I often receive letters from children about my Kids Herb Book expressing their joy in making things and learning about herbs. With so many places having people shelter at home this year, more and more folks are studying herbs for their family’s health, which includes kids, too!

The East West Herb Course offers a free Kids Herb Course and we love hearing from children about making various preparations, reading the herbal stories, and singing the herbal songs. With so many children learning from home, A Kids Herb Book with the Kids Herb Course is a wonderful way to help teach them how to care for their health and in a fun and involved way.

More often than not, we learn that root beer is one of kids’ favorite recipe projects. Here is the recipe for you:

Herbal Root Beer:

Root beer used to be made only from herbs. It gets its flavor mostly from two of the herbs, sassafras and sarsaparilla. Today, root beer is made from flavored syrup. Make your own healthy root beer at home! The herb, sarsaparilla, is very healing to the liver, blood and skin. Here is one “soda pop” that can clear skin blemishes rather than causing them!

• Simmer 1 tablespoon sarsaparilla in 1 ½ cups water covered for 15 minutes. Be careful not to let it boil over.
• Add 2 teaspoons anise seeds and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon (bark is best, but you can use powdered, too). Steep covered 10 minutes.
• Strain. Add ¼ cup carbonated water.
• Cool. Drink and enjoy!

Other fun herbal holiday recipes include…

Cranberry Sauce:

This is Michael’s favorite cranberry sauce and his mother made it every year for him:

• 1 pound fresh cranberries
• 1-2 oranges
• Grind together the cranberries with the orange(s), including 1-2 pieces of the peel for digestion and zest.

Find more recipes at the following blog posts:

Herbal Gifts for the Holidays

Spice up Your Holidays