Vibrant Botanicals

70+ nourishing recipes using adaptogens, herbs, and botanicals to heal, energize, and calm.

“With unique and enticing recipes, Jennifer McGruther shows readers how easy it is to welcome healing herbs into their homes and food traditions.”—Rosalee de la Forêt, author of Alchemy of Herbs and Wild Remedies

When used properly, plants provide a wealth of healing powers. Adaptogens (plant extracts that help the body adapt to stress) and herbs are some of the most potent sources of such energy and immunity—plus they have a host of additional health benefits. Cookbook author and blogger Jennifer McGruther of Nourished Kitchen expertly guides readers through the properties of herbal energetics and how to gain the most from these dynamic sources. Jennifer explains each function and application, and how to extract their benefits into tinctures, infused oils, teas and tisanes, vinegars, and more. And while store-bought adaptogenic powders and elixirs from popular retailers may be a hefty investment, Jennifer’s creations cost only a few dollars to make at home.

Vibrant Botanicals provides more than 70 recipes for helping you feel your best when using herbal infusions. You’ll discover how cacao and licorice naturally awaken the body and can be incorporated into granolas, beverages, and breakfasts to jump-start your day. Garlic, astragalus, reishi, and more are showcased in homemade broth and fire cider to help build immunity; while passionflower, ashwagandha, and chamomile are mixed into creamy milk blends and teas to ensure peaceful sleep.

Whether you are looking to fortify digestion, lift your spirits, or just enjoy a good night’s rest, Vibrant Botanicals provides the natural solution, through nourishing and herbal-rich recipes.

Pages: 240

Praise

When it comes to using herbs, many home cooks focus on their flavor rather than their health benefits, writes food blogger McGruther (The Nourished Kitchen) in this illuminating guide that encourages readers to consider both as being crucial to supporting one’s body’s needs. McGruther organizes herbs into categories—warming and cooling, drying and moistening, stimulating and relaxing—to describe their effects and how they’re best utilized. Her method is to mix and match herbs with complementary properties to produce a desired effect. To lift one’s spirits, she suggests a tulsi and lemon balm lunar infusion, and for a good night’s sleep, vanilla rose petal honey. While this kind of open-ended approach might seem daunting, explanations of each herb’s health benefits (thyme and sage help “fight off viruses”; fennel “combat inflammation”) and accessible recipes (slow-roasted saffron chicken with rosemary, ginger mint fizz, stone fruit salad with lemon balm) make easy work of gradually expanding one’s regimen. McGruther encourages readers to “explore what you enjoy,” but not without emphasizing that herbs are “an adjunct to medical care, and not a substitute for it.” This will work well for anyone looking to reconsider their approach to cooking, as well as those wanting a more health-focused repertoire that doesn’t sacrifice flavor. (Apr.)