Like many herbalists, I’m thinking about how we can help everyone integrate herbs into their lives without it feeling like “taking medicine” and without it being something we have to remember. Even as a herbalist, I will find myself forgetting to take all the different herbs I might want to take in a day. At night, as I lay in bed, I suddenly remember, “OH SHOOT! I was supposed to take my liver support today!”
As a result, I have started focusing on how I can integrate herbs into my daily life, diet and routine in an easy and convenient way. One way I incorporate herbs into my daily life is through the use of ‘mocktails’ (a mocktail is a mixture of an herbal extract with ingredients such as flavored sparkling water, fruit juices or kombucha).
I use different recipes depending on the day, the season and how I’m feeling. I especially like to use sparkling water to which various herbal extracts have been added. This is my go-to afternoon drink instead of a cup of coffee. The deeply nourishing endocrine herbs and nourishing herbs in the mocktail carry me through the rest of the afternoon and evening.
Another great ingredient for mocktails is kombucha. As Malia Thompson noted in a previous blog post, WishGarden Herbs has really expanded its mocktail offering to include Kombucha mocktails.
WishGarden has some great herbal extracts to add to your kombucha. A few of my favorites are Genius Juice, Liquid Bliss or Emotional Ally: A Big Herbal Hug.
Genius Juice helps support your brain and liver and lift the afternoon fog that bothers so many of us. It’s also great for a night out, when you don’t feel like having coffee but want a little energy to get you through your social or work commitments.
Liquid Bliss and Emotional Ally are more heart-oriented blends. They’re both good for when you need some help with patience and tolerance for those around you, or for those days when you might be feeling extra sensitive. Liquid Bliss is also a great addition to any date night as it helps open the heart center and promote connection.
WishGarden’s Serious Relaxer is also a great addition to evening cocktails as it helps relax those tight muscles after a long day at work! For me, the formula I use depends on where I feel stress.
Enjoying a mocktail at the end of the day helps me focus, process the day and unwind. Digestive bitters (herbs typically used to aid the digestive process) can also be added to drinks – and are often used in Manhattan cocktails and other alcoholic drinks. This is one way to incorporate bitters into your diet. However, for many people looking for support for their liver and detoxification, a night of drinking is not an option. The good news is that there are alcohol-free bitters. There are also mocktails you can use with tinted bitters. One of my favorite ways to ingest bitters is in apple cider vinegar. There’s quite a bit of spice in it! I’ve added it to sparkling water, neat or flavored.
I also added a sprig of fresh rosemary and thyme to my bitters. You can also try a few leaves of fresh peppermint, spearmint or lemon balm. These fresh plant leaves add variety and flavor. I also enjoy making it glycerites (alcohol-free tinctures) from fresh plants such as Lemon Balm, Peppermint, Calendula and Rose. I then use this in drinks and culinary creations (icing for example). These fresh plant leaves and glycerites add not only delicious flavor but also health benefits to your afternoon cocktail.
Let’s not forget: one of the most proven ways to take herbs is tea! And during my adventures in making herbs a daily part of life, I have experimented with incorporating tea into other drinks. I often make a concentrated tea brew and add a variety of ingredients to create a tasty drink – the possibilities really are endless. There are so many juices and sparkling drinks that pair beautifully with nutritious herbs such as nettles, rose hips, red clover, raspberry leaves and linden. I often use WishGarden’s Deep Stress Tea in these tea/juice blends. I put as much tea into the french press/brew basket as would make three cups of tea and then I steep it in about three to four ounces of water. This creates a strong concentrate that I can mix with other drinks. One of my favorites is mango lemonade.
Other drinks I’ve mixed into my tea concentrates include sparkling mineral water (neat or flavored) and various sparkling or still juices. This is where glycerites can really flavor the drink. I recently used Blue Violet/Calendula Glycerite to provide extra benefit in the mocktails. One of the most exciting ways to increase the health benefits of your spices is through pickling.
In herbal school we made pickled burdock with ginger, which I loved. I take a mason jar, peel and chop the burdock into pieces, and repeat that process with ginger and garlic (that’s right, garlic; you really shouldn’t miss the benefits of this wonderfully aromatic herb!). Place everything in the glass jar and fill it ¾ with apple cider vinegar and ¼ with Braggs Liquid Aminos. Let it sit for two to three weeks and then enjoy! These pickled burdock pieces (also eat the ginger and garlic) are also delicious in salads or just on their own.
I recently made a carrot/ginger/garlic one using the same recipe and it was delicious. You can also treat yourself by mixing herbs with pesto. The classic basil-parsley recipes are indeed among my favorites. But don’t feel limited; you can use many different herbs in pesto. My herb teacher told us a story about using catnip in a pesto recipe and getting great results (and a little too much relaxation too!) and I’ve seen recipes that also used thyme and rosemary. I use pesto in pasta, but I also use it as a spread on sandwiches and as a dip for vegetables.
Finally, don’t forget that there are countless options when adding herbs to salads. Personally, I’m a “throw it all on” salad person. Some of the herbs I like to add to my salads are: parsley, dandelion greens, cilantro, mint leaves, bee balm, red clover and of course my pickled carrots! In particular, I like to use pickled burdock, ginger, garlic and beets. In all of these ways – and there are many more – I incorporate food as medicine into my daily wellness regimen! I hope you can handle some of them.
Jade Sullivan began her journey in natural healing as a child. She dealt with multiple illnesses, which gave her the unique opportunity to gain insight into holistic healing through first-hand experience. Jade’s love for plants is in her blood; her mother comes from a family with a long history of farming. Throughout her life, Jade’s mother passed on that knowledge and helped her cultivate a deep connection with nature. In the spring of 2016, Jade began pursuing her certification in Herbal Medicine. Since graduating from school, she has continued to enroll in various programs to grow in holistic wellness. With her Herbalism certification, she landed a job at WishGarden Herbs in the Customer Service department. And in the fall of 2018, she began training for her Bachelor of Science in Nutrition – to obtain her Registered Dietitian Nutritionist license. Through horticulture, aromatherapy, herbal medicine and emotional/spiritual healing, she hopes to have a positive impact on the world around her.
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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