Itsy Bitsy Childrens Event

Saturday March 31st is the Itsy Bitsy Thrifty childrens consignment event being held at Fox Run Mall in Newington, NH.  I along with other great vendors such as Little h Big Style, Ink Print Letterpress, and Jets and Lilys will be there.   Its going to be a great event.  So if you have children or know somebody with children you should definately come by and check it out.  I'll have a lot new great products for babys and mamas to be.  Have an upcoming baby shower?  I offer many options for great gift ideas!  Hope to see you there. 

Shop Update

It’s been awhile since I posted anything so here’s a quick sum of what I’ve been up to.  As you may have noticed I’ve change my shop and blog name to Sencha Herbals instead of Sencha Wellness.  I’ve been planning a make over for my Etsy shop.  I’m going to streamline my bath and body products and have them as custom made lines.  For example, I’m working on a scent right now that will be known as Rustic Beauty.  I really think you’re gonna like it!! This line will consist of products such as a body oil, a body scrub, a bath salt, a body butter, body wash, and possibly a perfume.  I’m also going to carry a line I’m calling the Bare Body line.  This line will be for all you who like to have products that are without the aromas of essential oils.  I’ve been working on a line of products for the home as well to include laundry soap, all-purpose cleaner, tile and tub scrubber, and air fresheners.  I’ve also been dabbling in some herbal tea recipes.  Oh and I know I mentioned in one of my previous posts about making Slippery Elm Bark Lozenges.  Well I made them!  Too bad I really don’t like themJ  So that is going to go to the back burner for now.  On another note, I’ve completed my Natural Wellness course and I am now onto to my next course of Family Herbalist.  So hopefully in the next couple of weeks I will receive my course materials and we can move onto some more exciting things.  So stay tuned and keep checking my shop!  You should see some changes hopefully starting this weekJ 

Embracing the Natural Beauty of My Gray Hairs

I noticed my first gray hair when I was 25.  I am now 31 and feel like they’ve been spreading like wildfire.  My hair and I have what you would call a love hate relationship.  When it’s behaving, I absolutely love it.  I’m fortunate in that my hair can be curly and easily straightened.  Unfortunately, most of the time my hair likes to be curly in the back and straight in the front.  It has always been a somewhat drab color too.  Not exactly blonde but not brown either.  I think they like to call it ash blonde.  So naturally I stared dying my hair probably when I was 16 and my hair is now feeling the effects of it.  Of course back then I didn’t have these pesky gray hairs, so dying it wasn’t always a need.  Now that I’ve been dying it more often my hair is getting drier and drier.  So I’ve made a decision.  I am going to embrace the natural beauty of these gray hairs and let them be.  I am no longer going to dye my hair!!   With this resolution I have been sitting here thinking up some herbal oil treatments for different hair types.  So keep an eye out for them in my Etsy shop.

Delicious Recipes from a Fabulous Cookbook

With my new venture into eating healthier whole foods, I purchased this cookbook.  I have to tell you, this is the best cookbook I’ve ever owned so far.  I’ve only tried a few of the recipes like the Sunny Sunflower Seed Burgers, the Oven Fries (I used sweet potatoes), the Coconut Lime Chicken with Almond Dipping Sauce and the Decadent Chocolate Bundt Cake.  Every one of them has been absolutely delicious.  Tomorrow I am going to make a Creamy Cauliflower Soup and maybe some Herbed Foccacia Bread. Yum!!  So if you’re looking for some delicious recipes that are good for you, I would definitely invest in this cookbook.

The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook by Alissa Segersten and Tom Malterre, MS, CN

Calendula and Chickweed Healing Body Salve

As promised in my last post, here is one of my newest additions to my Etsy shop.  100% Organic ingredients including Sunflower oil infused with calendula and chickweed and beeswax.  This salve works great for all  types of dry damaged skin, eczema, dermititis and everything in between.  Calendula is known for it anti-inflammatory properties and chickweed is a "drawing herb" removing toxins from the skin and help to encourage tissue repair.

Create your own Herbal Medicine Chest

Well I’m working on Unit Five in my Natural Wellness program and the project is creating your own herbal medicine chest.  So, I thought I would share the top 5 things in the medicine chest that I’m creating for myself and maybe provide you with some helpful information to start your own.  So here it goes…

1. Calendula flowers and Chickweed-I create a healing salve using these very wonderful herbs.  I don’t know about you, but I get very dry skin in the winter and sometimes suffer from eczema.  This salve works great for reducing inflammation and encouraging tissue repair.  It’s also very nourishing to your skin.  *Note-this salve will be available in my Etsy shop soon(maybe tomorrow)J

2. Echinacea leaf and Elder berries-feel a cold coming on?  These fabulous little herbs will give your immune system that boost it needs to nip in the bud.  Elder berry is known to be effective against 8 strains of influenza.  This suggests that it more effective than today’s vaccines because they only treat known strains.  Strains that are continually changing.  If you’re like me and don’t want the risk the side effects a getting flu shot, then I highly recommend this wonderful herb.  I am going to make tea infusion with these and green tea as well.

3. Slippery Elm Bark- This mucilage is this herb helps relieve inflammation and irritation in the throat.  I found a great recipe for making my own throat lozenges.  Well almost great.  They use licorice leaf in the recipe and I am not a fan of licorice at all.  So, I’m going to play with this recipe a little bit and hopefully get some tasty lozenges from it.  If it works, hopefully, I will put them up in my Etsy shop as well.

4. Eucalyptus oil-This essential oil will clean out those sinuses for you!  You can added some to some boiling water to create a steam inhalation or You can do what I do and use the Cold/Flu oil that I created using eucalyptus oil, lemon oil, and chamomile oil.  Found of course in my Etsy shop.  Rub that across your chest and off to dreamland you go!

5. Ginkgo Leaf-So many uses for this great little herb, but I like to use for increased circulation.  Being a Massage Therapist, my wrist sustains a lot of wear and tear.    Increasing blood flow can stop inflammation in the hands and reduce swelling.  I hope to start making my own ginkgo capsules soon.  Maybe you’ll see those in my Etsy shop as well.  You never know.

I hope you’ve learned something new!  I’ll include more herbs along the way.  If there’s any particular herb that you’re curious about, let me know and I’ll do my best to answer your questions.  Oh I should probably mention too that these herbs I have chosen for myself.  Do not attempt to use these herbs without proper knowledge.  They do have contraindications that you need to be aware of!  If you want to know more, let me knowJ

Penne with Baby Peas and Feta

Healthy recipe #1 I found this recipe in my textbook for my Natural Wellness program so I thought I’d give it a try.  Hmmmmm my thoughts…not too bad.  Mind you I am a picky eater and not a great cook (not a bad one either tho J) First thing, now that I’ve made it I’m not sure if the 1 pound measurement for the pasta was for it dry or cooked.  I assumed dry and went with a 14.5oz box.  My opinion, way too much pasta.  I would cut that amount in half.  Second, I would dice the sundried tomatoes instead of slicing them. 

Third, I wasn’t thrilled about how soupy the broth was.  I would’ve preferred it a little thicker.  I will definitely try it again with these few changes and see how it turns out.  I’ve included a little Tid-bit nutrition fun facts about one of the ingredients.  Speaking of which, I would definitely add more peas to this recipe as well!!

 

Penne with Baby Peas and Feta

1 pound Penne pasta, cooked

1 cup chicken broth

½ cup baby green peas (fresh or frozen)

2 boneless chicken breasts, grilled and sliced into strips

¼ cup sun dried tomatoes, sliced

½feta

¼ cup parmesan, grated

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

1 tablespoon olive oil

Pour a tablespoon of olive oil into a pan over medium heat.  Add 2 teaspoons minced garlic and 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion.  Sauté 2-3 minutes until aromatic. Deglaze with the chicken broth and 2 cups of water.  Simmer 4-5 minutes until reduced by a 1/3.  Toss in the cheese, tomatoes, chicken and pasta.  Stir well.  Add the peas and cook until tender, about 3 minutes.

Tid-Bit Nutrition from Vintage Remedies Natural Wellness program

Peas-In general peas offer vitamins A, K, C, and B complex, as well as calcium, fiber, iron, and potassium.  Peas are great bone builders, as not only do they offer calcium, but vitamin K, which leads to optimal bone mineralization.  They are also healthy for digestion, and help strengthen the liver.