Childbearing Year

Red Raspberry Infusion

Red Raspberry Infusion

Susun Weed and her granddaughter, Monica Jean discusses the benefits of red raspberry leaf and demonstrates how to make a nourishing herbal infusion.

Severe pregnancy nausea

Severe pregnancy nausea

An email question is read from a woman who is nauseous and unable to keep food down. She asks Susuns advice.
Susun suggests nourishing herbal infusions as well as other suggestions.

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Prenatal nutrition

Hi Susun,

I am 4 months pregnant and have been taking a prenatal packet of 5 pills that includes fish oil, vitamin E and a prenatal mix. I am about to run out of these and am writing to see if you recommend a particular brand of prenatals or if you recommend vitamins at all. I am also drinking a rasberry leaf and nettle tea mixture on an almost daly basis.

Thank you...

Hello,

Susun doesn't recommend prenatal vitamins .... I would say it is better if you can eat/drink your vitamins and minerals - a well-rounded diet with plenty of veggies, whole grains, seaweeds, healthy fats and daily infusions - there are lots of minerals in the infusions and they are easier for your body to assimilate as opposed to pills. You will get a lot more of these minerals with the infusions that are steeped overnight.

A good article by Susun can be found here:  http://www.susunweed.com/Article_Pregnancy_Problems.htm

blessings,

Kim

Wise Woman Team

www.wisewomanweb.com

www.wisewomanbookshop.com

www.wisewomanuniversity.org

 

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Join Susun Weed on blogtalkradio, Tuesday nights 7:30-9:30 pm EST. Call in with your questions or email ahead of time to wisewoman@herbshealing.com. 

Visit the link for more info:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/susunweed

 

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Red clover

Red clover

One of the most cherished of the fertility-increasing plants is red clover (Trifolium pratense). Common in fields and along roadsides, it has bright pink (not really red) blossoms from mid-summer into the chilly days of fall. A favorite flower of the honeybees, the tops (blossoms and appending leaves) are harvested on bright sunny days and eaten as is, or dried for medicinal use. The raw blossoms are delicious in salads and nutritious when cooked with grains such as rice or millet.

To make a fertility-enhancing infusion, I take one ounce by weight of the dried blossoms (fresh won't work for this application) and put them in a quart size canning jar. I fill the jar with boiling water, screw on a tight lid, and let it steep at room temperature overnight (or for at least four hours). Dozens of women have told me that they had successful pregnancies after drinking a cup or more (up to four cups) a day of red clover infusion.

It is especially helpful if there is scaring of the fallopian tubes, irregular menses, abnormal cells in the reproductive tract, or "unexplained" infertility. It may take several months for the full effect of this herb to come on and pregnancy may not occurs until you have used it for a year or two. You can improve the taste by including some dried peppermint (a spoonful or two) along with the dried clover blossoms when making your infusion. Treat the father of the child-to-be to some red clover infusion, too!

Learn more about Red clover infusion:
www.nourishingherbalinfusions.com/RedClover.html

Linden

Linden

Susun talks about taking a walk to find plants. She shows us a Linden tree.

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Severe pregnancy nausea

Severe pregnancy nausea

An email question is read from a woman who is nauseous and unable to keep food down. She asks Susuns advice.
Susun suggests nourishing herbal infusions as well as other suggestions.

---

Join Susun Weed on blogtalkradio, Tuesday nights 7:30-9:30 pm EST. Call or Skype in: 1-646-929-2463, with your questions or email ahead of time to wisewoman@herbshealing.com. 

Visit the link for more info:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/susunweed

 

Nourishing herbal infusions

My favorite herbs for making nourishing infusions are:

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) for lots of energy.
Red clover blossoms (Trifolium pratense) to forstall cancer.
Oatstraw (Avena sativa) to be very, very sexy.
Comfrey leaves (Smyphytum uplandica x) to help the memory.
Linden blossoms (Tillia species) to counter inflammation.
Chickweed (Stellaria media) to lose weight.
Hawthorn blossoms (Crataegus oxycantha) for older hearts.
Raspberry leaves (Rubus species) for uterine health.

To brew a nourishing herbal infusion
Place one ounce (30 grams) of dried herb by weight in a quart (liter) jar.
Fill jar to the top with boiling water.
Cap tightly and steep for at least four hours; overnight is fine.
After brewing, strain the liquid from the herbs.
Squeeze the herbs to get all the goodness out.
Refrigerate the liquid, which needs to be consumed with a day or two.
Drink your nourishing herbal infusion over ice or heated up, with honey or not.
I drink 2-4 cups of infusion a day.

You can mix nourishing herbal infusions with fruit juice or soda water; you can add whiskey or miso, honey or ginger to them, or flavor them in any way that appeals to you.

More info:
http://nourishingherbalinfusions.com/

Picking and Drying Herbs

Picking and Drying Herbs
by Susun Weed

In your herbal pharmacy you transform fresh and dried plants into herbal medicines. Learning to identify and use the common plants around you is easy and exciting, beneficial and safe.Making your own medicines saves you money if you follow the Wise Woman tradition of using local herbs, free for the taking.

Even one day's work in field, forest, and kitchen can provide you with many years' worth of medicines.When you make your own, you know for sure what's in it, where it came from, when and how it was harvested, and how fresh and potent it is.

Dried herbs are best for the infusions recommended in this book. Stock your herbal pharmacy with your own foraged or cultivated dried herbs; expand your resources and experiment with new herbs by buying dried herbs from reputable sources.

Fresh herbs are best for the tinctures and oils recommended in this book. If you can't make your own, buy from sources who wildcraft or grow their own herbs to use fresh in preparations.

Whether you buy or make your own medicines, remember, herbal remedies may not work or may work incorrectly if they aren't prepared correctly. Read this chapter carefully; it contains easy to follow instructions for every remedy and preparation mentioned in this book [Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year].

Picking Herbs

When you have positively identified the plant you wish to use, center yourself by sitting next to the herb in silence. Take several deep breaths. Feel the earth under you, connecting you to all the plants. Listen to the sounds and songs all around you. Can you hear the song of your herb?

If you are picking only one plant, ask that plant to give you its power. Tell it how you intend to use it. If you are harvesting many plants, look for a grandmother plant. Ask her permission to use her grandchildren. Visualize clearly how you intend to use the plants.

Make an offering of corn or tobacco, a coin or love to the plants. Sing with them. Talk with them if you feel moved to do so. Thank the earth and begin your gathering.

Take care to preserve and contribute to the well-being of the plant community. Take no more than half of the annuals or biennials, no more than a third of the perennials. Walk gently and with balance.

Harvest plants when the energy you want is most concentrated. Roots store energy in the form of sugar, starch, and medicinal alkaloids throughout the cold or dormant season; pick them when above ground growth of the plant has died back. Leaves process energy to nourish roots and flowers; pick them at their most lush, before flowers have formed, after all dew has dried, and before the day's heat wilts them. Flowers are fragile, pollen-filled, joyous; harvest them in full bloom, before seeds form, and before bees visit them. Seeds are durable, but likely to shatter and disperse if left on the plant too long; harvest seeds when still green and before insects invade. Barks (inner barks and root barks) may be harvested at any time but are thought to be most potent in spring and fall. Look carefully at the plant you wish to pick and you will see where the energy is highest; let this guide your harvesting.

Deal with your harvest immediately. Allowing the cut plants to lie about dissipates their vital energies, encourages mold and fermentation, and results in poor quality preparations. If you intend to eat your harvest, refrigerate the plants, or wash and cook them and sit down and eat. If you intend to make a tincture or oil, cover the herbs with alcohol or oil as soon as possible; don't refrigerate them. If you intend to dry the herbs, it is vital to lay them out or tie them up as soon after harvest as possible.

 

Drying Herbs

To dry herbs and maintain their color, fragrance, taste, energy, and medicinal potency, you need only:

° Pick when there is no moisture on the plant and do not wash the plant (roots are the exception).

° Dry the herbs immediately after picking, in small bunches or spread out so parts don't touch.

° Dry them in a dark and well ventilated area.

° Take down the herbs and store in paper bags as soon as they are crisply dried. If insect invasions force you to store dried herbs in glass or plastic, air-dry them, then dry in paper bags for another two weeks before sealing in tight containers.

° Keep the herbs as whole, cool, and dark as possible during storage. Under optimum storage conditions, well-dried volatile, delicate herbs last about six months; roots and barks maintain potency for six or more years.

Green Blessings.
Susun Weed

this excerpt is from:

Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year by Susun Weed

 

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Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year 
by Susun S. Weed

Foreword by Jeannine Parvati Baker.
192 pages, index, lovely illustrations. 
Now in its 24th printing. A confirmed favorite with pregnant women, midwives, childbirth educators, and new parents. Packed with clear, comforting, and superbly helpful information.

Retails for $14.95

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Order WISE WOMAN HERBAL for the CHILDBEARING YEAR in our Bookshop

 

Water Based Preparations

Water Based Preparations
by Susun Weed

 In your herbal pharmacy you transform fresh and dried plants into herbal medicines. Learning to identify and use the common plants around you is easy and exciting, beneficial and safe. Making your own medicines saves you money if you follow the Wise Woman tradition of using local herbs, free for the taking.

 Even one day's work in field, forest, and kitchen can provide you with many years' worth of medicines. When you make your own, you know for sure what's in it, where it came from, when and how it was harvested, and how fresh and potent it is.

 Dried herbs are best for the infusions recommended in this book. Stock your herbal pharmacy with your own foraged or cultivated dried herbs; expand your resources and experiment with new herbs by buying dried herbs from reputable sources.

 Fresh herbs are best for the tinctures and oils recommended in this book. If you can't make your own, buy from sources who wildcraft or grow their own herbs to use fresh in preparations.

 Whether you buy or make your own medicines, remember, herbal remedies may not work or may work incorrectly if they aren't prepared correctly. Read this chapter carefully; it contains easy to follow instructions for every remedy and preparation mentioned in this book [Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year].

 Water Bases

 Our bodies are based on water and so are plants. We digest in a water base. In most instances, I prefer herbal medicines in a water base. Nourishing herbs such as Comfrey, Nettles, and Raspberry leaf are at their best when prepared in water bases, for water is best able to extract and make accessible their full range of vitamins, and nutrients.

 Water-based herbal medicines spoil rapidly and must be prepared at or near the actual time of use. However, you can store dried herbs for long periods, ready to use in a water base.

 Water-based preparations are called teas, tissanes, infusions, decoctions, and syrups. They may be used as soaks, baths, douches, enemas, eyewashes, poultices, compresses, and fomentations. They are all made by soaking fresh or dried plant material in water (usually boiling).

 Tea is the standard water-based herbal preparation; even restaurants know how to make it. At fancy ones they call it tissane.

 Use one teaspoon dried herb per cup of boiling water. Add an extra teaspoonful for the pot. Let it steep in your cup or the pot for up to twenty minutes. Honey, lemon, and milk are medicinal additions. (Don't give infants honey.)

 Volatile herbs are easily extracted into water and therefore prepared as teas. Chamomile, Pennyroyal, Shepherd's Purse, Ginger, Anise and Fennel seeds, Valerian, Catnip, and Lobelia are some volatile herbs used in this book.

 Infusion is the most medicinally potent water-based herbal preparation. There are a great many definitions and recipes for preparing infusions; some herbalists use the term interchangeably with "tea."

 My medicinal infusions contain a great deal of herbal matter and are steeped for a long time. The result is a liquid much thicker and darker than an herbal tea, leaving no doubt that you are dealing with a medicine, not a breakfast drink.

 Prepare infusions in pint and quart canning jars. A teapot or cup is impractical for the long brewing an infusion requires and their openings allow volatile essences and vitamins to escape.Caning jars rarely break when filled with boiling water. They make it easy to measure the amount of water used in the brew. An infusion brewed in a jar is convenient to carry along to work, school or wherever, and this increases the probability that the infusion will be consumed.

 And then there's the "wonder water" effect. Wonder water sounds like a new hype, but it is an interesting principle discovered by some researchers at Organic Gardening magazine. They found that plants absorbed nourishment more thoroughly and easily from water that had been boiled, poured into a jar, covered tightly, and allowed to cool. They maintained that gas molecules normally held in water interfere with the plants' rapid and complete assimilation of nutrients dissolved in water.

 These dissolved gases are released upon boiling. If a jar is filled with boiling water and capped tightly, the gas molecules cannot be reabsorbed into the water from the air. This s exactly how I prepare an infusion. And I suspect that people, like plants, benefit from and respond strongly to the wonder water effect.

 Herbal infusions are the basis for all the other water-based preparations mentioned in this book: decoctions, syrups, soaks, compresses, etc.

Green Blessings.
this excerpt from:
Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year by Susun Weed

 

Wild Salad with Wild Flowers

Wild Salad with Wild Flowers
by Susun Weed

You will need a sharp pair of plant scissors and a few baskets. For safety sake, I harvest each plant into a different container. Keep the chickweed stalks parallel as you cut them and place them in your basket that way, making them much easier to cut into uniform pieces.

 

•   Largest basket (about 50% of salad): chickweed leaves, flowers, and stalks
•   Large basket (about 25% of salad): first year garlic mustard leaves
•   Medium basket (about 5% of salad): mild leaves, your choice, mallow or five-finger ivy (Virginia creeper)
•  Smaller baskets (total of 20% of salad): aromatic, strong-tasting plants like lemon balm, wild oregano, bergamot, cronewort, mint, catnip, and thyme
•  Smallest basket: Mixed flowers. Individual blossoms of Queen of the Night, violets, periwinkle, and wild geranium. Entire flower heads of garlic mustard and barbara’s cress.

Preparation: Cut chickweed into small (1/2 inch) pieces; tear garlic mustard, mallow, and five-finger ivy into bite-sized pieces; finely mince aromatic plants.

Combine in a bowl. Add a splash of tamari, a good pour of herbal vinegar, and plenty of extra virgin olive oil (at least one tablespoonful per serving of salad).

Toss, artfully arrange flowers or simply toss them on the salad and serve.

I like gomasio (sesame salt) on my salads