Now that summer has arrived, I find myself constantly craving cold brew coffee. This beverage is not simply a traditionally hot brewed coffee, with ice added to it. It’s even simpler than that! Basically, it’s coarse ground coffee beans steeped in room temperature water, overnight. However, as per usual, I will complicate the process by adding a bunch of herbs and spices to the recipe. I can’t help myself; herbalism infuses so many aspects of my life. I’m sure you can relate.

Waking each morning rested and ready to take on the day seems more of a luxury these days than a reality. Late nights, heavy workloads, and an endless stream of stressors and obligations can sap you of energy before you even have a chance to begin. While herbs can’t give you an extra hour of rest in the morning or cross anything off your ever-growing to-do list, they can help bring balance to your mornings. Energy-boosting herbs can nurture your stress response system and provide the support you need to start your day. As a result, you can start out feeling nourished, enlivened, and full of vitality.

As our days lengthen into the summer months, we welcome more time with the sun and fire, the Element associated with summer, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine. Going on vacation with our families, playing with kids, and celebrating with friends, we welcome joyous playfulness into our lives, igniting and inspiring our Shen (神), or Spirit.

In my travels as an herbalist, I have witnessed plants used in many ceremonies. One of the first that I learned early in my path was spiritual bathing. Spiritual bathing is using the plants and the elements (fire, water, earth, sound, air, nature) to facilitate wellness on an energetic level. From birth to death, spiritual bathing ceremonies use elements such as incense, sacred water, decocted plants, sound, and even “forest bathing'' to bring balance. In my own practice, I have found it to be one of the most powerful modalities for times of transition and transformation.

Sure, we’ve all heard of smoothies. But have you heard of the new trend smoothie bowls? There’s really nothin’ to it, it’s basically what it sounds like it is—a smoothie in a bowl—although, I’ve come to learn there are two distinct differences between the classic smoothie and the modern smoothie bowl. The smoothie bowl is typically a thicker consistency, and the smoothie bowl has a variety of fun toppings, such as strawberries, hemp seeds, chia seeds, and banana slices (more ideas below).

The emerging research about the human microbiome is changing our view of human biology. We have just begun to study the intense diverse communities of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that live in and on the human body and to understand how they shape our health. Since Earth’s beginning, the most successful, numerous, diverse, and ubiquitous organisms on the planet have been microbes, particularly bacteria. Every creature on this planet has evolved within this microbial soup and humankind is no exception. Microbes have always lived in and on us. As a result, our physiology has evolved to rely on them to influence physiological functions that have not been encoded within the human genome.

My grandbaby is now officially a toddler: talking up a storm, climbing everything, and making all day every day an adventure. I am realizing that this little sweetie might very well be the last baby in our family for a long time, so I am being extra conscious to appreciate every moment of development and growth. Last week my son stopped by to pick up a few more jars of homemade diaper balm to take home with him, and I made a mental note that I’d better start infusing some more olive oil because they’ll need another batch of ointment before this little one is potty trained. As we were waving our boy out the door, my husband asked me, “How much diaper salve do you suppose you’ve made in your life?” Three children, a grandchild, and a lot of friends’ babies later, I can’t even begin to guess. Gallons upon gallons I suppose.

When I was having my children, folks used to say that women forget the pain of childbirth and also the pain that can accompany the first days or weeks of nursing a newborn. Having had and nursed three children, I will attest that this “halo effect,” as it is sometimes called, is not true, at least for me. My youngest child is 30 years old, and I still remember those long, hard hours of labor and the first tender days of nursing my babies. Yes, those memories are colored by the beautiful remembrance of the enormous wash of love and protectiveness I felt for those brand-new little beings, but to this day I still cringe when I remember the sensation of a days-old baby latching on to nurse, and how nipples that started out tender quickly became painfully sore from the near-constant attention of a new infant with super-suckle powers. I said it then, and it still holds true: a baby-safe nipple cream is a lifesaver.

When I was a child, I was thrown from a horse and spent many years thereafter challenged by lower back and radiating leg pain. With time and maturity, as well as changes in my diet and appropriate exercise, I’ve put those pain-days behind me, but I’ve carried forward some of the best solutions that I learned from the experience. One of my favorites of these is the soothing comfort of an old-fashioned herbal sitz bath. Often used to relieve issues related to post-birth discomfort, etc., a sitz bath is also ideal for easing general lower-body soreness and fatigue.

In the great words of Hippocrates, "All disease begins in the gut."  The digestive tract is not just for digesting and absorbing nutrients. A well-functioning digestive system will maximally absorb nutrients from our food to provide the energy and the building blocks for maintaining health, healing, and repair. Healthy digestion is not only the processing and assimilation of nutrients, it also involves regular elimination through healthy bowel movements, a balanced immune system, and mucosal barrier function. It is also involved in the proper function of our immune function. In fact, approximately 70% of the immune system resides in the gut!

Being a bona fide condiment collector and aficionado, I was stoked when my colleague Jessicka requested that I investigate and write about “hot honey”, which is making its rounds in the gastronomic blogosphere. I love the combo of both sweet and heat, so this incredibly simple recipe was a surefire winner for me. Simply put, it’s an infusion of chili peppers in honey (and a dash of vinegar), then strained.