Herbs! How to use 'em!

When  you transition further into natural health you notice (and are overjoyed to find) that there is practically an herb for every ailment. Herbs not only treat a variety of health problems, they are also a great addition to the healthy person's medicine cabinet as they promote general wellness. Most contain large amounts of vitamins and minerals and have been used for generations. Keep in mind that not all herbs are safe in all potencies and preparations. Do your research.

So how do you use herbs? There truly are a long list of ways. And here the list is, for your viewing pleasure:

Water-based herbal preparations (best made with dried herbs)
- Teas or, more accurately if true tea leaves are not being used, tisanes
Use about 1 tsp dried herb per cup of boiled water and steep for 20 minutes, then drain and drink. You can drink herbal tea hot or chilled.
- Infusions
This is like a longer-steeped tea. For roots or barks, let 1 oz of your plant soak in a 1-pint jar full of water for 8 hours. For leaves, 1 oz in 1 quart of water for 4 hours. Flowers, the same proportion as leaves but only 2 hours. And seeds, 1 oz in a pint for only 30 minutes. Remember to strain. If you are using a combination (chamomile flowers with ginger root for example) choose the shortest time. You can drink 2 cups a day for a 130 lb person. Increase by a cup/day for every 60 lbs more, or decrease by a cup/day for every 60 lbs less of body weight.
Infusions can also be used for other purposes: baths/soaks, enemas, eye washes or douches.
- Decoctions
Strain your infusion (using the instructions above) and simmer over a stove until it has reduced in volume by 1/2. Take 2 Tablespoons per day instead of 2 cups.
- Syrups
This is the same as an infusion only sugar or honey is added. Use 8 oz sugar or 4 oz honey per 8 oz fluid infusion (pre-reduction). Then boil and if you'd like add 1 oz of brandy, then strain. You can take 1 tsp per day and it should keep for 3 - 6 months.
- Fomentations
This is a piece of cloth that has been soaked in a warm infusion and applied to the body.
- Poultice
This is the actual wet herb that has been strained from any of the above preparation methods. When covered in cloth and applied to the body it is called a compress.

Spirit-based herbal preparations (best made with fresh herbs, or roots/barks)
- Tinctures
This is easily made by filling a jar with any fresh herb, then filling the dead space with pure vodka. Label and let sit for 6 weeks, then strain and use. One dose is 20 drops. Infused vodka is also a delicious treat and a fun, homemade gift. Try peppermint or cinnamon.
- Liniments
A liniment uses the same method but with rubbing alcohol and can only be used externally. (Some people use infused witch hazel, cider vinegar or a carrier oil and still call it a liniment. I'm not sure why.)
- Vinegars
Us the same instructions as making a tincture only with pure, boiling vinegar. A dose is 1 tsp per 100 lb of body weight. For a yummy salad dressing addition try making a rosemary or oregano infused vinegar.

Lastly, oil-based herbal tinctures (must be made with fresh herbs)
- Essential oils
These are not easily made at home but are widely available and can be used for many purposes.
- Infused oils
Fill a jar with fresh, unwashed herbs and fill the dead space with oil. Label and strain after sitting for 6 weeks. Think beyond medicinal use - there are many delicious culinary applications for infused oils. Keep in mind proper canning techniques if you're going to store an oil - if any water remains it will spoil quickly.
- Ointments/Salves/Balms/Butters
Prepare an herb-infused oil then heat 1 oz of it with 1 Tablespoon of hard, grated beeswax. It should cool to an appliable consistency. This is considered a salve. Decrease the amount of beeswax to yield a softer product and it's now an ointment. Add an essential oil to a carrier oil, instead of hand-infusing, and it's a balm. If you use a hard butter (cocoa, etc.) in the recipe it is considered a body butter.
- Lotions
This is the same as any of the above products only with a high content of water which needs to be incorporated using an emsulifying agent. It's usually made this way for convenience in prepared store products, so it's best to just make a salve at home.

Using these methods you can start using herbs at home for a variety of purposes!

Easy-Peasy Laundry Soap

Guest blogger: Ashley Long

After my sister-in-law had raved about her homemade laundry soap, she gave me the recipe she found online and told me to give it a try. I finally did and love it! It makes your clothes soft, and whites whiter. Also, I can wash my clothes in cold water as long as i dissolve the detergent in a little bit of hot water first.

So here it is...

1 cup Borax

1 cup Arm and Hammer Washing Soda

Some shaved up natural plain soap

Use one - two tablespoons per load. (Heavier or dirtier loads need two.)

You can also add any preferred scented oils, as long as they won't stain. Haven't tried that myself, but I've heard you can do it. Just be careful. :)

Some amazing facts I learned while working on this project.

1. The first two ingredients were found in the laundry isle in the Superstore

2. The soap I bought at the market and it smells ten times better than soaps with harsh bad stuff in them... uh you get what I'm saying I hope

3. The lady selling the soap is really nice and gave me a discount when I told her what the soap was for

4. Putting the ingredients together took 5 minutes... tops

5. I am saving money

A Spicy Home Remedy

Just a quick note to pass along a neat home remedy I learned today at work.

A cut I had sustained after using a broken mason jar to irritate a former burn wound (polenta pie injury) had just begun scabbing and I knocked it hard on the desk at work causing a pretty bloody scene. My co-worker Andy suggested, first that I am accident-prone, and also to douse it in powdered cayenne pepper to stop the bleeding.

It worked. I sprinkled a little right on the cut and it healed up quite nicely.

I thought you'd like to know.

Essential Oils for Pest Control

I don't love the idea of chasing a fly all over the store I work at just to trap it in a container and set it free. Nor do I like the idea of navigating a spider onto my finger and giving him a free ride to my balcony - however, I think if you can save a bug, save a bug. There is something morally weird about killing being the first option. That's why I am not okay with pesticides, aside from what they do to the food I eat. If your company researches, creates and distributes chemicals that cause things to die, some soul searching might be useful. That's why I like to use essential oils to re-route little pests that what to eat the vegetables I have been growing for me and my household.

Bugs have certain scents that really bother them and if you use a hint of that oil they will instantly pull an about-face  and leave your sacred area alone. I've also used them to communicate with my sister's cat that ' no I'm not leaving these gluten free muffins on the stairs for you to eat ' and also, ' this jacket looks nicer without your hair on it, thanks '.

The best way to do this is with some water in a reusable bottle. A few drops of essential oil in 500ml should work. For ground crawlers you can actually drizzle the liquid in a line on the ground around your plants or other chosen boundary. For flyers, spray it on the leaves of your plant.

This list of which oils to use for specific pests looks about right from what I'm come across usually. It's taken from aroma-essence.com:

Photo by: Sarah Goertz

ANTS - Peppermint Spearmint
APHIDS - Cedarwood Hyssop Peppermint Spearmint
BEETLES - Peppermint Thyme
CATERPILLARS - Spearmint Peppermint
CHIGGERS - Lavender Lemongrass Sage Thyme
CUTWORM - Thyme Sage
FLEAS - Peppermint Lemongrass Spearmint Lavender
FLIES - Lavender Peppermint Rosemary Sage
GNATS - Patchouli Spearmint
LICE - Cedarwood peppermint Spearmint
MOSQUITOES - Lavender Lemongrass
PLANT LICE - Peppermint Spearmint
MOTHS - Cedarwood Hyssop Lavender Peppermint Spearmint
SLUGS - Cedarwood Hyssop Pine
SNAILS - Cedarwood Pine Patchouli
SPIDERS - Peppermint Spearmint
TICKS - Lavender Lemongrass Sage Thyme
WEEVILS - Cedarwood Patchouli Sandalwood 

You can also dilute these in a carrier oil like sweet almond or apricot kernal, and then use it as a bug repellent on your skin.