Brittany Wood Nickerson - Recipes from the Herbalists Kitchen

Every great story has a hero, that awe-inspiring figure who overcomes all manner of obstacles to meet a challenge head-on and triumph over it. In our current medical system the hero is the doctor, the scientist, the surgeon, the specialist, the expert who rushes in to diagnose the problem and tell us how to fix it. In the culinary world the hero is the food writer, the celebrity chef, the fitness trainer, the health guru, the expert who tells us exactly what to eat and how to prepare it. In fact, as a general principle we have developed a cultural habit of outsourcing heroism, finding it anywhere but inside ourselves. That mind-set that habit of depending on outside experts to save us by telling us how to live well may be one of the biggest factors holding us back from true, deep, vibrant well-being.

Its as if society is selling us a dream, a fantastical story in which our happiness and contentment are guaranteed if only we follow the advice of the right experts, eat the right foods, exercise the right amount, have the right stuff in our homes, live the right way. But does this expert prescription for a good life really feel good to us? Or is it actually an obstacle between us and an open, intimate, authentic experience of our world?

Herbal medicine is a time-tested system of healing, practiced around the world for thousands of years, and modern science has now confirmed its efficacy for a wide range of health concerns. However, herbalism doesnt just put forth a prescription of what herbs to take to be healthy. When applied holistically, herbalism offers us an opportunity not just to feel well but to live well to engage intimately and authentically with our own health and our world in ways that feel fulfilling and meaningful.

At its most basic level, the work of making and using herbal medicine at home connects us to our individual needs: what sort of ailments we tend to experience, and which remedies work best for us. On a broader scale, home herbalism teaches us that each of us has different needs, that self-care requires self-knowledge, and that balance is the root of wellness. It asks us to walk the path of empowerment and self-discovery, and in this way, it positions us as the heroes of our own story.

Herbalism offers us an opportunity not just to feel well but to live well.

I have always loved both cooking and plants, and as a kid, I spent a lot of time in the kitchen, in the woods, and in the garden, soaking up everything I could. I began formally studying herbal medicine when I was in college in northern California. At the same time I started cooking, privately and professionally, all over the Bay Area. Eventually I started a business, Thyme Herbal, teaching cooking classes that emphasized the use of herbs and simple, good food prepared in ways that maximized their benefit to the body.

When I first started teaching classes, I realized that my students were looking at me as the expert. They wanted me to tell them what they needed to know and do to live well. I felt uncomfortable, and a little perplexed. Who was I to decide what was best for others? After all, each of us is a unique organism, and what makes us healthy is as diverse as our taste in clothing and our preferences in books and music. Being healthy is just that: a state of being, a subjective experience that varies from person to person.

This awareness helps us recognize that health and healing are acts of connection. To be healthy requires us to connect with our body its processes and inclinations and also with our families, our communities, our home and work environments, our food systems, and the natural world. Every aspect of our lives contributes to our physical and emotional nourishment. We all possess the inherent wisdom to nurture and heal ourselves by getting to know our own rhythms, embedded as they are in the larger picture of our lives and the patterns of the earth. We simply need to learn to listen to and connect with ourselves.

As an herbalist and healer, my role is to empower people, rather than telling them what to do. I want to help people cultivate their own skills and tune in to their own intuitive wisdom. This view of health operates outside the experts paradigm of right answers and cures. It allows for the possibility that we can know ourselves, and it recognizes that the process of self-knowing in itself is a large part of our well-being. It requires us to appreciate that health can be different things for different people, that each persons healing path is unique, and that our desire to be well and to live in balance with our body and our world is our most powerful, important medicine. These concepts have become the cornerstones of my philosophies about health and healing.

There is a unique energy a nexus of power in the intersection of food and medicine.

There is a unique energy a nexus of power in the intersection of food and medicine. We are taught that each has its own place: food nourishes the body; medicine cures the body. But what if we recognized that food and medicine can be one and the same? When we learn to make use of the power of food and herbs to heal and support the body we celebrate and utilize the potent medicine found in some of our most basic ingredients.

Take herbs as an example. Our traditional culinary herbs and spices, like basil, black pepper, cilantro, and parsley, have formidable medicinal abilities. They support everything from digestion and metabolism to immune function, circulation, and the nervous system. If youve ever used herbs and spices in your cooking and most of us have youve been practicing herbal medicine. Right at home. With no help from the experts.

Herbs are not miracle cures. They dont work like heroic medicine: instead of curing a problem for you, they almost always help you better heal yourself. A spoonful of sage honey boosts the immune system and helps the body fight off a cold. A cup of hot peppermint tea encourages the body to sweat and helps break a fever. Offer someone a cup of basil tea, and you help them relax so they can sort through their anxiety with greater ease. Put a dollop of herb pesto alongside a heavy meal, and you help the body digest fats and ease indigestion. The list goes on and on.