Staying Hygge this [Holiday] Season

This blog post is an update of an earlier one we wrote last January. As we approach the winter solstice, it's the perfect time to start thinking about how to stay hygge all winter long!

In Denmark, the winter nights are long and cold and very dark (sounds pretty similar to Boston!). Those savvy Danes combat this seasonal dreariness with the art of hygge (pronounced 'hooga') a word that roughly translates to "coziness". This means things like lighting lots of candles, cooking meals and playing games with friends and family, wrapping up in warm blankets and reading good books by the fireplace.

Through the holiday season and beyond, incorporating hygge into your daily life can help keep that warm, festive spirit alive throughout the winter. Here are some ideas to help you bring the art of hygge into your home!

Chicory (Cichorium intybus Asteraceae): A Root for the Season

By Steph Zabel
Herbalist, Ethnobotanist and Educator

Fall is the traditional time to harvest roots — it is the season when the cold-sensitive, above ground parts of the plants die back, and the energy returns underground. In many plants the root is an important storage organ, keeping hold of carbohydrates and nutrients during the dormant season. For this reason, we harvest many roots in the fall, when they are at their peak.

We are most familiar with the vegetable roots and tubers that grace our winter dishes (carrots, beets, parsnips, potatoes, etc…) However, one of the roots I am most enamored with is the humble and often-overlooked chicory. I’m sure you’ve seen this wild and weedy plant growing around our city environs. It is a very hardy creature and can grow in almost any soil. You’ll often see it along roadsides and sidewalks. It is most noticeable in late summer/early fall when its sweet blue flower is in full bloom.

MariBerry (Mulled Elderberry) Syrup!

As the colder season sets in here in the north east, we tend to spend more time indoors: cooking, creating, gathering with friends, and nourishing ourselves with nutrient-rich foods and supportive, warming beverages. This year at Cambridge Naturals we've put together our own herbal mulling spice mix that we hope will add a little magic to your potlucks, holiday gatherings, and colder days.   

With taste and immunity in mind, we thoughtfully blended a handful of organic ingredients from our bulk herb section that can be used to make traditional beverages like mulled wine and cider. We also like to blend the mix with black tea or chaga mushroom adding milk and honey for a spicy, warming chai. 

St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum): An Herb for Body & Spirit

By Steph Zabel
Herbalist, Ethnobotanist and Educator

St. John's Wort is a plant of ancient use, one that has been a protector and healer of people for centuries. Folklore dictates that the herb wards off evil influences and protects against harmful, unseen forces.

While we may not use it in quite the same way as it once was, St. John’s Wort continues to offer physical, emotional and spiritual protection for modern humans living in a world with its own unique challenges and negative influences.

In recent times St. John’s Wort has been popularized for its ability to lift the spirits and to alleviate mild depression and seasonal affective disorder. In my experience it is indeed very useful when one feels melancholic, especially in the deep winter months. It seems fitting that such bright yellow flowers would be uplifting in darker days, especially Hypericum flowers which bloom right at the peak of summer, when the days are longest. If you sometimes suffer from seasonal melancholy or from “the blues”, you might consider bringing this joyful, light-filled herb into your life.  

New Tonic Blends from Oregon's Wild Harvest!

"Everything is interrelated. Healthy food is our medicine. Growing herbs on a holistic farm is just another quest in our path to provide customers with only the healthiest plant material available on the planet." - Randy Buresh, Co-Founder, Oregon's Wild Harvest

The power of herbal remedies and food as medicine is a synergistic relationship between all of our senses coming in contact with a plant or blend of plants. The experience begins with our nose, scent triggers a response in our body that yes, this is good, show me more.

As we begin to taste, we wake up our cells to the medicine as it enters our blood stream. Finally we begin to feel the nuances and effects of the herbs or food we have just consumed. This can happen in a matter of seconds and linger long after we've sipped our tea or eaten our breakfast. 

Six Autumn Essentials to Get You Through 'til Winter Break

The holiday break is just around the corner, folks! Alex put together this list of six must-haves for getting through the fast-paced autumn season in style:

Simply Curated: These small sized travel candles are beautiful and smell great. I love the idea of being able to bring them with me on my travels! Simply Curated uses 100% pure soy wax that is sourced from the US only, as well as domestically sourced wood wicks. They are always hand poured and phthalate free and oh so pretty!

Klean Kanteen: recently introduced these slimmer mouthed insulated bottles. Perfect for the winter, they will keep your coffee or tea hot literally for hours. Or for that hardcore New Englander, it will keep the ice in your cold brew from melting. Either way, you will be cutting down on those wasteful to go cups and sipping on something delicious!

Soul Sunday: This beautifully branded aromatherapy roll-on are made from coconut oil and 100% pure essential oils. perfect for decompressing on the go, you can apply this oil to your temples and wrists and breathe in!

Perfect Fuel: These little bites of energy will satisfy your chocolate craving while providing a quick boost! This Boston based company makes bite sized chocolate with ginseng, espresso or chia. All delicious and help get you through your day or work out!

Pure Life GABA-Max: Stressed? Me too. That’s okay… with a little bit of GABA, one may feel chill within no time. The main ingredient of this formula is compound known as Phenyl-GABA, a derivative of the well established endogenous inhibitory neurotransmitter in our brains, GABA. When taken orally, Phenyl-GABA crosses the blood-brain barrier and may support feelings of relaxation. While many like this product, please do consult your physician when trying any new supplement!

Herbalogic Fixed Focus: Herbalogic focuses on Chinese herbal blends and use three methods of extraction, water, glycerin and alcohol, to provide you with an extra potent and unique product. Their Fixed Focus blend helps support mental clarity and concentration without making you feel wired or jittery.

Milk Thistle: Food for the Liver

By Steph Zabel
Herbalist, Ethnobotanist and Educator

This year I grew glorious Milk Thistle for the first time in my garden. With its sharp, prickly leaves it is not usually the first choice for gardeners, but for an herbalist, it is an exciting plant to grow. All summer long I observed as it spread out its milky-splotched leaves and unfurled its purple-flowers.

And now I have been rewarded with a harvest of fresh milk thistle seeds — the most prized and potent part of the plant. (Well, my favorite part, at least!)

Jenn's TOP FIVE Back to School Essentials

At the store, we are well-tuned to the cycles of the school calendar - several of our staff members also moonlight as part-time or full-time students. Jenn is completing her undergraduate program in Industrial Design at Mass Art, and put together this entertaining list of student "must-haves" for the fall season. Whether you are a student or just know one, this these items will help you make it through till holiday break in good health!

Lemon Balm: The Gateway Herb / Melissa officinalis

By Steph Zabel
Herbalist, Ethnobotanist and Educator

Lemon Balm is a delightful and cheerful little plant. With uplifting, lemon-scented leaves and tiny sweet white flowers, it is a pleasant addition to any garden or kitchen apothecary. I have never found anyone who does not enjoy lemon balm tea, so I call it a “gateway herb.” Even the most wary newcomers to herbs fall in love with its scent and taste, and then become open to trying many more new and unusual herbs…!

Both bees and humans find this plant irresistibly attractive. In fact its Latin name Melissa refers to “bees” — these insects will flock to it whenever it is in bloom.

Lemon balm is originally from southern Europe but is now widely cultivated around the world. Like many mint family plants it is a very prolific grower. If you have limited garden space, you may want to place it in a container so that it does not take over the whole garden. (However, I don’t think that that would be such a terrible thing if it did happen...)

Sage: The Wise One / Salvia officinalis

By Steph Zabel
Herbalist, Ethnobotanist and Educator

Most of us know sage as a culinary herb — one that we grow in our gardens and use to flavor our dishes. For centuries sage has been valued as one of the best kitchen herbs and was traditionally cooked with rich, heavy foods. It is still a popular flavoring herb for meat dishes and stuffings.  As an aromatic spice, it improves digestion, breaks down fats, relieves indigestion and nausea, and stimulates the gall bladder to produce more bile. 

The plant originates in the Mediterranean — like many of our common culinary spices — and belongs to the Mint family of plants (a group that also holds many wonderful and aromatic plants such as basil, lavender, oregano, rosemary, thyme, peppermint, etc…)

Sage’s history goes far back in time: it was known to the ancient Greeks as an herb of immortality and to hold great healing properties. Its Latin name, Salvia, comes from the root “salvare” which translates as “to save” or “to cure.” There’s an old rhyme: “He that would live for aye should eat sage in May.”  To our modern eyes sage is a humble garden herb, but for centuries healers have recognized this plant as one of the greatest herbal remedies.  And for good reason…

Salvia officinalis has a deep affinity for the brain and nervous system and can be considered a tonic herb for both. It has a rejuvenating effect on the nerves, and can help to strengthen the mind and memory. Sage has been used by herbalists to address depression, anxiety and nervousness. It is especially good for the frazzled feeling we sometimes get when life is too busy or hectic — sage is one of my top herbs for what I call “city-dweller syndrome.”  From my own personal experience with sage I have found it has a unique action that seems to feed and nourish the nervous system. When using sage during stressful times it helps me to feel less anxious and more grounded. It helps me feel more at peace with how things are, and to feel more connected with day-to-day reality, i.e. appreciating what is rather than what I want things to be. Many traditions have noted that sage has the ability to enhance one’s inner wisdom… and so the word “sage” is applied to a person who is wise. The flower essence is especially beautiful and illuminating for enhancing inner knowingness.

Sage is cleansing, clearing and purifying. White sage is often burned as an incense to clear the air and make a space feel new and refreshed.  The essential oils contained within the leaf make sage highly antiseptic, giving it many applications. I like to use strong sage tea at the onset of a cold, or for any respiratory infections or sore throats. It also makes a fantastic mouthwash which supports healthy gums and leaves a clean, aromatic feeling.

HOW TO USE

There are many ways to obtain the benefits of sage. Use the dried leaf as a spice in meat or stuffings (especially for Thanksgiving!) I like to drink sage tea with honey — just steep 1-2 teaspoons of the dried leaf in 8 oz. hot water for at least 10 minutes. Then add a spoonful of local honey and sip whenever you are feeling anxious or stressed, or if you are starting to feel a bit under the weather. 

Sage Flower Essence can be used as well, and is one of my favorite essences. It helps one to distill wisdom from experience, and is especially recommended for people who find it hard to find purpose and meaning in their life.

RECIPE: Fresh Sage Infused Honey

Herbal honeys are a delicious way to enjoy the benefits of herbs, especially highly aromatic plants like sage. This honey can be enjoyed by the spoonful, added to hot cups of tea, spread onto toast, or made into sauces and salad dressings.

Fill a small 8 oz. glass jar with finely chopped fresh sage leaves. When using fresh herbs I generally fill the jar about 3/4 full.

Cover with local honey, stirring well to ensure that any trapped air bubbles come to the surface.

Label the jar with the date and ingredients.

Let steep for at least 1 week (if you can bear to wait!) up to 4 weeks before using. 

If you wish you can strain out the sage leaves through a course strainer (you may have to gently heat up the honey to make it more runny). Or, you can just use the honey as is, sage leaves and all.

Use up within 4-5 months.

Notes:

Sage should be avoided during pregnancy since it can be stimulating to the uterus. It may also reduce the flow of milk during breast feeding and should be avoided by nursing mothers.
 

REFERENCES:

The Practice of Traditional Western Herbalism by Matthew Wood
The Floral Healer by Anne McIntyre
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/s/sages-05.html
http://www.methowvalleyherbs.com/2010/12/why-should-man-die-while-sage-grows-in.html

Steph Zabel is an herbalist and educator based in Somerville, MA who helps urban dwellers connect with the plant world.  She teaches herbal classes, is available for individual wellness sessions, and is also the founder of HERBSTALK, a community herbal conference.  Learn more about her work at: www.flowerfolkherbs.com and www.herbstalk.org.

This blog post — Sage: The Wise One / Salvia officinalis  — is for general health information only. This blog post is not to be used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment of any health condition or problem. Users of this Web site should not rely on information provided on this Web site for their own health problems. Any questions regarding your own health should be addressed to your own physician or other healthcare provider.