Root to Stem: A seasonal guide to natural recipes and remedies for everyday life

by Alex Laird

'Root to Stem is a seasonal and holistic approach to health that puts plants, herbs and nature at the heart of how we live and eat. It is a new kind of guide that links individual health to our communities and the planet's health to sustain us all.'This perfect companion to the seasons, this book will show you how to take greater control over your own health and well-being, treat everyday ailments, and ensure the sustainability of the planet through discovering how to forage, grow, or shop for plant- and herb-based foods and products. Detox in the spring with sorrel, cleavers and nettles. Harvest summer lime leaf shoots to soothe digestive upsets and feed gut microbes. Bake a Lammas loaf to celebrate the autumnal equinox. Boost your winter immunity with red berries, purple potatoes and rosehips. Root-to-stem eating encourages you to use every edible part of plant, including the leaves, skin, seeds and stalks.Travelling through the four seasons, expert medical herbalist Alex Laird shares the natural ingredients that are available on your doorstep, simple delicious recipes and easy-to-make herbal remedies.

Genres: Food, Nature, Nonfiction

248 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 25, 2019

About the author

Alex Laird BSc MCPP Founding Director of Living Medicine
Alex is a medical herbalist and set up the first herbal clinic in hospital dermatology at Whipps Cross University Hospital, where she is tutor-practitioner to herbal BSc students. She also practises at The Haven, London's breast cancer support centre. She is a council member of the College of Practitioners of Phytotherapy (CPP), and formerly of the Aromatherapy Organisations Council. She has undertaken clinical research and is a visiting lecturer to universities including Westminster, East London and Hertfordshire. Originally a TV producer, she then worked as an aromatherapist for staff at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, with drug users and those with HIV while training as a medical herbalist. Her quest is how we create health in individuals and communities at all levels, physical, spiritual and environmental.

Reviews

[Natalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book to keep by the bed and re-read the chapters as the seasons go by. Loads of information but kept concise, many recipes provided with tips on how to change them to one's liking which substantially expands the actual number of formulas you can choose from. I particularly enjoyed the book's design, the rough and thick yellowy paper and beautiful illustrations that made me feel as if I was reading an old manuscript.

I ordered it quite by accident thinking of giving it as a present but after it arrived I already knew I am keeping it. No regrets.

[Abi Nottingham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will likely be reading the seasonal chapter of this book at the turn of the season for the next few years. So much plant knowledge in this beautifully designed guide.