(Lavandula officinalis) Lavender is a flowering perennial herb that is native to the Mediterranean, primarily Spain and France. While it is now cultivated in many other places, a vast amount of the lavender available for purchase today is still grown in France. Lavender has been used both medicinally and for cosmetic and culinary purposes for thousands of years.
These beautifully fragrant flowers can be found in lotions, soaps, eye pillows, bath blends, massage blends and more. Muslin bags filled with lavender make a fabulous sachet for your clothing drawer or in the dryer to infuse your clothes with this heady smell. Add some to the bath to help alleviate tension, stress and insomnia.
A popular French blend of herbs for cooking, called Herbes de Provence, sometimes contains lavender flowers and is used on chicken, vegetables and meat. Lavender also enhances tea, cookies, cakes and more.
Medicinally, lavender has been used as a remedy for relieving anxiety and depression and is also beneficial in relieving headaches that are associated with stress. In small amounts, it aids indigestion problems.
Brew 1 tsp of herb in 1 cup of water at 212º – steep for 5 minutes.
Caffeine Free
I do lots of things with my Farmer’s Market stash, too. I <3 lavender.
Lavender and cacao shells are great together!
I also love lavender teas, and blending it with cacao shells sounds like it would be good, though I don’t have any to experiment with.