While the beautiful petals of the Summer have mostly left us, the other gift of rose can be readily found on the naked stems: rose hips. These orange to red little gems pack a lot of medicine into their fleshy bodies. Just take care to avoid the seeds and the irritating hairs found within the jewel-like case. Nibbling the outer portion of rose hips straight off the bush is one of the treasures of this time of year and is the best way to incorporate the high levels of Vitamin C found within

Fire cider is a blend of spicy and pungent herbs/foods infused in apple cider vinegar with honey added in.  It is a tasty medicinal food that has been used to fend off the Winter chill and the increase in illness that comes with spending more time indoors.  The ingredients are simple, easy to find herbs and foods and can be adjusted for your taste preferences.  Some work with fresh plants, some with dried, and others with powdered herbs or a combination of all of the above.  The mainstay ingredients are garlic, onions, horseradish, cayenne, apple cider vinegar, and honey. 

Let’s get inspired and have fun creating cooling, soothing, moistening medicine from marshmallow roots.

Now that we have gotten to know these herbs a bit better, let’s head to the kitchen to cook up some great recipes that are also tasty medicine!

Here are a few of my favorite recipes for using California poppy.

Now that we have spent some time getting to more about nettles, let’s wrap this month up with a few tasty recipes.

Now that we have spent a month discussing lemon balm and some of her uses, let’s have some fun and dive into recipes including kitchen sink medicine making.

Here we are, nearing the end of March and our time focusing on Calendula. We have explored the healing this flower offers, we have looked at how healthy skin on our outside and through our digestive tract functions and how active it really is. Now let’s take some time to play with some herbal medicine recipes. For this month, I will divide the recipes into three categories: Calendula oil, fresh flowers, dried flowers. Each preparation gives us different options.

When I look out over my yard and see those sunny flower heads and toothy green leaves, I don’t see a nuisance; I see free nutrient-rich food. All parts of the dandelion are edible from their sweet and fragile blooms that make a delightful mead-like wine, to their slightly bitter tender early-spring greens, to the inulin-rich carrot-like late-fall roots. Working with the fresh plant is quite rewarding, but as you can see, not all parts of the dandelion are in-season year round.

We have made it through a month of exploring flaxseeds and the role they can play in our health. From constipation to hormone regulation to blood pressure, these humble little seeds pack a lot of nourishing power!

Now that we know more about them, it’s time to find ways to bring them into our regular diet.

The easiest way to do this is to freshly grind your flaxseeds and stir them into what you’re eating. Smoothies, soups, oatmeal, salads, and salad dressings work well. You can also use flaxseeds in place of breadcrumbs in your recipes or make a breading with a base of flaxseeds for cooking fish, chicken, vegetables, or whatever you want to add breading to.

Have you heard about seed cycling yet?

Funnily enough, I haven’t seen very much about this powerful yet gentle way to balance your hormones on social media. I first heard about this nutritional therapy via one of my professors in medical school, Dr. Dickson Thom. Since then, I’ve used it successfully for myself and many patients. Those who use this method of balancing their hormones will enthusiastically defend it against nay-sayers and tell me about it afterwards. When you have struggled with irregular periods, low libido, PMS, and painful periods; anything that helps is very appreciated. Knowing what we do about flax seeds and fiber in general, we can see that seed cycling holds a whole host of benefits in addition to influencing our hormones. Let’s explore more shall we?

Pumpkin spice everything is everywhere.  You may not be a fan, but someone you love is - even if they won't confess to it out loud.

If you struggle with an autoimmune condition such as Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis like I do, all these sugar filled treats are not only tempting, but potentially triggering.  With colds and the flu on the prowl, changes in barometric pressure, and colder weather creeping in, my joints are already showing just how ready they are to act up.

What am I to do?  Miss out and feel down?  Indulge and feel down?  There's gotta be a better way!

Lucky I enjoy getting crafty in the kitchen.  I share with you my guilt-free pumpkin pie indulgence: