Traditional medicine systems the world over agree that digestion is the root of health. Sadly, our modern population is plagued with digestive issues- gut dysbiosis, IBS, Leaky Gut, food sensitivities, poor digestion, malabsorption and the myriad of autoimmune disorders which can stem from the inflammation that often arises from a leaky and irritated gut. Gut Heal Tea and Gut Heal Tea, are both great ways to repair the micro-injuries that inflame and irritate the gut from inflammatory foods, allergens, chemicals in our foods and environments, stress and more ..read more

Spring is one of the classic times to work with tree medicine, during the season when the sap is rising, the vascular cambium is active with sap and nutrients, and the trees are waking back up. Below I share some of my favorite trees to work with in the spring and my hope is that even if you don’t have all of these trees in your bioregion, you at least have a few ..read more

Many of us are familiar with the local food movement, but what about the local medicine movement? Bioregional herbalism provides us with the framework to develop a system of healthcare that is place and plant-based, ecologically sound, and can operate independently from the profit-driven system of allopathic medicine in this country. For any individual who understands the importance of living with a light ecological footprint on the earth, bioregional herbalism offers an opportunity to align one’s values with one’s healthcare choices ..read more

I'm deeply enamored by the fall foliage, but even more so when I can make medicine with it. The Sassafras tree (Sassafras albidum) puts on such a show in the fall and, although the essential oils in the leaves are certainly more concentrated in the summer, the mucilage is still potent in the fall and lots of their aromatic and unique flavor is still present. I love gathering them now- when the trees are about to drop them anyway and they're in their full autumnal glory.- and make a potent and delicious herbal honey with them. You can even gather recently fallen leaves for medicine!  ..read more

“Amaro” in Italian means “bitter,” and the term is also synonymous with Italian herbal liquors infused with a staggering array of fruits, roots, barks, seeds, and herbs. Sometimes an amaro is also referred to as a “digestivo,” which makes perfect sense since these are often served after meals to aid digestion and to linger (even) longer over the meal ..read more

Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) is a phenomenal food as medicine enjoyed in cuisines the world over from China to India to the Mediterranean, Levant, North America, Mexico, Australia, and beyond. It’s a common weed on every continent except Antarctica and everywhere humans have encountered this plant, they’ve woven it into their culinary traditions ..read more

Where does Star Magnolia belong? And for that matter, how do we decide where a plant "should” and “shouldn't” be? My hot take? We don't. Nature has an intelligence far beyond our human intellect- which is just one measurement of intelligence- not to mention that on the evolutionary scale, compared to plants, humans are BABIES. Magnolias are over 90 MILLION years old. And yet we love to position ourselves as the experts. To me this is human hubris in its highest form. And when I say "hot take" really it's tongue in cheek because this is something I've been thinking and talking about for a looo ..read more

Fresh Lion’s Mane mushroom Lion’s Mane Mushroom is an herb I’ve been enjoying so much over the past months. It’s a powerful nootropic, has a special talent for helping heal damaged nerves, and possesses the famous beta-glucan polysaccharides that make medicinal mushrooms such potent immunomodulators. Over the winter we’ve been learning a ton about herbal nootropics in our Viriditas Membership Community and I wanted to share a but of what we’ve been covering! But first…what’s a nootropic you might ask? What’s a Nootropic? Nootropic is an herbal action used to describe brain-boosting, mood enha ..read more

In honor of winter and the deep nourishment this season has to offer, I wanted to share with you all a favorite recipe I've been making that's also super appropriate for the winter in terms of food as medicine and seasonal energetics. If this topic is intriguing to you, you can take a listen to my interview from last winter on The Herbal Womb Wisdom podcast all about the energetics of winter and learn why miso, and the salty taste in particular, is so good for you in the winter. You can listen while you make your soup!  Deep Winter Miso Soup Ingredients: Making the broth base for the sou ..read more

In 2021 I offered 3 online classes, hosted by the wonderful River Valley Coop. They recently shared with me the recordings of these classes so I’ll be posting them here on my blog throughout the year! The final one of the series was this class, “The Winter Herbal Medicine Cabinet”. Please enjoy the class video below and the accompanying text, which is the handout class participants received, which includes numerous recipes! In this class I demo making: Elderberry Syrup Garlic Honey Winter Immune Broth You can find the recipes for these below if you’d like to follow along and make your own whil ..read more