I'm so grateful for the Natural Medicine Wisdom Challenges for it gives me the incentive to do some research, try new recipes or dig out some old remedies. The newest challenge is a Maker Challenge - details here. This has got me moving on a project I had been thinking about for awhile.
With winter coming on, I'll need more skin lotion for my winter dry skin. I have a simple 3 ingredient lotion bar recipe and I have lots of all the ingredients. Lots of coconut oil, hemp seed oil (I want to use this up before it goes bad) and a large bar of bees wax I got at a garage sale. Plus there is one final ingredient that will really add to the lotion, making it more than your basic lotion, it'll add extra health benefits, health for your skin, that ingredient is chickweed - Stellaria media. The chickweed I am going to infuse into my hemp seed oil by simply packing a pint jar with fresh chickweed, then filling the jar with the hemp seed oil making sure all the chickweed is covered. Put the lid on the jar and shake, then put it in a cool place for a couple of weeks, shaking regularly. After a couple of weeks, use a cloth-lined strainer to strain the chickweed infused oil out and place it into storage bottles.
Chickweed - Stellaria Media
Chickweed is something I have plenty of in my garden, some consider it a weed but I've become rather enamoured with it and you'll find out why if you read on further...
I knew chickweed is good for skin. On further research I found it was both a demulcent (relieves inflammation or irritation) and emollient (has the quality of softening or soothing the skin)
Also I found
Chickweed has a long history of traditional uses as an emollient for the skin, helping cases of eczema, psoriasis, ulcers, boils, and abscesses. It can be administered through poultices, compresses, baths and through its consumption!
Perfect for in my skin lotion!
Plus I will be using coconut oil in my lotion which is antibacterial and full of vitamin E, which will help to preserve the lotion.
3 Ingredient Skin Lotion
1 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup herb infused oil (I'm using hemp seed oil infused with chickweed)
1 cup of bees wax
Optional - 1 teaspoon vitamin E for increased shelf life.
Directions:
Put coconut oil, herb infused oil and wax into a double boiler. Or if you have an Instant Pot you can use that on the “keep warm” setting.
On a gentle heat, stirring regularly, heat until ingredients are melted.
Pour into molds (muffin tins can serve as molds if you don't have any others).
Once completely cooled remove from molds and your lotion bars are ready to use.
Variation:
Use equal parts shea butter or cocoa butter, with coconut oil and bees wax
While I was researching about chickweed, which I have an such an abundance of (did I say that already?), I found out it makes good pesto and I love Pesto!
While I'm consuming this nutrient dense plant, I'll be taking in all the minerals and vitamins it is known for - calcium, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, manganese, sodium, copper, iron, vitamins C, B6, B12, D and A plus rutin (a bioflavinoid) and silica. Bring on those added health benefits - delicious and nutritious! Check out what Wikipedia has to say about Stellaria media here or Wild Abundance here
Chickweed Pesto
Ingredients
1/2 cup pine nuts, walnuts or almonds
2-3 cloves garlic minced.
3 cups chickweed loosely packed.
1 Tbsp lemon juice.
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil.
1/2 tsp salt.
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper.
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Put the ingredients in a food processor or I use a Vitamix blender and blend well. Enjoy!
This pesto can be frozen and kept for up to 4 months. Or if you don't have time to make your pesto just blend the chickweed with some olive oil and freeze that to use when you are ready to make pesto.
Chickweed Growing Abundantly in the Garden
This information came at just the right time for the chickweed was still managing to grow in our covered garden while the stuff outside was pretty much done. Just today we got about 4 inches of snow, which I expect will stay for the winter now. With the snow, the temperatures dropped too, and it is not expected to get above freezing for most of this coming week.
I managed to get in one last harvest of chickweed, enough for my lotion, for my pesto and the nice tips I saved for my salads.
Last of the Chickweed Harvested from the Now, Snow Covered Hoop House
Harvest of Chickweed for Lotion, Pesto and Salads
A few more things about chickweed - chickens love it (thus the name!) I gave my neighbor a couple of bags full for her chickens (who's eggs I eat)
It's favored by many using permaculture as a ground cover layer. I use it in my traditional garden plot as a living mulch - just make sure to pull it away from small seedlings for it will soon cover them over.
Plus in the Japanese spring-time festival, Nanakusa-no-sekku, it is one of the ingredients of the symbolic dish for that festival.
I hope this brought to light to you what a wonderful plant chickweed can be or inspired you to make your own homemade lotion or perhaps you have something else you make that you want to share in the Natural Medicine Maker Challenge
All photos were taken with my Canon PowerShot SX 60 HS
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