June 18, 2020
Maria Noel Groves
As the days heat up this season, look to cooling herbs and herbal preparations to chill out and keep cool. The Energetics of Summer Heat In herbal medicine, we often categorize herbs, conditions, people, and seasons by their “energetics,” such as hot, cold, dry, and damp. (I wrote an overview of energetics in the Summer…
May 12, 2020
Maria Noel Groves
If you’ve read my books, articles, or taken a class with me, you’ve learned pretty quickly that one of the main ways I use most herbs is in tincture format. A tincture is an alcohol extract, which has many advantages for clinicians and clients alike. This blog contains all the basics for how to make…
May 11, 2020
Maria Noel Groves
My practice is nestled in the pine forests of Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown, NH. If you’re planning on coming to the area for a class or consult, I highly recommend giving yourself some extra time to explore the trails. They’re great for walking, hiking, mountain biking, snowshoeing, and cross country skiing. Park Basics:…
May 8, 2020
Maria Noel Groves
“Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food,” to paraphrase Hippocrates. While we generally take this to mean “Eat a healthy diet” (which IS important), many of our medicinal herbs easily transfer to food. When it comes to nutrient-dense herbs, it’s actually more effective way to eat them in food than take them…
May 4, 2020
Maria Noel Groves
Can you identify wild plants with 100 percent certainty? If you plan to ingest it or give it to someone else, you need to! The ability to “key out” and identify plants is a crucial skill for any herbalist or wild food forager. Nothing is quite as powerful and healing as picking a plant yourself,…
April 29, 2020
Maria Noel Groves
Once children were regularly led into the natural world to harvest food and medicinal plants. We’ve lost this education in recent generations and, with it, an appreciation for the healing power of our environment. Many children do not even know what dandelion or plantain look like, even though they grow between the cracks in the…
April 28, 2020
Maria Noel Groves
Essential oils and their use as aromatherapy may be the most exciting, trendy thing happening in plant medicine right now. The aromatherapy industry is booming at a growth of nearly 10 percent each year[i] and is expected to jump to $27 billion by 2022.[ii] Those little bottles of potent plant aromatics are cute, fun, strong,…
April 7, 2020
Maria Noel Groves
With COVID-19 heating up across the world, you’re probably hoping I’m here to tell you about all the magical herbs you can stock up on and take that will protect you from disease and treat it if you do get sick. Yes, I DO believe that herbs, diet, and lifestyle can play a profound role…
March 18, 2020
Maria Noel Groves
Elder is one of my immune system staples and a favorite amongst my students and clients as well. Several studies support its ability to reduce the severity and duration of colds and flu, so with recent coronavirus and COVID-19 concerns, it has also gotten. caught up in the limelight. But, many herbalists warn that it…
February 17, 2020
Maria Noel Groves
Here’s one for the or folks who are allergic to nuts… reminiscent of Skippy! Full disclosure, though. This is “like Skippy peanut butter” in the way that vegan chicken fingers taste like meat to someone who’s been vegetarian for several decades! Haha! Coming up with this recipe was real game changer in my life since…