In the beginning… of herbalism that is… it’s not uncommon to feel overwhelmed. There are so many people sharing online, so many books to read, so many schools teaching different approaches. Today, I want to cut through the overwhelm and talk to you about what to focus on first as a family herbalist.
What Family Herbalism Really Is
Family herbalism is about daily herbal care for those living in your home. It’s about supporting and nourishing their bodies when they’re well so it is resilient and functions properly — keeping you from having to only call upon plants in a crisis. It’s also about working with the seasons, whether that’s limiting yourself to using the plants you have available in your backyard or garden, choosing the preparations and recipes you will keep stocked in your natural medicine cabinet, or something else that aligns with the rhythms of the world around you. It also means caring for your family gently when they’re well and unwell. You don’t always have to use the strongest herbs or most potent preparations to support the body.
The 3 Foundations of Family Herbalism
Nourishment First
A good healthy, whole food diet ALWAYS comes first. Herbs can work seamlessly alongside diet as well from the culinary and spice herbs you incorporate into your foods to the flavorful herbs you blend together to sip in your daily tea.
In herbalism, there is a category of herbs called “nutritives” which means that the herbs in this group contain vitamins and minerals and help to nourish the body. Another category of herbs that are nourishing are sometimes referred to as “tonics” (although that’s a bit of a dated herbal term as we have more specific terms most herbalists use these days). Tonics work to strengthen and nourish different tissues in the body so they function as they’re designed, such as kidney tonics, reproductive tonics, cardio tonics, etc.
Seasonal Support
I’m a big believer in practicing herbalism from a seasonal perspective. It helps cut down on trying to focus on, learn, or do too much at once. When it comes to seasonal support, think about the things your family struggles with or faces each season of the year. Next, what herbs would help support you through those things? For example, if your kids get colds frequently in the colder months of the year, perhaps learning about immunomodulating herbs (herbs that strengthen and balance the immune system) and how to use them is a good idea.
Simple Remedies You’ll Actually Use
Finally, keep the preparations and recipes you make simple — at least at first. Start with teas, herbal baths and washes, infused oils, and herbal honeys and syrups. Once you’ve mastered making those, then you can move on to other types of herbal preparations. Same goes for herbal formulas, when you feel ready to make your own. Stick with formulas that only use three herbs. After that, start working your way up to five or six. Before you know it, you may be making formulas with 15+ herbs like the ones used in traditional Chinese medicine.
If You’re Just Beginning
Start with learning how to make herbal teas. For a quick guide, see my post – Using Herbs: Herbal Teas, Infusions, and Decoctions. Next, let me encourage you to enroll in Herbal Academy’s Tea Blending 101 Mini Course. This is a course I helped develop that takes a deep dive into all there is to know about herbal teas, from how to make them, how to develop your own tea blends, the science behind water-based preparations, and it includes a bunch of tea recipes to help you get started. You can also grab a copy of their Botanical Teas Recipe Book, as well as their new Tea Blending Wheel (a fun product I helped create) to help making herbal tea in your home a bit easier and more fun!
Next, add herbs to your foods. A few of my favorite herbal recipe books include, The Healing Kitchen by Holly Bellebuono and The Herbal Kitchen by Kami McBride are two of my favorites. I’ve also had my eye on Botanical Baking by Juliet Sear too!
Finally, learn to make herbal oils to use externally. Whether you want to nourish your baby’s skin gently or address some sort of skin complaint (hello, dry winter skin or rough gardening hands) — herbal oils are a helpful foundational preparation to know how to make and use. For a quick guide, see my post – Using Herbs: Herbal Oils and Liniments (just focus on the oils before the liniments though). When you’re ready to dive deeper, I helped develop another Herbal Academy course called Herbal Oils 101 Mini Course that will teach you all about making different types of herbal oils (basic to advanced), how oil-solubility works, how to get the most use from your infused oils, as well as provide you with a lot of practical recipes to help you get started. You can also grab their Making Herbal Oils Guidebook to help you keep all that helpful info from the course at your fingertips.
If You’ve Been Practicing as a Family Herbalist for a While
Don’t forget that nourishment precedes acute care. Remember, as a family herbalist, herbs are used on a daily basis to nourish our bodies, inside and out. This helps to keep our and our family member’s bodies as health as possible. I’m a bit believer in having a healthy terrain as it helps prevent ailments from developing as easily or as frequently.
Yes, using herbs daily takes work, but do what you can to make it happen. Pull your kids into the kitchen and whip up a big batch of an herbal tea blend you’ve formulated to nourish your family for the month. Let the kids help measure parts into the bowl or mix everything together. Make a few herb-infused oils to keep in your bathroom — one for your scalp, one for your skin, and one for your face. Keep herbal spice blends on hand and use them in all your cooking.
Don’t forget to take not of energetics as well — energetics of the season and energetics of herbs. Remember, we’re working to stay balanced, so think about the energetics of the season and incorporate herbs with the opposite energetics into your days to keep you from getting out of balance. This is why we eat cooling, moistening foods during the hot, dry summer months and crave warming foods during the colder months. Our bodies naturally try to balance energetics, but we can be intentional about it with the herbs we use as well.
You’ve Got This, Mama!
Lastly, you CAN do this. A new year is here and no matter where you’ve been or if you’re just getting started learn about and using herbs, you can grow your skills as a family herbalist this year, and I’m here to help you along the way!
If you haven’t already, be sure you’ve subscribed to my Wild + Well Letters, and I’ll send you my free Home Apothecary ebook, as well as weekly inspirational letters from one family herbalist to another. You can also give me a follow on Instagram for a behind-the-scenes peek at my daily life.
