The Self-Sustained Medicine Cabinet | Traditional Herbal Remedies for Everyday Wellness

Maggie (00:02.712)
Feeling good about your traditional medicinal cabinet and first aid kit? Sure, it's not like any of those items are causing liver toxicity, skin irritation, or delaying your wound healing. Or are they? Welcome to Women Folk Revival, where we are deeply rooted and wildly intentional. I am Maggie.

Meara (00:25.786)
I'm Mira. And before we dive into the garden and pantry, quick reminder. Today's traditions are for educational and entertainment purposes only. The show's not ever a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. And everyone's body works in unique ways. So what might be, what might work for us around our kitchen tables might not be what works for you around yours. So always be sure to consult your healthcare professional or.

whoever it is you speak to before starting any new home remedies. So let's begin. Today, you are going to be discussing with me about first aid. I know you talk a lot about yarrow and I would like to know a touch more in depth on that from you.

Maggie (01:14.798)
Um, so Yoro is amazing. It is one of the most versatile emergency herbs in Western folk herbalism. Um, and I would say it is the number one for me that I would have to have. If I could only have one, it would be Yoro. Um, and the forms that I like to use it in are fresh, um, as a tincture and powder.

Meara (01:18.89)
Thank

Maggie (01:44.975)
And Yarrow is good for, it provides bleeding support, support with fevers and your immune system. It's good for your circulatory system. It provides digestive support and it's great for wound care. Not only does it stop bleeding, but it's also antiseptic, antifungal.

and you can use it, you know, it's great for something like heavy menstrual bleeding even, fevers and colds, even like sweating that comes about from illnesses, Yora will even even help with that. So it's, you know, all around it, it does so many, so many different things.

Meara (02:34.698)
Okay, I know we've used Yaro in the past only because you've brought some over for us to use and so the littles anytime they get like a scratch or a cut we just throw some Yaro on it and send them on their way. It really works amazing and it heals very fast. Yeah, yeah we love it.

Maggie (02:46.656)
Mm-hmm. It's yeah, it's perfect

It does. And the great thing about Yaro is that it's cleaning out that wound as it, you know, as it heals. So, you know, it's not one of those like we've talked about comfrey. You're, know, comfrey would heal your wound, but it's not going to it's not going to clean that wound out. And, you know, you're you're at risk for infection. And one other great thing about Yaro's I mentioned earlier, there are things in your first aid kit that

Meara (03:01.246)
Mm-hmm.

Maggie (03:21.132)
will delay wound healing, will damage healthy tissue along with getting rid of bacteria and that sort of thing, where Yaro does not act that way. It's very safe, it's very gentle. And like I said, it cleans the wound and then helps heal the wound. And you can leave, if you do the powder version, you can leave that powder.

Meara (03:46.602)
Mm-hmm.

Maggie (03:48.111)
on the wound, inside of the wound. And I really, you know, if it's a deeper cut, will shove yarrow into that. And you just leave it and it'll almost become sort of like a scab. And then your body will heal underneath it. And once it is healed enough, the yarrow just falls off, just like you'd pick a scab off.

Meara (04:11.402)
Mm-hmm.

You rinse your wounds out before you stick it on there, you just throw it on there.

Maggie (04:15.242)
impressive.

Maggie (04:20.886)
It depends. If I'm in the house, sure. If it's a situation where I think I should probably clean this out, yeah, I might rinse it out with water. But if I'm outside and I've got fresh yarrow, then, you know, or the kids come running to me, Mom, I've cut myself and I'm bleeding. Well, go get some yarrow. And then they run off and get the yarrow and do it themselves. you know, they're fine. It's fine.

Meara (04:33.45)
So if it's more than superficial.

Meara (04:41.993)
Yeah.

Hahaha

Meara (04:49.929)
Yeah.

Maggie (04:52.12)
So, in that case, you know, with the fresh Yaro, generally it won't be stuck inside of there. And when we go back into the house later, we'll address the wound at that point. But in the moment, no.

Maggie (05:13.13)
So should we continue with the first date or do you want to maybe kind of split this up and you talk about one of your.

Meara (05:22.334)
Yes.

Meara (05:25.866)
Yeah, I'll do one of mine. I have a midlife joint oil. call it Rustin Bloom. It's a salvar alternative. It's like a infusion topical oil. It focuses on the joints, midlife body, and overworked hands. So for those of you who work out in the garden a lot or use your hands a lot at work, I use Purple Dead Nettle and Dandelion Flowers.

Maggie (05:33.133)
I need that.

Meara (05:54.846)
And my carrier oil is apricot kernel. I used this originally because my hands were starting to hurt a lot more than normal. I noticed like before it would rain, like, you know how as you get older, you're like, you can tell it's raining because your joints are hurting. You ever heard your grandma saying that? My grandma always used to say that. And I thought it was so funny, but that's that's not a joke that that really does happen. So. Yeah, yeah.

Maggie (06:17.792)
Or if you've had a break or something like that, can feel it then, too.

Meara (06:24.316)
So after about a of consistent use with this, I noticed that my joints and my knuckles were a lot less irritated. The way these both work is the dandelion flowers are kind of like the movers. They have been known to use for stiff and inflamed joints and tissue, and they really help move the achiness out of your...

out of your joints and like the puffiness. And then the dead nettle is the calming part of the formula of the two. It traditionally is used to soothe.

irritated tissue and support healthy inflammation balance in the body. And the reason I choose apricot kernel oil over olive oil or coconut oil is because coconut and olive oils, have a lot heavier, bulkier molecule structures and those just sit a lot longer, creating a protective barrier, which is great for dry skin and hair, but that's not what I'm wanting to use that for. I'm needing a carrier oil that will carry the medicinal part of the flowers into my skin and throughout my body.

And since apricot kernel has a lot more smaller molecular structure, it just kind of slips right through the skin's barrier and it absorbs it rapidly. So the skin kind of like drinks it up as you will while carrying those herb compounds to where they need to go. So if you also, on a side note, if you have other things on your skin like perfume or any kind of chemicals, if you've been cleaning.

It'll carry that in there with it. So be sure that you wash whatever area that is you're going to be putting them on really well before you apply it. The best time to apply it is after a warm shower because your pores are open and ready to absorb. And also before bed because this gets into the body's natural overnight.

Meara (08:15.42)
Repair window nighttime is like that prime time for repair Because your your skin barriers they like they relax and warm up so it makes it more Perceptive if you will to taking in that apricot oil And you only need a few drops. You don't need you don't need a whole lot also quality is Huge make sure you get a hexane free and cold press oil so

third party tested. There's two brands that I'm familiar with, Mountain Rose Herbs and I can't remember what the other one was. Mountain Rose Herbs and Now I think was a third party tested. Yeah, I did see that. Pranaram.

Maggie (08:57.632)
Really?

Maggie (09:02.254)
Mountain Rose Herbs is like the best of the best on pretty much everything. And I know too, if you're like me, if you're big into sandalwood, I know they carry one of the most sustainable, yeah, for sandalwood. But they are on the more expensive side, but you pay for, you get what you pay for, yeah.

Meara (09:06.878)
Mm-hmm. Yep.

Meara (09:17.323)
really?

Meara (09:21.213)
Okay.

Meara (09:26.568)
You pay for what you get. You get what you get out that. So also remember...

When you're foraging outside for dandelions and dead nettle, because I did this on my own a year ago, but I can't do it this year because they sprayed. So follow the 30 foot rule. Don't harvest within 30 feet of the road. Sprayed yards, areas where animals do their business, like dogs. Do a quick test on your arm to be sure that, or wherever you're applying it, that it won't affect it. And also, if you are using prescription topical gels,

pain gels or like steroid creams or any kind of medication patches, please do not put this over them. That oil will take it in and it will get in your body much faster than intended. And oral blood thinners also, just make sure your skin doesn't have any like cuts and anything before applying, so yeah.

Maggie (10:13.87)
Yeah, talk to your doctors first. If you're, you know, if you have a lot of health complications around a lot of medications, you should discuss anything herbal that you do with them because oftentimes herbs and your traditional medicines do not, do not mix well together. Now I want to ask you too, if you either know or we need to,

Meara (10:29.78)
have a severe interaction. They don't interact well.

Meara (10:40.202)
you

Maggie (10:42.028)
maybe do some research because I know emu oil and arnica oil are both good for pain relieving too. I wonder if those would be good oils to use for something like that also or maybe to add in.

Meara (10:48.426)
pain.

Meara (10:54.568)
I've never heard of emu or arnica oil. My mom, is, she has a plethora of things at her house and that's the first time I heard of emu oil. I'm like, what? And she uses arnica. We do have arnica. It's not an oil, it's a cream. And my husband uses that a lot on his neck because he's had back surgery. So that does seem to help him a lot, but I don't, I don't, I've never used it.

since my husband started using it because I was pregnant for those three years and you're not supposed to use that when you're pregnant. I've never, the Arnica oil, I was always applying it with a glove like, so yeah. I don't know much about them, but that would be interesting to learn more about and get into for sure.

Maggie (11:27.062)
What, the arnica oil?

Maggie (11:37.782)
Yeah, yeah, we'll have to look into that. Yeah.

so one thing that I do want to focus on also is kind of like general health. So we talk about, you know, different things to have in a medicinal cabinet. But one thing that you could do for yourself on a general level, you know, to keep yourself healthier on a daily basis is something more like in the future.

Meara (11:52.831)
Mm-hmm.

Meara (11:57.226)
Mm-hmm.

Maggie (12:10.734)
An infusion is very similar. You know, you have your different varieties. Like Meir talked about having the infused oil. You also have infusions where maybe you do them just in water, almost like a tea, although these would be a stronger version of that, a more medicinal version. And a great combination, and one that I like, uses stinging nettle, oat, and red clover.

And it's deeply nourishing super nutritional and it's it's a gentle for everyday use Type of tonic So it's mineral rich it supports recovery after blood loss So, you know good after surgery or you know severe injury or even after your menstrual cycle It supports your nervous system and also your

Meara (12:52.072)
Mm-hmm.

Maggie (13:10.914)
your hormones. And bonus, it's good for your hair and skin and it does. It is good for, you know, I would say mild amounts of stress. But yeah, but take it daily and it's, you know, helps you all around and just keeps you in better shape. So hopefully you don't really need anything in that medicinal cabinet.

Meara (13:26.538)
Mm-hmm.

Okay

Meara (13:37.962)
Right. It's interesting how a lot of these herbs that we're using really helps support with women in perimenopause or just, you know, transitioning into a different stage of life. It almost seems to support something in any of those stages.

Maggie (13:53.333)
Mm-hmm. It's herbs are amazing because there's no one herb for one thing. They have their, you know, their strengths where, you know, they really shine in one aspect over another, but they will do so many other things. You know, to to call one or versatile is it's just kind of silly because they're all versatile.

Meara (13:58.292)
Thank

Meara (14:02.27)
Mm-hmm.

Meara (14:13.14)
Mm-hmm.

Meara (14:22.196)
Mm-hmm.

Maggie (14:22.924)
And the great thing about them too is that, you know, they kind of go into the body and you may be taking it for one ailment, but then they're like, hey, this is going on and this is going on. So let's take care of those while we're in here also. It's just, you know, they're God given and they're miraculous and we should be using them. But consult your doctor first.

Meara (14:40.422)
Yeah.

Meara (14:48.628)
We should. I have a herb that, my favorite herb has been Tulsi. I've been using it for perimenopause. This is my herbal infusion that I use for the nervous system regulation and emotional grounding. I am completely obsessed with this. It's also known as holy basil. This plant,

Maggie (14:55.021)
Mm-hmm.

Maggie (15:05.1)
Mm-hmm.

Meara (15:09.028)
has been probably the most stabilizing and grounding thing for me emotionally as I've been navigating this shift in perimenopause. It's like a reset button for me. You know, it helps me not feel tired but wired at night and it helps get rid of that brain fog and it it's an adaptogen. It has been used to support the nervous system.

Maggie (15:30.094)
you

Meara (15:33.29)
during prolonged uses of stress. Modern research shows that it helps the body modulate its response to stress steadily, keeping it from going into that state of overstimulation. I drink my...

Tulsi tea at night because it also helps support a deep sleep and settles nervous digestion and it aids in total body stress recovery. So it's, it's a nice downshift to have. I harvest my leaves from my own garden and I rinse them with like ice cold water and then I lightly shake them, the excess water, and then I leave them to dry. I tie them on like a string and I hang them for a few weeks until they're completely dry. And then once they're dry, I gently pick off.

of the leaves and I put them in my glass mason jar and then when the time comes I prepare my tea. I bring it to a boil and then I take about four or five leaves and I crumple them up to release the oils, put it in my cup and then I let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes. So crushing the dried leaves before you put the water on it helps.

break the plant cells and release the essential oils so you don't want to do that before you're ready to drink it or it'll it will dry up the the oils. It also can lower your blood pressure.

Maggie (16:43.821)
Mm-hmm.

Meara (16:53.674)
and affect circulation. again, anyone taking prescription for blood pressure and all of that, be sure to speak to your doctor. And I do have American Botanical Council and Journal of Are You VEDA and Integrative Medicine. They have really good accessible research on the aptogenic quality. So I will have that in the show notes below for the links for them to get to for research if they want.

Maggie (17:18.478)
I do want to mention too as you spoke of drying or hanging to dry your herbs I do that as well make sure that you hang them in an area where they are not in direct sunlight You want them, you know indirect light is is fine, but you don't want them sitting in the in the Sun

Meara (17:24.777)
Mm-hmm.

Meara (17:30.442)
Mm-hmm.

Meara (17:38.206)
Yes, and why is that?

Maggie (17:39.79)
do you know? I'm not entirely sure. I just know that I remember reading that way long ago when I first got into ERBs. Something maybe about them drying too fast and...

Meara (17:51.114)
I'm not 100 % sure, but I think it would take the quality away from, kind of like if you don't use something for a year and then you have it, I think it just kind of exacerbates that. I'll have to look that. I'm not quite sure, but I think that it would dry out the oils. Yeah.

Maggie (17:56.493)
Yeah.

Maggie (18:07.457)
No. Okay, so another first aid item that I think everybody should have is, you know, and that's, that's a fun thing too, is that we're talking about, you know, having dried herbs, you know, whether you keep them in a container or, you know, bags, the dried herbs themselves are part of your medicinal cabinet and your first aid kit because they can be, you know, used in so many different products or used, you know,

Meara (18:24.382)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Meara (18:31.764)
Mm-hmm.

Maggie (18:37.331)
as they are. So it's really, you know, it's really quite interesting once you start building all these different things and it looks very different than what we're used to. So there is a salve that I like that is used with calendula and plantain. Plantain is one of those things. It's just as common as dandelion.

Meara (18:39.016)
Mm-hmm.

Meara (18:45.994)
Your cabinet, Yeah.

Maggie (19:05.043)
and you probably have it in your yard and can't get rid of it. You should stop. And it's funny too, I was just at a park speaking with a woman and I'm like, yeah, there's plantain. And I'm like, wait, that's not plantain. And I don't know why it's amazing. I've known about this herb for years and I don't use it a lot. And it's, you know, and it's.

Meara (19:05.672)
Hmm.

Maggie (19:34.123)
raw state and I need to start. But I never noticed the purple in the base of the leaves. And I'm like, wait, that's not it. But it was in fact plantain. plantain is great because it draws out toxins. Mira, it also draws out heat in people.

Meara (19:53.311)
Hmm.

Maggie (20:00.939)
So you could use it on little Auxa because I know she gets overheated and hot easier more than everybody else. And that would be a great thing to use for her. is safe for children. I would say probably over the age of over one. Yeah, so but it draws out. And then, of course, calendula.

Meara (20:07.262)
Mm-hmm.

The others, yeah.

Maggie (20:30.146)
you heals and restores. So it is the perfect thing, the salve with the combination of those two for bug bites, for stings, for splinters. Plantain, if you have like the tiniest little splinter, deep as can be, and you cannot get it out, you can stick that body part, put that body part in hot water with plantain.

Meara (20:32.586)
Hmm.

Meara (20:49.834)
Mm-hmm.

Maggie (20:58.892)
And then make a poultice with plantain that you can apply every, if you can, every two to three hours. And it is plentiful. Just go check your yards and you will, I'm sure you will find it. And it will, it will bring that to the surface to where you, you'll be able to get it out instead of like carving into yourself, which I've definitely done before in the past.

Meara (21:05.514)
you

Hmm.

Meara (21:13.726)
I have a question.

Meara (21:19.7)
to get it out.

Maggie (21:27.094)
So yeah, and it's great for dry skin and rashes, burns, scratches.

Meara (21:34.474)
Does plantain, this plant, does it also draw out irritation?

Maggie (21:42.818)
Are we talking about mental irritation?

Meara (21:46.282)
Yeah, just messing with you. Yeah, that. No, but I did have an actual question about the plantain. So when you say plantain, I think of those little green bananas that you get from South America.

Maggie (22:00.697)
They are not. Are they little? I've seen huge plantains.

Meara (22:05.392)
well, is that the same thing we're talking about?

Maggie (22:08.872)
No, no, it is not. will. And this this is a book I have. It's Rosemary Gladstar's Medicinal Herbs for Beginners. And this was one of my first books. If you can see, that is what plantain looks like. Now, right now, you're not going to see those sprigs coming up with the seeds attached. You're just going to see the leaves there.

Meara (22:10.268)
Okay, so what's the difference?

Meara (22:34.088)
Mm-hmm.

Meara (22:38.25)
Okay, interesting.

Maggie (22:39.566)
So that is plantain and it is.

And you can eat it as well. It's very nutritional. All sorts of great uses.

Meara (22:50.238)
Okay.

Maggie (22:56.216)
Your turn, give me something.

Meara (22:59.016)
Well, I have a garlic honey ferment that's kind of like an oxymil infusion. It's used for cardiovascular support, grounding, and daily wellness. And there's been a lot of research on this that supports this. So my husband, he ended up getting on blood pressure medication, obviously, moving to another country is no small feat. So yeah, we were going through some things and then he noticed that these

Maggie (23:02.35)
Bye.

Meara (23:28.244)
these side effects that he was having was just like, what is this? Mood changes, anxiety, just feeling off from everything. So he said that, why is he doing this? He comes from a place in the world where they don't normally do this, they do their own thing. So he started to get garlic cloves, you lightly crush them and submerge them in raw honey and then you leave them to ferment on the counter for about a month. They start forming these little bubbles, which is.

what you wanna see, and then you need to burp it every now and then, like every, I think he was burping it about every day to get the gas, to let the gas out. When you crush the garlic, it activates its properties from the inside, but if it's whole, then the compounds obviously stay separate, but once you crush them, it releases allicin, I think I'm saying that right, and it's what gives that garlic that strong smell, and it has all the benefits to it.

Maggie (24:05.549)
Mm-hmm.

Maggie (24:15.373)
you

Meara (24:25.004)
for generations it's been used for heart and circulation and healthy blood flow and It has a lot of health supporting benefits, so you just do two to three olives olives wrong thing two to three two to three garlic cloves with a spoonful of the honey and Daily

Maggie (24:43.144)
I love all those.

Meara (24:50.93)
And then over time, notice blood pressure start going down and hasn't been on the medication since. If you add a splash of the apple cider vinegar, it'll help add stability to the, to the, to it itself and with the shelf life. And then that's how it becomes the oxymal infusion.

Maggie (25:10.829)
The oxymel, that's very similar to fire cider.

Meara (25:15.21)
Yeah.

Yeah, the beginning part of Firesider. I don't know too much about... No, no. I do have information as well for where to go to find information on this that supports it. It also naturally thins the blood real quick. That's another thing I wanted to say. Not meant to replace medical or prescribe medications, but it did for my husband. So yeah.

Maggie (25:18.188)
Are you finna-

Do you have more to speak on about that? No?

Maggie (25:34.561)
Okay.

Maggie (25:42.039)
Talk to your doctors.

Maggie (25:46.958)
Well, okay, so the oxymel, so fire cider, very similar to that. Those three would be, you know, your kind of your base, the honey, garlic and apple cider vinegar. Then you can also add onion and ginger, horseradish, thyme, hot peppers.

Meara (25:53.128)
Mm-hmm.

Meara (26:12.212)
Mmm.

Maggie (26:14.765)
I would personally just choose cayenne because cayenne is such a powerful herbal medicine, if you will. And I mentioned that book from Rosemary Glasser. I have another one of her books and it's called Fire Cider. And there's over a hundred recipes on different versions of that you can make.

Meara (26:21.267)
It does.

Meara (26:25.482)
Mm-hmm. Yes.

Meara (26:39.35)
wow.

That looks like a cool book.

Maggie (26:44.333)
It's a very cool book and I mean it's a lot. I don't know that I'll ever make all 100 versions but it's definitely fun and interesting to have. But Fire Sider is excellent to keep around. Any kind of bug that you're coming down with, you take some of this Fire Sider and it's just going to knock it in the butt.

Meara (26:52.978)
Ha ha ha ha ha!

Maggie (27:13.677)
Again, it's not going to eradicate it immediately, but it will stop it in its tracks substantially and you will not suffer the same fate as you would if you are taking traditional medicine. And again, all these ingredients are doing, they're nutritional and they're doing so many other good things for your body. It's good for your gut.

Meara (27:28.874)
yeah.

Meara (27:39.145)
Mm-hmm.

Maggie (27:41.152)
Whereas most of your traditional medicines for those type of illnesses are going to destroy your gut and destroy so many other things within your, you know, your whole body's health. So definitely look into those. You don't have to get this book. You can find recipes online.

Meara (27:55.722)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Maggie (28:06.859)
And it's very simple. And like I said, you could do it. It's as easy as doing honey, garlic, and apple cider vinegar and whatever else you want to add to it. You know, you can. Talk to your doctor.

Meara (28:16.97)
Yeah.

We talk to your doctor. We have a kids cough syrup that we use for our kids between two and 11. We also use that as adults too. We call it moon honey. It focuses on lungs and nighttime discomfort. So, you know, when your kids get that real rattly cough and you just.

Maggie (28:35.341)
you

Meara (28:38.512)
or like, okay, what am I going to do about this? We use red onions and they are very high in quercetin. It's a compound that's found in the plant and it's been widely studied for its ability to support that balance in the respiratory system and inflammation in the airways. So think of it sort of as like

Maggie (28:45.005)
Mm-hmm.

Meara (29:01.426)
calming your alarm system. So when kids get sick and their airway has become aggravated, it just has that mass production of mucus and intense irritation. So that quercetin helps stabilize the response for their lungs to just kind of stay quiet. And the honey, it's known as a demulcent. And that's just a fancy way of saying like cough drop or.

You know, it just coats like your throat, like this thick, soothing protective layer, and it's a barrier to help reduce those constant tickles in their throat. So I don't know if you noticed, but at night your kids get worse. The fever gets higher, the cough gets worse. We've all been there as moms. And there's a reason when you lay flat, then that mucus starts to pool into the back of your throat.

Maggie (29:36.183)
Mm-hmm.

Meara (29:50.088)
the house being warm, it dries out their airways overnight and our bodies just naturally become more sensitive to that cough reflex at night without those distraction that we have during the day, you know? So that tickles just like twice as much for them. So in our house, we find that timing is everything. We usually give them a spoonful about 30 to 60 minutes before bed to coat their throat and then...

It usually helps them throughout the night if they wake up or they're struggling or first thing in the morning, we'll give them we'll give them another one if they're still congested. And always be sure to use raw honey. You're going to say something raw, yeah, real raw honey. So wildflower honey is your best all around option. Clover honey might be more kid friendly because it's very mild if they're picky. But I just did some research and found out that buckwheat honey is best.

Maggie (30:28.79)
Real honey.

haha

Meara (30:47.206)
and the strongest choice for the medicinal part of it for the respiratory support. And that's really dark and rich. It has 20 times the antioxidants, I think levels that the lighter honeys have. And it's much less, it's a lot less sweeter and it's like really bold and robust, which makes sense because it's so dark, right? So it can be dark, like amber in color all the way to almost black. I thought that was pretty interesting. Yeah.

Maggie (30:57.399)
Hmm, wow.

Maggie (31:14.135)
like molasses.

Meara (31:17.546)
So we do one medium red onion in a glass jar, we slice it, and then we cover it completely. So one medium onion to about a half, we slice. And then we do a cup to a cup and a half of raw honey, and then we let it sit overnight for 24 hours, so the honey will draw out the juices of the onion, turning it to like a thin.

Maggie (31:27.692)
You slice don't

Meara (31:43.208)
and it's a really sweet syrup and my kids love this stuff, like they beg me for it. Once, no, it's not. It has a mild flavor but it's not like overpowering because of the honey being so sweet. I'm not for sure about how it would taste with the buckwheat but even though it's not sweet, I still don't think it'll have that really harsh taste of honey.

Maggie (31:47.873)
So it's not oniony tasting? Wow. Good. I'm gonna make that.

Maggie (32:06.365)
are used to use the wildflower or use clover okay, wildflower. Right now

Meara (32:09.31)
Yes, we use a wildflower. Then we strain it and you put it in the fridge for up to three to four weeks. But if it ever looks cloudy, bubbly, smells sour, or you're just like, I have not sure about it, toss it, toss it. Yes. And we just use, we use a spoon. We don't even use a measuring spoon. We just give them to them for a spoon. And we wouldn't give our, we don't give our kids under one honey because of obviously they say botulism risk, but our kids are.

Maggie (32:20.043)
He'll get rid of it. Compost it.

Yeah.

Maggie (32:38.935)
Do your research. Now, so when you slice them, do you separate the rings and kind of jumble them in there or do you just stack the slices?

Meara (32:38.964)
to an open date, Do your research.

Meara (32:50.41)
I kind of push them to make them like real loose and just stick them in there. So I do a layer of onion and then honey, a layer of onion, honey, a layer of onion, honey, a layer and like, you know, so on and so forth. And then I take a wooden spoon because if you use a metal spoon, it'll kill all the properties of the honey. Take a wooden spoon and I push it down in there, get all the bubbles up and I just close it and stick it in the fridge.

Maggie (33:02.903)
Okay.

Maggie (33:18.253)
Okay, no, that's great. And I would like to have something like that also for nighttime use. I, for that occasion, I have always just fallen back to essential oils and English lavender, which is if I could have just one essential oil as much as I love my frankincense and...

Meara (33:18.504)
or not in the fridge. let it sit overnight and then I stuck it in the fridge. Yeah. That's amazing.

Maggie (33:46.112)
and myrrh and sandalwood and I would choose, I would choose English lavender because it is one of the most gentle and versatile oils that you can get. it does so much. And I put that on my kids on their chest and sometimes I put it on their feet just for, you know, cause your feet are the most, those pores are the most absorbent.

And then it's also good if you have like a diffuser to put it in and to get that inhalant aspect of it. But it helps for coughs, especially at night time because it's very relaxing. But lavender is also good in the first aid kit because it's good for bug bites and minor burns, minor wounds.

Meara (34:20.33)
Mm-hmm.

Meara (34:29.731)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Meara (34:43.154)
Mm-hmm.

Maggie (34:44.189)
and wouldn't care so you know just dilute it.

Meara (34:46.058)
It's also good for chest tightness that I've been having a lot lately of.

Maggie (34:49.823)
Yes, yeah, anxiety and stress and mm-hmm. Yeah.

Meara (34:52.54)
Mm-hmm.

Meara (34:57.116)
you need some onion syrup. I heard a kid coughing.

Maggie (35:00.019)
I do, that's Mary Jane. She gets very mucusy and she's not great at getting rid of the mucus until it becomes like a problem.

Meara (35:03.774)
no. Gotta get on

Meara (35:10.186)
Mm-hmm.

Meara (35:14.652)
Ours does too. Our second eldest does as well.

Maggie (35:19.327)
And she's, you know, she's our biggest picky eater. you know, any kind of little thing, you know, she'll pick up and so.

Meara (35:23.754)
Mmm.

Meara (35:27.978)
Yeah.

Meara (35:32.21)
Is that, did you have more information?

Maggie (35:40.706)
I think so. I was, yeah. I know we've mentioned elderberry syrup before and talked about that in previous episodes, but that's another great thing to keep around. You know, it's gentle for kids, great for colds and flus and other illnesses. So it's great to have, you know, along with the fire cider throughout, you know, those times of intense illnesses when all that stuff's going around, especially if your kids are in school and

Meara (35:46.452)
Mm-hmm.

Meara (35:52.81)
It's amazing.

Meara (35:59.316)
Mm-hmm.

Maggie (36:09.771)
and highly exposed to all that stuff and they're just passing it back and forth. So to keep your kids on a steady and you can take spoonful, you can give spoonfuls of this stuff to your kids every day. It's gentle and rich in antioxidants.

Meara (36:14.452)
Mm-hmm.

Meara (36:22.44)
Yeah, we've made it, yes, high in antioxidants. We've made it once. We made it with fresh elderberries and cinnamon and oranges. And we used it as kind of like a medication. So we would give it to them for a week. So it's kind of like agonasia where you use it for a week and then you like.

Maggie (36:27.842)
Mm-hmm.

Meara (36:47.22)
You like taper off of it. It's not something that you consistently stay on. And we gave it to them because it was like, you know, the kids were the older elders were in school and we had one little one at the time and we didn't want anyone getting sick. So we used it for the vitamins so that they wouldn't, you know, they wouldn't get sick. So we used it for preventative purposes. Yeah. Yep.

Maggie (37:08.129)
Yeah, it's funny I say that too. So we don't get sick, but at the same time, you know, we want our kids to get sick. So it builds their immune system. Yeah. Every time we go to a museum or the zoo, we go, the kids just got their vaccines for the year. Cause we don't, we don't vaccinate. So any germs that they can pick up and build up their immune system, then, you know.

Meara (37:12.797)
Mm-hmm.

We do. And they will. And they will.

Meara (37:25.086)
Yeah. Yeah, I remember you.

I remember you calling me and you were like, we're supposed to come over, but the kids were sick last week. I'm like, bring them over all the more to bring them over. You're like, oh yeah, I almost forgot. You're, you're one of us. Bring them on, bring on the germs. So, uh, well, Maggie and I hope that you take from this episode. Uh, well, we hope that you take from this episode is that you don't have to, um, change your whole life overnight. Just start somewhere simple. One, one.

Maggie (37:38.963)
Yeah.

Maggie (38:01.014)
I know. One thing at a time.

Meara (38:02.898)
Learn one plant, try one simple remedy, just start somewhere. And that's how knowledge comes back, you know, little by little, every day, because I didn't know anything about any of this until just three, four years ago, and now I'm starting to feel more comfortable, and some people that I know.

who are friends that I don't often talk to much. They're like, what are you doing? And I'll tell them and they're like blown away. And I'm like, I guess I am kind of like more knees deep in this than I thought. So your home medicine cabinet doesn't need to be perfect or fully stocked by tomorrow morning. It'll grow over time with habits that you form and things that you actually use. Don't do things that you're like, I'll use this. If it's something that you know that you'll use and you do use, then start there.

And next week we'll be diving deeper into herbal tea craft and talking about infusions versus decoctions and how the way you prepare a plant can completely change what you get from it. You'll find all the resources from today's episode, plus our free printable recipe cards linked below and inside the Women Folk Revival Facebook community. And if this episode meant something to you, please share it with another woman who may need it as well. Don't forget to follow.

And until next time, stay rooted and stay wild.

Maggie (39:18.466)
No way, that's my line. Stay rooted, stay rooted, and stay wild.

Meara (39:20.508)
It is, I'm sorry. So until next time.

Meara (39:26.331)
Stay wild.