I hope everyone reading this had a stress-free, relaxing Labor Day! I ran into the supermarket today, and while I am grateful it was open for what I wanted, the truth is that it could have waited and I felt bad for the people working.
We woke up this morning and I made some blueberry vanilla almond flour pancakes. I love love love using almond flour and sometimes an almond/coconut flour combo instead of packaged gluten free pancake mix! The recipe I use is just so simple!!
Gluten-Free Almond Flour Pancakes
1 cup almond flour ( I sometimes sub 2 tbsp. for coconut flour) 3 flax eggs ( or other egg replacer or organic pastured eggs if that is your thing)
3/4 cup almond milk ( or water or any other plant milk)
You can add in whatever you like!! I added 1 tsp vanilla powder and a big handful of organic blueberries.
I cook mine in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. They do take longer than regular pancakes- maybe 3-5 min per side. I like to top mine with coconut oil, real maple syrup and more fresh berries!
This recipe makes enough for two big appetites and a baby 🙂
After such a delicious but heavy breakfast we played outside with Amethyst in her sand box and did some more tidying. For lunch I wanted a salad!! I made this and it was sooo good! Farmers Market kale massaged with avocado and lemon juice, with grated carrot, chopped apple and spring onions all seasoned with sea salt and pepper and topped with homemade Dill Kraut! So perfect!
Amethyst didn’t really eat much salad so I made a big smoothie that we all shared with banana, avocado, frozen blueberry, cacao beans, dates and almond milk topped with fresh berries.
We went for a drive and met this Elder who let us take some of her berries! We are going to tincture our haul this time and have some wonderful immune support this winter! We were so pleased as we hadn’t been able recently to get to know a lot of Louisiana flora. Glad to know that Elder lives here too!!
After that I was hungry and tired so I stopped into the stupormarket where I bought pineapple and some purple corn on the cob (so surprised to see this) which we had for dinner! I had my corn with coconut oil and black pepper. Delicious and satisfying!!
Herbal Tonics for Pregnancy
 If you are pregnant or have been sometime in the past, then you will undoubtedly have heard the question “Are you taking your vitamins?” It is true that pregnant women do require extra supplementation to ensure that the baby and mother are healthy and thriving, but two of the most beneficial supplements are either overlooked or not even considered. These two, what I call my pregnancy superheroines, are nettle and red raspberry leaf.
 Nettle (urtica dioica) has become much more popular in the last few years.  It is a common plant that grows abundantly in hedgerows as well as in hotter climes like here in Spain.  It is an amazing plant that has many, many medicinal and tonic properties- not only for pregnancy. For example, it contains vitamins A, C, D and K. It also contains calcium and iron among other minerals.
 Specifically for pregnancy, though, nettle helps in:
- aiding the kidneys
- increasing fertility in men and women
- providing nourishment to both mother and fetus
- easing leg cramps and muscle spasms
- diminishing pain during and after birth
- preventing hemorrhage after birth
- reducing hemorrhoids
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increasing richness and amount of breastmilk
Raspberry Leaf is another superstar. Apart from vitamins A, C, D and E it also contains absorbable forms of calcium and iron.
It aids pregnancy by:
- increasing fertility in men and women
- preventing miscarriage and hemorrhage
- easing of morning sickness
- reducing pain during labor and after birth
- providing a safe and speedy birth
- helping to bring down undelivered placenta
- assisting in production of plentiful breast milk
 As you can see, these two plants are wonderful for before, during and after pregnancy!
I tend to make strong infusions of a combination of the two herbs.  I’ll boil a big pot of water at night, maybe 2-3 liters and then add a big handful each of nettle and raspberry leaf.  I’ll then leave the herb to infuse overnight, and when I wake up I have a big batch of gorgeous dark green tea for the day.  Sometimes I drink it warm with a drop of stevia and sometimes I like it iced with some lemon or lime squeezed in for variety.  It is certainly very refreshing that way and a nice change from water.
 Information from The Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year by Susun S. Weed.
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I wholeheartedly recommend this book for any woman, whether she has decided to have children or not. It is an amazing source of information on the reproductive cycle and the herbs themselves.
Dandelion vinegar, a photo by DivineMissEm on Flickr.
Gracias Pachamana por la abundancia de primavera!
I love making herbal vinegars and the dandelion flowers are PERFECT right now.
It is such a lovely Spring food/medicinal as it gently and lovingly cleanses the liver as well as simply tasting delicious.
Another great thing about making dandelion vinegar is that when the vinegar is gone, you can eat the pickled flowers!
It has been a long time since I last posted.  I guess it is because food just became less of a priority for me, and I lost my inspiration, I suppose.  The wild food challenge went wonderfully and has continued because we love it.  It isn’t really a challenge anymore, but life.  We also have gained the confidence to go from strictly edible plants into the realm of medicinal plants as well.
Dan came home from his bike ride the other day super excited because he found a patch of St. Johns Wort.
photo from folkremediesforyou.com
I made it into a tincture for when winter comes around again.