Anti-Yeast Tea

UTI's and bladder infections are never any fun, but I think the worst is when the doctor can't tell you when you have one of these things because the tests come back negative. My mom ran into this problem last year. Luckily for her, I was having similar issues, but I hadn't gone to a doctor yet. I decided to make this my first official herbal concoction. 

My herbal journey started with me collecting herbal healing books and staring wistfully at the pages, but not certain how to go about starting. So when I began to have itchy problems in my vaginal area, I decided I was going to figure out a solution. At first I just assumed I wasn't cleaning as well as I should have, and so I started to make sure I spent a little more time in that area and was keeping it clean. When that didn't seem to solve the problem, I crafted the Yoni Powder (on the next blog post) to help keep the itching at bay while I waited for my herbs to arrive in the mail for this tea.

I was overjoyed when I received all the herbs I needed to create this tea! I immediately started putting the herbs into a jar that ended up being MUCH too small for everything. One thing I had to figure out as I was measuring the herbs out was how I was going to define how much a "part" was. A lot of recipes in herbal books call for "parts". I decided to keep it simple for myself I would consider a "part" an "oz", and began measuring as such (If you decide to go down the route of measuring 1 Part as 1 Oz, then be aware that not all plant weight the same and one ounce in one plant can be a LOT more than one ounce in other plants). The main thing to remember is to keep your "parts" the same for the recipe. By deciding to consider 1 Part as 1 Oz I ended up making WAY more than what I actually needed. But the good part is that I now have more on hand should I need to brew more tea (and YES I have needed to brew more).  

My first taste of this tea will always be memorable, because it was terrible! The first time I made this tea I accidentally over boiled it, which ruins the entire tea. I decided that when my mom said she was having issues, but the doctor wouldn't give her medication because she was testing negative for infections, that I would help her out. I told her about this tea and told her I'd be willing to brew some for her, all she had to do was drink unsweetened cranberry juice with it, and it would help (Note: I had yet to finish the first batch I made. I thought I had made it correctly and it was just horribly bitter. I was terrible at taking it, I absolutely dreaded drinking it. It wasn't until I brewed some for my mom (while actually paying attention to it so it didn't boil) that I realized I made mine wrong). 

My mom drank her batch of the tea and praised it to high heavens! She said it worked incredibly well and wasn't nearly as bitter as I had been making it sound. That was my incentive to remake it for myself. This time I made it while keeping a watchful eye on the pot, and it turned out a million times better than the first batch. I drank all of it, and immediately felt better within the second or third day of treatment. Now with knowing it worked, I make sure to keep the herbs nearby so I can brew more if I or anyone in my family should ever need to use it. 

The one thing to know about this tea is that, you don't need to have an active infection going on to use it. If you feel off in your vaginal area, or just an unexplained itch. This tea helps reset the PH balance in the vagina when taken properly and consistently. 

Now without further ado, the recipe. (Please look at the tips and observations for helpful guidance on making and using this tea. These are observations I have made myself while making the tea, and can help you have a better first experience than mine was.)

 Ingredients

2 Parts Sage

2 Parts Raspberry Leaf

2 Parts Mullein

1/4 Part Goldenseal Root

Directions

Mix Herbs together.

Use 4-6 Tablespoon (I used 4 Tablespoon) of herb mixture per quart of water.

Add herbs to cold water & bring to simmer over low heat. Keep pot covered!

Remove from heat immediately & let steep for 20 minutes.

Strain with a coffee filter.

To Use

Drink 3 cups (I used a short glass and would put about 2 oz tea and 2 oz cranberry juice in it) between meals or half an hour before eating until gone.

Tips

- "parts" is an undefined herbalist term. It can mean whatever you want. 1 oz, 1 lb, they're all a "part". My suggestion is to stick to 1 oz for the "parts" measurement (especially if using dried herbs). Dried herbs weigh less than you think they do, and you'll need a bigger storage jar than you originally thought.

- 1 quart is equal to 4 cups of water

- keeping the pot covered is essential, this tea is incredibly strong scented.

- Straining with a coffee filter is incredibly important! Mullein has tiny little hairs that can irritate the throat, which the coffee filter helps remove when straining.

- store in the fridge when not in use.

- Drink with pure cranberry juice (unsweetened) in equal parts, the taste is not the greatest.

- pair with Yoni Powder treatment for best results.

Observations

- Grin & bear it. Do not add sugar. Your infection will not get better as fast as you'd like and you'll have to drink more of this.

- If you didn't pay attention and the tea begins boiling for an undefined amount of time TOSS IT! You've released too much of the bitterness even with the cranberry juice to "sweeten the taste". Toss it and start over. You've been warned.

-Tastes better at room temperature

-If the infection is severe or been going on for a while, you might need to make two batches, but usually one batch will take care of the issue.

-Herbal Healing for Women by Rosemary Gladstar

Fire Cider

This is what I started my herbalist journey with. Gathering the items and making sure I had enough of everything was a big effort, when I realized I needed everything around the same time and couldn't get everything at the store. Which is one thing that I realized as I continued my journey, I either need to find the items I need in the wild, grow my own, or order online and attempt to find the best price for the quality I wanted. I ended up ordering the items I couldn't get at the store, and waited until they arrived to get the rest of my items at the store.

Putting this together in the jar was an experience, and I wish I knew where the pictures were. All of the ingredients make the jar look beautiful before the first shake. I know you'll be hesitent to give it it's first shake, but to help the benefits infuse with the vinegar it's best to shake it then place it in your cool dark spot. I picked a cupboard in my kitchen, since I'm in the kitchen a lot of the time, making this the perfect spot to store it for the time being.

So, why should you make this? And what benefits will come from using this?

Both are wonderful questions, and ones that I'm hoping to be able to answer. People who make Fire Cider claim that it helps boost immune systems to help fight off infections and to keep you healthy. The ingredients in the cider sound like a bunch of nonsense, but there are healing properties in the ingredients. I don't plan on going into detail on all of them in this post. One day, I'm hoping to give them their own pages. I will go into detail on a few of them, tho.

Garlic is a known purifier. 

Lemon can be a disinfectant.

Turmeric is an anti-inflammatory (I like to take turmeric pills when I have colds, it seems to kick the symptoms right out of me if I catch it early enough).

Apple Cider Vinegar can help even out pH in the stomach (or so I've read a while ago. I'll be researching this again to back up this claim in the future).

Honey not only is antimicrobial but can help soothe an irritated throat from a cough.

This isn't all of the ingredients, but I will be going back to research them more in depth at a later date. If you give this recipe a try, please let me know how it turns out. One thing to note is that there are several different versions of this recipe and the one I use is not the end all of all Fire Ciders. Find a recipe that works for you, or tweak it to suit your own needs. I'm excited to see what benefits everyone notices from making their own fire cider, and how it helps them. 

Fire Cider 

Ingredients

- 1 Large Red Onion, Chopped

- 3 Heads Garlic, Chopped

- 1 Lemon with Peel, Diced

- 1/2 Cup Fresh Ginger Rhizome, Grated

- 1/2 Cup Fresh Turmeric Rhizome, Grated

- 1/4 Cup Fresh Horseradish Root, Grated

- 1/4 Cup Fresh Thyme, Arial Parts, Chopped

- 2 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper

- A Few Fresh Cayenne or Jalapeno Peppers (optional)

- Honey To Taste (1/3 Cup)

- Raw Apple Cider Vinegar

- Half-Gallon Jar

Directions

Place all ingredients (except honey and vinegar) in a half-gallon jar, and cover with raw apple cider vinegar (cover herbs by a few inches).

Place a piece of natural wax paper over top of jar before tightly capping with lid.

Store in a dark cupboard for at least three weeks. Shake jar daily.

Strain herbs out of fire cider. Add warmed raw honey to taste, mix thoroughly and bottle.

Use within 6 months of bottling date.

To Use

Take 1 Tbsp (half a shot), once a day as a tonic or up to 3 Tbsp daily with active infection.

Notes

- Adding the wax paper between the cap and the liquid will help prevent the lid from rusting from the acid in the vinegar. 

- The ingredients can be left to sit for a couple of months. This will make it a stronger concoction. 

- The garlic may turn blue, this is a normal reaction.

- Sediment will form at the bottom. This can either be strained or shaken into the liquid before serving.

- Because the cider is made with a vinegar, equal parts water & fire cider can help

Observations

- When taken consistently, can help with infections

- A small dance after downing the shot can help the taste

- I'm terrible at consistency. This batch has lasted me over a year, and still seems to be going strong.

- We can store the cider in the fridge, but it makes the taste stronger

Citation

Herbal Academy Calendar. (2020, October).

Welcome - Table of Contents

 This is a blog that will be documenting my herbal journey. I've always wanted to heal friends and family with herbs and I've finally gotten the chance to be able to do that. Not as frequently as I would like, but enough that I can attempt to keep my family healthier than usual. On this blog I will be marking my herbal research and recipes, adding to it as my research furthers. This post will act as a Table of Contents (each completed page will have a link that will take you to that specific post) to help organize the different posts. I'm not sure how it will end up looking, but I'm hoping it will be straight forward. Feel free to comment, add your thoughts, and/or your own research for me to look into and potentially add to my own research. I will do my best to add sources to my posts, if you notice any missing please let me know and I will attempt to find where I got the information and fix the error.

I've been debating on where to start with this blog. I figured I should start with some recipes I've already tried with my family with some success. Adding pages to talk about the different herbs involved with those recipes, and perhaps the different herbs found in some healing teas I already have. I also will probably go into the herbs and plants found in my own yard along with my families. The next question to myself was whether I should only stick with plants that are useful, or add the plants I end up researching and finding out aren't useful in healing too. I might dedicate a section to plants that aren't useful in herbal healing, but have yet to decide how to go about that.

Without further ado.

Table of Contents

Herbal Knowledge

Why herbs?

Knowing the Human Body Systems

- Cardiovascular System

- Respiratory System

- Gastrointestinal System

- Endocrine System

Therapeutic Actions & Their Definitions

Plant Constituents & Their Basic Functions

Medicine Cabinet Terms & Their Definitions

Wildcrafting

Flower Essence?

An Herbalists Kitchen

Using Herbs

Dosing Guidelines for Adults & Children

Herbal Resources

Herbs/Ingredients

Beeswax
Black Pepper
Black Walnut
Cannabis
Cayenne/Jalapeno Peppers
Chamomile Flower
Chickweed
Comfry
Cornstarch
Cramp Bark
Elder Flower
Fine White Clay
Garlic
Ginger
Goldenseal
High Proof Alcohol
Honey
Horseradish
Lemon
Marshamallow
Mullein
Myrrh
Olive Oil
Pennyroyal
Plantain
Raspberry
Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
Red Onion
Sage
Thyme
Turmeric
Valerian
Witch Hazel
Yarrow

Recipes

Anti-Yeast Tea

Cramp-T Tincture

Eczema Wash

Fire Cider

Ginger Lemon-Aide

Sage Mouth & Throat Spray

Thyme Syrup

Yarrow Venous Salve

Yoni Powder

...I've set myself up with a lot of homework and research. I guess I better get started. I'll be starting with filling out the recipies with my own notes and where I got them from, how they've worked for me and my own observations. I'll move onto the ingredients and their information after that, and then start filling out the basic herbilist infromation. So I'll be working backwards in a ways, I guess. If you find this blog early on, welcome. If you find it once it's more established, also welcome, and I hope it's to your liking.

I will always be available for questions, but I must put a disclaimer.

Any information on this blog is for my own record keeping, and for people to see similarities in their own experiences with herbs. This blog makes neither medical claim, nor intends to diagnose or treat medical conditions. Links to external sites are for informational purposes only. This blog neither endorses them nor is any way responsible for their content. Readers must do their own research concerning the safety and usage of any herbs or supplements.