infusions!

This time of year, infusions are a great way to get all of your nutrition without overloading on supplements in pill form. . . I don't know about you but I'd rather drink something from lovely Mother Nature than take a bunch of vitamins made in a laboratory. About the only supplement I do take is vitamin D and this is because I live in Michigan and I most definitely don't get enough sun. So what exactly is an infusion??? It is basically an herbal tea that has a long steep. Because of the long steep of a minimum of four hours, infusions are much stronger and more medicinal than teas. Infusing extricates the easily rendered vitamins, minerals, tannins, mucilage, delicate volatile oils and many of the plant’s chemical constituents. I think it is easiest to make an infusion in a quart jar (which equals 4 cups). To make a hot infusion place 1 ounce of herb in a quart jar, add boiling water and cover with a lid. You must cover your herbs in a hot infusion to keep in all the herb’s active constituents. There are other kinds of infusions:

· Hot – herbs infused with boiling water
· Cold – occasionally there are herbs that are easily water soluble or mucilaginous. In this case you may want to make a cold water infusion by covering herbs in cold rather than hot water. Examples of these herbs may be marshmallow root, rose petals, red clover blossom and slippery elm.
· Solar infusion – healing for yin types of imbalances such as depression and mood swings. Make a hot infusion as described above and set your infusion in a warm sunny spot for several hours.
· Lunar infusion – healing for more acute, eruptive type imbalances and aids in balancing when the cooling, gentle energy of the feminine is called for. To make a lunar infusion, place your herbs in an open glass or crystal bowl. It is ideal to use fresh herbs and flowers. Cover mixture with fresh water and place directly in the moonlight. Infuse all night and drink in the morning. Perfect to do during full moons!

You can make an infusion with any herb, dry or fresh and your infusion can be single herbs or a blend. I like to do single herb infusions using dried herb. In my opinion, this is the best kind of infusion because it enables you to understand an herbs effect on you better when you ingest one herb at a time and using dry herb allows you to always have infusion herbs on hand. Plus many herbs deliver more nutrition when dried. Develop a relationship with your herbs. Ask the herbs to speak to you. What herb/s do I need today? Common herbs for infusion making are red clover, nettle, oatstraw, linden, comfrey, chamomile, licorice, dandelion, marshmallow, ginger, rose, lemon balm and red raspberry. Drinking an infusion everyday will keep you healthy and warm this winter! Try it!
xo
fh