It’s surprisingly easy to make hawthorn tincture, with or without alcohol. Hawthorn is an amazingly powerful healing herb, chock-full of natural compounds. Hawthorn berries, flowers, leaves, and bark are all used to treat a variety of ailments, particularly those associated with the heart, digestion, mental health, skin complains, and more. The oldest known healing herb, […]
Hawthorn berries, also known as haws, mayblossom, thornapple, and mayflower, are readily available and have an array of potential health benefits. The berries, flowers, leaves, and bark are all used in traditional preparations. All varieties of the hawthorn tree are related to apples and roses. Many varieties, including the Common Hawthorn, are native to Europe […]
Autumn is probably my favorite time of the year for foraging – the trees and bushes are heavy with fruit and nuts, and, if you know what you’re looking for, this free food is all around you. To make the most of the health benefits of this wild bounty and to preserve that taste of […]
It’s hard to find a DIY natural deodorant that really works. I tried loads of recipes and products, but nothing really seemed to suit me or my family, so I eventually came up with my own natural deodorant recipe, and it works! We all smell lovely and fresh, and we aren’t putting nasty chemicals and […]
While it’s great to be prepared for any eventuality with a whole host of herbs for your basic home remedy kit, what happens when you’re out and about? Whether it’s a road trip, a day out foraging, a camping vacation, or a trip to the beach, we strongly recommend that you prepare a portable natural […]
Vinegar is one of the most commonly found ingredients in the cupboard at home. As well as being used for pickling onions and adding flavor to dishes, vinegar has many other uses around the home and the garden. We’ve already talked about how to clean carpets using vinegar as one of the main ingredients, but […]
Store-bought skincare is extraordinarily expensive – and it’s full of all kinds of chemical weirdness that you really don’t want getting into your body. So I thought it was about time I shared my natural skincare recipe. It’s ridiculously easy to make, only contains natural ingredients, and doesn’t cost much. We use this cream or […]
Garlic – tasty but stinky. Super nice added to bolognaise. But is that really all it’s good for? Not a chance. In actual fact, fresh garlic contains allicin, which is a potent antibiotic, antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial. It’s been in use for at least 4,000 years. And modern medicine is finally paying attention. Because allicin […]
Well, foraging has a huge range of benefits, if it’s done correctly, and it’s something humans have been doing since we first clambered out of the ooze and into the sunlight. Let’s look at some of these benefits:
If you’re going to forage, whether for salad greens, seeds, nuts, or anything else, you’ve got to get out of the house and move around. In the digital age, we humans don’t do anywhere near as much physical activity as previous generations, because everything’s done for us. Our predecessors had to work to get anything done, from making their own bread to going to the green grocers, the butchers, the chemist, the haberdashery, and a variety of other vendors to get their weekly supplies. We hop online and get it all delivered, or else we just drive up the road to the nearest supermarket, where everything’s all crammed together in one place. So many of us lead very sedentary lives, with some getting no real physical activity, and the extent of their contact with nature and the great outdoors is the trip from the front door to the car. We all know we should get out more and do more, but it can be a challenge. Foraging allows you to focus on something other than actual exercise. You’re busy looking for food, after all, so you bend, stretch, walk, and generally move around. Which means you’re exercising without consciously doing so, improving your general health, flexibility, and range of movement. You’ll find yourself enjoying the great outdoors, getting back to nature, and away from the television, tablet, laptop, desktop, game console, and the rest of our electromagnetic radiation-generating devices. This helps to recharge your batteries, lift your mood, and improve your mental and physical well-being.
Read more about Foraging For Beginners: Why Bother Foraging? …