Herbal Gin Fizz Recipe

By now, if you’ve been following along with my seasonal cocktail recipes here on the Mountain Rose Herbs blog, you know I have a passion and something of a reputation for making herb-infused spirits. This year on the Spring Equinox, I started thinking about what I wanted to create to celebrate the end of winter. Something fun and fresh, with herbal goodness. Also, I happened to have a couple bottles of my favorite artisan gins hanging about, Desert Juniper from Bendistillery and another from Thinking Tree. So: spring, gin, relief after a long winter. Obviously, my version of an herbal gin fizz was in order.

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Posted by Shawn

Homemade Sweet Basil Lip Scrub


Of all of the DIY skin and body care products I love to make, share, and write about, lip care products are easily my favorite. It sounds trivial, and it might be, but I have a lip balm recipe for just about every season, mood, and occasion. It’s something that I use so often, it brings me great joy to create new, unique ways of delivering it. And since lip products are so easy to make in bulk, they are always great gifts to share with family members or friends.

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Posted by Jessicka

Hemp Milk Recipe + Chocolate and Strawberry Flavor Variations

Whether you are lactose intolerant or not, learning to make different non-dairy “milks” is a fun way to vary up the nutrients you’re getting in your diet. For instance, hemp seeds contain magnesium and a host of other minerals, as well as a nice profile of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Out of all the nut milks I’ve tried, hemp milk is easily my favorite. It’s got an unparalleled nuttiness that I enjoy quite a bit. I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention the sustainability of hemp production. Hemp production requires less water than dairy farming, is beneficial to the soil, and can be easily grown organically. 

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Posted by Mason

Bitter Melon: Herb, Food, and Bitter Ally

Bitter melon (Momordica charantia), also known as bitter gourd, has a long history of use in the herbal tradition of Ayurveda. As its common name suggests, this member of the Cucurbitaceae (cucumber family) is very bitter, unlike its many relatives that so commonly grace our dinner table! Even with its strong bitter flavor, bitter melon is utilized in cuisine and herbalism from many areas of the globe, including East Asia, India, South America, and the Caribbean, and it is one of those special plants that straddles the line between herb and food.

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How to Make an Herbal Electuary

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.”

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Posted by Mason

Mama’s Homemade Belly Butter

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.

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Posted by Heidi

Rose Foaming Face Wash for Dry Skin

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.

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Posted by Jessicka

DIY Extract Blend for Sleep

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.

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Posted by Mason

Hard Apple Cider Cocktail Recipe

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.

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DIY Eucalyptus Shower Bombs

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!

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Posted by Jessicka

6 Sustainable Laundry Swaps

Laundry time is supposed to elicit feelings of cleanliness. However, a few years ago as I began to take a closer look at the ingredients found in my conventional laundry care products, it made me feel far from clean. It became apparent that the “laundry list” of unpronounceable ingredients could not be good for my skin or even going down my drain, for that matter. One thing was sure, my laundry room was a chemical-laden nightmare, and I was in desperate need of an overhaul!

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Posted by Jessicka

WELCOME

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

Herbal Gin Fizz Recipe

Spring has sprung, and it's time for the next seasonal cocktail recipe by our own Shawn Donnille - a fun, fresh herbal gin fizz to celebrate the season!
WRITTEN BY Shawn

April 1, 2021

Homemade Sweet Basil Lip Scrub

This exfoliating lip scrub helps remove dry and unwanted skin to uncover the soft and supple layers just below. Easy and inexpensive to whip up, they are crucial to your DIY lip care routine.
WRITTEN BY Jessicka

March 24, 2021

Hemp Milk Recipe + Chocolate and Strawberry Flavor Variations

Learn how to make a delicious, nutritious and sustainable nut milk with hemp seeds. Also, try the recipes for chocolate hemp milk, and strawberry hemp milk.
WRITTEN BY Mason

March 23, 2021

Bitter Melon: Herb, Food, and Bitter Ally

Learn all about the benefits of the bitter melon gourd. This plant ally has been used for centuries in traditional Ayurvedic medicine, as well as a food staple.
WRITTEN BY Lisa Olson - Guest Writer

March 23, 2021

How to Make an Herbal Electuary

Learn how to make and use an herbal electuary. These recipes are super simple to make, and it stores your herbal powders for later use in a convenient way.
WRITTEN BY Mason

March 17, 2021

Mama’s Homemade Belly Butter

Pregnancy and birth are joyous events, but Mama’s stomach skin can feel stretched to its limits. Try this easy homemade belly butter to relieve discomfort.
WRITTEN BY Heidi

March 15, 2021

Rose Foaming Face Wash for Dry Skin

This foaming face soap is perfectly suited for those with dry skin. Made with luscious oils known to leave the skin dewy and hydrated, this recipe makes a great routine in between oil cleansing.
WRITTEN BY Jessicka

March 8, 2021

DIY Extract Blend for Sleep

Learn how to make a calming nervine extract blend for bedtime with blue vervain, chamomile and ashwagandha.
WRITTEN BY Mason

March 5, 2021

Hard Apple Cider Cocktail Recipe

Learn how to make a cocktail with hard apple cider and bitters. This is a great drink to enjoy as is, or as a pre-meal digestif.
WRITTEN BY Jana Daisy-Ensign - Guest Writer

March 3, 2021

DIY Eucalyptus Shower Bombs

These easy DIY menthol shower bombs offer the perfect solution to occasional stuffy sinus conditions and create an invigorating aromatherapy experience.
WRITTEN BY Jessicka

March 1, 2021

6 Sustainable Laundry Swaps

Looking to freshen up your laundry and remove stains the natural way? Enjoy these safe herbal recipes free of chemicals.
WRITTEN BY Jessicka

March 1, 2021