Healing Natures Way

Healing Natures Way Supporting you to improve your physical and mental health naturally. BSc (Hons) Clinical Herbalism, RGN.

Experienced Clinical Medical Herbalist & Prescriber of Lifestyle Medicine I'm Debbie, an experienced registered nurse, clinical medical herbalist, and lifestyle medicine prescriber. I provide online consultations anywhere in the UK and in-person consultations within a 25-mile radius of CB9 0NN, which covers areas within West Suffolk, South Cambridgeshire, North West and North East Essex.

Summer has officially started, and the first of June also means we are halfway through 2026! Whilst summer months can b...
01/06/2026

Summer has officially started, and the first of June also means we are halfway through 2026!

Whilst summer months can be a better time of year for some, dark and challenging times can arise at any time. However, even in those moments, there is still goodness to be found all around us—small acts of kindness, glimpses of beauty, sparks of joy and opportunities for connection. This month's Action for Happiness calendar encourages us to look for the good around us - one small moment, one kind action and one grateful pause at a time.

Best wishes 🌺

30/05/2026

Here's the non-alcoholic version, e.g. elderflower cordial🙂:

Elderflower cordial is a fragrant, sweet syrup made by infusing fresh elderflowers with sugar, lemon, and water, optionally enhanced with citric acid for preservation.

Ingredients
20–30 fresh elderflower heads (or 20 g dried elderflowers)
1.5 liters water
1 kg granulated or caster sugar
3 unwaxed lemons (zested and juiced)
2 tablespoons citric acid (optional, for preservation)
Equipment
Large heatproof bowl or preserving pan
Fine mesh sieve, muslin cloth, or jelly bag
Glass bottles with tight-fitting lids
Funnel
Potato peeler or zester

Step-by-Step Instructions:
1. Harvest and Prepare Elderflowers
Pick fully open, creamy white elderflower heads on a dry, sunny morning. Shake gently to remove insects and debris. Snip or pull the tiny flowers off the thick green stems, leaving only the delicate flowers, as the stems contain mildly toxic compounds and can make the cordial bitter.
2. Prepare Citrus
Wash lemons thoroughly. Zest carefully, avoiding the white pith, and slice into thin rounds. Juice the lemons and set aside.
3. Make Sugar Syrup
Combine sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until fully dissolved, then bring to a gentle boil. Remove from heat and let cool slightly so it’s warm but not boiling.
4. Combine Ingredients
Place the prepared elderflowers and lemon slices in a large heatproof bowl. Pour the warm sugar syrup over them and add citric acid if using. Stir gently to ensure all flowers are submerged.
5. Infuse
Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel or lid and leave at room temperature for 24–48 hours. Stir gently once or twice a day. Do not exceed 48 hours to avoid fermentation or mould.
6. Strain and Bottle
Line a sieve with muslin or a clean cloth and strain the liquid into a clean bowl, pressing gently to extract all syrup. Transfer the cordial into sterilised glass bottles using a funnel. Seal tightly.
Storage
Refrigerate: 4–6 weeks if made with citric acid; 1–2 months without.
Freeze: Up to 6 months in freezer-safe containers.
Avoid pouring hot syrup into cold bottles to prevent cracking.

Best wishes 🌺

Not everyone likes the heatwave, but the elderflowers in my area have certainly been! Always best picked when fully open...
30/05/2026

Not everyone likes the heatwave, but the elderflowers in my area have certainly been! Always best picked when fully open, creamy-white, and fragrant on warm, dry, sunny days, it was the perfect time to harvest some to start the process of making a little elderflower vodka😊

Of course, safety first, so if ever you are not sure of your plant identification, don't try this at home! If, however, you are confident in identifying your elderflowers, making a little elderflower vodka is easy. Collect a small bag full of freshly picked elderflowers, then leave to rest on some kitchen paper for 30 minutes or so, to allow any little bugs to crawl off. Get your sterile, clean jar with an airtight lid from the cupboard, and take off the lid. Next, start to cut and massage all of the elderflowers from the many tiny green stalks. You can either do this straight into the jar or onto some clean kitchen paper first, and then gently tip into the jar.
Once you have a good half of the jar filled with the elderflowers, start to gradually pour in the vodka. Give the jar a gentle shake every so often to dislodge any bubbles and fill right up to the top of the jar. Finally, screw the lid onto the jar and store it to 'brew' for the next 2-4 weeks, giving the jar a gentle shake at least once a week.

Once the 'brew' time is up, use a muslin cloth over a funnel and strain your newly made elderflower vodka into a clean jug. At the end, squeeze out the elderflower-filled muslin cloth so that no goodness or vodka is lost, and then you can decant and pour into a clean bottle. A taste test at this stage can be helpful, as sometimes adding some extra (plain) vodka is required to get it to the desired balance of flavour. That's it, pour into a glass, add your favourite soft drink mixer, sit back and enjoy😁

{It goes without saying, of course, always drink alcohol responsibly, and in moderation!}

Best wishes🌺

Incredibly a third of 2026 has already past as we start the month of May😊 This month Action for Happiness encourage us t...
01/05/2026

Incredibly a third of 2026 has already past as we start the month of May😊

This month Action for Happiness encourage us to make May meaningful with useful daily ideas to try.

Best wishes 🌺

Thank you to Jeanette from Karenja for inviting me, and to all of the lovely ladies I met on Saturday, too, thank you, f...
27/04/2026

Thank you to Jeanette from Karenja for inviting me, and to all of the lovely ladies I met on Saturday, too, thank you, for your open hearts & minds and the very warm welcome I received. It was a pleasure to meet and talk with you all, introducing herbal medicine and the pillars of wellbeing.💚
I'm happy to join you again. If there is anything you'd like to learn more about or a topic of particular interest, please let Jeanette know, and we can arrange something for the future. If there is anything I can help with on an individual basis, please do contact me.
To the 16 going on the five-day retreat to Cornwall, have a fabulous time; and to you all, very warm blessings.
Kind regards, Debbie🌺

No April fool here, as it is after midday 😊 Spring has sprung, and Action for Happiness in this month's calendar encour...
01/04/2026

No April fool here, as it is after midday 😊
Spring has sprung, and Action for Happiness in this month's calendar encourages us to be Active this April.

Following on from the previous post about ideas for detoxing from some of our technology and screen use. For those ready for it, this would be another, more significant option to try:

Seven-day digital detox.
Day 1 – Switch off push notifications on your phone, tablet and laptop.
Day 2 – Unsubscribe from redundant email lists.
Day 3 – Set your email apps to refresh manually, not automatically; take emails (or at least work emails) off your phone.
Day 4 – Have a device box for use at mealtimes. Every family member must put theirs in before you all sit down together to eat.
Day 5 – Switch off all your electronic devices 90 minutes before bed.
Day 6 – Have two one-hour periods during the day where you are device-free; see if you can enjoy some special moments without posting them on social media.
Day 7 – SCREEN FREE DAY. Live your entire day offline and without screens!

This exercise is a great way to shine a light on your tech reliance – and provides an interesting potential opportunity to change a few things longer term as a result.

Best wishes, Debbie 🌺

The Spring equinox on Friday (20th) marked the official start of Spring, which often leads to thoughts of detoxing. In ...
22/03/2026

The Spring equinox on Friday (20th) marked the official start of Spring, which often leads to thoughts of detoxing. In the herbal world, there are many plants we can use to help us, nettle (Urtica dioica), dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), burdock (Arctium lappa), cleavers (Galium aperine), and milk thistle (Silybum marianum), to name just a few. But what about our modern environments, could it be useful to consider some 'detoxing' in this regard? Well, one such way would be to think about our use of technology.

Technology is part of everything we do these days — keeping us connected, helping us work, even for some of us, supporting our health. But all those notifications, long hours staring at screens, and the pressure to stay “always on” can quietly stress our nervous system. Ever notice headaches, tension, anxiety, poor sleep, or even chronic aches after a long digital day? It’s not your imagination.

Our bodies can stay on high alert from constant digital stimulation — studies even show that screen time ramps up our “danger signals”, keeping stress levels high.
And let’s face it, our phones are like slot machines in our pockets… each notification could be good news or bad, and that unpredictability keeps us hooked. When the outcome is positive, we get a burst of dopamine, making us reach for our devices even more. The downside, however, can be chronic pain, anxiety, tiredness, sleep problems, digestion issues, and increased muscle tension — all linked to nervous system overload.

Okay, so a full detox and ditching technology altogether might be a step too far for many, but we can all take some simple steps to feel better. Try these easy changes:
• Set boundaries: Switch your phone to sleep mode at night, have “tech-free” meals, or leave your phone in another room before bed.
• Practice slow breathing: Breathwork can help your body reset its stress response.
• Add gentle movement: Stretch, walk, or dance to release tension — take a break to move every 30–60 minutes.
• Pause for awareness: Spend a few minutes, three times a day, just noticing your surroundings without a device.

Small intentional shifts can make a big difference.

Best wishes, Debbie 🌺

Walking around it certainly seems like Spring is arriving, with flowers coming into bloom, blossom on the blackthorn & l...
01/03/2026

Walking around it certainly seems like Spring is arriving, with flowers coming into bloom, blossom on the blackthorn & leaf buds appearing🌿💚Uplifting & lovely to see the sunshine recently too🌞

Action for Happiness starts this season with the Mindful March calendar😊.

Best wishes 🌺

This month's calendar from Action for Happiness is called Friendly February, and I'm sure hearing that some people will ...
01/02/2026

This month's calendar from Action for Happiness is called Friendly February, and I'm sure hearing that some people will be thinking, 'let's hope so, because January was certainly full of trials and tribulations. '

Due to our evolution, the mind is designed to have a negative bias. For the most part, this was to keep us safe and enable the survival of the species, but in modern life, this bias can serve us less well. This is where various practices, such as gratitude and mindfulness, can assist us. Of course, our wonderful plant friends can support us along our journey, shine light in the darkness, lift dampened spirits, ease anxieties, soothe irritations and help us with resilience to all forms of stressors.

Walking around outside in nature, positively, there have been the new signs of life and colour already, the snowdrops, daffodils and buds beginning to appear on trees💚 Although sometimes hard to believe, the blue skies and sunshine are always there, too, we just can't always see them because of the weather. This is a bit like life; despite the dark and difficult times, there is always light; we just can't always see it at the time, but we will.

Best wishes, Debbie🌺

As the New Year approaches, many people start making resolutions. Another great idea is to reflect on your values and as...
31/12/2025

As the New Year approaches, many people start making resolutions. Another great idea is to reflect on your values and assess the path you’re on, considering if a small adjustment could help you better align with what matters most to you.

For example, if one of your values is spending time with loved ones, what does that look like in your daily or weekly life? Are you truly enjoying quality moments together, or would it help to plan a dinner once or several times a week, where phones and other distractions are set aside so you can talk, share stories, reminisce, and enjoy some laughter?😄

On the topic of laughter, may you all have much more reason to laugh in 2026, along with good health, peace and prosperity.

Here's the Action for Happiness calendar for January 2026 to also help us start on a positive note.

Best wishes, Debbie🌺

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