Rejuvenating Rose Hips

[suzanne sanders]

Rejuvenating Rose Hips, beauty for your eyes, their colors reminding us that  fall is here and it's time to reconnect to our roots, by slowing down and  taking care of our gut.   How's your digestion?  How are you digesting  life?  Are you living to much in your head and forgot about your feet?     

The colors of red, orange or a mixture of both let us know it is time to harvest these beauties but to live with bliss, and to seek the  pleasures of life on a daily basis.        

On a physical level orange relates to the colon, bladder, and gallbladder. It is part of  digestion and assimilation.  When you look at the orange color of the rose hips it makes sense that it is a carminative 

On a physical level red relates to the adrenal glands.   The high vitamin C content of rose hips gives your adrenal gland a super antioxidant boost.   

It is as if nature is telling us by providing the colors of fall and fall nourishment to slow down, root yourself back into the ground, reflect, to connect with the deep voice of self, to listen to your gut feelings (not screens), to follow wisdom and how much free radical damage are you generating or using in your life (fried foods, tobacco, non organic food, using perfume, hair dyes, petroleum based body care etc..) 

Rose Hips are sour, astringent, carminataive, nutritive, tonic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antispasmodic and aperient (gentle laxative).   They are recognized as one of the highest sources of vitamin C.   Rose hips have bioflavonoids, they are great for colds, infections, to detox your body from free radical damage, carminative properties aid in absorption of nutrients and  are loaded with other vitamins and minerals.   

Harvest rose hips when they are bright red or orange.  If you can harvest after the first frost of autumn because they will be sweeter.  You don't want any brown spots and pick when it is dry to prevent them from molding. 

Do not eat them raw unless you cut them in half and scrape out the seeds and tiny hairs.   If you want to dehydrate them you need to do this to. 

 To use them fresh for a syrup or  jam you do not need to cut them in half and scrape out the tiny hairs and seeds.  

To buy rose hips or other herbs: 

https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjwmqHPBRBQEiwAOvbR8-...

High Vitamin C Tea Recipe: 

Ingredients:  rose hips, hibiscus flowers, lemon grass, cinnamon chips

Note:  Vitamin C is a noted antioxidant with disease-fighting abilities.  

Rose Hips:  They contain more vitamin C than almost any other herb, many times the amount found in citrus fruit when measured gram by gram.  

Hibiscus:  high in vitamin C and bioflavonoids.  It has slightly astringent properties.  It is useful for treating mild colds, flus, bruising, and swelling. 

Lemon Grass:  http://planetwell.com/lemongrass-health-benefits-and-healing-proper...

Cinnamon:  Although cinnamon is considered to be simply a spice by most Westerners, herbalists have been using it for centuries as a warming digestive aid.  It is a wonderful mild stimulant and can be combined with ginger to treat circulatory and digestive problems.  It has antiviral and antiseptic activities, making it useful for fighting infections.  

 

4 parts rose hips

3 parts hibiscus

2 parts lemongrass

1 part cinnamon chips 

Rose Hip Spice Jam

Using fresh rose hips 

1 lb Fresh rose hips (ends pulled off)

1 cup filtered water

1 cup raw real honey

2 tablespoon orange spice (recipe below)

Love

Gently simmer rose hips in the water until fruit is tender.   

Rub through a sieve

Return to heat and add honey and spices 

Gently simmer until thick, stirring frequently

Spoon hot into hot sterilized jars

Seal

Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes 

Label 

Orange Spice Sprinkle 

2 TBL.  orange peel pd.

3 TBL. cinnamon pd.

1/2 tsp. ginger pd,

1/2 tsp. cloves pd.

1/2 tsp. cardamom pd.

Mix and put in a spice jar and label.  

[suzanne sanders]

Hi Rachel, 

I forgot about those.  I need to go look.    Thank you for the reminder :) 

[Rachel Hayward]

Ha! Did you find out those red things I was seeing were rosehips? Awesome. I don't have any here. Will have to go a wildcrafting :)