Electuary: just saying it is fun. And after a bit of research, I found out that the word likely comes from the Greek word “ekleikhein”, which means “to lick up.” Or perhaps that’s just one of those constantly regurgitated bits of info that gets passed down from blog to blog. Nonetheless, it’s still a fun factoid worth mentioning. I’ve worked in the herbal industry for a decade now, and over time it’s been fun to see what goes in and out of fashion. Just the other day, my herbalist friend Erika Galentin with Sovereignty Herbs posted on social media about her ginseng leaf electuaries (amazing). I’ve seen a few others post about this ancient herbal tradition over the past few months as well. It occurred to me that after attending countless herbal conferences and taking two herbalism apprenticeships, I’ve managed to never have made one of the simplest of recipes: the electuary. As I explained to one of our photographers here at Mountain Rose Herbs, “It’s basically just powdered herbs mixed with honey.”

It’s wonderful to see more and more people using aromatherapy to support healthy mood, memory, and overall wellness. We regularly hear from customers who want to begin diffusing essential oils at home, or who are interested in learning more about how to incorporate them into their body care recipes. The common dilemma is where to begin. There are wonderful books and educators to guide you but picking out the right oils can be a dilemma. With that in mind, we are excited to introduce our expanded line of essential oil kits. Whether you are looking for the highest quality classic oils, pure ingredient blends, oils for cleaning or harmony in the home (the list goes on), these kits provide the perfect collections to get you started. As with all Mountain Rose Herbs hand-crafted products, the oils in these kits have undergone strenuous quality control testing to ensure you receive the most effective, safe, pure experience.

Pregnancy is obviously a profoundly life- and body-changing event. Particularly as we move into the second and third trimester, when our babies are growing at super-speed, our bodies make remarkable changes to accommodate the little people who set up house in our wombs. Our joints, muscles, and organs all have to sacrifice space or need to stretch in challenging ways. The most obvious of these changes is what happens to our bellies. Our stomach skin must expand tremendously and can end up feeling stretched to its limits, with skin that is tight, dry, and itchy. And then once that precious child is born, our skin must reverse course, which takes time and has its own set of discomforts. Happily, a good balm helps a lot! Homemade belly butter made with soothing, organic butters and skin-loving herbal oils relieves discomfort and redness and helps the skin maintain its elasticity during and after pregnancy. Best of all, this balm for hard working mamas is easy and economical to make, so you can always have it on hand when you need it.

The diversity of natural chemical compounds in plants is remarkable. For many years, scientists thought they could be broken down into simple primary and secondary categories: the primary compounds being those that contribute directly to growth and development, and the secondary ones being byproducts that don’t directly contribute to those primary functions. Most of the aromatic oils, gums, and resins that humans have adored for thousands of years fell into this wide category of secondary natural compounds. Why do plants produce them? Understanding the roles these compounds play in plants helps us understand how to use them most effectively. We went to our friend, fourth-generation botanist and plant physiologist Karen Hall, to get a better understanding of natural gums, resins, and gum-resins in plants.

In my early 20’s, I began to experience blemishes, breakouts, and red, splotchy skin. This turned into a difficult and embarrassing time for me and I became increasingly self-conscious. In an effort to take control of the situation, I tried many different soaps known to be “good for acne”, tea tree spot treatments, and other things that I thought were supposed to help. At my wits end, I scheduled an appointment with a local esthetician. During my initial consultation with her, she informed me that my issue was dry skin, and all of the things I had been trying were actually driving me further down the rabbit hole instead of giving my skin the help it was asking for. I learned that dry skin can lead to occasional blemishes just like overly oily skin does! This revelation saved my skin and my sanity.

Have you ever read about an herb, gotten excited about the potential benefits, taken it, and then didn’t feel any sort of effects from it? That’s mostly been my experience with skullcap. I mean, I like the plant, but it’s not the calming nervine rock star that I was hoping it’d be. Of course, there’s many different species of skullcap, so perhaps I just haven’t found the right match for me. For a lot of my friends, skullcap really seems to do the trick. I thought, perhaps someone with my constitution just needed to find another plant ally for those calming nervine effects I was looking for. Fortunately, I ended up stumbling upon blue vervain.

Spring is the perfect time for a simple, satisfying craft cocktail. This cassis cider cocktail brings authentic flavors and intentionality to the bar cart, beginning with ingredients that make you feel good. Finnriver’s special release, Black Current Social Justice Cider (available in the NW Cider Club Discover Washington Box) lends a deep garnet color, with semi-sweet fruit and tannin structure. Herbal bitters, from Mountain Rose Herbs add bright flavor elements, while supporting digestive function. The result is a delightful craft cider cocktail with pre-meal digestif qualities that can lead seamlessly into your evening meal.

Bath Bombs can be a soothing addition to the bathing experience, and I’ve always wondered how left out people without tubs must feel. As the empathetic person I am, I started to ponder ways in which everyone could enjoy the wonders of a fizzy, aromatic bathing experience. That’s when I dreamed up the idea of shower bombs. As it turns out, however, there were many others who’d had this dream before I did. In the past year, I’ve seen “shower bombs” begin to make their way on the shelves of my local grocery and natural food stores. Yet, my passion for DIY was too strong to simply buy one. I was on a quest to create the perfect shower bomb!

These days, digestion has become a big topic of conversation. Whether it’s “getting regular,” what fermented foods to eat, or what strain of probiotics are the best, people are talking about their guts and how to get them healthy. For more than three thousand years, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Asian cultures have been using congee, a delicious, digestion-harmonizing dish of porridge. Typically made with rice but also other grains and legumes, congee is pure comfort, especially on cold dreary days.

I’ve never had much of a sweet tooth. I’ll take an entrée over a dessert any day of the week. Thus, I’ve never understood people’s obsession with chocolate. I mean, sure, I enjoy a bite every now and then if an organic, small batch, artisan-made piece of a chocolate bar is offered to me, but I don’t seek it out. Recently, however, as tends to happen for me, an idea and inspiration struck. I could make my own chocolate! Better yet, I could make a chocolate bar sans refined white sugar, which is my main repulsion to most sweets. I declared to my household that I would make a chocolate bar with maple syrup as the sweetener. My daughter found this to be a less than revolutionary statement. “Dad, that’s what you always use.” Hey, sometimes I use honey…