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Not many people take me for an essential oil guy, and I must admit I was a little hesitant at first to start exploring aromatherapy. However, my decades-long time at Mountain Rose Herbs means I’ve had the opportunity to try hundreds of pure essential oils and I began to develop a true fondness for them in spite of myself. Partly this is because I really value ambiance and the art of creating experiences. I’ve learned over the years that aroma plays a key role in creating the mood of a space.

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Thousands of years ago, humans discovered the wellness-supporting qualities of bitter herbs. Presumably we started out eating them, but soon enough we were refining them into tonics, digestive aids, and extracts. In folklore, it was Mithridates, king of Pontus, who formulated the first bitters while trying to make an antidote for poisons and venoms. I suppose if I’d spent years trying to make a universal poison antidote and ended up with a really excellent digestive aid, I might be disappointed. But looking at it now, that antidote still doesn’t exist and bitters have come to the aid of millions of people throughout time. So, chin up Mithridates, you did good.

Becoming a new parent comes with immense joy and, let’s face it, some pretty stressful stuff too. After nine months of pregnancy—and for some of us, it’s closer to ten months—you get to greet the newest addition to your family, and the journey begins. There is so much that goes into caring for a little human, and motherhood has its unique challenges. Feeding your babe so they thrive is right up there with concerns about postpartum healing, mood swings, sleep deprivation, and what to put on that soft baby skin. For me, breastfeeding was a priority. It was also sort of scary and intimidating.

Curanderismo is a 500-year-old traditional healing practice that is still in existence today. It is influenced by Spanish, indigenous Mexican, the Moors, West African, and Native American traditional healing practices, and is a result of the blending of these cultures during colonization. In my community, many of our grandmothers, and grandfathers, and aunties, and mothers are all curanderas. They might not introduce themselves as such, but our community recognizes them, depending on what their area of expertise is. In my culture we have always been taught that you are not a curandera until your community acknowledges you as one. It took me 23 years before my community of elders felt that I was ready. In 2018, after decades of continuous learning, my teachers and elders said, “You know what? We recognize you as a curandera, it’s time for you to address yourself that way.” I was already teaching workshops and working with people as an herbalist, but finally I could say, “I am a curandera.”

Whenever I am cooking, I am always thinking of ways to add more plants and nutrition. I like to challenge myself to have at least ten different plants represented in every meal. It’s a challenge I learned from Rosalee de la Foret. It is actually trickier than expected. However, in all of our lineages, somewhere we have ancestors who lived more directly with the land. These relatives consumed many more phytonutrients than what we are accustomed to—I am sure many more than ten per meal—so it can be done. Adding nettles to tortillas is a delicious new way to add one more plant to your meals.

It’s been a long couple of years. Many of us are feeling mental fatigue and existential stress, which negatively impacts our immune systems and overall wellbeing. This year, having some easy winter health formulas on hand feels more important than ever. They can’t cure the state of our world, but they often can help support our immune systems before we get sick and can provide some relief when we’ve caught whatever winter crud is going around. The following formulas have been Mountain Rose Herbs' favorites for a long time and are wonderful additions to your winter care routine. From our home to yours, we wish you a healthy, restful winter!

If you’ve ever checked the ingredients list on your favorite chai blend, you may have found yourself dizzied by the long list of herbs and spices involved. While such an assortment might take some work to assemble, this variety also makes chai spice recipes a delicious way to enjoy a whole host of beneficial botanicals in a single cup. And one of our favorite additions, from both a flavor and wellness perspective, is sweet and adaptogenic astragulus root.

In the last couple of years, the global demand for seaweeds has skyrocketed. It’s no surprise, as seaweed offers a stunning array of nutritional benefits and packs a unique salty and umami punch due to its high glutamate content. Seaweed is also used in a variety of non-food applications, including cosmetics and beauty products, scientific research, traditional medicinal applications, biofuels, fertilizers, and more. Considering all the uses for these aquatic plants and the increase in demand for such products, it is more important than ever to consider best practices for harvesting and processing these precious materials. It is this consideration that drives Mountain Rose Herbs to work closely with our harvest partners in offering organically certified seaweeds.

Here in the Coast Range and Willamette Valley of western Oregon, we know our foggy, rainy winters are responsible for the stunningly gorgeous, green landscapes we love so much. But, wow, it’s been cold and gray this winter! As a born-and-raised Oregonian, I’m one of the weirdos who loves rain, who adds extra blankets to my bed so I can sleep with the windows open to hear and smell the winter weather. I love sloshing around in rubber boots, and taking drizzly forest walks in the fog, and struggling against the cold rain to plant a super-early garden. There is a name for people like me: pluviophile (someone who finds joy and peace of mind on rainy days). However, for most people, the combination of dark, wet, and cold is incredibly challenging. It grieves me to watch my sun-loving, light-deprived friends and family sink into annual winter doldrums, which is why I love to make this mood-boosting herbal extract with its blend of warming, uplifting, relaxing herbs to help alleviate those seasonal blues and give a little relief to my favorite people.

Modern athletes seeking to support health and performance have no shortage of high-tech, lab-synthesized supplement options at their disposal. However, many active individuals are seeking out more natural options to power their active pursuits, and herbalists have plenty to contribute to the conversation!