha. She is the inspiration to many others who aren’t sure about whether or not to keep trying.

Mocha on her first walk in over a year on a road trip to West Texas March 2009

Resources

Pet Remedies

YouTube Videos showing recovery http://www.youtube.com/user/stikitheclown

March 2009

mocha 2009

Mocha 2011-sunbathing and wise--she is now 10- turning 11

Dosing: Herbs for Dogs

2011-11-03T10:34:00.000-07:00

Dogs metabolize meds faster, so therefore I have started with higher dosing of herbs with my animals and am having better results with symptoms being alleviated.
The standard dosage for humans is 30 drops of tincture for 50 pounds of body weight. I now dose my dogs with 60 drops of tincture for every 50 pounds of body weight. I also have upped the broths and powders to higher doses based on their faster metabolisms.
As my dogs age, I add most of their supplements into either oil, butter, or a little raw meat treat---

Make sure their food is grain free. Raw food is obviously the first choice, and homemade second.
If that is cost prohibitive, then at least get grain free and add supplementation.

Inflammation: LOTS of fish oil supplementation
Kidneys: Cranberry Powder in meat---

It is not worth buying dog food with supplementation added. Thats like buying a Pepsi products that has herbs and hoping that its therapeutic.

We're the Ones

2011-09-26T20:08:00.000-07:00

This was shared with me at a full moon spring equinox gathering this year. The words keep echoing in my head and have ever since I heard this read. I thought I would post it for folks

You have been telling the people that
this is the Eleventh Hour
Now you must go back and tell the people
that this is The Hour
And there are things to be considered:
Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your Water?
Know your garden
It is time to speak your Truth.
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for the leader.
This could be a good time!

There is a river flowing now very fast.

It is so great and swift that there are
those who will be afraid.
They will try to hold onto the shore.
They will feel they are being torn apart, and
they will suffer greatly.
Know the river has its destination.
The Elders say that we must let go of the shore, push
off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes
open, and our heads above the water.

See who is in there with you and celebrate.

At this time in history, we are to take nothing
personally. Least of all, ourselves.
For the moment we do, our spiritual growth
and journey comes to a halt. The time of the
lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves!
Banish the word "struggle" from your attitude
and your vocabulary.

All that we do now must be done in a sacred
manner and in celebration.

We are the ones we've been waiting for.

-The Elders
Oraibi, Arizona
The Hopi Nation

Lungfire Seasonal Remedy

2011-09-07T13:12:00.000-07:00

In celebration of the recent cold front, I went to sleep with all the windows in my home open. In Central Texas, the brutal heat had finally broke and I was looking forward to a couple of nice cool evenings to enjoy. Unfortunately, our area was plagued with massive wildfires in the wake of the cold front(brought on from the winds of a nearby hurricane which ironically gave us no moisture). I woke up several times in the night with phlegm, worried that I was coming down with something. In the morning, a haze filled the air. Here is a photo to give you an idea of the extent of the damage There was no doubting the smell, fire. As one woman said "Should we be wearing masks? I bet this is what hell must smell like". We were thick with smoke all over Austin. Today was the day I was creating a seasonal support syrup to help people transition out of the blazing hot summer and lend a hand to their taxed out kidneys. The syrup was going to be a base of wild Texas prickly pear tunas, wild Texas mulberry leaf and berries, peaches from my home garden, and a few added extracts. The seasonal support syrup deserves its own post, so I will let you read more about it there. After experiencing the very toxic smelling and irritating air, I decided to make part of the base into a seasonal lung support formula. I added into the base extracts of Mullein , Cordyceps, Gumweed, and Bee Balm.
Prickly Pears, Mulberries and Peaches are cooling and moistening. The prickly pears and mulberries are added support to the kidneys and blood sugar imbalances(though this being a syrup makes that use questionable). Thankfully, Kiva rose had already written up some ideas for supporting the lungs after wildfires, since she had experienced some recently where she lives in New Mexico. After looking at her post here http://bearmedicineherbals.com/smoke.html I got some more ideas for my own remedy.
Cordyceps, a mushroom(ish) extract, was added in because it also strengthens the kidneys and lungs. It is gently tonifying and nourishes your vital essence, oftentimes it has been used therapeutically as an endurance remedy.
Mullein is one of my first go to's for lung support. It enlivens the lungs yet relaxes them at the same time. Mullein is soothing and gently astringent. I use it in lung remedies to make sure and direct other herbs. As soon as I take it, I can feel it center in on the lungs. It is a specific for dry coughs, especially when used in syrup form.
Gumweed, I added this in to complement Mullein and add in some extra "oomph" so that any particulates from the wildfires could be more easily expelled. Grindelia can relax the respiratory tract, lessening coughs, and also create a situation where when you do cough us is more productive.
Bee Balm is an herb that quells the fire. It does so by drawing the fire out to the surface and allowing it to burn itself out more quickly. For sore throats, there is no plant I can think of I would rather use. As much as Mullein centers on the lungs, I feel Bee Balm centers on the throat.

All in all you've got a nice seasonal, bioregional blend of herbs and berries. Want some? We'll be at the Hope Farmers Market in East Austin or email me at wildflowerschoolherbs@gmail.com

Uterine Fibroids: A holistic approach

2011-09-03T08:51:00.000-07:00

What are they? Fibroids are noncancerous growths beginning on muscle tissue that can get larger or decrease in size over time most often found in women of childbearing age. Some signs and symptoms include abnormal or heavy bleeding and pain, a sense of fullness or pressure in the womb and sometimes you can even see the abdomen become a bit distended. Uterine fibroids, according to allopathic medicine are caused from an overproduction of estrogen in the body, or excessive amounts in the body. In allopathic medicine they are usually "controlled" with hormonal drugs or with surgery. In holistic medicine, these growth indicate an imbalance. The imbalance may be from hormone levels, dietary influences, elimination blockages or a combination of these things.

What to do about fibroids: Ultimately you need to make an educated decision about your own situation and come from a place of strength, not fear. Fear will land you immediately to allopathic methods of suppression or slicing. Susun Weed has a great lecture she's given on the levels of healing, I encourage you to go through all of your options, this is my interpretation 7-8 years later of her lecture, these are in order of their level of invasiveness:
0 Serenity medicine--Do nothing--many illnesses work themselves out
1 Story Medicine--Tell people about your situation and get opinions--several
2 Energy Medicine: Flower Essences, Reiki, Etc that can shift your vital energy without actually the nutritional or chemical makeup of your body
3 Food Medicine: Eating well and balanced for your body. Eliminating things that cause imbalance or inflammation. Adding the proper nutrition and even adding some dietary supplementation in at therapeutic levels
4 Sedate or Stimulate: Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine, Homeopathy, and other therapies like Massage, Yoga, Mayan Abdominal Massage, Chi Nei Tsung
5 Suppression: Steroids, Antibiotics or extremely high amounts of herbal substances acting like drugs--or drop dosage herbs that act like drugs
6 Surgery and other Invasive procedures. Keep in mind once you open the body up you can't go back. It doesnt like being sliced into and being exposed to the outside world. This is where secondary infections and other problems can come in. Sometimes surgery is necessary, but in this scale of invasiveness, it is a last resort, not one of the first ones.
Please do not go immediately onto the internet and do research unless you know where to do research. You can look at the student section of my website and I have put together a list of places to do herbal research on the internet at www.wildflowerherbschool.com/students.htm
Most articles you will "google" on the internet about your condition and what to do about it site each other and have a limited amount of information available to you. I encourage you to go see a Herbalist, Naturopath, Traditional Chinese Medicine Pracitioner, Ayurvedic Practitioner, or Homeopathic Pracitioner in your area. Be sure to research and ask people their background and philosophy of practice. You may or may not be a match for them. In the realm of holistic medicine, you have lots of choices and I truly believe taking back some of the control over your health includes choosing practitioners you enjoy and have some common ground with--be responsible to yourself before you put your health in someone else's hands. Sometimes this can seem expensive, but try surgery....even with insurance.........I think you'll find that seeing a holistic practitioner regularly is far less expensive in the long run. To truly heal from any illness usually takes a support team made up of practitioners, family, and friends.

Dietary Changes: Industrially produced meats, eggs, and dairy have abnormally high amounts of estrogen, since the animals are routinely given estrogen(amongst other drugs) to boost production(thanks Chanchal Cabrera). Eliminate all of it from your diet. Yet another reason to buy from the farmers market!
Inflammatory foods like gluten (wheat and other grains), sugar, dairy--ah yes here it is again, and it also makes elimination harder. Eliminate it.
Refined carbs and deep fried foods, caffeine, SOY, and alcohol...yup eliminate it.
Taking things out is going to make what you put in work better.

Dr Tori Hudson, ND also says:

Saturated fats, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, and junk foods are presumably problematic in two main ways:

they interfere with the body’s ability to metabolize estradiol to estrone to estriol, and
some of these foods are deficient in vitamin B or interfere with B-vitamin metabolism. If B vitamins are lacking in the diet, the liver is missing some of the raw materials it needs to carry out its metabolic processes and regulate estrogen levels.

Nutritional Supplementation to consider: According to Chanchal Cabrera: B Complex, Vit E, Vit C and Lipotropic Factors ,may be helpful see article here: http://medherb.com/Therapeutics/Female_-__Holistic_Treatment_of_Fibroids_.htm

Herbs to research: Raspberry Leaf(Rubus idaeus), Lady's Mantle(Alchemilla vulgaris), Ginger(Zingiber officinalis), Yarrow(Achillea millefolium), Wild Yam(Dioscorea vilosa)White Dead Nettle(Lamium alba) Cinnamon(Cinnamonum spp) Vitex(Vitex agnus-castus) and Dandelion Root(Taraxacum officinale)

This list does not mean to go out and buy all of these herbs and take them. A skilled holistic practitioner will look at your constitution(body type) and blend together something that works best for your body. OTC herbal supplements may help somewhat, but they are generally designed as kitchen sink remedies, where the company puts in anything that may influence the body towards better balance and that you will recognize one or more of the herbs and buy it. I would not recommend buying premade formulas without having a skilled practitioner you trust decide if they are helpful. Quality considerations are a big factor. If you want herbs to work, get them from herbalists, not large herb companies that are now owned by pharmaceutical companies(surprise!).

In general, drinking gentle, nutritive teas that are slightly astringent like
Raspberry leaf(Rubus idaeus),
Lady's Mantle herb(Alchemilla vulgaris)
and Nettles Leaf(Urtica dioica)
will most likely be beneficial in most situations for those that have fibroids. Herbs that influence our hormones or shift our bodies to eliminate things better should be taken with care and other supervision so that changes in pathology can be monitored. A general detoxification and liver herb that can be taken regularly to make sure you are eliminating estrogens and other things that can influence the growth of fibroids is
Dandelion Root(Taraxacum officinale). This can cause pretty sudden shifts in body chemistry, menstrual flow, and elimination so again please make sure and find a trusted herbal practitioner that can monitor you.

Applying castor oil packs by rubbing castor oil onto the womb and covering with a hot towel covered by plastic wrap or wool to keep it warm for about 20 min 1-2 times a day is another general remedy you can do prior or while eeing a practitioner.

Cod Liver Oil: Omega 3s are Anti-inflammatory and regulating to our bodies, therapeutic doses of these will most likely have beneficial effects for those with fibroids

My experience: I have worked with a few clients with fibroids and the greatest changes came from dietary shifts. Herbs alone may help the body but unless the client in question makes major dietary, emotional work, and lifestyle shifts, I have found it difficult to affect change and see them shrink. I have found that in order for most major shifts to happen, the client MUST have regular check ins with a practitioner--like every 2 weeks so that they can be kept on track with diet and lifestyle and be held accountable at check ins. Eliminating is harder than putting things into the mix.

Resources
http://www.fibroidnetworkonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=26
http://www.ultimatehealing.com/uterinefibroids.html
http://www.menopause-metamorphosis.com/An_Article-fibroids.htm
http://www.tcmpage.com/hp_uterine_fibroid.html
http://www.fibroidnetworkonline.com/modules.php?name=Web_Links&l_op=viewlink&cid=67
http://drtorihudson.com/articles/uterine-fibroids-womens-health-update/

You are what you eat: Educate Yourself Here

2011-07-13T22:10:00.000-07:00

Books

Anything by Michael Pollan

Healing with Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition

Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats

Whole Foods Companion: A Guide for Adventurous Cooks, Curious Shoppers, & Lovers of Natural Foods

Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods

Real Food: What to Eat and Why

Documentaries I recommend

King Corn

Food Inc

Beer Wars

Here is a Guide to the top 10

Where to find healthy fresh, local food

Local Harvest

Sustainable Table

Eat Well Guide

Resources for those with Lupus

2011-07-12T18:34:00.000-07:00

General info
http://www.uklupus.co.uk/compindex.html
A magazine and online community for support
http://www.lupus.org/webmodules/webarticlesnet/templates/new_magazinehome.aspx
A book: http://www.abouthealinglupus.com/

Resources from David Hoffman, a great herbal clinician http://www.healthy.net/scr/article.aspx?Id=1349
Resources from Paul Bergner, a great herbal clinician
http://medherb.com/Therapeutics/Immune_-_Systemic_lupus_erythematosus.htm

More herbal info http://www.herbs2000.com/disorders/lupus.htm

Peach Remedy for Summer SAD in Texas

2011-06-02T08:36:00.000-07:00

My peach tree has had quite a productive year. I am a busy little bee collecting peaches and peach leaves for use in various concoctions. Thanks to Matthew Wood for opening me to the world of Peach Leaf as a remedy. You can read more from him here http://www.woodherbs.com/Peach.html

This year, as I went through all the various ways to prepare peaches, I came up with a cordial that has a dual purpose. A common preparation of peaches is canning Peaches in brandy. I love using peach leaf........... so what I did to put a spin on this recipe was to create a brandy peach cordial(with honey)and then pack in peach leaf and mimosa blossoms. Why Mimosa?

Mimosa Flower and bark is a remedy in Traditional Chinese Medicine, that a student of mine who was trained in TC Medicine brought to me in a tincture swap. TCM uses the blossoms to nourish the "shen" or "spirit". I found from my first drop of the blossom glycerite I was hooked. Not only do the blossoms taste exquisite but they immediately lifted my spirits. I felt lighter and more at peace. I have to say that the only thing that taste nearly is good was............peach leaf! The two tastes together are phenomenal, like a kind of honey floral, cherry taste. After a month or so the peaches can be eaten out of the brandy and eventually the brandy strained off for use as a cooling remedy for our Summer heat which often causes a summer version of SAD. Texas gets hot. Not just a little hot but so hot that day after day of 100+ weather can create a fried and depressed kind of angst, especially around August in these parts. I have found that a little bit of peach leaf and mimosa blossom can't gently ease the feeling of being "fried" and cool core temperature while the mimosa blossom subtly lifts the spirits. The combination is a great little remedy for Texas Summer SAD(Seasonal Affective Disorder).

HorMoans Spray

2011-05-31T13:15:00.000-07:00

We just finished concocting our newest brew for our women's health line, Hormoans. This spray smells great and does the job. Not only do the herbs we used have a regulatory effect on hormones, but are well known calming herbs and antimicrobial, making this a spray for 101 purposes. We combined fresh White Sage Leaf with Native Pennyroyal, Wild Yarrow, and a couple of drops of Lavender and Clary Sage Essential Oil.

I like to use it to help me feel less cranky and irritated by others. I have seen it successfully quell a hot flash and it is safe to spray on a wound to help prevent infection or kill germs. The Yarrow in the spray helps to stop bleeding as well. Check it out, it will soon be available online.

Love Potion #13 is Brewing!

2011-02-01T21:30:00.000-08:00

An annual tradition. Organic Chocolate, Local Honey, Damiana, Rose Petals, Oat Grass and other herbal aphrodisiacs infused into a nice Irish Whiskey. Sip. Sip a little more and enjoy!

Creamy Coffee Butter

2010-12-16T10:15:00.000-08:00

I love coffee and I am experimenting with something I can smear on and help feed my addiction. For the holidays I created a nourishing cream with shea butter, mango butter, almond oil, Ruta Maya organic air trade local espresso. I added a bit of rose and vanilla to the blend for a little bit of sweetness. Need I say more? It is absolutely addicting. Now on to lip balm

Double Compounded Arnica cream

2010-12-16T10:11:00.000-08:00

Holiday time means Cream time. I have been thinking about an extra strong version of an antiinflammatory formula in the form of a cream. Steph and I pulled together arnica and juniper oil with Arnica tincture I gathered this summer and blended it to make a cream. We added in essential oils of peppermint. Its great! Can't wait to give it out. There is just so much you can do with cream.............

Winter Wellness Elder Honey

2010-12-16T10:05:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to make an immune building and general illness recovery formula. There is a very traditional cold and flu remedy that incorporates Elder, Yarrow and Peppermint so I put my own twist on it.

I pulled together elder berries(antiviral, tonic and blood building), astragalus root(immune building), reishi mushroom(immune building and restoring inflammatory balance), fresh echinacea root(cool, stimulating diffusive immune stimulant, ), ginger root(pungeant, diffusive, warming to core), rosehips(vitamin c, drying, cooling), and simmered them for about an hour.
I then turned the heat way down to infuse in peppermint leaf(pungeant, warming and cooing, stimulating diaphoretic) and yarrow(diaphoretic) blossoms. I let the mixture steam off for about another hour and strained out plant material. I then reduced the mix down to about 1/3 of the original amount by steaming it for several more hours. I added in about 1 oz of cleavers glycerite, both as a preservative and to bring cooling, moistening energy to the lymphatic system into the blend.
Once cool, I poured an equal amount of raw texas honey into the formula to preserve and offer a nice medium for taking the mix. Raw honey has antimicrobial properties and is warming and moistening.
The result is a delicious syrup that can be added to hot water, cold water, porridges, teas, or just taken by the spoonful during the winter to prevent or help in recovery from a cold or flu. It tastes sweet, sour, bitter and slightly pungeant.

Herbal Remedies for Pets

2010-12-04T08:49:00.000-08:00

Treating General Anxiety for Pets: Rescue Remedy Flower Essence is very Safe and effective

Healing Broths for Pets
My dog was hit by a car and had a long road to recovery. She went from having a broken jaw, pins in a front leg, broken back (missed)....To paralysis and getting MRSA in her spine.....to being cured and healed but paralyzed......to being cured healed, and walking again after a year of paralysis. Now at 10 and a 1/2 she leads a normal doggy life. In the time of her recoveries(about 1.5 years) I found there wasn't much out there to help people who wanted to devote themselves to their pets with chronic illness. I plan on adding more and more to the following information so that others can get a sense of how to get through such a traumatic time for the pet and the persons involved.

The following remedy is one you may want to try and can be amended with different herbs for different situations. The recipe I have been amending this basic broth to is one to help heal bones and spinal injuries. It is helpful to make this just after anesthesia or ther operations when they haven't been drinking or eating much or have been on iv fluids. In any case the concept of a healing broth in which the remedy is given.
You will need: The remains of a free range, organically fed chicken or other ethically-obtained meat, Glucosamine-Chondroitin Pills, Electrolyte Pills, Acidophilus Capsules, and Fish Oil Capsules Make some free range chicken broth or similiar broth. Make sure to include bones and cartilage in the broth if possible. Let the broth cook for several hours if possible. In the broth add a tablspoon of vinegar to help extract the minerals out of the bones. After making the broth, remove bones and let broth cool.(Fish Oil and acidophilus should not be added to any hot broth it kills the constituents)If you do not have time to make the broth, then it can be bought-Pacific Foods has a good brand. Once the broth cools, add
an acidophilus pill-powder
1 electrolyte pill=powder and
4 fish oil pill-squirt out the oil
2 glucosamine pills-crushed add per quart of liquid.
Store in a mason or other sealed jar and shake prior to use. Use within 4-5 days of being made. Store in fridge. Use 1/2 a cup per 25 pounds of body weight. This broth can be given by itself or with water. Both my dogs go nuts for it. It can also be poured on top of food.

An amendment to this to further help bones heal you can warm the broth before adding all the supplements and add 1/2 oz of comfrey leaf and/or oat grass to infuse in the hot broth for 15 minutes. Strain and cool. Then add the supplements

An amendment for neural injuries add 1/2 oz Wood Betony (Stachys) and/or St John's Wort. You may also squirt tincture onto food but make sure it is mixed in well Some dogs are very finicky(1 drop per pound of weight)

Neural Pain: Prickly Ash--strong taste so may not take, Skullcap, california poppy,

General Pain: Skullcap-safe generally with other pain meds

Anxiety, Nervousness: Choice of Oat Grass Seed/Vervain-strong taste so may not take/Passionflower

Muscular Spasms: 1 drop of Lobelia per 25pds of weight--Must be fresh plant tincture. Very strong, no more than a drop XXX

UTI's from catheters: Uva Ursi or Manzanita. Cranberry tastes to strong from them to take. Make sure to keep wipes around and clean your pets private parts if they can't to prevent infection

The liver is usually traumatized from injuries so adding a 1/4 tspn per 25pds or weight of freshly ground milk thistle seeds to food every day for about a month after the injury

New Sunsafety Butter Formula

2010-11-30T18:59:00.000-08:00

I have just refined my sunsafety salve to a butter. The salve is a bastardization of a escharotic salve. It has similiar ingredients, yet different. I got an order from Florida where a woman wanted to use it with clients on their skin cancers. My salve is both protective, extractive, and highly antioxidant. I have really been wanting to use chaga mushrooms , but trying to figure out how to get it into the salve since most mushrooms must be extracted into water to get their full benefit. I decided to do a reduction of chaga and add it into the salve with some shea butter. The result is a butter that your skin literally sucks up. I have never seen quite the consistency before. I have high hopes. My salve had had good results with small skin growths shrinking or even falling off but with the addition of a chaga reduction I can't wait to see what happens....
http://onibasu.com/archives/cl/27368.html
http://www.ibizadeluxe.com/chaga_medical.html

Hill Country Throat Honey

2010-09-23T14:47:00.000-07:00

I decided to make a quick and easy throat syrup since I just pressed my fabulous Bee Balm Honey in my delicious raw, local, honey from Round Rock Honey. Bee Balm, or Monarda citriodora, is full of Thymol(kind of like a super oregano) and tends to go directly for the throat. I always take a dose of it at any indication that I have been exposed to some sort of infection and it usually clears it up very quickly. Like one dose quickly. I have also used it in formulas to allay the symptoms of mononucleosis.

In the honey, I added some native Plantain tincture (which among its properties and indications for use, I remember Matthew Wood in his Book of Herbal Wisdom using it for prickly and tickly throat irritations). I also added some Grindelia tincture to help with wet coughs, or humid type conditions in the respiratory tract. Grindelia also acts as an antispasmodic and expectorant. I added 4 parts of the monarda honey to 1 part grindelia and 1 part plantain fresh tincture. The result was a sweet but potent brew that settles right in the throat to go to work.
I am now prepared for people who don't cleanse as our shift of weather comes and get some sort of respiratory tract infection.
Happy Honeys!

My Favorite Student Preparation 2010: Savory Superfood Bouillon

2010-04-07T15:09:00.000-07:00

So we wanted to make a superfood in class but several class members didnt want it to be sweet. We settled on dehydrating heirloom tomatoes, kale from the garden, kelp powder, himalayan pink salt, nutritional yeast, 14 mushroom blend powder from Mushroom Harvest, chickweed and alfalfa powder. Everything was finely ground into a powder and mixed together. The result was a tasty bouillon of sorts that we could sprinkle into dishes for added nutritional potency. What really surprised me was how delicious the dried kale was. It smelt and tasted great, almost adding a peppery punch to it.

Mother of Minerals(MOM)

2010-04-07T15:03:00.000-07:00

As our winter weeds begin to yield to our spring wildflowers, I am quickly harvesting and brewing as many plants as I can into vinegars, glycerites and tinctures. What a winter for chickweed, even 18 degree freezes didnt hold it back! A couple of years ago my students and I began creating a new blend, originally entitled FloraYoni, now toned down to Mother of Minerals. It was our answer to Floradix, an nutritive blend for iron and other mineral support often seen on the market. I gather my winter greens(collards, kale and spinach) from my garden, add in wild chickweed, cleavers, henbit, cilantro, alfalfa, nettles, kelp, and whatever other nutritive goodies I have growing, some fresh beets from the garden, and blend them into a mix of glycerin and apple cider vinegar. These stew and brew together for a month. I add in a bit o black strap molasses and Voila, a tasty nutritive base for folks. No pills needed. This brew is a tasty way to get all sorts of extra blood building nutrition into you. Pederson's Nutritional Herbology gave a nutritional profile of Chickweed that blew me away. Seasonal Yumminess that even kids will take.

Witches New Year Flying Ointment

2009-10-29T09:50:00.000-07:00

A fellow massage therapist asked me if I could make him some flying ointment about 6 months ago. I decided that instead, I would host a flying ointment party where folks could do their own research, bring ingredients, and make a collective batch. We used a couple of different websites

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_ointment
http://www.occult100.com/bos/flying.html
http://zenmind.org/curt-flink.html
http://www.shanmonster.com/witch/flying.html
and personal books for insight. Susun Weed had given a flying ointment presentation at the International Herb Symposium and we drew a lot from her notes.
Everyone brought ingredients and we talked about why we brought them. By far, the star was Datura, who was blooming all over my yard and many other people's as well. Everything from wormwood, tomato leaves, mugwort, yarrow, dittany of crete, mullein, datura leaves and flowers, jasmine, and white sage was added to a cast iron cookpot on the fire and infused for several hours. We all circled around the concoction and talked about what we had brought and added intention. One ingredient that we felt was important but not very nice, was toadskin. Rather than trying to catch a toad that was in my backyard, we invited toad energy into to cauldron, and kept the mix vegan. We stirred the cauldron with a broomstick and chanted around it. We waited for the pot to cool, strained the herbs and added some wax. putting it into containers. We passed the ointment around and smeared it on various parts. A few party goers went from traditional applications, and others stuck with anointing their 3rd eye.
As the ointment was applied, we got louder and laughed harder and harder. Some folks ended up on the ground rolling around and laughing. All of a sudden it was very late. Folks drifted away into the night. Some of the reports are this:
"applying it internally brought extreme skin sensitivity"
"I had lucid dreams all night long"
" Was up very late and woke up the next day feeling fine"
"Felt very high all night"
"dreamt I was covered in water moccasins in the chair I fell asleep in, wasn't sure if it was a dream, or real"
"dreamt a helicopter was in the backyard"
more reports to come........
Happy Samhain

St John's Wort Oil

2009-07-27T08:48:00.000-07:00

My dear friend and mentor Margi Flint sent me some gorgeous fresh St John's Wort, Hypericum perforatum in the mail to make oil out of. St Johns Wort is one of the few plants, who's properties are actually activated by sunlight. What this means is that upon receiving the top flowering 6 inches of the plant, I immediately added olive oil into a 32oz jar filled with flowers, enough to cover the flowers and have an extra inch. I then blended this, trying not to burn out my motor. I ended up adding a little more oil to cover all the plant material. Because the flowers were fresh, I covered the top with cheesecloth and set it in the sun for 2 weeks(which in Texas may be overkill). My oil turned a gorgeous red color and is now ready to be strained and used. St Johns Wort is used topically as an Anti-inflammatory, particularly soothing to inflamed nerves, helpful for cases of neuralgia, and sciatica. It can also be used to treat sprains, burns, bruises and has a long history of use by midwives to treat tears and promote better healing after birthing. Locally, this species does not grow or flower well in gardens. Its closest native Texas relative is St. Andrews Cross, Hypericum hypericoides, which I tried making a tincture of and have no idea whther it will be useful like its Northern cousin, but why not try it out, eh?

My New Fresh Plant Tinctures from the Northeast

2009-07-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

I just got back from the wonderful cool, wet weather in the Northeast, where I spent time at Margi Flint's house in Marblehead being introduced to all sorts of new Materia Medica to learn.
I came back with several single plant tinctures and was able to dig fresh Solomon's Seal Root, Yellow Dock Root, Burdock Root, and Wild Ginger Root. I also took a side trip to Misty Meadows herb farm in New Hampshire where I collected fresh Motherwort, Lycopus, and St Johns Wort to process.
My tincture making background is to either weigh fresh plant material at a 1:2 ratio (most of the time) at different percentages of alcohol depending on the plant. For example to process Yellow Dock I would chop or macerate 5 oz of root into 10 oz of alcohol in 75% alcohol.
Margi's method is a little different. She collects the root, macerates it into vodka and makes sure the plant material has about 2 inches of alcohol over the top of the plants.
Many herbalists have different methods for tincturing and its fun and interesting to learn them.
I am excited to see how these extracts come out.
Now its onward to shaking them regularly and waiting a full moon cycle....

Facial Products

2009-06-10T10:19:00.000-07:00

Steph and I got into our aprons yesterday and made all of our facial products for the Lavender Festival.
We started with Cleanser, adding in a little bit of peppermint extract, purified water, guar gum to thicken, clay, powdered lavender and rosemary, and cleavers glycerite to soothe and help with any inflammatory conditions, and lastly a bit of pure castille soap, only in a small amount. Its super goopy and I may have to cut it a bit. Guar gum can be really tricky to work with.

We made a raw honey and green clay Mask with powdered organic lavender and organic rosebuds. I was going to do straight honey but it was a little too strong on my face, so I cut it with water and more clay. Wow, talk about a mask that really extracts!

Next we made a Toner extracting rosemary and lavender into apple cider vinegar, and doing a tea of green tea and witchazel. I love this toner, its be great on sunburns as well.

Finally, we finished with a calendula Facial Cream. I put extremely nutritive oils, but stayed on the lighter side since Texas is so steamy. We made a a calendula infused oil in grapeseed, adding in Jojoba, Wheat Germ, and Shea Butter with some beeswax. We also used water with some chaparral and calendula extracts. This cream is not only going to nourish the skin, but protect it from the sun. I added in essential oils of Lavender, Carrot Seed and Lemon for a finishing touch, to lighten and calm the skin. YUMMY!

We used herbs that are full of antioxidants and many gentle astringents so that we helped protect the skin from damaging free radicals as well as tone and soothe.

Boo Boo Balm

2009-06-02T17:40:00.001-07:00

Today it was time to make some mama and babycare items. In particular, we made a batch of boo boo balm. Boo Boo Balm can be used for itches, bites, scrapes, owwies and other inflammations.

We solar infused yarrow flowers, wilted chickweed herb, comfrey leaf and plantain leaf in olive oil. These oils together create a very soothing blend that helps heal abrasions quickly. We added in shea butter and beeswax to make the oils thicken into a hard salve. I love shea butter for all things itchy, especially eczema, heat rashes, and even chiggers. There are also essential oils of yarrow, lavender and peppermint to calm the skin enough to keep kids from itching the area and we packaged some in lip balm containers that fit kid sized hands.

Boo Boo Balm isnt just for kids, it can be used by adults on everything from fire ant bites to burns.

Texas Loquat Cough Syrup

2009-05-26T10:24:00.000-07:00

Loquat cough syrup is a popular remedy in Chinese Herbal Medicine. I got pretty annoyed in Austin one year when a local clinic refused to provide it without a prescription to my friend for her and her child, especially since Loquats are prolific here in Central Texas. I looked at several recipes and made a batch and it is absolutely delicious and works great to soothe and relax coughs. Its hard to recreate mostly because loquat season is short and sneaky. They are there ripe on the trees and then all of a sudden gone.....
I almost missed this season except that my student found one the last trees making its offering this year at a local coffeehouse and got me about 5 pounds. Thanks Mallory!

This is the way I went about processing:

5pds of loquats in a crock pot with enough water to cover the fruit.
Simmer the fruit until tender and then mash into the water. Let steep on low for another couple of hours
Strain out pits and skins and pulp, return to pot and allow to cool.
Add in 1-3 oz of other antispasmodic, calming, or demulcent herbs. In my case I chose a popular recipe and amended it. I added about 1 oz of licorice, 1 oz of fresh ginger into about 1 quart of liquid. I let the roots sit for about 2 hours in the cool liquid(a little herbal trick with roots that have certain types of properties you are trying to extract--thank you James Green) and then simmered it for about 20 min. I turned off the heat and then added another 1/2 oz of spearmint and let it steep another 10 min. Allow to cool
Strain the liquid thru fine mesh and add pure organic sugar or raw honey to preserve at a rate of 1:1
In texas I keep all my syrups in the fridge because they ferment easily, which sometimes isnt so bad

Peach Crisp

2009-05-25T13:46:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning and saw my peach tree almost doubled over. Its a small tree, in its 3rd year, covered in its first good crop of peaches. I tasted one and my eyes almost popped out of my head. The peaches are perfectly delicious so I quickly took care of my trees burden. I have decided to make a fresh peach crisp. I am about to slice all of them and will highlight the steps here I take

I sliced the peaches and removed the pits. I lined a baking dish and added in fresh berries I had on hand as well as sprinkling in some pecan pieces. I then mixed in fresh chopped lemon balm and mint, agave syrup, and organic wheat flour enough to coat the mixture.

I then added the topping with was about a cup of organic flour, and a cup of organic oats, about 1 cup of sucanat, and half a stick of butter, and equal amount of coconut oil. I mixed these until they were a crumbly consistancy(with my fingers) and topped the fruit mixture.

I then took the crisp and baked it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 1/2 an our until it browned......Yum! Its delicious,I think I could even back off more on the agave syrup and sugar and it would still be yummy goodness