You’ll hear me say it heaps, but the beauty of home herbalism is that when we understand basic remedy-making, we get to add our own spin to the recipes. Hopefully yours won’t look exactly like mine, cause then you’ve created your *own* legacy for your home – and over time, your recipes will get lovingly passed from hand to hand, mug to mug amongst family and friends.

So how does this Herbal Chai Tea Recipe – 4 WAYS work?

There’s lots of ways to customise this, which I’ve noted below, but essentially you’ll make your chai tea the same way each time, by decocting your basic chai herbs. You can also add in different medicinal herbs depending what your health goal is. I’ve given you 4 versions in this post, but there’ll be others you could add as well.

Decocting is a tea-making technique where you gently simmer harder plant parts in water in a saucepan on the stove (learn the 3 tea techniques herbalists turn to and when to use each in my Mastering Herbal Teas in 5 Minutes a day course)

Underneath the recipe is a bit more info about each of the herbs and why I’ve chosen them for the Herbal Chai Tea recipe – 4 WAYS.

The Basic chai* recipe is:

• 3-4 cups water
• 1-2 cinnamon sticks, broken up
• 4-10 cardamom pods, (crushed with side of knife on chopping board or mortar and pestle)
• 1 inch slick fresh ginger, finely minced or grated
• 4-6 black peppercorns (crushed with side of knife or mortar and pestle)
• A few cloves, (crushed with side of knife or mortar and pestle)
• Dash of milk or plant mylk

Then add your other medicinal herbs:

• Deep IMMUNITY: 1 tablespoon astragalus root – DON’T use during active infection
• Glow Up:  1 tablespoon burdock root and 1 tablespoon dandelion root
• Burnout RESTORE: 1 tablespoon ashwagandha root (optional: add 1 tablespoon eleuthero root although this could be too stimulating depending on what your body needs)
• Caffeine-free chai: 1 tablespoon rooibos (if using, don’t add rooibos when simmering rest of herbs. Turn off heat and steep for 5 mins at the end)

To make:

1. Chop or crush herbs you’re using. Most of these herbs are optional based on what you’ve got available and your taste preferences.
2. Boil 3-4 cups water (in kettle or saucepan). Add water and herbs to saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Steep 30 minutes**.
3. Strain tea into mug and add whatever milk you use^ sweetener too if desired.
4. Because I usually decoct enough tea for the day, I’ll leave the remaining herbs and water steeping in saucepan, then gently reheat when I’m ready to drink my next cup. I find this flavour is fine, but then I’m used to strong teas. If you prefer, you can strain out all your herbs, compost them and store tea in fridge. Reheat as needed.

There are as many ways to make this, as there are people. Below are some ways to customise.

How to customise:

* Chai Herbs in this recipe: whilst these are pretty universal chai herbs, feel free to change it up according to what you’ve got, what you enjoy and what your health goals are.

Other herbs: aside from the variations already mentioned, you might also want to add: grated nutmeg, crushed star anise, fennel seeds, sliced vanilla bean, orange peel, rose petals, black tea, rooibos etc

** Time: I tend to decoct my chai for a fair while, if you don’t have much time or like a milder flavour – you can decoct for just 15 minutes.

^ Cooking in milk: I prefer to add milk to my mug once I’m done, but you can also add your milk to the pot when you’re done decocting your tea. You could also sub out half your water for milk (whatever type you drink) for a slightly creamier consistency

To lid or not to lid: I prefer to decoct my chai with the lid on. This traps the precious medicinal volatile oils in your drink. I also don’t see the need to reduce the liquid down as I want to drink several cups. You might see some other recipes however, reducing the liquid down by simmering without a lid on. If that works for you, you’re welcome to.

If you love learning tea recipes this way, you’ll LOVE my self-paced online course Mastering Herbal Teas in 5 Minutes a day.

I take you under the hood to learn so you can confidently blend your own teas – tailoring each brew to what herbs you’ve got, your health goals and your family’s tastebuds!

In this fun, easily-digestible course, you’ll understand the simple how’s and why’s of tea-making for digestion, mood, vitality and immunity so you can really take charge of your own health at home! Get it now!

Let’s take a quick look at what each herb contributes:

The chai spices are all warming carminative spices that improve digestion. They gently warm the gut and increase circulation there, helping ease common digestive symptoms such as bloating, cramping, gas etc. The more pungent chai spices, like ginger and pepper are great circulatory stimulations which warms you up and gets blood moving.

Deep Immunity: Astragalus is a preventative immune tonic, improving the overall health and function of your immune system. Great to use preventatively during winter or a great restorative herb to work with when you’re recovering from illness. Contraindicated (ie don’t work with) astragalus when you’re acutely sick with infection.

Glow Up: Burdock and Dandelion are great alterative herbs, gently supporting the body’s capacity to eliminate metabolic wastes through various channels which supports metabolic and liver health and creates a healthy skin glow. They both also support a healthy digestive system, which enhances our ability to absorb nutrients from the food we eat.

Burnout RESTORE: Ashwagandha is a superb remedy for depletion and burnout, particularly when accompanied by anxiety and stress-induced insomnia. When you’re wired but tired, her adaptogen properties will help with cortisol dysregulation, anxiolytic action soothes the nervous system and she helps reset circadian rhythm so you can get back into health sleep patterns.

Caffeine-Free: Rooibos is a lovely caffeine-free replacement for black tea in a chai tea recipe.

I’d love hearing how you go with this recipe – join the newsletter and hit reply and tell me how you go!

Also, let’s keep learning together! All my online courses and in-person Sunshine Coast workshops are designed to be practical, hands-on learning about herbs and remedies you’ll turn to again and again in daily life.

Make teas in Mastering Herbal Tea in 5 Minutes a day and in our DIY Remedy Kits where you’ll also learn other remedy-making techniques.

The post Medicinal Herbal Chai Tea recipe – 4 WAYS appeared first on Everyday Empowered.

So what do you do when your tea sucks (or when your family turns up their noses at it)? Luckily, you have options! Here’s 5 ways how to make your herbal teas more delicious.

1. Choosing the Right Tea Herbs

Not all herbs are naturally tasty or suited for tea-making. Remember, tea only extracts water-soluble constituents, so certain herbs might extract better in another menstruum (herbal term for liquid we’re using to that extract herbs).

2. Adjusting Herb Quantity & Steep Time

The strength and flavor of your tea can be adjusted simply by modifying how much herb you use and how long you steep it.

3. Add “Yum Factor” Herbs

If your tea needs a little something extra, these herbs and natural sweeteners can make it more enjoyable. Look for herbs that taste: sour, sweet, minty, spicy and warming, anise-like or fruity (find a list of herbs with these flavours in the Mastering Herbal Teas course.

4. Swap Out a Herb You Don’t Like

Sometimes, there’s just an herb you can’t stand the taste of—but that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on what it does in the body! Many herbs have similar actions, meaning you can substitute one for another while still getting the desired effect.

For example, fennel is a fantastic digestive herb, but not everyone enjoys its licorice-like taste. If that’s you, swap it out for peppermint, chamomile, or ginger—each of which also supports digestion.

Rote learning herbs through recipes can actually make it really hard to work out how to substitute. That’s why in my Mastering Herbal Teas course I actually take you step-by-step through the process of making your own blends.

In essence, you’re first define your intention for the tea blend, and work out which herbs have the herbal actions you want.  

It’s much easier than you think I promise! In Mastering Herbal Teas course, I show you exactly how to do it with examples (videos and written, depending how you learn best).

5. Make Your Tea Beautiful

Tea isn’t just about taste—it can be a visual and aromatic experience, too! Adding colourful herbs and flowers can make your tea blends more appealing and fun to drink.

Some suggestions could include:

• red: rose petals, hibiscus
• orange: Nasturtium, calendula
• yellow: chamomile, dandelion flower, calendula
• blue: borage flowers, cornflower, blue butterfly pea
• purple: lavender, violet flowers, elderberries

There are lots of other edible flowers I personally haven’t worked with in teas, but you can certainly explore this further!

Herbal teas don’t have to be a struggle to drink. With a little creativity and customization, you can turn even the most medicinal-tasting brews into something you genuinely enjoy. Whether it’s adjusting the steep time, adding complementary flavors, or making your tea visually appealing, there’s always a way to enhance your tea experience.

Wanna whip up healing teas with ease?

You’ll adore my Mastering Herbal Teas in 5 Minutes a day course. It’s your ultimate roadmap to making healing teas you and your family actually want to drink!

Get started today!

The post The Yum Factor: How to Make Herbal Teas More Delicious appeared first on Everyday Empowered.

🌿Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) is a standout lung herb, improving overall function of the lungs. Your body creates mucous to trap and expel bushfire smoke particles. Mullein helps by thinning this mucous which makes it easier for your body to get rid of, whilst also soothes irritation and moistens as it does so.

Mullein is a common weed in southern Australia, or you can grow it in well draining soil in the subtropics (sorry, don’t know about tropics). If wildcrafting, make sure you’re not collecting from contaminated land because mullein bioaccumulates heavy metals.

🌿Plantain (Plantago sp) is a wild weedy friend, with a special affinity for the respiratory tract. It will help moisten dry tissues, calm inflammation, and help you cough up or expel excess mucous from your lungs and sinuses.

🌿Calendula (Calendula Officinalis) is in this blend to support your body’s lymphatic system. This system helps to clear up and remove rubbish that accumulates in your body. It’s also got inflammation-modulating properties.

🌿The mucous membranes of your respiratory tract don’t work optimally when dried out, so linden (Tillia sp) comes in to soothe, soften and moisten, which helps them work their best to trap particles and pathogens before they can get inside the body.

Linden is also delicious and has the dual function of calming stress and anxiety around bushfires.

Like all herbs, these plants are high in antioxidants, which support your body respond to the oxidative stress created by exposure to bushfire smoke.

Breathe Easy bushfire smoke exposure tea recipe

Blend equal parts mullein, plantain, calendula and linden together.

Use 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon / mug boiling water. Steep covered for 10 – 15 minutes. Strain using a fine sieve.

Note – many people say to strain mullein teas with cheesecloth, because of the fine hairs on mullein leaves. I’ve personally never experienced a problem, so I’m not sure how necessary that is, but I wanted to mention it in case you find the tea irritating to drink – it might be that it’s not strained well enough for you.

If you don’t love the taste of the tea, sweeten with honey or maple syrup. You could also double the amount of linden used, or add another yummy herb like licorice, peppermint or lemon balm.

*Note, whilst I’ve specifically formulated this for bushfires, it’s actually just an all-round beautiful respiratory formula for:

• dry, lingering cough that doesn’t clear up
• people regularly exposed to fine particulate matter, like smokers, chippies etc.

Be prepared

When I was evacuated due to a bushfire, I had all my herbs on hand, but not blended, and I couldn’t take my home apothecary with me in the middle of the night! I definitely learnt it’s best to have this smoke exposure blend (and any other herbal remedies you want), ready and waiting in your stay/go kit.

Even if you’re not directly affected by bushfires, smoke can be blown over large distances. It’s good to have this blend on hand.

Learn more – here’s an article on the Best Herbs for Bushfires

Love making your own teas but not sure exactly how? I’ve got you covered in my self-paced Mastering Herbal Teas in 5 minutes a day.

Full of easily-digestible video lessons, printable cheat sheets and my personal tea-blending method – you’ll be whipping up tea like a pro in no time! Shows you how to make your own teas for digestion, immunity, calm and vitality. Get started today!

The post Breathe Easy bushfire smoke exposure tea recipe appeared first on Everyday Empowered.

This broth has a place in EVERY home and I reckon has to be one of my most used recipes.

Why? Cause it’s so versatile and super quick hands-on time.

I love versatile recipes cause when you make them regularly you get to go on auto-pilot which reduces overwhelm and simplifies herbal medicine-making in your busy life!

Today we’ll talk about my immunity broth version – and some of the herbs you might want to include. At the end I’ll talk about how I like to use this broth

Benefits of herbal immunity broth

The benefits will depend on which herbs you use, but some herbs I always like to include:

Astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus) Astragalus has an affinity for the immune system and is an immunomodulator herb, meaning it brings the immune system into balance – whether it’s under or over-functioning (learn to decode herbal jargon around immunity in this article (click here).

I was taught that Chinese grandma’s would start adding Astragalus to the stock pot in autumn, to build immunity ahead of the winter cold and flu season. And that’s what I do too. It doesn’t stimulate the immune system acutely, but it works as a deep immune tonic, improving immune function when used over time.  

But it’s not just for prevention – astragalus is also a deeply supportive herb to use after illness. It’ll help you recover more fully so you don’t go down the route of recurrent infections.

NOTE – In Traditional Chinese Medicine, astragalus is contraindicated when you’re acutely sick.

Shiitake (lentinula edodes)– another immune superstar, shiitake is both an immunomodulator herb with antiviral and antimicrobial actions. See this article for more info (click here)

Seaweeds: seaweeds are a great source of bioavailable nutrients and will aid in recovery after an illness, or anytime you’re needing extra nourishment and support.

Nettle (Urtica dioica) is another great herb to add if you want a nutrient-dense broth.

Pungent herbs: garlic, onion, cayenne

Depending how you want to use your broth, you can either add these or leave them out. If I’m making a mild broth to cook rice in, or hide in foods, I’ll leave out these stronger tastes. The benefits of adding them is they warm the body, and stimulate the immune system. They’re great to add if you’re sipping on broth to support a fever as their diaphoretic action will help bring the fever to the surface. More info on supporting fevers in our Building Immunity course (click here)

Herbal Immunity Broth Recipe

Base Ingredients

I’m providing this recipe as a starting place for your herbal immunity broth adventures! Adapt to use what you’ve got on hand, and what health outcomes you want to support. Tweak the ratios to match the pot you’re making your stock in. A general guide is to fill about 1/3 – 1/2 way up your pot.

🌿 3 cups* mixed vegetables – I usually include carrots, celery, sweet potato, capsicum, onion (usually steer away from cruciferous ones, although I do use broccoli stems)

🌿 ½ cup shiitake (Lentinula Edodes)

🌿 1 dessertspoon – 1/4 cup astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus)

🌿 Few cloves of garlic, roughly chopped. (leave out if making mild version)

🌿 2 tablespoons fresh chopped or 1 tablespoon dried turmeric

🌿 1 tablespoon thyme (thyme vulgaris)

🌿 1 tablespoon fresh chopped ginger (can add more to your taste or leave out for mild version)

🌿 Salt and pepper

*Depends on your pot size, you might use up to 5 cups if a 12 litre stockpot

Method

🌿 Add all the ingredients to the pot and fill pot almost to the top with water (leaving room for it to gently simmer without overflowing)

🌿 Put lid on and bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer.

🌿 Simmer for 1 – 4 hours or up to 12 if using chicken bones

How To Use Herbal Immunity Broth

This is a mild, palatable broth, easily hidden in foods and great for kids. You can drink warm, or use it in your cooking. You can certainly amp up the pungent herbs to make it a spicier, more flavourful sipping broth.

I like to make a big batch and keep it in the fridge to use in cooking,. You could also freeze as ice cubes to have on hand when illness strikes (just make sure you’re not drinking a broth with astragalus in if you have acute infection).

Prevention: use in cooking all autumn/ winter as a base for stews, soups, as the water component in curries or when cooking rice.

If you feel yourself coming down with something, you can add the pungent herbs to warm you up and stimulate the immune system – make it according to your taste.

Acute illness: sip when feeling rough, especially if you’re not up for eating, a nourishing broth can give your body some nourishing support without adding digestion to your body’s to-do list.  Nettles, seaweeds and bones (if you eat that) are really good additions if you’re relying on your broth for nutrient support.

Note- make sure your broth doesn’t have astragalus during acute phase of illness.

Recovery: this broth can be a star in your recovery as you add herbs to help you kick of the last of the infection, rebuild your strength and focus on nourishment.

Cause yes, you can sip it as a drinking broth, but you can also use it as the base for soups and stews, the water component in curries, or when cooking rice.

Learn more

Get this as a recipe card, as well shiitake and astragalus in the DIY Immunity Kit (click here)

This broth is technically a herbal decoction – a specific way of making tea! The Mastering Herbal Teas in 5 Minutes a day self-paced course is your ultimate roadmap to make effective healing teas at home that you and your family actually want to drink!

In easily digestible videos, with printable cheat sheets and much more, you’ll what equipment you’ll need, the 3 ways herbalists make teas, as well as recipes and a simple framework to start making your own teas at home — I am so proud of this course and I hope it’ll help tea become a simple, fun enjoyable daily habit in your home! Learn more (click here)

The post Herbal Immunity Broth recipe appeared first on Everyday Empowered.