JOURNAL

Deep nourishment - where healing begins

Proper nourishment is essential for wellbeing and necessary for healing. Digestion is an energy-intensive process for the body, and when we are in a state of depletion or in the midst of healing into balance, it serves us to offer the body nourishment that is easily-digestible, and nutrient-dense. Nourishment that has essentially already gone through a process of “digestion” saves the body the work of extraction, making assimilation easeful. This is the case with Nourishing Herbal Infusions, where herbs are combined with hot water for a long steep, imparting the water with vital nutrients that are readily available for absorption.

The Earth has blessed us with abundant and varied nutritive herbal allies that can provide deep and lasting nourishment. Along with the spiritual nourishment that comes from establishing connected, reciprocal relationships with the plants, nourishment too is offered by our plant allies through the proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals necessary for maintaining or gaining a state of vibrant health. Macronutrients (carbohydrates, fat and protein) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) play vital roles in the cellular function, tissue integrity, organ health, and full-body-ecosystem performance of the human organism. Ensuring that our bodies are fed with adequate concentrations of these nutrients provides us the greatest opportunity to be at and experience our peak expression of well-being.

Nourishing Herbal Infusions are uniquely suited to draw out elevated concentrations of vital nutrients, by way of a high plant-to-water ratio, and extended steeping time. And because those nutrients move into the body in an already-extracted state, they are nutrients exceedingly bioavailable.

Preparing a Nourishing herbal Infusion

Making a Nourishing Herbal Infusion is very similar to preparing a standard tea infusion. The primary differences are that you increase the amount of herbs used, and you steep your infusion much longer than you generally would a tea. Some herbs are better choices than others in Nourishing Herbal Infusion form. Herbs that most herbalists would categorize as “nutritives” serve you best, and avoiding proportionately high percentages of herbs with certain chemical constituents that may aggravate the elimination pathways of the body, such as herbs rich in volatile oils or certain alkaloids, is wise. Below, we share some of our favorite nutritive herbs with you, and detail the unique properties that make them great allies for healing. Though deeply nourishing, highly nutritive herbs are not well known for their flavor. When preparing our Nourishing Herbal Infusions, we like to add small amounts of aromatic herbs like peppermint, chamomile, lemon balm, fennel, or tulsi, to enhance and harmonize the flavor and bring pleasure to the experience of drinking your infusion. Pleasure is medicinal in and of itself!

Here’s how we go about preparing our Nourish Herbal Infusions:

Place one ounce (by weight) of dried herb in a quart jar, and fill it to the top with almost-boiling water. Carefully tighten the lid (it will be quite hot) , and allow the infusion to steep for 4-12 hours. Overnight works well. Strain and pour yourself a cup! Place the remainder in the refrigerator. Drink throughout the day or over the next few days. Add ice, flavor with sweeteners like honey or maple syrup, add milk, lemon, tamari, or any other additions that please your taste. Infusions can also be used as soup stocks, bath waters, hair rinses, and facial washes.

Because the minerals and other phytochemicals in herbs are made more accessible by drying, dried herbs are considered best for Nourishing Herbal Infusions. Most infusions will spoil in two or three days, so refrigeration after steeping is wise, as is consuming quickly. If your infusion happens to go a bit off (begins to ferment) before you drink it, consider offering it to your garden, or using it as a hair rinse.

We, personally, like to prepare our infusions before heading to bed, in a french press rather than a quart jar. This makes the pressing more tidy and efficient, and infusions are ready for consuming first thing when we awake in the morning. When steeping in a quart jar, we like to use a sprouting lid as a tool for easy straining.