Eco-Chick · The modern girl's guide to living green & fabulous.

Pine & Calendula: Two Magical Herbal Oils for Beauty & Health

I’m no Drew Barrymore – I don’t use the word ‘magical’ very often. But sometimes it applies, and I’m not talking about supernatural phenomena here. I mean magic of an earthly sort, those moments of amazing interaction between us and the natural world where everything seems to fit together – well – magically.

To me, a prime example is the way certain plants can ease our ills and make us feel beautiful without any kind of laboratory manipulation. Two of my absolute favorites – pine and calendula – might be growing in your area right now, just waiting to be plucked and infused and allowed to work their particular magic on your body. Making infused herbal oils is so easy, they smell fantastic and it’s comforting to know that what you’re putting on your skin is as pure as can be.
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Herbs of Spring: Make Your Own Violet Syrup

Those tiny purple blossoms that are covering lawns, meadows and roadsides right now are much more than just ‘weeds’. You’ve probably never given much thought to the common blue violet, aside from admiring its delicate little flowers – but gather enough, and you can make a delicious syrup that soothes sore throats, turns pancakes pink and makes one seriously delicious (and highly unusual) cocktail. The best part – it’s incredibly quick and easy.

Pick a pesticide-free location to gather your violet blossoms – I spent a lazy, sunny afternoon tightly packing a large mason jar from the large violet patch in my backyard. The common blue violet has five rounded petals and broad, heart-shaped leaves; choose the least blemished and darkest ones you find; the white ones don’t have much flavor.

I tried both of the following recipes: one with honey (which is better for use as cough syrup) and one with sugar. I recommend adding the juice of half a lemon to both recipes for better flavor, though your syrup will end up more magenta than violet. Don’t be put off by the very green and earthy smell of the steeping violets! The final mixture is heavenly. I added a few tablespoons to some sparkling water and vodka; it would also be delicious with champagne, lemonade or iced tea.

A few tips from experience: watch the simmering mixture carefully, because it can burn – and handle it carefully when you’re pouring it into bottles, because boiling sugar is not kind to the skin. I used a ladle with a spout, along with a funnel.

Susun Weed’s Violet Syrup (With Honey)

1/2 pound/225g fresh violets
2 cups/500ml water
2 cups/500ml honey

Enlist all the help you can to pick violet blossoms. Boil water; pour over blossoms; cover. Let steep overnight in nonmetallic container. Strain out flowers. Reserve purple liquid. Combine violet infusion and honey. Simmer gently, stirring, for ten or fifteen minutes, until it seems like syrup. Fill clean jars. Cool. Keep well chilled to preserve.

Violet Syrup (With Sugar) by Linda Ziedrich

3 ounces (about 4 cups) stemmed violets
2 cups water
About 2 cups sugar

Combine the flowers and water in a saucepan. Simmer the contents, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

Strain the mixture through a dampened jelly bag. You can squeeze the bag, when it’s cool enough to handle, to extract more liquid. Then measure the volume of the liquid, and combine it in a preserving pan with an equal volume of sugar. Heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Raise the heat to high, and bring the syrup to a full boil.

Remove the pan from the heat. Funnel the syrup into a bottle. Store the bottle, tightly capped, in the refrigerator.

5 Ways to Warm Up & Relax After a Cold Winter Day

There’s something really satisfying about warming up and unwinding after a cold day out and about – whether you were hitting the ski slopes or just walking from store to store while holiday shopping. We all have our favorite ways to do it: curling up on a blanket in front of a roaring fire, drinking a cup of hot cocoa, taking a hot bath or getting cozy in some soft and warm pajamas. Here are 7 eco-friendly cold-weather comforts to enjoy when the weather outside is frightful (and as a group, they’d make a great gift basket!).

Peppermint shower steamers – These aromatherapy shower steamers are seriously little balls of absolute heaven, especially when you don’t have time to take a bath. You just place one on your shower floor just outside the stream of water and it slowly releases a relaxing minty aroma. Perfect for when you want some quick pampering or when you feel like you’re getting sick. (They also come in lavender, citrus and eucalyptus scents!)

Cozy organic robe – The unisex organic cotton terry hooded robe from EcoBodyWear is the perfect thing to wrap yourself in after getting out of the bath or shower. It’s made from certified organically grown, dye-free cotton and reaches to the mid-calf.

Organic fair trade spicy hot cocoa – On cold days, there’s just nothing more satisfying than a big mug of piping hot cocoa. It’s a must-have. Cocoa is combined with cinnamon and a kick of cayenne in this spicy fair trade offering from Equal Exchange.

Arnica muscle balm – After a long day of winter activities like skiing, snowboarding or ice skating, your muscles are bound to be a bit sore.  I love this all natural arnica muscle rub from FaerieMade, which features arnica flowers infused in pure olive oil, unrefined shea butter, cocoa butter and beeswax. Menthol, lavender and peppermint essential oils give it a heavenly smell and add to the pain-relieving effects.

Mulled wine – Make yourself a big punch bowl full of organic mulled wine with your favorite bottle of red wine and some organic spices like cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, vanilla beans and cardamom pods. You can find a pre-packaged mulled wine spice sachet at your local health food store or just get all the ingredients from the bulk section, along with a reusable cotton tea bag.  Epicurious has easy instructions.

Fight Off Colds with These Natural Remedies & Preventative Strategies

If you don’t have a cold yet, you probably will by the new year. It’s certainly hard to avoid the dreaded sniffles, sneezes, congestion and headaches that come along with the common cold during the holiday season when you’re constantly in contact with other people, in indoor areas with poor air circulation. But, never fear: if you feel even the slightest indication that you’re headed for a week or more of misery, use these natural remedies and get a head start on feeling like your fabulous self again.

Drink lots of honeysuckle and dandelion tea. Hot fluids help relieve nasal congestion, prevent dehydration and soothe those sore membranes in your nose and throat. When steeped in hot water, honeysuckle flowers produce a liquid that’s antiseptic, antimicrobial and anti-infective. Dandelion – yes, the weed that grows in your yard – is a great immune system builder that increases the production of interferon, a protein that inhibits viral multiplication and activates T-cells. You can get both in the bulk section of your local health store, or just pick up a pack of ‘Detox’ by Yogi Tea, which contains both and is made with organic ingredients.

Take hot, steamy showers. You may not give yourself the luxury of a long hot shower very often since it uses so much energy and water, but treat yourself when you feel like you’re getting sick. The steam will moisturize your irritated nasal passages and help you relax. You could also take a soothing herbal bath and throw in some chamomile, rosemary, lavender or peppermint.

Speaking of relaxation – rest, rest, rest.  Now isn’t the time to push yourself at the gym, work overtime or take on a really stressful task. Your body is working hard to fight off infection, and it needs all the energy it can get. Take a day to get cozy under the covers and read, write letters or watch television. Lay back on a stack of pillows situated to create a gradual slope, which will help with drainage of the nasal passages.

Gargle and use a Neti Pot. A Neti Pot, if you’ve never used one, is used to irrigate the nasal passages, soothing them and rinsing away irritants. You fill the Neti Pot with warm saline solution, insert the spout into one nostril, tilt your head and let the solution flow up your nose and out the other nostril.  It’s a little strange getting used to, but it really works. To calm a sore throat, gargle with salt water or honey dissolved in some warm water with lemon.

Red Raspberry Leaf: Herbal Tonic for Pregnancy and Reproductive Health

When you think about consuming parts of a raspberry plant, naturally you think of the raspberries themselves – but the leaves are just as nutritious and have great medicinal value. An alkaloid called fragrine that’s found in high concentration within these leaves tones the muscles of the pelvic region, including the uterus. It’s an excellent tonic to prepare a woman for childbirth, and can be enjoyed while pregnant as well as while trying to conceive or for general reproductive health.

Red raspberry leaves are most often prepared as an infusion or tea. You can find it in health food stores on its own or mixed with other beneficial herbs such as dandelion and nettle. Red raspberry leaves contain significant amounts of calcium, vitamins C, A and E as well as the entire B-complex, magnesium, manganese, potassium, zinc and chromium.

Famed herbalist Susun Weed recommends red raspberry leaf not just to strengthen the uterus and pelvic wall, but for its many beneficial effects, which include increased fertility, miscarriage and hemorrhage prevention, easing morning sickness, reducing pain during and after labor and birth, helping the uterus return more quickly to its pre-pregnancy size after birth and assisting in the production of plentiful breastmilk. Contrary to some misinformation found occasionally on the web, red raspberry leaf is not oxytocic or an emmenagogue – it will not start labor or promote contractions.

Red raspberry leaves are also beneficial for women of all ages, not just of childbearing age. They’re used to treat upper respiratory disorders, sore throats, wounds, colic pain and gastrointestinal upset. They’re rich in tannins, which have an astringent affect, reducing inflammation.

Drinking red raspberry leaf is widely considered to be acceptable during pregnancy by herbalists, naturopaths and midwives, but of course you should consult your medical professional before use. The general consensus is to use it during the second and third trimesters only just to be safe, since some midwives claim that it can cause spotting in the first trimester – follow the recommendation of your health care provider.

Just keep in mind that many ob-gyns aren’t trained in the use of herbs and are highly skeptical of their benefits. If you’re interested in using herbal medicine during pregnancy, you may want to seek out a practitioner who has some experience with herbalism.