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Summary
On episode 98 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan sits down with Jan Berry, writer and photographer behind the blog The Nerdy Farm Wife, where she turns herbs, flowers, and other garden plants into homemade skincare, health, and household products, and a regular contributor to HobbyFarms.com and Natural Herbal Living magazine.
Jan walks through her new book, 101 Easy Homemade Products for Your Skin, Health, and Home, and how she got there: starting with a sick child and a cabinet of unused spices, then learning what everyday herbs like dandelion, basil, oregano, lavender, and lemon balm actually do for the body.
The conversation covers how to dry and infuse herbs at home with no special equipment, and runs through practical projects from lotion bars and lip balms to soap and laundry detergent, all built around knowing exactly what’s in the product instead of trusting an ingredient list full of unfamiliar chemicals.
Links
- https://nerdyfarmwife.com
- https://rusticescentuals.com
Key Takeaways
- Common yard plants double as remedies. Dandelion flowers infused into oil make a salve that Jan says can relieve pain for people with arthritis and inflamed joints, and it costs nothing since dandelions grow freely and neighbors are usually happy to let you pick them.
- Basil is more than a seasoning. It has anti-inflammatory properties and has been studied as an anti-aging extract, which Jan positions as an alternative to expensive lotions loaded with unfamiliar chemicals.
- Different herbs solve different problems. Oregano has antibacterial properties, lavender is calming and easy to grow, and lemon balm and mint help with stress, upset stomach, headaches, and nausea.
- Drying herbs at home needs no special equipment. Jan spreads dandelions, rose petals, or mint in a single layer on a clean cloth and air dries them, no dehydrator required.
- Oil infusions preserve herbs for later use. Herbs steeped in a quality grocery-store oil, using either a quick or slow method, can be strained and kept for 9 months to a year; herbs can also be infused in vinegar or frozen for tea.
- Solid lotion bars solve the travel liquid problem. Because they’re solid, homemade lotion bars poured into small candy-size molds don’t count against airline liquid limits, unlike bottled lotion.
- Buying local builds trust in what you’re using. Jan favors sourcing beeswax and other ingredients from local farmers and farmers markets because you can ask the person who made it whether it’s what their own family uses.
- Homemade products remove the guesswork on chemicals. Store-bought labels list chemicals individually rated generally regarded as safe in small doses, but a product can combine 12 or more of them; making your own means everything in it is something you recognize.
- Homemade is often cheaper than store-bought. Jan says her homemade skincare, soap, and laundry detergent recipes typically cost less than equivalent commercial products while avoiding unknown additives.
“It costs you absolutely nothing to go out and pick a dandelion.”
Jan Berry