Drink to Your Health

We’ve come off the peak flu months – and this one was a doozy – but health and wellness is still on plenty of people’s minds.

“Most people come to me for support with foundational health concerns like digestion, sleep, acne/eczema, stress, fatigue, and overall wellbeing,” says EMILY KUCHLBAUER, aWilmington-based herbalist and founder of Sunday Herbal. She does one-on-one tea consultations to create custom blends and is expanding later this year into in-depth herbal and flower essence consultations.

“In 2025, I am also looking forward to expanding my line of small-batch herbal products like digestive bitters, tinctures, and salves, as well as continuing to teach pop up workshops,” she says.

Kuchlbauer started Sunday Herbal last year as a way to support her two-year advanced herbalism program at the Terra Sylva School of Botanical Medicine in Marshall, North Carolina. “To me,” she says, “Sunday Herbal as a name is a reminder that simple, everyday remedies can make a big difference in our well-being.”

Kuchlbauer shares her tea recipe for a springtime health boost. She points out for the recipe, as a disclaimer, these statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Spring Relief Tea

This tea blend is good for post-winter nourishment and pollen season support, Emily Kuchlbauer says. “Ingredients like tulsi, elderflower, mullein, and licorice are particularly beneficial for pollen season while herbs like nettle, plantain, and dandelion provide a rich nutrient boost,” she says.

INGREDIENTS

2 tsp dried nettles

1 tsp dried plantain leaf

1 tsp dried tulsi

1 tsp dried dandelion leaf

1 tsp dried mullein leaf

½ tsp dried elderflower

½ tsp dried peppermint

¼ tsp dried licorice root

DIRECTIONS

This recipe follows a ratio-based measurement. While teaspoons are listed for easy reference, you can scale up or down while keeping the same proportions.

2 parts nettles

1 part each of plantain leaf, tulsi, dandelion leaf, and mullein leaf

½ part each of elderflower and peppermint

¼ part licorice root

Mix the dried herbs together. Store in an airtight container. Use 1 teaspoon of the blend per 8 ounces of boiling water. Steep for 5-10 minutes, then sip up to 2-3 cups per day throughout the spring season.

Caution: Avoid this tea if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or taking prescription medications. Consult your doctor if you have high blood pressure sensitive to sodium, take diuretics, have congestive heart failure, or take MAO inhibitors.

Spring Greens Vinegar

“After a long, sedentary winter, herbalists turn to lymphatic-supporting herbs in the spring. … Spring herbal allies like cleavers, dandelion, chickweed, nettle, red clover, and violet can also provide support to the body’s natural lymphatic flow,” Kuchlbauer says. “One of the best ways to extract their mineral-rich benefits is through vinegar extraction.”

You can use this as a salad dressing base, to enrich soups or other recipes, mixed into mocktails, or taken by the teaspoon daily with diluted with water.

INGREDIENTS

Choose from the following herbs. you don’t need all of them, just one or a mix of a few: chickweed, dandelion leaf, cleavers, violet leaves, nettle, or red clover

Raw apple cider vinegar

A glass jar with a plastic lid (or a metal lid with parchment paper to prevent corrosion)

DIRECTIONS

Choose your herbs: Use fresh or dried herbs (dried herbs make for a more stable vinegar that lasts six to twelve months). If using fresh, store the finished vinegar in the fridge and consume within three to six months.

Prepare the herbs: Chop fresh herbs or ensure dried herbs are in small pieces.

Fill the jar: Add the herbs to a clean, sanitized mason jar.

Cover with vinegar: Pour raw apple cider vinegar over the herbs, ensuring they are fully submerged. Use a chopstick to remove air bubbles.

Seal the jar: Use a plastic lid, or if using a metal lid, place parchment paper between the lid and the jar to prevent rusting.

Infuse: Let the mixture steep for two to four weeks, shaking occasionally.

Strain: Press out the herbs through muslin or cheesecloth, then transfer the strained vinegar to a clean jar.

Store: If using fresh herbs, refrigerate and use within six months. If using dried herbs, it will last up to twelve months.

To view more of photographer Drewe & Kate’s work, go to dreweandkate.com

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