Herbs for women can be a complicated topic, but then again, women’s health isn’t exactly simple, either. Herbs can support us during our major life transitions of menarche, pregnancy, and menopause. They can also help us find balance and comfort during difficult monthly cycles. In each of these cases, though, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Each woman will experience these stages in her life in different ways, and benefit the most from herbs that are tailored to her unique situation.
Using herbs during pregnancy can be especially tricky. It’s best to seek out a qualified herbal practitioner for guidance during such a sensitive time for you and baby, and the use of adaptogens is no exception. There’s very little safety information available on the use of adaptogens during pregnancy, and some herbalists feel that it is best not to use this class of herbs during pregnancy. Other herbalists and authors have voiced concerns about the safety of adaptogens during pregnancy based on animal studies or traditions of use, so please don’t assume that just because it’s herbal and generally safe that the same applies during pregnancy.
Another consideration for herbs and women’s health is hormonal birth control. Herbs can potentially alter the way the liver metabolizes things, including birth control pills, or support fertility when you may not appreciate such support. There are not a lot of studies available that look at the ways that herbs can interfere with hormonal birth control, and Saint John’s wort is an example of one that seems to be linked to birth control failure. It may also be wise to steer yourself away from herbs, like vitex, black cohosh, or even adaptogens that are traditionally used to support fertility. Without studies, there’s no way to know for sure, so it’s best to talk to your doctor about supplements you want to try if you are on hormonal birth control.
That being said, adaptogens can still be wonderfully supportive for your health and well-being, help you cope with stress, and offer tonic support for women-specific health challenges! Shatavari, in particular, is wonderful for women’s health, and so are rhodiola, licorice, and schisandra. Ashwagandha can support a healthy libido, and many of these same herbs offer support during menopause. In this chapter, you’ll find recipes for adaptogenic blends, brews, and elixirs that are especially suited for supporting women’s health.
Shatavari Honey and Figs
An electuary is a paste of herbs and honey that can also include dried fruit pieces. In this recipe, the base of the electuary is mostly fig paste with a little honey added for a smooth treat that goes well in yogurt, smoothies, or a glass of almond milk. You can use up to a tablespoon of this electuary at a time.
This electuary contains water that rehydrates the fruit and makes it easier to blend. That means that the electuary may not be as shelf stable as electuaries that don’t contain water. Be sure to store Shatavari Honey and Figs in the refrigerator to prevent spoilage. It should store for a month or so. I used Black Mission figs for this recipe but you can use other figs, too.
Ingredients
Yields 2 cups (48 (1 teaspoon) servings)
1 cup chopped dried Black Mission figs
1 cup water
1⁄4 cup honey
1–2 tablespoons shatavari powder
How to Make
1. Put the figs into a glass canning jar and allow to soak overnight in 1 cup of water.
2. After they have soaked overnight, transfer the figs and soaking water into a blender or food processor. The figs will most likely have soaked up most of the water, so don’t worry if there isn’t much water left in the jar.
3. Add the honey and shatavari powder to the figs and water in the blender.
4. Blend the ingredients together until a smooth, paste-like consistency is achieved.
5. Store the finished paste in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Pomegranate Basil Soda with Rhodiola
Pomegranate juice is a gorgeous dark red color and full of potent antioxidants, so it’s a fun treat for adding a boost of extra nutrition in your diet. Pomegranate fruits are usually in season around October, but you can find the bottled juice on the shelf at international markets, health food stores, and some groceries.
Pomegranate is somewhat of a symbol for women’s fertility and health, and has had a reputation reaching back into ancient cultures as an aphrodisiac and potent ally for women’s health and well-being!
The basil in this recipe is regular garden basil (Ocimum basilicum), rather than the adaptogen tulsi (also known as holy basil). They are distantly related, but garden basil is mainly used as a culinary ingredient for flavor, which is its purpose in this recipe, too. Using basil along with fruit brings out basil’s sweeter side and highlights an almost licorice taste in the herb that is much harder to detect in savory dishes.
Basil grows happily in a container or herb garden as an annual, but you can also often find fresh basil in the produce department of your local grocery store.
Ingredients
Yields 1 serving
1 tablespoon fresh basil
1⁄2 cup pomegranate juice
1 serving rhodiola extract (follow directions on label or use around 1⁄4–1⁄2 teaspoon homemade rhodiola extract)
1⁄2 cup seltzer or still water
Dash lime juice
How to Make
1. Muddle the basil in the pomegranate juice in a small mixing bowl and then strain the basil leaves out.
2. Mix in the serving of rhodiola extract, and add the seltzer.
3. Add a dash of lime juice, and pour the soda into a glass over ice.
Roseroot Potion
This particular potion helps when that time of the month comes around and you feel a little out of sorts emotionally, and perhaps are struggling physically, too. Besides the emotional and physical fatigue that can creep over you, physical setbacks such as cramping and heavy flows can add to the discomfort. Although yarrow is my favorite astringent herb to turn to during this time of the month, there are several adaptogens that can help with the whole shebang.
One of rhodiola’s other names is roseroot, and the roots do have a scent that’s very similar to rose petals. The compounds in rhodiola that may be responsible for its actions are known as rosavins. Rhodiola has the same ability to bring balance to the endocrine system that all adaptogens possess to some degree. For women’s health, rhodiola seems to help with hormonal problems when the main root of the problem lies in stress. Rhodiola has nervine properties, too, so it’s a lovely adaptogen to keep in mind for emotional support every month.
White peony is mentioned in the mental focus chapter as a nootropic, but it’s also a wonderful herbal ally that can make “that” time of the month considerably more comfortable. In TCM it’s used for menstrual disorders with a constellation of signs that TCM practitioners describe as blood deficiency, but more generally it’s a women’s tonic with a reputation for smoothing out imbalances that may express as painful menstruation.
The third ingredient in this blend is schisandra. Sometimes schisandra berries are called “five flavor” berries because they have a very complex taste. Different parts of the berries can be sweet, sour, pungent, salty, and bitter. Try holding a berry in your mouth for a few minutes to soften it and then biting down to release the pungent, bitter flavor of the seeds. It’s a very unique experience! Schisandra berries have an anti-inflammatory, astringent, and balancing nature that is very welcome in this blend. The other unique property of schisandra berries, an ability to simultaneously calm and stimulate the central nervous system, makes this especially helpful if you find you have trouble focusing and need a mental energy boost without the extra anxiety too much caffeine can produce.
I used a quickie method for this formula that blends all of the powders together and then puts them through a percolation extract process. Although it’s not necessary to do it this way, it is nice to know how to do it just in case you run out at an inopportune time! Because the berry powder seems to swell a bit more than the roots, I find that percolation works best if you pack the cone a little more loosely than normal. You can also blend the formula from single tinctures that were extracted separately as another quick fix alternative to the lengthy maceration process. I’ve given directions for both.
Ingredients
Yields approximately 3 ounces extract
1⁄2 ounce rhodiola root powder
1⁄4 ounce white peony root powder
1⁄4 ounce schisandra berry powder
5 ounces 80 proof vodka, plus enough to dampen the herbal powders
How to Make
1. Blend the herbal powders together and moisten with enough vodka to give them the texture of damp sand.
2. Follow the instructions provided in Chapter 1 for making a percolation extract. Pack the cone a little more loosely than normal so that the schisandra berry powder has room to expand. I’ve found that it expands a bit more than the other two ingredients.
3. Once your extract is finished, bottle and label for later use. A serving size of the extract is 30–60 drops, and can be used up to 3 times a day for everyday use. Use 30 drops (about 1⁄4 teaspoon) up to every hour for a short time such as during the course of a single day as needed for extra support.
If you would prefer to make your blend using extracts you mixed up separately, the recipe will look like this:
Ingredients
Yields 4 ounces
2 ounces rhodiola root extract
1 ounce white peony root extract
1 ounce schisandra berry extract
How to Make
1. Combine the rhodiola, white peony, and schisandra berry extracts in a 4-ounce amber bottle.
2. Label and store in a cool, dark cabinet.
What’s a Cultivar?
Some herbs—like white peony, chrysanthemum, and echinacea—are better known as showy garden flowers than as herbs. Their medicinal history largely forgotten, these plants are now bred by plant breeders with aesthetics in mind—new colors, showier blossoms, larger or smaller varieties—or disease- and pest-resistance in mind. These new varieties are known as cultivars. To know if a plant is a cultivar, look for an extra name in single quotes at the end of the botanical designation of the plant. So a cultivar of echinacea might be Echinacea purpurea ‘Sundown.’ You may wish to check at a specialty plant supplier that carries medicinal plants for a variety that they recommend using as an herb. Although different varieties, or cultivars, within a species could potentially be interchangeable, sometimes the genetic modifications that change the appearance can change the chemical composition of the plant. The cultivars available at most garden centers were created strictly for the sake of appearances or for a specific disease resistance—not with herbal purposes in mind.
By Your Lady’s Leave(s)
There’s a very old-fashioned expression, “by your leave,” that was a polite way of asking permission, but you most certainly don’t need anyone’s permission to enjoy this healthy brew of red raspberry leaves and schisandra berries!
The leaves of red raspberry brambles are not really a place where most people would think to look for extra nutrition, but they contain plenty of vitamins and minerals that makes them nutritive and perfect for overnight steeps, just like nettles. Red raspberry is a very astringent plant. Pay attention to the first sip, and you may notice that it makes your mouth feel a little drier, which is an interesting sensation from a drink. It’s not usually a pronounced feeling and it won’t make you any thirstier in the long run, but it does illustrate just how astringent this herb really is!
Because red raspberry is a nutritive herb, the leaves are considered safe for everyday use. I like to prepare mine as an overnight steep to pull out as many minerals as possible, with a few schisandra berries thrown in for extra flavor and adaptogenic goodness.
Ingredients
Yields 2 servings
1 quart water
4 tablespoons (1⁄4 cup) dried red raspberry leaves
1 teaspoon schisandra berries
How to Make
1. Bring 1 quart of water to a boil and pour into a heat-safe jar.
2. Add dried red raspberry leaves and schisandra berries to the hot water in the jar.
3. Place the lid securely on the jar and allow the berries and raspberry leaves to infuse overnight in the refrigerator.
4. In the morning, strain, and sip throughout the day.
Red Raspberry Leaves
These leaves make for one happy uterus! They are a well-loved uterine tonic for women at all stages of life. For teens, it’s used to help bring balance to the tumultuous time when we have our first periods. For mothers-to-be, they can nourish your body during pregnancy and tone the uterus prior to birth. During transitions to menopause they remain a gently toning, supportive ally for uterine health.
Maca-Choco Truffles
Maca is technically a root vegetable! It’s related to radishes, and is a staple of the diet of native cultures that live in the high mountain regions of Peru. It thrives where very few plants can grow, and has a dense nutritional profile despite growing in such inhospitable conditions.
This herb has a reputation for being well suited for endocrine system and energy support, and it always seems to add a little extra pep for me. I admit that I don’t really care for the taste of powdered maca by itself, but I have no problem enjoying it in these little coconut truffles!
Maca tends to give me a boost of energy, so I tend to enjoy this recipe early in the day and not as an evening indulgence. I suggest trying it out in the morning or early afternoon as a pick-me-up and see how your energy levels respond. Based on your body’s response, you can determine how close to bedtime you can comfortably use this recipe.
Ingredients
Yields 12 truffles (4 servings)
1 cup coconut butter
3 teaspoons maca powder or shatavari powder
3 tablespoons brown rice syrup or agave nectar
1 cup high-quality dark chocolate baking pieces
How to Make
1. Line a small baking pan or tray with parchment paper. This will make cleanup easy, and also give you an easy way to transport your truffles back and forth from the refrigerator while you work.
2. Combine the coconut butter, maca or shatavari powder, and brown rice syrup or agave nectar in a bowl and knead everything together. The kneading may be a little difficult at first, but your hands will warm everything up and it will get easier after a few minutes.
3. Form the coconut butter mixture into twelve small balls and line them up on the baking pan as you work. Place the tray in the refrigerator while you prepare the dark chocolate.
4. Put the dark chocolate pieces into the double boiler over low heat. Stir gently while the chocolate melts.
5. When the chocolate has completely melted, place the tray of coconut balls by your work area and use a spoon to drizzle each truffle with a dark chocolate shell. Once the chocolate has cooled, gently move the balls to drizzle chocolate over the bald spot where the balls touched the parchment paper.
6. Once your Maca-Choco Truffles have cooled, store them in mini-muffin cups in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Drop of Magic Kitchen Oils
Don’t burn the midnight oil! Instead, add some yummy seasoned cooking oils to your kitchen wizardry repertoire. The extra dash of magic comes from adaptogens, of course!
It’s best to used dried ingredients for these oils. Actually, let me rephrase: don’t use fresh ingredients for these cooking oils. Fresh ingredients introduce water to the oil, which can lead to spoilage problems and a risk of botulism.
The recipes below include two blends—the Spicy Shatavari and the Herbes de Provence and Ashwagandha—that are easy to incorporate into the kitchen even for less adventurous tastes. The Schisandra and Oregano Oil is a little more unusual, but I think it’s still delightful.
The directions I’ve included below call for either combining the ingredients and letting them infuse for two weeks or using a speedy process that includes an overnight double boiler bath in a slow cooker. Choose one of the following recipe blends to get started.
Spicy Shatavari Magic
Ingredients
Yields 8 ounces oil
1 tablespoon powdered shatavari
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
8 ounces olive oil
Herbes de Provence and Ashwagandha Magic
Ingredients
Yields 8 ounces oil
1 tablespoon powdered ashwagandha
2 tablespoons herbes de Provence
8 ounces olive oil
Schisandra and Oregano Oil
Ingredients
Yields 8 ounces oil
1⁄2 tablespoon powdered schisandra berries
1 tablespoon dried basil
1⁄2 tablespoon dried oregano
8 ounces olive oil
How to Make via 2-Week Infusion
1. Combine the ingredients for your chosen herb blend along with 8 ounces of olive oil and allow to meld for 2 weeks.
2. There’s no need to strain the oil; just use as is, a few tablespoons at a time.
How to Make via Slow Cooker
1. Combine the herb blend of your choice and 8 ounces of olive oil in a glass canning jar.
2. Place the glass canning jar into the crock of a slow cooker and add water to the crock. The water should reach halfway on the outside of the glass jar.
3. Turn the slow cooker on to the low setting and allow the jar’s ingredients to infuse overnight.
4. Turn off the slow cooker the next day and allow the oil to cool before removing it from the slow cooker crock and transferring it to the refrigerator for storage.
Easy Maca Smoothie
Smoothies are fun nutrition on the go as long as you remember to add plenty of fiber and protein to counteract the sugar rush from all of the fruit! Greek yogurt usually has more protein per serving than other yogurt, and a tablespoon of an all-natural nut butter adds even more. Good sources of fiber include the spinach and flax or hemp seeds, but you could also use chia seeds.
I like adding fresh greens to my smoothies. It sounds gross, but you don’t taste them in the finished smoothie, and it’s much cheaper than adding a scoop of fancy greens powder, although that works too if you have it on hand.
Ingredients
Yields 1 smoothie
1 cup fresh spinach
1⁄2 cup plain or vanilla Greek yogurt
1 cup frozen fruit or berries of your choice
1 tablespoon flaxseed
1 tablespoon cashew or almond butter
1 teaspoon maca powder
How to Make
1. Place the spinach, yogurt, and frozen fruit into your blender and blend them together.
2. Add the flaxseed, nut butter, and maca powder and blend until they have been incorporated.
3. If your smoothie seems too thick or you have trouble blending all of the ingredients, add a tablespoon of water at a time and try again.
4. Pour your smoothie into a glass and serve immediately.
Superwoman Shots
Sometimes an extra shot of nutrition is a welcome way to start the day or make it through a mid-afternoon slump. If you do own a juicer, feel free to use a shot of your favorite homemade fruit and veggie blend. If you’re like me and happen to be sans juicer, you can check in the produce department of your local grocery store for a ready-to-drink greens and juice blend. My local grocery carries several brands and yours might, too.
Probiotics are good bacteria that help maintain the health of our digestive systems and can influence everything from our immunity to our mood. The bacteria in our digestive tract actually make up (or should make up) a varied ecosystem with different types of bacteria. We are only just beginning to understand the roles that each kind of bacteria have in supporting the balance of our health. Probiotics were traditionally a part of our diets as fermented and cultured foods like yogurt and lacto-fermented vegetable pickles, but modern diets and an obsession with pasteurization in the name of health and safety mean that our bodies can be missing out on the health benefits associated with good bacteria.
Safely making fermented foods at home is an entire skillset that can bring many fun and unusual foods into our kitchens, but using a probiotic supplement is a user-friendly way to begin adding probiotics back into the diet. In a pinch, you can also open a capsule of probiotics to add to this recipe if you can’t find a powdered adult probiotic supplement.
Ingredients
Yields 1 shot
1 ounce greens and juice blend
1 serving adaptogen extract of your choice
1 serving probiotic powder blend
How to Make
1. Pour 1 ounce of greens and juice blend into a small canning jar.
2. Add one serving of your favorite adaptogen and one serving of probiotic powder blend.
3. Put the lid on the jar and shake everything together. Drink from the jar if you’re feeling casual or pour it into your favorite shot glass.
Bee Vital Seasoning
Fennel can be a girl’s best friend during times when she needs a little anti-cramping, anti-bloating goodness with her meal. Parsley, another ingredient in this blend, is a mild diuretic, which can also come in handy.
Besides the vitality boost of nettle seed, fennel provides antispasmodic and carminative properties to the mix. Sprinkle this seasoning blend onto grains or use when cooking veggies. Goes well with roasted potatoes, too!
The “bee” in this punny recipe name comes from bee balm (Monarda didyma; M. fistulosa). It’s a North American native plant in the mint family with beautiful showy red or purple blossoms. Bee balm has a slightly sweet taste and aroma—almost citrusy—that goes really well with the fennel. If you don’t have bee balm (it can be tricky to find unless you are growing your own), use thyme instead. You can use this seasoning blend as a spice while cooking or as a condiment at the table, whichever you prefer.
Ingredients
Yields 1⁄2 cup seasoning
3 tablespoons nettle seeds
3 tablespoons fennel seeds
1⁄2 cup powdered thyme or bee balm
2 tablespoons parsley powder
How to Make
1. Combine the nettle seeds, fennel seeds, powdered thyme or bee balm, and powdered parsley in a small bowl.
2. Store in a cute jar or salt pig on the table where you can easily access. Use a spoon rather than a spice jar with a sprinkle top, so that you can make sure the seeds and powdered herbs stay blended to your liking. Otherwise the heavier fennel seeds migrate toward the bottom.
Loving Life Elixir
Damiana and shatavari star as the main ingredients in this recipe. Damiana and shatavari both have reputations as aphrodisiacs, but instead of being an adaptogen, damiana is a nervine that supports the nervous system. The combination of the two is a nice, uplifting blend that works whenever you want a little extra feminine boost—not just in the bedroom!
Shatavari is related to asparagus and also brings some of the same diuretic abilities to the mix. As an adaptogen, shatavari is often used as a gentle nutritive tonic for women’s health (although it can be used for men, too!), and has a reputation that extends all the way back to ancient times in India. It’s even mentioned in the Rig-Veda, a sacred text that dates back to 1500 B.C.E.
Most of the herbal recipes in this book use well-defined measurements, but this is a great recipe for a more relaxed approach that lets you experiment with the folk method of making an extract, which requires no measuring. Use a half pint (8-ounce) canning jar to make a small batch to see what you think!
Ingredients
Yield is flexible/can vary
Shatavari root
Damiana
80 proof vodka
Raspberries
Honey
How to Make
1. Put a thin layer of shatavari root into the bottom of your 8-ounce jar. I usually use around the equivalent of 1⁄2 tablespoon. Eyeball it, and use a little more or a little less as the mood suits.
2. Fill the jar about halfway with damiana leaves on top of the shatavari root.
3. Add enough vodka to cover your ingredients by about an inch. You may need to poke the leaves back down into the liquid as you work.
4. Put the lid on the jar and give everything a brisk shaking, then stash the jar in the pantry for up to 6 weeks. Give it a little shake every day and make sure the leaves haven’t absorbed all of the vodka. There should be about an inch on top every time you check on it. Add a little more vodka as needed.
5. At any point after 2 weeks, your extract will be ready for use although you can wait as long as 6 weeks before you strain and bottle your extract. When you decide it’s time to use your extract, strain out the herbs and pour the extract into a clean glass canning jar. Add in a handful of fresh raspberries and about half the amount of extract in honey. Put the lid on and shake the jar until the honey is combined with the extract.
6. You can begin using your extract at this point or you can wait until it has achieved a level of raspberry flavor that meets your approval. Leave the raspberries in the jar for a few days until you like the flavor, then strain them out and bottle the elixir in a clean amber glass bottle. A serving size is 1⁄4–1⁄2 teaspoon up to 3 times per day.