Something I’ve become very interested this year is making herbal tonics. I use herbs that have a healing effect on the body. I’ve always enjoyed herbal tea, so when I saw people start sharing their herbal tonics on social media, I knew I had to give it a try. They are very easy to make. I’m not an expert on herbalism, if you are looking for more information there is a lot you can find online.

First select your herb or herbal blend. I use organic loose leaf dried herbs that I get at either amazon.com or Mountain Rose Herbs. These are some my favorite herbs to use – along with just a few of their healing properties:

• Hibiscus – My very favorite, has a sour  taste and a beautiful red hue. Good for skin, vitamin C, anti-inflammatory and very healing for the liver.
• Nettle – Bitter taste – helps with immunity, anti-inflammatory, helps with seasonal allergies, detoxifying.
• Raspberry leaf – wonderful for women’s health. Helps balance hormones, good for immunity and anti-inflammatory.
• Oatstraw – grassy/sweet flavor, great for brain health
• Rosehips – The fruit of a rose plant, has a tart flavor. Great for skin, high in Vitamin C, anti-inflammatory.
• Chamomile – Floral taste – promotes immunity and digestive health.
• Burdock – Very bitter taste. I only really use burdock when I am having menstrual cramps, it really helps! Also a good detoxifier.

To make the tonic, I use a standard size french press (I purchase a cheap on off of amazon just for tonics). Then I will either just use one herb, or more often create a blend. To create my blend, I just use my intuition to decide what I’m using. I love the taste of hibiscus, and almost always use it in my blends. You can also find many combinations online. (Hibiscus Raspberry leaf blend shown in photos).

Add 1/4 – 1/2 cups of herbs (total amount) to your french press. Bring water to boil, let it sit for a few minutes, then add to your press. You want hot, but not boiling, water. Fill the french press, put the top on, but do not press the plunger down. Let it sit like this at least 8 hours – I usually let it sit more like 24 hours. Then push the press down and you have your tonic. You can jazz it up with lime or lemon juice. A lot of people will also add stevia to sweeten, but I prefer mine bitter tasting and have gotten use to the taste.

Is your garden producing an overabundance of zucchini? Consider this dehydrator recipe to make a healthy snack (option to also make these in the oven as well). Kept in an airtight container, these savory snacks will keep for a few weeks.

Gather:

6 large zucchini (or however many you want to use)
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Sea salt to taste (I used about 1 tsp)
1 tsp smoked paprika
Optional: 1/4 tsp cayenne

Make:

Slice the zucchini into rounds 1/4″ thick. In a large bowl, mix the zuke rounds, vinegar, salt and paprika.

Spread rounds out on a dehydrator try, and dry at 115 degrees for about 18 hours, or until dry.

If using an oven, spread out on a parchment paper lined baking tray, and bake at 200 degrees. I haven’t tried this method but would guess it would take around 2-3 hours for the chips to dry.