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Herbal infusions for mineral & hormone balance


This is a recipe from my book, "Nourishing Freezer Meals: Simple Recipes for Your Sacred Window & Beyond". Get it here!


Mineral rich herbal infusions are a staple in my diet as a mother and an outdoor worker (lots of sweating means I need to restore all those lost minerals/electrolytes). My kids and husband enjoy my tea blends also and I make sure to offer it to them regularly. We also like to stop and have a tea break or tea party in the mid-morning or mid-afternoons sometimes to enjoy a cup of tea together in my grandma's china tea cups. It's a sweet little tradition me and my boys have created together.


herbal tea blend for female vitality

An herbal infusion is basically an herbal tea that is steeped for a long time (1 hour - overnight), to extract all the great minerals, nutrients, flavors and properties of the herbs. I like to buy bulk herbs through Mountain Rose Herbs. I also have plenty of herbs growing in our gardens around our home here in Panama. You can find loose leaf herbs from Amazon & a lot of small organic companies as well.


To make this easiest for you, make a large blend of the dried tea (see blend suggestions below) and store it in half-gallon jars or gallon freezer bags. Then, when you want to make your infusion, you already have your blend ready.


This can be consumed daily warm or over ice in the summer, during pregnancy as well as postpartum (as well as anytime)! Like I mentioned, kids love it too! I grew up drinking sweet iced tea every day and instead of that, I now make a really great herbal blend, sweetened with panela or honey, that tastes just as yummy and refershing but with many more benefits.


HERBAL BLEND OPTIONS

I like to use a blend of multiple herbs for taste, mineral richness, and herbal properties. I usually choose herbs that are beneficial for female vitality, hormone balance, and nervous system regulation. I like to use mostly red rasbberry leaf and then smaller amounts of the other herbs, because red rasberry leaf has such a lovely flavor as well as being so toning for the uterus and great for women's vitality and hormone balance.



Make a blend of any or all of these:

+ Red rasberry leaf: uterine tonic

+ Nettle: mineral rich

+ Red Clover: female tonic

+ Alfafa: mineral rich

+ Lemon balm: calming

+ Oat straw: calming + Peppermint: cooling, refreshing

+ Rose: toning and calming

+ Hibiscus: cooling and heart toner


My regular infusion recipe:

4 parts red rasberry leaf

2 parts nettle

1 part red clover

1 part lemon balm

1/2 part rose

Panela or honey to sweeten


"Parts" refer to a ratio versus exact amounts- this way you can scale to the amount of herbs you have/or want. For example if your "part" is 1 cup for the above recipe, you would do 4 cups red rasberry leaf, 2 cups nettle, 1 cup clover and so on. OR if your part is 1 TBSP you would do 4 TBSP red rasberry leaf, 2 TBSP nettle, etc etc.



Another favorite infusion blend I make here in Panama for extra hot days:

4 parts hibiscus

2 parts lemon balm

Panela or honey to sweeten


DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING AN HERBAL INFUSION

  1. Fill a quart jar or half gallon jar about 1/4 with your herbal blend. You can add your sweetener of choice here as well.

  2. Pour hot water from the kettle over the herbs. (To protect your jar from breaking, place a large metal utensil, like a butter knife, into the jar to absorb some of the heat). Fill the jar to the neck with the hot water.

  3. Gently stir the herbs until all the water is incorporated. Add more water, if needed. Immediately cover or put a lid on the jar so you don't lose any of the herbal extract in the steam.

  4. Let steep for at least one hour and up to 24 hours.

  5. Strain with a large fine mesh strainer (like this one) into a bowl or tall pitcher. Drink right away (warm or iced or room temperature) and store any remainder in a jar in the fridge for up to 4 days.

  6. Alternately, if you just want one hot cup of the infusion, use about 2 tbsp for one cup of boiling water. Infuse (covered) for 10-30 minutes, strain, add sweetener, and enjoy.


Since we have moved to Panama, I have adopted a lovely habit of making much more fresh teas from herbs I grow here instead of always relying on dried herbs from companies. I do love having a big batch of dried infusion blend in my cupboard at all times, but having my favorite tropical herbs growing around our house is beautiful and ensures that we never run out of ingredients for a delicious and healing cup of herbal tea!


Some of the herbs I grow here in Panama, that you may also be able to grow in your climate, at least in the summer months are:

  • butterfly pea - Clitoria ternatea

  • lemon balm - Melissa officianalis

  • lemongrass - Cymbopgon

  • hibiscus (flor de jamaica, saril) - Hibiscus sabdariffa

  • Peppermint - Mentha x

  • Holy basil - Ocimum tenuiflorum

  • Thai basil - Ocimum basilicum




I hope this blog post encouraged you to make your own healing and enjoyable herbal blends, as well as maybe go out and pick some fresh herbs from your garden for your next cup of tea!


Stay nourished

xoxo

Nicole





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