Simple Thrift and Herbs

Saving money, time, energy. And chatting about herbs.

  • Flower Essences for Grief

    I’ve done a previous post about flower essences if you are unfamiliar with them. It might help if you have questions about the information that follows. Flower Essences 101 – Simple Thrift and Herbs Flower essences are a wonderful therapeutic for emotional challenges. Rescue Remedy, a blend of 5 flower essences, is great as an Read more

  • Herbs for Grief

    It’s that time of year. I think we all have that one (or two) times of year when anniversaries of the traumatic kind occur. It’s hitting a little early this year, probably due to the reminder of a loss of a friend and having to put one of our dogs to sleep today. My times Read more

  • Ashwagandha (withania somnifera)

    Again, no picture this week. I did actually grow this a few years ago (NE Colorado), but didn’t take photos. Ashwagandha is a relative of tomatoes and tomatillos and looks a lot like a tomatillo plant. If I remember correctly, the fruits even have the little paper-like coverings like them. The thing to take away Read more

  • Saint John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

    For the next few posts, I thought I would review herbs that manufacturers seem to want to add to everything. The first time I really noticed this was with St. John’s wort. ‘It’s treats depression’ would be the implied claim. Smart manufacturers don’t claim that any herb or supplement treats something, unless they have data Read more

  • Turmeric (Curcuma longa)

    No photo today – I don’t grow my own! Let’s talk about turmeric. I’ve known what it is for a long time – a pungent yellow spice that my mom put in pickle relish and it wasn’t really summer until I smelled it. Turmeric is used in lots of foods – pickles, curry, eggs, lots Read more

  • It’s been a rough couple weeks

    I’m not going to get into all the politics – heaven knows it’s contentious enough already. Suffice it to say that I think for everyone, it’s been a rough couple weeks. To recommend herbs to anyone without knowing circumstances and history would be ill-advised, but I do feel comfortable recommending flower essences. Just so I Read more

  • Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra)

    This one has kind of outgrown its bed and I need to harvest the root (when I have time – HA!) Licorice is an amazing plant, and one that most herbalists don’t want to do without. It also is one of those herbs that is poorly understood, and has developed a reputation for raising blood Read more

  • Zucchini Recipes – Part II

    I did a post last summer with recipes for different varieties of zucchini bread – scroll down the page for that one (it might be on page 2 of the posts). To me, zucchini itself doesn’t really have much flavor – it just picks up the flavor of other ingredients in the recipe. Zucchini has Read more

  • Elder (Sambucus spp.)

    Was checking the garden today and noticed that I had quite a few elderberries ripe. The berries are not ripe until they are fully black or dark purple. Unripe berries will make your stomach very unhappy. There are two parts of elder that we use as herbalists: The berries and the flowers. The leaves and Read more

  • Cinnamon (Cinnamomum spp.)

    Everyone has a pint jar of cinnamon, right? I mean, I’m not weird or anything…. well, moving on… Many herbs and spices that we use in everyday cooking have medicinal uses as well. Supposedly, many were used to cover the smell or taste of foods that had gone ‘off’ in the days before refrigeration. Maybe Read more