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. 

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.

You want me to rub what on my face?  Tallow, yep tallow.

Beef fat rendered into tallow is fantastic for skin issues.  I’ve heard stories of it being the only thing to stop acne in its tracks.  I love it for the relief I get from my skin psoriasis and the dewy youth it returns to my face.  I’ve never had it irritate my skin or contribute to acne like coconut oil has, and it doesn’t trap in heat and redness like products with beeswax tend to.  It’s 100% natural, it’s easy to obtain once you look for it, and it honors the sacrifice of the animals we use for food, as we use more of the animal than we might otherwise.

Does it smell like beef fat?  Well yes, as that’s what it is, but once it is absorbed into your skin, the smell disappears.  Some people like to add essential oils to cover the smell, but I don’t find this necessary.  In fact, I prefer to infuse the oil with dried herbs – this decreases the environmental impact of overusing essential oils, decreases the likelihood that there will be an adverse skin reaction, and helps the medicine maker feel a stronger connection to the plants themselves.

Here in the Portland area, I've already encountered a few different cold strains this year.  I have yet to see any cases of the flu, but it's only a matter of time.  While I love seeing patients, sometimes staying home and resting is your best strategy with the simple forms of these illnesses.  Below you will find a few tips on how to care for yourself should illness strike your house.

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:

Meeting Elder:

Sambucus nigrans also known as elder is my favorite medicine to use as an immune tonic.  The berries are rich in antioxidants and balance your immune system particularly against viruses.  I think of elderberry syrup as my flu shot especially in years when the shot has lower effectiveness. 

Besides the berries, the flowers also have many benefits.  Used as a tea or tincture, they are great for nasal irritation, sinusitis, and fevers with hot/dry skin (1).  Used as a flower essence, elder flower is for “Integration of the shadow side.  Elderflower can help us come to terms with the dark side that is within us all.  It gives a sense of protection as we face this fearful challenge and promotes a deeper understanding and acceptance of the self” (2).  The plant as a whole is cooling and drying with sour berries and bitter flowers.