When October rolls around each year, I start paying attention to the hawthorn berries ripening on the tree in my front yard. Once they're ready, I harvest them to make my annual winter solstice hawthorn elixir to give to friends and family. Hawthorn is known to support cardiovascular health*. My recipe changes a bit every year, but three of the ingredients remain consistent: freshly picked hawthorn berries, raw, local honey, and brandy.

As a parent, I found an enormous amount of joy in watching my babies develop and grow. Teething, however, was not one of the happy times. Fussy, cranky, drooling, tearful babies rend a parent’s heart and stretch everyone’s patience. There is nothing worse than feeling helpless while your child suffers.

Cosmetic clays have long been known to provide a variety of beneficial properties for all kinds of skin types. However, there are so many different kinds of cosmetic clays available today, it can be overwhelming trying to choose the one that is right for you. 

What is AHPA?

AHPA (the American Herbal Products Association) is a nonprofit organization made up of over 350 herbal businesses who want to promote the responsible commerce of herbal products. In other words, AHPA is a group of behind-the-scenes herbal experts and enthusiasts who put their companies’ competitive goals aside to work together to make sure that the herbal products available to you online and in stores continue to be safe and healthful.

At the outset of a new year, many of us contemplate how to incorporate new healthy habits into our lives. For some of us, that means hitting our yoga mats more often for strength, stretching, and de-stressing. Finding more time for yoga is one of my personal goals, and to help inspire myself to embrace my mat, I decided to tinker with some new mat cleansing spray formulas to freshen up my routine.

When seeking out natural alternatives to store-bought body care and wellness products, it can be hard to know how to create shelf-stable versions of store-bought staples at home. In fact, some of the most common questions we receive from our friends and customers relate to naturally preserving homemade botanical goodies.

If you love yerba mate for its nutritional richness, fresh green flavor, and ability to provide non-jittery energy, then we have a new cup companion you need to meet! Guayusa (pronounced gwy-yoo-suh) tea offers a subtly smoother and less caffeinated sipping experience compared with mate, paired with its own similar but distinct blend of beneficial vitamins and minerals to support everyday well-being.

Our farm liaisons travel to America's northernmost state to visit the revolutionary farmers working to cultivate organic rhodiola in Alaska's rugged landscape.

Arriving at a property that looks across the water to Kachemak Bay State Park, we have our first rendezvous with a group of farmers engaged in a bold agricultural experiment: cultivating organic Rhodiola rosea in the rugged Alaskan countryside. These folks have staked years of work on the hope that this much-prized adaptogen hailing from Siberia and northern Asia can thrive in the challenging agricultural conditions of their wild home state. For us, it has already been a long day of travel that’s left us more than ready to cozy up with some hot tea and take in the incredible views. But we are here to help with the harvest, and there’s work to be done.

Nothing gets me ready for winter quite like a batch of homemade fire cider. But the typically long fermentation duration has kept me from having this tonic when I need it most. For those who are short on time and fresh horseradish, this recipe is for you! I actually discovered that you can make a fire cider that has the same kick as the traditional recipe in half the time and with dried horseradish. In fact, it can still be a power-packed remedy without any fresh ingredients at all!

When I was growing up in the mountains, my father gave me two “winter tips” that were passed down to him from his parents and grandparents. First, keep a pot of water on the wood stove as a sort of rustic humidifier to moisten the dry air that happens in homes shut up tight against the winter cold. This helped avoid the dry mucous membranes and throats that would otherwise plague us. And second, keep a jar of raw, local honey in the cupboard at all times, as this beautiful gift from the bees does wonders to soothe an irritated throat. With the cold weather now upon us here in western Oregon, I’m reminded of that steaming pot of water, stoking the fire against chilly nights, and Papa handing me a spoonful of honey before I brushed my teeth for bed.

While many of us are familiar with solid coconut oil with its myriad of uses in our everyday lives, some may be less acquainted with its liquid counterpart known as fractionated or MCT coconut oil.