As the snow melts from the ground and Spring Peepers are calling a mate, it starts to be difficult to rise our stuffy heads out of bed. It seems as if we are just about through with the flu/cold season and now have entered the allergy season. Symptoms are similar but different. It is now time to bring out our allergy support ~ Goldenrod.
Over the years, I have collected various ways to take Goldenrod. The fact is, each individual has their own needs and idiosyncrasies, therefore, it’s important to have as many tools in your herbal toolbox. Several years ago, I developed this recipe after talking with a parent at Mathew’s school. Her daughter suffered from numerous allergies that range from seasonal to food. Unfortunately, it had not only limited her daughter’s options but the girl became scared to try most new things in fear that she may have an allergic reaction. Of course, I shared my Goldenrod experiences with the mom. She was rather excited to try something new with her daughter. She did warn me though that her daughter was a very picky eater and may not try the Goldenrod.
Since the girl was very particular about what she ate or consumed, first I gave them dried Goldenrod to make tea. I wanted to start slowly. Unfortunately, she had never drunk tea before and was not going to start with Goldenrod. I had read about herbal jello in James Green’s “The Herbal Medicine-Maker’s Handbook,” and it seemed worth a try. Even though I have never made jello before, I took his recipe and adapted it.
Mathew and I were so amazed how easy it was to make jello. I decided not to use the official Jell-o brand jello since I was able find a healthier version in the local health food store. It has less additives and ingredients. Less is always better in my book. Moreover, I didn’t want anything unnecessary in the jello; remember the girl had a lot of food allergies. I put the jello in a pan large enough that I could make each jello square equivalent to a half dose of goldenrod. This would allow for multiple doses throughout the day, if needed.
Goldenrod Herbal Jello recipe
1 box of jello
2 cups boiling water
Mix all the ingredients together in a 6 x 8 rectangular glass dish. Put into your refrigerator until it sets, this may take a couple of hours. If you cut the jello into 1 inch squares, you should get 48 squares. Then cover and refrigerate them. I took a couple of squares out and left them uncovered in the refrigerator. The uncovered jello would get gummy – kind of like a gummy bear.
Mathew is a great guinea pig and my chief taster. He decided that it didn’t taste bad but was able to detect a little goldenrod after-taste. He preferred the jello to the gummy jello. Unfortunately, the girl did not feel comfortable trying the goldenrod jello. So we will never know if Goldenrod would help her allergies. Nonetheless, it was a great exercise and I have another herbal tool available to share. I did discover that for myself, a Goldenrod herbal jello square lasted longer than straight Goldenrod tincture. Therefore, I needed less Goldenrod throughout the day to solve my allergy problems. I suspect digestion played a critical role as it allowed the Goldenrod to be released more slowly into my system.
All information is shared for educational purposes only and has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
