lemon balm ginger honey

We grow a lot of herbs in our garden for a lot of reasons. There are so many uses - culinary, medicinal, companion planting, and just plain pretty. Using the herbs we grow is something we are always working on expanding - learning more, trying more, gaining knowledge and experience.

I love medicinal honey. I don't know about your family, but getting children to drink a bitter and/or strong tasting tincture just isn't going to happen. With honey though, so many of the benefits of the herbs are available combined with so much good from raw honey.

Now, I am not a master herbalist, but there are so many excellent books out there with recipes and information and we often make salves, balms, oils, vinegars and honey. We use the power of herbs for eczema, tummy aches, coughs, colds, allergies, fatigue, headaches, stress and more. Doesn't get better than that!

I have a son who always is very intense and affected by what is happening around him, and he gets tummy upsets often. So, this honey is ginger lemon balm. This is a great honey - and a super easy place to start. This is such a great all around honey that you could make it just for flavor and add to your tea, but it also is good for soothing stomach aches, and helps with stress.


lemon balm ginger honey

1 cup local wildflower raw honey
1 cup lemon balm leaves, fresh (pick in morning, new leaves)
2" nub of ginger, chopped


In a saucepan, gently warm your raw honey and stir. DO NOT boil or overheat the honey. We are only raising the temp just enough to activate the oils in the herbs. Add the herbs and ginger to the honey - keep on very very very low heat for 10-15 minutes. Pour into a pint jar. Stir, and be sure all lemon balm is covered and not sticking out the top (or it will turn brown).


Seal and set in a dark spot for a week or so.


After a week you can strain the herbs out of the honey and store. If your house is cool and the honey is hard, just gently heat again (low! just enough to get fluid) and strain. Or, you can leave the herbs in it, and strain what you need as you go. The smell is wonderful, and my boys love in lemonade. I love it in tea.

| About Lemon Balm | About Ginger | About Raw Honey |

Don't forget--children under one year old should not be given honey!!!

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There are so many great herbal books out there - the one I have found myself reading and referencing this spring is Homegrown Herbs. It has nice photos, is up to date, and easy to read!





Homegrown Herbs: A Complete Guide to Growing, Using, and Enjoying More than 100 Herbs










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japanese foods that heal.

Japanese Foods That Heal: Using Traditional Ingredients to Promote Health, Longevity & Well-being
by Jan Belleme




Those of you who are interested in TF should check out this book. While I am by no means a TF (Traditional Foods) expert, my experiences and reading lead me to find many tie ins with traditional foods and the 18 key ingredients in this book.

For us, buying local ingredients is important. We try to purchase local veggies, meats, and dairy - and being in such a rich farm area, we can do that much of the year. There are always going to be certain things we buy that are not local -- citrus, spices, coffee/tea, salt, vitamins, etc. In pursuing our interest in traditional foods, those concepts also tie in with our eat local goals - as the base ingredients should be and can easily be what is available here, and the other items we purchase using quality/organics as much as we can for the full benefit.

Japanese Foods That Heal goes through key traditional ingredients of Japan which evolved into the diet historically due to their health benefits. Now, the authors admit most Japanese no longer eat this way, but there are still companies who are preserving centuries old traditions and methods to produce these ingredients (very cool!).

There are 18 ingredients in the book - including miso, sesame oil, tamari, amazake, kuzu, brown rice vinegar, noodles, tofu, and sea vegetables, to name a few. Each chapter is dedicated to one item, and covers the history, traditional harvest and preparation, health benefits, recipes, and how to find/buy here in the US.

It is a great resource book, has interesting information and history, and ties in so many of the things I have read in the current traditional foods and fermentation books that it all just clicked. Definitely a good read.