DIY Herbal Holiday Gifts

Holiday gift giving is just around the corner. I always enjoy making and giving gifts to my family and friends. A few years ago I made the Whipped Shea Butter lotion for my family. It was a great success and so easy to make. Make a festive label to stick on the jar, fill it with whipped shea (scented or unscented) and look at the joy on their faces! My mom, who is hard to buy for, loved it!

Here’s the recipe:

Whipped Shea Butter Lotion

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. shea butter
• Your favorite essential oil (optional)
• 4 two-ounce glass jars

Instructions:

1. Beat the shea butter until it reaches the stiff peak stage.
2. Add your favorite essential oil at a 0.5%-2% dilution, which amounts to 3-12 drops per ounce.
3. Divide among the four 2-ounce jars.

*Mountain Rose Herbs has an essential oil dilution chart for you to consult here.

Cranberry simple syrup

Cranberry simple syrup (or any other berry of your choice) is a fun and festive way to ring in the holidays. Place it in a decorative bottle with your favorite sparkling water. It is a fresh and delicious addition to your holiday parties. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 10 oz fresh (or frozen) cranberries
• ¼ cup fresh orange juice
• 1c water
• 1 c raw, local honey

Instructions:

1. Place the cranberries, orange juice and water in a medium saucepan over medium heat until boiling.
2. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and mashing the cranberries as they cook and soften and the flavors infuse.
3. Let cool for 10 minutes and then add your honey.

NOTE: Allow the cranberry syrup to cool to 100°C^O F before adding the honey so that the natural enzymes and nutrients in the honey are not destroyed.

To serve: Add 2 T cranberry simple syrup to a glass and add your favorite carbonated water for a sweet and sour holiday drink.

Gingerbread Granola

This is my favorite muesli. It originally comes from the Food Network Kitchens Cookbook but I changed the ingredients to personalize it. I make it for family, friends and even sell it at my local farmers market. In this recipe I added a holiday flavor to the granola. Feel free to play with it however you want. Originally, the granola contained egg whites and butter. For the plant-based community, I replaced the 2 egg whites with ¼ cup aquafaba plus ¼ t cream of tartar and for the 2 T butter we used 2 T cocoa butter.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ c rolled oats
• ½ c dried blueberries
• ½ c dried cherries
• ¼ cup green pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• ¼ c hemp hearts
• ¼ c sunflower seeds
• ¼ c pecans, coarsely chopped
• ¼ c whole unpeeled almonds, coarsely chopped
• 2 T cocoa butter, melted
• 1 T Cinnamon
• 1 T dried ginger
• ¼ t cloves
• ½ t nutmeg
• ½ t allspice
• ½ c maple syrup or ½ c molasses
• ¼ cup aquafaba* plus ¼ t cream of tartar, whipped to soft peaks

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 225^OF.

2. Toss the oats, dried blueberries, dried cherries, pumpkin seeds, hemp hearts, sunflower seeds, pecans, and almonds in a large bowl.
3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the cocoa butter, cinnamon, dried ginger, cloves, nutmeg and allspice and add 2 T maple syrup or molasses.
4. Pour the syrup mixture over the oat mixture and stir until evenly coated.
5. Spread the mixture on a baking tray. Bake until golden brown, stirring every 30 minutes for 1 ½ hours. Remove the mixture from the oven, but leave the oven on.
6. Place the granola in a large bowl. Stir in the remaining maple syrup or molasses and the aquafaba.
7. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray and press the granola mixture into each muffin tin.
8. Bake for about 45 minutes. Allow to cool for at least an hour before removing from the muffin tin.
9. Place it in a decorative container for gift giving.

Can be stored in a sealed container at room temperature for up to one month. Granola can also be frozen and thawed before serving.

*Aquafaba is the liquid in a can of chickpeas. Strain out the liquid and use it as an egg substitute. Whipping the aquafaba with cream of tartar helps increase the binding power of the aquafaba in your baked goods.

Sandy Morehouse is a functional herbalist and teacher at WishGarden Herbs. Based in Northwest Arkansas, she is spreading the spice love to Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas. She received her functional herbalist certification from the Eclectic School of Herbal Medicine; certificate from Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine in Medicine Making; and continues her training with Aviva Romm’s Herbal Medicine for Women course.

For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, or to sell any product.

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