Herbal infusion for good-night
My love for herbs has been growing at a high rate through the past few years and learning through reading books, picking herbs, processing them and then using them in daily life, all made me feel closer to Nature, making me aware of the great power the herbs possess.
I’m lucky that in Slovenia herbs grow in abundance. You can buy “loose-leaf herbs” for infusion practically at every market; the ones I buy usually come in bags of 50 or 75g and cost a little less than 3 euros per bag. I store the herbs in jars in the kitchen cupboard. There must be at least 20 jars in there right now, not counting the mixtures. I like to make herbal mixtures myself, according to the recipes from some old herbal bibles -as I call them- that are helpful for just about any health problem I encounter.
Now, under normal conditions I don’t have troubles with sleeplessness, however sometimes I really feel I need a cup of a soothing good-night infusion, for a lighter sleep. In such case I’d prepare myself some chamomile which is the most common sleep aid (among other things), while my Juanpi is more fond of peppermint tea. A few days ago I made this mix of herbs* suitable for an infusion before going to bed. If you have the chance to get these herbs, I warmly recommend it – even if you don’t have troubles sleeping. After a cup of this infusion you will sleep like an angel!
* All the herbs from this mix are used in their dried form.
MY HERBAL INFUSION FOR GOOD-NIGHT
2 Tbsp Menta x piperita leaves
2 Tbsp Melissa officinalis leaves
2 Tbsp Tilia leaves
2 Tbsp Rosa canina hips
1 Tbsp Valeriana officinalis root
1 Tbsp Foeniculum vulgare seeds
1 Tbsp Matricaria recutita flowers
1 tsp Rosmarinus officinalis leaves
Preparation:
Mix the upper-mentioned herbs together and store in an air-tight (tin) container, in dark place and away from any heat sources. For preparing a cup (250ml) of infusion, pour freshly boiled water over 1 tsp of herbal mixture, cover and steep for 3-5′, then filter and enjoy unsweetened or dissolve a teaspoon of honey in it.
Note: a cup of this infusion per day can not do any harm to you and given the minor quantity, there’s no need to fear the development of addiction to these herbs (I’m saying this mainly because of the Valerian root; you might have heard of cats having a tendency to develop addiction to it – while there has been no such report on addiction to Valerian by humans). However, more care should be applied in case you are combining herbs with synthetic medicaments – if so, I’d recommend you discuss it with your doctor prior to preparing this or any other herbal infusion.
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