Heidi

Heidi is an award winning freelance writer with a passion for urban homesteading. She has been honored to receive a number of literary prizes including the esteemed Pushcart Prize and an Individual Artists Award in Creative Writing from the Oregon Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. When she isn’t working in the garden, cleaning the henhouse, preserving food, crafting herbal formulations, or writing and editing content for really fantastic small businesses, you’ll likely find her with her nose in a book.

Recent Posts

Holiday Scents: 3 Essential Oil Blends for the Winter Season

The winter holidays are such a feast for the senses: not just our tastebuds, but also our eyes, ears, and olfactory system. This time of year, our public spaces are full of bright lights, festive music, and perfumed everything. Unfortunately, those expensive store-bought candles, diffuser oils, and room sprays are often made with synthetic ingredients that aren’t a healthy choice, no matter how much they promise to imbue us with the spirit of evergreen forests, candy canes, and homemade pumpkin pie. Diffusing natural essential oils—at home, at work, or in your car—is a wonderful alternative to scent your space with seasonal aromas. We love these three time-tested, holiday-inspired, DIY essential oil blends!

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Posted by Heidi

United Plant Savers: Protecting At-Risk Native Medicinal Plants

If you’ve spent time reading Mountain Rose Herbs blogs, you know that one of our primary concerns is the alarming and increasing loss of native plants. Because of overharvesting, climate change, and habitat destruction, some of the most important medicinal herbs in North America are at risk or endangered, and several are already critically imperiled. We are passionate about finding solutions for these precious botanicals, but like so many important causes on our planet, it takes a village. We need researchers, scientists, data collectors, herbalists, farmers, wildharvesters, state and federal lawmakers, herb suppliers, gardeners, and the list goes on. In addition to all of these essential roles, we need to build connections around the world with other dedicated plant people who may be seeing the same things in their part of the world. We need to understand what plants are at risk and what alternatives we can access. This is where our allies at United Plant Savers (UpS) step in.

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Posted by Heidi

Could Cutting-Edge Farming Practices Be the Answer to Ginseng's Survival?


For more than ten years, Mountain Rose Herbs has been working with United Plant Savers (UpS) and other conservation organizations to address the alarming decline in wild ginseng populations in North America. Despite concerted efforts and the support of federal and state governments, as well as ethical ginseng forest farmers and wildcrafters, the state of this precious botanical in the wild remains precarious due to overharvesting and habitat destruction. With that in mind, we are delighted to say that a new way of farming ginseng is providing hope for the future of Panax quinquefolius!

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Posted by Heidi

Pinwheel Cookies with Herbal Powders (4 Ways)

Pinwheel cookies (also called spiral cookies) have been a holiday tradition for decades. Often made with vanilla and chocolate or red and green food color, they show up on cookie plates throughout the season. I like traditions like this… and I also like to see how far I can push those traditional recipes to accommodate more flavors and spices.

This classic “icebox” cookie recipe (modern world translation: refrigerator cookie) is essentially the same one my great grandmother—and thousands of other people—used to make in the 1930s and it’s remained a standard ever since. It’s a dough you can easily change into a variety of different cookies with small additions like spices, nuts, dried fruit, crushed candies, etc. And it’s also an accommodating dough for rolling and cutting. These two qualities make it an ideal choice for delicious pinwheel cookies infused with herbal powders!

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Posted by Heidi

Homemade Caramel Apple Slices with Herbal Chocolate Glaze

Caramel apples have always been one of those mixed-feelings food experiences for me. I love good caramel and I love apples, and when the two things come together in a perfect synergy, it is one of my favorite flavor combinations. Unfortunately, a typical caramel apple falls short. First, the caramel is often too sweet rather than buttery-delicious. Second, I want caramel and apple in every bite, and once I work my way around the caramel-y outside, I’m left with a lot of apple and no more caramel. Finally, I don’t like that I end up with caramel all over my face and in my hair every time I eat a caramel apple on a stick. Recently, however, I found the solution: caramel apple slices! So, of course, down the caramel apple rabbit hole I went and I’m so glad I did!

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Posted by Heidi

Elderberry Gummies Made with Agar

There are a number of effective and delicious ways to bring the nutrition and immune benefits of elderberries into our diets.* Tincture, tonic, syrup, tea, and culinary recipes abound. And, of course, there are gummies! I’m a big believer in putting fun into our lives when and where we can, and an elderberry gummy is a morsel of fun that also provides support for our immune systems. Most gummies, however, contain gelatin, which is a hard no for vegans and followers of some religious faiths. We set out to create an elderberry gummy that anyone can enjoy. How do you get a gelatin-type gummy without the gelatin? It all comes down to agar-agar powder.

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Posted by Heidi

Taco Bowl with Roasted Butternut Squash and Black Beans

I love taco bowls. These deconstructed tacos are packed with nutrition, big on flavor, and easy to customize for a variety of palates, even on a weeknight when you don’t have much time. I generally look to my garden for what to include, so they change by the seasons in our home. This autumn-inspired taco bowl is an annual favorite, combining winter squash or sweet potatoes with black beans for a hearty protein- and fiber-rich bowl that pleases everyone in the family.

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Posted by Heidi

Homemade Lotion Recipe: Warming Fall Spice Blend

It’s the season for everyone’s favorite autumnal spices. Crisp fall scents and flavors are in our lattes, our pastries, our diffusers, our perfumes, and more. They’re also in one of my favorite Mountain Rose Herbs lotion recipes! Although I love thicker creams and body butters for everyday moisturizing, I like to keep lotion in a pump bottle by the sink to use after hand-washing. This DIY lotion recipe is so easy to make, which means it’s simple to switch up the scent to match the seasons or my current mood. This time of year, it’s all about the satisfying aromas of autumn.

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Posted by Heidi

Are My Herbs Irradiated?! Learn About Irradiation in Our Food System & How to Avoid It

Irradiation of food is a topic that is increasingly showing up as a point of concern for Mountain Rose customers, so I want to take a minute to talk about this timely subject. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of food irradiation in 1963 to kill bacteria, molds, insects, etc. in wheat and flour. Today, the FDA has approved irradiation for fruits, vegetables, eggs in the shell, spices and seasonings, sprouting seeds, poultry, crustaceans and shellfish, and red meats. Food irradiation involves exposing foods to one of three different types of ionizing radiation: gamma rays from cobalt-60, x-rays, or electron beams. The FDA uses this technology to improve food safety and extend storage and shelf life. Meanwhile, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organics Program (NOP), which oversees the nation’s organics labeling, prohibits the use of irradiation to treat organic products because the process alters the natural state of food. These two opposing views present consumers with something of a conundrum.

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Posted by Heidi

7 Best Herbs for Natural Hair Care

Since time immemorial, people have looked to herbs to support healthy, beautiful hair. In the modern world, however, mainstream haircare products are typically made from chemicals: including sulfates, parabens, synthetic fragrances, formaldehyde, phthalates like DEHP, and other toxic ingredients. When we use these products, we increase our exposure to potentially harmful chemicals every time we wash and/or style our hair. It behooves us to take a look at natural herbal haircare practices. As well as being chemical-free, the best haircare herbs are time-tested; they have been used by humans for thousands of years. Herbal blends, infusions, extracts, and other botanical formulations bring the power of nature to nourish and stimulate the scalp, strengthen and moisturize follicles, soften hair, restore shine and bounce, help with manageability, and more.

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Posted by Heidi

Homemade Lotion with Organic Sweetgrass Hydrosol

 

Perhaps every herbalist or skincare formulator has a recipe that once wholly intimidated them. Homemade lotion was one of those for me. I had a pretty epic and expensive DIY lotion fail once, and it took me a long time to build up enough confidence to try blending water and oil into something usable again. Mountain Roses organic sweetgrass hydrosol was the impetus to suck up my courage and try again. Its subtle, honeyed aroma has a wonderfully green-earth undertone that makes it a perfect base for a variety of skincare formulations, from facial toners to body sprays to lotions. In this simple lotion recipe, I love it with just a touch of vanilla in the form of organic benzoin resin.

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Posted by Heidi

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We offer one of the most thorough selections of certified organic herbs, spices, and botanical products and are commited to responsible sourcing.

Heidi

Heidi is an award winning freelance writer with a passion for urban homesteading. She has been honored to receive a number of literary prizes including the esteemed Pushcart Prize and an Individual Artists Award in Creative Writing from the Oregon Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. When she isn’t working in the garden, cleaning the henhouse, preserving food, crafting herbal formulations, or writing and editing content for really fantastic small businesses, you’ll likely find her with her nose in a book.

Recent Posts

Holiday Scents: 3 Essential Oil Blends for the Winter Season

Diffusing essential oils is a wonderful, natural way to freshen your home. Celebrate the aromas of the season with these 3 holiday-inspired DIY oil blends!
WRITTEN BY Heidi

December 1, 2023

United Plant Savers: Protecting At-Risk Native Medicinal Plants

Learn how Mountain Rose Herbs uses United Plant Savers' Species At-Risk List and List of Herbs & Analogs to help make ethical purchasing decisions.
WRITTEN BY Heidi

November 22, 2023

Could Cutting-Edge Farming Practices Be the Answer to Ginseng's Survival?

There is a new way of farming ginseng that provides hope for the future of Panax quinquefolius!
WRITTEN BY Heidi

November 17, 2023

Pinwheel Cookies with Herbal Powders (4 Ways)

Pinwheel cookies are a beloved holiday favorite. Did you know you can color and flavor them with organic herbal powders?
WRITTEN BY Heidi

November 3, 2023

Homemade Caramel Apple Slices with Herbal Chocolate Glaze

It’s caramel apple season! Make this once-a-year tradition even better with caramel apple slices, homemade cinnamon caramels, and herb-infused chocolate!
WRITTEN BY Heidi

October 26, 2023

Elderberry Gummies Made with Agar

Vegan elderberry gummies are easy to make and work exceptionally well in candy molds. What a fun way to give your body some immune support!
WRITTEN BY Heidi

October 24, 2023

Taco Bowl with Roasted Butternut Squash and Black Beans

Eating what is in season makes sense for health, the planet, and our wallets. This fall, try a delicious taco bowl with roasted butternut squash and black beans seasoned with chili lime salt!
WRITTEN BY Heidi

October 13, 2023

Homemade Lotion Recipe: Warming Fall Spice Blend

This homemade lotion is easy to customize to match the seasons. This time of year, we’re all about the aromas of autumn.
WRITTEN BY Heidi

September 29, 2023

Are My Herbs Irradiated?! Learn About Irradiation in Our Food System & How to Avoid It

Food irradiation is common in mainstream food production in the United States. So what is irradiation and how does it affect your herbs and spices?
WRITTEN BY Heidi

September 8, 2023

7 Best Herbs for Natural Hair Care

Using natural ingredients and herbs empowers us to embrace healthier, sustainable practices and ingredients. Meet our 7 favorite herbs for natural hair care!
WRITTEN BY Heidi

August 25, 2023

Homemade Lotion with Organic Sweetgrass Hydrosol

Mountain Rose’s organic sweetgrass hydrosol has a subtle, honeyed aroma that makes a perfect base for this homemade body lotion.
WRITTEN BY Heidi

August 24, 2023