Happy Thanksgiving 2020
(Originally posted as a newsletter 11/24/20. If you are not signed up for my newsletters, signup here!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
And timely tips and recipes for easing digestion!
Hello Friends!
In the spirit of gratitude, I would like to express how grateful I am to the next generations of herbal students and herbalists who are raising their children in relationship with what heals us all, and what truly matters, renewed connection with the loving generosity of the Earth and Spirit.
Violet's mom, my apprentice Regina, has been learning to weave together her indigenous Filipino traditions with her Green Witch wisdom. She took this beautiful photo of me and her daughter Violet (age 5) harvesting the tubers of Helianthus tuberosus, AKA sunchoke, sun root, Earth apple, or most commonly, Jerusalem artichoke.
Whatever nickname you know this plant by, this is a species of sunflower native to North America that's very easy to grow in your garden! You can prepare this tasty treat however you cook potatoes. Yum! Some people shred or thin-slice this vegetable and add it into salads, but I prefer it cooked as that is typically easier on the digestive system. Sunchokes provide a great array of nourishing minerals and are rich in immune-nourishing polysaccharides, especially inulin, which offers help in stabilizing blood-sugar, and is known to be healthful for people with diabetes. Inulin is a great prebiotic, too, helping recolonize the intestinal tract with helpful microbes. Inulin is also found in foods such as garlic, onions, burdock and dandelion roots, and in whole wheat, rye, and barley.
Here is a delightful bitters blend that I crafted and find very helpful!
Bitters help stimulate our digestive juices, such as bile, so that we can better assimilate the foods we eat and derive optimum nourishment.
ROBIN ROSE'S SPECIAL BITTERS BLEND
Dandelion root - 1/4 cup, chopped
Sweet &/or bitter orange peels - 1 tablespoon, chopped
Cardamom pods - 1 tablespoon, bruised
Put the dried herbs into a pint jar.
Cover with 100 proof vodka.
Cover the jar and shake it well.
Shake it every few days or so at first, then once a week.
It will be ready in six weeks, but you can let this steep for a year if you like.
For best results put 20-30 drops in a little water about 30 minutes before eating. If you forget, take them about 10 minutes after your meal. And perhaps drink some rosemary tea, it helps your memory :-)
And for this Thanksgiving: While you wait for your bitters blend to be ready to use, you can also achieve great digestive effects simply by drinking a cup of dandelion root tea or taking a dropper-full of dandelion root tincture in water about a half hour before eating...
For more herbal tips for healthy digestion, see my books, Healing Magic: A Green Witch Guidebook to Conscious Living - 10th Anniversary Edition & The Gift of Healing Herbs: Plant Medicines and Home Remedies for a Vibrantly Healthy Life.
Join Me!
HERBS FOR INTUITIVE WISDOM &
*WINTER SOLSTICE RITUAL CELEBRATION
Tuesday, December 8 @ 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM EST
Tuesday, December 15 @ 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM EST
*NOTE: Saturday, December 19 @ 7-9 PM EST
This series is ONLINE and available through the New York Open
Center by recording afterward if you can't attend in real time.
Get your tickets HERE!
*Winter Solstice Ritual Celebration on Saturday, December 19th
can be taken as a separate single evening event.
Register HERE for this single event.
We will explore ways to use herbs such as grandmother cedar, cronewort/mugwort, and rose as teas, tinctures, infusions, anointing oils, ointments, smokes and baths - to help open our "third eye", guide our dreams and trance journeys, create safe and sacred space, and evoke healing visions in meditation, ritual, and ceremony.
Love and Green Blessings,
Robin Rose
~*~