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4/17/2024

Happy Herbalist's Day, Reader!

Dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) are EVERYwhere! Read on to find out some things about this amazing plant you may not have known!

I love this herb for so many reasons. It's one of the earliest harbingers of spring, at least where we are. I know when those sweet yellow flowers start showing their faces, the foraging race and harvest calendar is ON!

There are some things you should know about dandelion if you're interested in harvesting these incredible plants for their medicinal value.

1) The first thing is that the WHOLE entire plant has medicinal value.

2) The second thing is that the medicinal uses for each plant part are totally different as are the harvest times.

Here's a quick rundown about dandelion plant parts, why you'd harvest them, and the best times to harvest them for the most potent medicine.....

DANDELION FLOWERS:

The flowers are so beautiful.....and incredibly healing in their own way. High in a chemical called allantoin, they're super helpful for supporting the skin in all ways. From wrinkles and aging, scarring, wounds, soothing itching....dandelion flowers are the bomb squad for skin health!

If you have them near you, be sure to get out there NOW. The best time to harvest them is in the Springtime.

There are things to know about the medicine making with these juicy flowers (which are really a bundle of tiny flowers called florets, and each of these makes its own seed). We'll be covering all the dandelion deets inside the Dandelion Masterclass housed in the Confident Herbalist Tribe. The masterclass talk is tomorrow, as a matter of fact! I hope you'll be there!

HINT: Making infused oil with the flowers requires a bit of know-how. A friend of mine once called me all upset because her dandelion flower oil didn't turn out---it went SUPER stinky, and she ended up having to compost it. I think I have a YouTube video on this. I'll check. If I do, it will be in the links below.

*** You might enjoy this article and recipe for Dandelion Lotion​

Next, DANDELION LEAVES:

Dandelion leaves are chock full of minerals and vitamins. They're fairly close to nettle in their nutritional value and ability to support the urinary system. They make a delicious and detoxifying addition to your spring salads. (Be sure they're not sprayed with chemicals fertilizers or pesticides or herbicides.)

The leaves are high in calcium, potassium, iron, and zinc. (Hello, happy immune system). They're also high in vitamins A, B, C, and D. The vitamins are very bioavailable, too.

The best time to harvest dandelion leaves is the spring into the early summer. You can still harvest them throughout the growing season, BUT be forewarned....They become more and more bitter as the summer heats up. This isn't always a bad thing, as bitters have a special place in wellness, but to be honest, most people don't like them, even though they're super good for us.

Leaves of dandelion support your kidney health, and I love adding them to herbal tea blends when the kidneys need a bit of help. One of my students actually didn't have to go on dialysis a few years ago because after taking Ditch the Drugstore she was able to formulate an herbal tea blend that moved her from Stage 4 to Stage 3 kidney failure. Dandelion leaves were an ingredient.

NOTE: You do need to know what you're doing if you have kidney issues. Be sure to work with a qualified herbalist in conjunction with your doctor or specialist if you're planning on using herbs with a medical condition. Also, I never promise you'll have the same results as another person because we're all so different.

Enjoy all the nutrition in dandelion leaves in this recipe for Dandelion Pesto (SOOOOO good!).

Finally, DANDELION ROOTS:

Oh, boy! Dandelion roots (best harvested in the fall, as the plants are going dormant) are incredibly supportive of your liver and gut health. They're right up there with milk thistle seeds and burdock root, as a matter of fact.

In terms of the gut (your microbiome, second brain, and body supporter), dandelion roots in the fall contain high levels of inulin. Inulin is a polysaccharide carbohydrate that is a fiber that's NOT digestible in our system. HOWEVER.....

Our good bacteria LOVE inulin. They scarf it up like there's no tomorrow, and this means that your good bacteria are even more empowered to go out and fight the bad bacteria, yeast, etc. that are there from poor eating habits and normal aging.

Here's a recipe for Digestive Bitters that's pretty delicious!

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Can you believe all this?

A common little weed that most people detest for various reasons is a medicinal herb par excellence! God did another awesome thing when He created the dandelion for us.

I haven't even covered everything it's so great for! We've just scratched the surface.....

I hope you you can make it to tomorrow's live masterclass chat on dandelion and enjoy the book, the recipes/remedies, and all the good things that are included in the course, including videos.

​You can get it FREE inside the Confident Herbalist Tribe.​

The Confident Herbalist Tribe is a village of herbalists of all ranges of experience. It's been around for almost 5 years now, and is filled with experienced herbalists and aromatherapists. You're not alone in the Tribe.

• 55+ and growing fully researched masterclasses that all include recipes, remedies, videos, and complete text. We're now adding slide note presentations, too.
• BONUS workshops and other short courses rotated quarterly and sometimes more often.
• Herbal foundations sessions, classes, and courses
• Advanced herbal concepts such as herb "math"
• Everything is searchable inside the video replays platform and the student community.
• Masterclass organization: Seasonal organization, body system organization, or just go with ABC order....
• A like minded community so you don't feel alone in your Christian herbal studies (and we're not Bible beaters....we just don't ascribe to any unscriptural herbal dogma we need to avoid).
• Live weekly chats with me and other experienced instructors....
• Access to the larger homesteading community with spaces dedicated to gardening, cooking, food preserving, bartering, faith, and MORE..... **For students only.

​The Confident Herbalist Tribe is unbeatable if you're ready to further or start your herbalism journey.

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Everything to Know About Carrier Oils.....

So often the carrier oil is an afterthought for essential oils and herbal preparations.

But, they can do so much more!

Carrier oils can add therapeutic and reparative properties to all your topical essential oil blends and herbal preparations. Each of your lipid oil choices from olive oil, avocado oil, apricot oil, pumpkin seed oil to precious lipids such as tamanu and others all have their own sets of fatty acid profiles to help your skin?

But with so many carrier oils available, the question is, where do you even start? How do you know which one(s) to use?

To answer this question and help guide us through the process of choosing the best carrier oils for your skincare, my friend Susan M Parker is teaching a FREE workshop series on carrier oils.

In her free workshop, you'll learn how to get the most out of your carrier oils for more effective essential oil and aromatherapy blends, herbal preparations, and skincare formulas.

Follow along as Susan teaches us how to create a versatile base carrier oil combination, and then adapt the formula to create result-specific formulations for different skin types and conditions.

This workshop is FREE!

Susan has long been my go-to person for carrier oil knowledge, and you'll love having a better understanding of lipid oils from an expert.

Click here to get started with the first video!​

NOTE: You don't need to purchase anything to join the workshop, you can work with carrier oils you already have or use the workshop to plan your next formula and decide what to purchase.

I'm so excited for this workshop, and I'll see you inside!

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And for you....

Fresh and Clean Diffuser Blend

3 drops lemon essential oil (Citrus limon)

3 drops lavender essential oil (Lavandula angustifolia)

2 drops rosemary essential oil (Rosmarinus officinalis)

This is a quick and easy blend that has some pretty incredible powers.

Lemon assists your immune system exceptionally well. Chemicals in lemon essential oil serve to increase the number of your white blood cells if needed! Lemon also supports a healthy emotional state by boosting the mood.

Lavender calms and soothes while also supporting the respiratory system, cleansing the air, and calming inflamed sinuses gently.

Rosemary contains some heavy-hitter anti-microbial properties while adding some energy to the environment.

I hope you have a beautiful and blessed rest-of-your-week! Be on the lookout for Sunday's special inspirational note, and I love you---

Hugs, Health, and Herbs

Heidi

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P.P.S. Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel and bookmark the website for hundreds of videos and articles on herbal, aromatic, homesteading, and traditional skills.

P.P.P.S. Don't forget to sign up for Susan's FREE Carrier Oil Workshop and find out which is best for YOU. Click here to enjoy the first video!​