Wednesday, February 2, 2011

How to use bulk herbs

I will get an emails from people saying, “ I just bought (fill in the blank) bulk herb, what do I do with it?” Using bulk herbs is a great way to save money, and it is a good idea to know how you are going to use bulk herbs before you purchase them. Here are some of the ways that I use bulk herbs.

capsulizing herbsPowdered herbs are easy to capsulize and you can save the most money capsulizing single herbs. Compare the cost of the bulk herb and empty capsules to the cost of buying 15 bottles of capsulized herbs. Sixteen ounces of powder will fill about 1000 “00” capsules or about 1500 “0” sized capsules. I find that the “00” are easier for me to hold and get into the little capsule machine. The smaller size just frustrates me and isn’t worth it and I don’t mind swallowing the larger sized capsule. In the photo I have just capsulized twenty-four Kava Kava. I like to buy a bottle of the prepared herbs so that I have a bottle to put them in. I like to keep Kava Kava in my night stand, it is a great one for relaxing to get to sleep, especially helpful when my muscles are sore.

Add herbs to juiceAnother way I use the powdered herbs is added in with my Jurassic Green. We use fresh squeezed orange juice, I add Maca Root which contains over 55 naturally occurring, beneficial phyto-chemicals including important hormonal precursors and sterols. It is a mood and energy level booster and great for both men and women. Acai is a little purple berry packed full of antioxidants, amino acids and Omega essential fatty acids. Its antioxidant levels outranks nearly every other food on the planet, including; pomegranates, blueberries, and goji berries and sure helps the taste of my concoction. Ginkgo is good for mental function and blood circulation. Calc Tea is Herbal Calcium, I buy the mix your own formula and mix them all together and re-bag and remark the mylar bag the herbs come in. The mix your own formula kit is a great way to get your Herbal Calcium - one kit will make 3.5 lbs of powder which lasts my husband and I six months. With the sale on the bulk herbs that makes this it $55.05 this month. I had a bone density test last year and for my age my bones were above the level of most people my age. I feel that is due to the fact that I am getting the type of calcium that my body can use. My morning drink tastes ok to me and it is a great way to get more nutrition into my body.

making extractsQuite often people that buy the single herb extracts will ask me how to make extracts because they are using so much that the cost is getting prohibitive. Making a single herb extract is easy and something that I do quite often. In fact a few weeks ago I was in the middle of making four different alcohol extracts and had so much Vodka sitting out on my counter that my family had thought I had lost my mind! Alcohol is the best way to preserve the medicinal value of the herbs and the extracts stay good for many years. Pictured I have Black Walnut and Pau D’Arco that I had left over from my Candida Cleanse. Black Walnut is an herb Dr. Christopher recommends for people that have problems with fungus or tumors and cysts. Black Walnut is high in potassium and people get tumors and cysts when they are low in potassium. Pau D’Arco kills bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites. Green Tea is a powerful anti-oxidant that inhibits the growth of cancer cells, and kills cancer cells without harming healthy tissue. I had bought it for weight-loss, but never used it, so made the extract to have on hand. The last one is the Elderberry extract, I talked about this one at the beginning of the winter. Elderberry is a well known immune booster, flu and virus fighter, as well as being high in potassium.

To make an alcohol extract use 16 oz. of Vodka per 4 oz. of dried herb. Put it in a glass jar with a lid and shake it three times a day for 2 weeks. I cover it with a towel to keep the light out. Strain it and put it in a glass jar, marking what it is and when you made it. It should be good for many years, indefinitely if kept in a cool dark place. We have empty amber bottles available 1 oz. 2 oz, 4 oz, 8 oz and 16 oz. sizes very reasonably priced.

tea pressAnother way to use the bulk cut herbs is a tea. To make a tea with bulk herbs use a teaspoon per cup of water. Boil the water and then pour it over the herbs. Steep for ten to fifteen minutes, strain, sweeten if desired. I got this great little french press for Christmas and love it. It makes 4 cups of tea, the plunger is up when making the tea and then push it down to keep the herb from getting into the tea. Love it!

Bulk herbs are 5% off for February, there is very little mark-up in bulk herbs, so 5% off is a big deal! We have so many bulk herbs it takes 22 web pages to list them all. Many herbs are available in both cut and powder, 4 oz, 8 oz and 16 oz sizes. They come in reclosable mylar bags.

Order online or call me and I'll be happy to take your order. 801-228-1901