Eleuthero, rhodiola, and ginseng are some of the most popular adaptogens to improve energy and stamina. Whether you work in a physically demanding job, are an extreme sports enthusiast, or simply want to boost your general daily energy levels, adaptogens can offer support!
Pay attention to the time of day when you consistently feel a dip in your energy levels. According to traditional Chinese herbalism, each 2-hour increment during the day is “governed” by a different organ system. If you notice a consistent pattern, talk with an herbalist. That system may be in need of a tune-up!
What else makes a big difference in our daytime energy levels? Sleep! I know, nobody likes to sleep when there is so much living to be done, but your body needs it. And if you’re like most people I observe and talk to, you don’t get enough of it. Unplug, get off the bright screens well before bedtime, and develop an evening routine that helps your body find a natural rhythm. Your daytime self will thank you with better concentration, energy, and alertness with which to fully enjoy all of that crazy living.
Although this chapter is all about energy and stamina, let’s take a quick look at herbs that support that all-important healthy night of sleep. A certain classification of herbs known as nervines are especially adept at this task. Herbs can belong to more than one category, and holy basil and ashwagandha are perfect examples. Both are adaptogens with nervine properties. Nervines behave in ways that are very complementary to the actions of adaptogens—namely, they nourish the nervous system and help promote a healthy response to stress. Some nervines are good for daytime use—linden and passionflower are two that come to mind here—while others, like hops, are more commonly associated with evening use. For a few great night owl recipes to help put your inner roadrunner to bed, be sure to read through Chapter 4, Recipes to Improve Your Mood.
Curious about which organ systems correspond to which times of day? This is a Chinese herbalism concept that describes how energy flows from one system to the others over the course of the day. At a certain point every 24 hours, an organ system is believed to be at its most optimal time of functioning. Here’s a quick glimpse into this body clock: 1:00 A.M.—3:00 A.M. Liver 3:00 A.M.—5:00 A.M. Lung 5:00 A.M.—7:00 A.M. Large intestine 7:00 A.M.—9:00 A.M. Stomach 9:00 A.M.—11:00 A.M. Spleen 11:00 A.M.—1:00 P.M.Heart 1:00 P.M.—3:00 P.M. Small intestine 3:00 P.M.—5:00 P.M. Bladder 5:00 P.M.—7:00 P.M. Kidney 7:00 P.M.—9:00 P.M.Pericardium 9:00 P.M.—11:00 P.M. Triple burner/Blood vessels and arteries 11:00 P.M.—1:00 A.M. Gallbladder
All-Purpose Nettle Seed Salt
Nettle is a fabulous energy and stamina adaptogen. It’s also prolific, easy to grow almost everywhere, and can be used as a green vegetable. Not bad for a hardy little plant that can’t quite decide whether to be feral or tame.
Although nettle is an herb that many of us include in our gardens, it will also self-sow freely in semi-tame places such as fields and pastures. Nettle’s ambivalence is evident in the trait that gives it its common name, stinging nettle. This plant is quick to remind us with the sharp sting of its feral ways that it wants to be respected for all that it offers. The sting quickly disappears once the herb is cooked or wilted, but nettle should be harvested with long sleeves and gloves, unless you enjoy feeling like you brushed up against an angry horde of ants. I won’t judge.
Nettle seeds make for an easy ingredient in seasoning blends. They have a mild taste that is easily disguised as part of the other spices, and they are small enough that you can add them whole. I think they are the perfect condiment for vim and vigor. This recipe is a great all-purpose seasoning blend. If you have some powdered celery seed, feel free to add that, too!
Ingredients
Yields 11⁄2 cups seasoning salt
1⁄2 cup nettle seeds
1⁄4 cup fine sea salt
1 tablespoon powdered sage
1 tablespoon powdered thyme
1 tablespoon powdered parsley
1 teaspoon garlic powder
How to Make
1. Nettle seeds are very fine and small, so there’s no need to powder them. Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl.
2. Load some of your new seasoning salt into a salt shaker with a few grains of white rice to absorb moisture. The rice is especially important if you live in a humid part of the country like I do. Otherwise your seasoning blend might turn into a solid block inside your shaker. You can also put your spice blend into a cute salt pig that allows you to give the blend a good poke at every meal with the salt spoon.
3. Store the rest of your blend in an airtight container in the pantry.
Growing Nettles
I know from experience that this herb does quite well growing in a whisky barrel type container. It’s not a picky plant. The barrel will limit its size somewhat, but considering that it can reach 6 feet in height and spread in every direction, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Give it rich compost as a potting mix and keep it watered and it will be delighted. If you want to grow it in the ground, be aware that you will easily have a large patch of it in no time if your conditions are right. Nettle grows best in full sun but will adapt to part shade, and prefers rich soil with plenty of water.
Rhodiola Fruit Leathers
Remember fruit roll-ups when you were a kid? I bet you can remember (with appropriate shame) your love for bright red, artificially flavored sheets of sugar paste. It’s okay, I don’t think I’ve ever met a kid (myself included!) that didn’t have an unholy fascination with this sweet concoction. But move over, nostalgia. It’s time for something even better to nosh.
The next step up from the fruit roll-up is fruit leather. These are made with actual fruit, and are sort of like fruit jerky—thick, chewy, and pretty satisfying. The following recipes use applesauce to make the finished fruit leather more flexible, and you don’t have to worry about precooking the fruit. You can use a dehydrator for these or dry them in the oven at 200°F on a 9" × 13" baking tray for about 6 hours. Prepare the pans with cooking oil or a nonstick silicone baking mat to make it easy to remove the leather when it’s ready.
Which adaptogen extracts should you use? Personally, I like the way rhodiola blends with just about any fruit, but you can switch things up and use whatever you like. Rather than use powders for these recipes I’ve chosen to add the liquid extracts. The powders would probably work just as well, though; you would need about 1⁄4 teaspoon of finely ground powder per serving if you want to experiment.
The recipes call for frozen berries, but you can use fresh if they are available. Choose one of these three recipes to get your fruit leather fix:
Pear Blueberry Fruit Leathers
Ingredients
Yields 9 servings
1 cup pureed soft, ripe pears
1⁄2 cup pureed frozen blueberries
1⁄2 cup applesauce
1⁄4 cup honey
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3–6 teaspoons adaptogen extract(s)
Cherry Raspberry Fruit Leathers
Ingredients
Yields 9 servings
1 cup pureed frozen cherries
1⁄2 cup pureed frozen raspberries
1⁄2 cup applesauce
1⁄4 cup honey
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3–6 teaspoons adaptogen extract(s)
Simply Strawberry Fruit Leathers
Ingredients
Yields 9 servings
11⁄2 cups pureed strawberries
1⁄2 cup applesauce
1⁄4 cup honey
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3–6 teaspoons adaptogen extract(s)
How to Make
1. Preheat your oven to 200°F. Combine the pureed fruit, honey, lemon juice, and adaptogen extract(s) in a medium bowl and mix well.
2. Spread the fruit mixture onto a baking sheet that has been prepped with a silicone cooking mat or baking spray. Make sure the baking pan has a rim to stop the ingredients from sliding off during the drying process, but try to keep the fruit leather mixture toward the middle of the pan for more even drying. A 9" × 13" pan should give you plenty of room.
3. Bake your fruit leather for 6 hours with the oven door open a little. Check the fruit leather every few hours to make sure it doesn’t brown. You want it to be dry to the touch, which should happen somewhere around the 6-hour mark.
4. When the fruit leather is dry to the touch, turn off the oven and close the oven door. Leave the fruit leather overnight to continue the drying process.
5. Cut the fruit leather into 9 even strips the next day. Roll each strip up on a piece of parchment paper and store in the refrigerator for about a month.
Maca and Suma Maple Syrup
Maca and suma roots are used as foods by native cultures in South America. Here in North America, we tend to treat them as superfoods or potential adaptogens rather than as a dietary staple. Both are rich in vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.
It’s not necessary to drench your morning pancakes or French toast with this syrup. I use about a tablespoon, and add a little extra plain maple syrup if I want more syrup. The flavor of the two herbs is fairly strong, so it’s not as pleasant to take on its own the way an herbal honey can be, but it’s still good. Maca has more of a taste than suma in my experience, so you can also try using suma alone if the taste of this recipe is too unusual for you.
Supercharge your morning maple syrup with a decoction of maca and suma!
Ingredients
Yields 2 cups syrup
1⁄2 tablespoon powdered maca root
1⁄2 tablespoon powdered suma root
16 ounces water
1 cup grade B maple syrup
How to Make
1. In a medium saucepan with a lid, simmer the maca and suma powder in the 16 ounces of water for about 20 minutes. The maca will want to stick together in clumps as soon as it hits the water, so you may find that it’s easiest to sprinkle it into the water a little at a time. Otherwise you will have to break up a gooey blob of maca powder.
2. Strain the herbs from the liquid and measure to make sure you have 1 cup of decoction. Add a little extra water if needed.
3. Combine the decoction and the maple syrup in the saucepan over low heat. As soon as the maple syrup has dissolved into the liquid, remove the saucepan from the heat. Transfer the syrup to a glass canning jar and store in the refrigerator until needed.
4. To use your maca and suma maple syrup, drizzle about 1 tablespoon into yogurt with fruit, or onto French toast, waffles, or pancakes.
Lost in the Wilderness Overnight Steep
Sometimes life feels like a wilderness and you need to keep up your strength. Nettle inhabits our wildernesses, even the very edges of our wild places where we transition from the comfort of home into the less tame. Nettle brings mineral-rich leaves and adaptogenic seeds to this herbal tea.
Elder is another semi-tamed herb that haunts our edges of being and wilderness. Myth and legends abound about the elder tree. Most people are familiar with the berries, but not as many know that the flowers have gentle nervine properties. Elderflowers are in this brew for those times when you need to infuse a little myth and magic into your well-being.
Rose hips add a tasty dose of vitamin C and flavonoids, and red clover leaves and blossoms add supportive, nourishing goodness. Both roses and red clover can often be found growing wild. Forage up a batch or buy your supplies from your favorite supplier—whichever you prefer!
Ingredients
Yields 3 cups tea blend
1 cup dried nettle leaves
1⁄2 cup dried red clover leaves and blossoms
1⁄2 cup dried elderflowers
1 cup rose hips
1⁄8 teaspoon nettle seeds
How to Make
1. Blend the nettle leaves, red clover leaves and blossoms, elderflowers, and rose hips together and store them in a labeled airtight container.
2. To make a serving of Lost in the Wilderness Overnight Steep tea, heat 2 cups of water to boiling.
3. Pour the water into a heat-safe glass jar, or leave in the saucepan if you have room to stash it in the refrigerator overnight.
4. Add 2 tablespoons of the tea blend and 1⁄8 teaspoon of nettle seeds to your brew.
5. Put on the lid and put the container in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, strain your tea and sweeten it to taste. Sip on your tea throughout the day.
To Caffeinate or Not?
What do you want to hear—that coffee and other caffeinated beverages are amazing and wonderful and awesomely good for you, or that they are really, really bad for you? Well, never fear, chances are you can probably find someone with a convincing argument either way. I love my caffeine, too, but let’s face it: it’s a stimulant. You can’t really get around that fact. Too much of such a good thing can put you in the hot seat—leave you sleepless, wired, and anxious. With enough of it, you could also upset your stomach and elevate your heart rate. Dependency can be an issue with regular use, and withdrawal can cause headaches and irritability. On the positive side, caffeine can help you stay alert when you need to, may boost memory and improve mood, and is full of antioxidants. So basically we should probably approach it with mindfulness, and not overdo it. All things in moderation except moderation!
Dang Shen and Hawthorn Blend
Poor man’s ginseng, dang shen, forms the base of this formula and teams up with hawthorn for heart and circulation health support and flavonoid-filled goodness. A healthy heart is important for good energy levels, plus both of these herbs provide the usual adaptogenic immune and nervous system support. I add a little coriander to mine mainly for flavor, but it also may have heart-protective nutrients. Feel free to use cinnamon if you don’t care for coriander.
Hawthorn is also sometimes used by herbalists as a tonic for poor digestion, and your ability to utilize your nutrients properly also makes a difference in how much energy you have. Coriander is a carminative that relieves gas and enhances digestion, too.
Ingredients
Yields 4 ounces
3⁄4 ounce powdered codonopsis
1⁄4 ounce powdered hawthorn berries
1 teaspoon powdered coriander seeds
5 ounces vodka or brandy
How to Make
1. Combine the powdered codonopsis, powdered hawthorn berries, and powdered coriander seeds in a glass canning jar.
2. Pour in the vodka or brandy.
3. Put a lid on the jar. Store it in a cool, dark place and shake daily for at least 2 weeks.
4. After 2 weeks, strain the mixture, bottle the blend, and label it. Serving size is 30–60 drops, up to 3 times a day.
Why a Cool, Dark Place?
Most of my extract and elixir recipes will tell you to store your herbal preparations in a cool, dark place. You may be wondering just how important it is to follow this suggestion. Herbs contain a complex array of compounds and naturally occurring chemical ingredients: alkaloids, polysaccharides, flavonoids, and volatile oils, just to name a few! Most of these ingredients are sensitive to heat and direct light and will degrade more quickly when exposed. Moisture is another important consideration, especially for dried herbs. Plant material will easily begin to mold if it gets damp. That’s why it’s best to store your dried herbs in airtight containers and keep them away from damp places in your home such as basements and bathrooms.
Granola Bites
I love pocket-sized snacks that I can tuck into my backpack or purse, and Granola Bites are delicious and endlessly customizable. Thankfully, gluten-free oats are not nearly as difficult to find (or as expensive!) as they once were, so even if you need a gluten-free option you will most likely be good to go. From what I understand, a small minority of celiacs and gluten-sensitive folks may react to the protein in oats the same way they do to gluten, so check with your doctor if you aren’t sure if oats would be right for you.
My mom made my siblings and me a simple peanut butter ball snack when we were kids that consisted of nothing more than peanut butter, powdered milk, and a little honey, so I adopted that trick and almost always add powdered milk to my granola bites for the extra nutrition. You can skip this ingredient if you need to avoid milk.
Ingredients
Yields 24 bites (6 servings)
3 teaspoons eleuthero powder or 6 tablespoons nettle seed
1⁄3 cup honey
1⁄3 cup powdered milk (optional)
1 cup nut butter
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup cranberries
1 cup slivered almonds
1⁄4 cup ground flax or hemp seed
How to Make
1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Blend together the powdered herb or nettle seed, honey, powdered milk, and nut butter in a large mixing bowl until everything forms a homogeneous paste.
3. Add the oats, cranberries, almonds, and flax or hemp seed to the bowl with the nut butter paste. Knead everything together with clean hands.
4. Divide the mixture into 24 evenly sized dollops on the baking sheet, and roll each dollop between the palms of your hands to create a neat ball.
5. Store the granola bites in the fridge, where they will most likely be good for 2 weeks. If you’d like to make ahead for longer storage, opt for the freezer instead and try to use within a month so they don’t get that weird freezer-burn taste.
Sources for Nettle Seeds
Nettle seeds can be a little difficult to find since most people are interested in the leaves or the roots. Check with your network of local herbalists, add a nettle patch to your own garden, or check through online suppliers of bulk herbs to secure your own supply.
Coconut Dainties
These dainties are morsels of fantastic nutrition to help you power through your day! I got the idea for these coconut dainties when I was playing around with no-bake truffle recipes and coconut butter. I like how quickly they come together. This recipe calls for coconut butter, which is a little different than coconut oil. Unlike coconut oil, coconut butter contains the dried meat of the coconut so it has a different texture and a more pronounced coconut flavor.
I love coconut butter for these treats because it suits my “really can’t be bothered to bake but want a sweet treat” moods. Do remember that, like nut butter, coconut butter is pretty concentrated stuff, though. A tablespoon of coconut butter (depending on the brand) can have around 90 calories and 18 grams of fat. Compared to almond butter, that’s about the same amount of calories but twice as much fat. Some of the fats in coconut are medium chain triglycerides, but most are long chain saturated fats. Depending on which side of the healthy fats party line you like to hang out, you may either scoff at coconut butter as an unhealthy fad, or embrace it as fine in moderation, like most things.
Warm up the coconut butter in a saucepan over low heat for faster mixing, or play around with hand mixing your ingredients. Your hands will warm up the coconut butter after a few minutes, but it’s messier than containing everything in a single saucepan.
These are best enjoyed cold from the fridge!
Coconut Cranorange Dainties
Ingredients
Yields 12 dainties (4 servings)
6 tablespoons coconut butter
1 tablespoon frozen orange juice concentrate
2 tablespoons chopped dried cranberries (cherries are yummy too!)
1 teaspoon adaptogen powder of your choice
How to Make
1. Melt the coconut butter in a small saucepan over low heat.
2. Add the frozen orange juice concentrate, chopped dried cranberries, and adaptogen powder. Stir to combine.
3. Pour the mixture into lined miniature muffin tins.
4. These are solid at room temp, but store best in the refrigerator.
Coconut Chocolate Hazelnut Dainties
Ingredients
Yields 12 dainties (4 servings)
6 tablespoons coconut butter
2 tablespoons organic or natural brand chocolate hazelnut spread
1 teaspoon adaptogen powder of your choice
2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts or hazelnuts
How to Make
1. Melt the coconut butter and chocolate hazelnut spread together in a small saucepan. As soon as they are melted, sprinkle in the powdered adaptogen.
2. Add the walnuts or hazelnuts to the mix. Stir to combine.
3. Pour the mixture into lined miniature muffin tins. Once they’ve cooled, transfer them to an airtight container for refrigerator storage.
Coconut, Yogurt, and Fresh Fruit Dainties
Ingredients
Yields 12 dainties (4 servings)
6 tablespoons coconut butter
3 tablespoons plain or vanilla Greek yogurt
3 tablespoons finely chopped berries, apples, or other fresh fruit
1 teaspoon adaptogen powder of your choice
How to Make
1. Warm up the coconut butter in a small saucepan over low heat until it has barely melted.
2. Stir in the yogurt, fresh fruit, and adaptogen powder.
3. Pour the mixture into lined miniature muffin tins and set the pan in the refrigerator to cool. Once they are cold, put them in an airtight container and store in the freezer.
Ginseng Extract
The traditional Appalachian way to preserve ginseng, colloquially referred to as “sang,” is to put a fresh root or two into a bottle of corn liquor and allow it to age for a minimum of six months. If you don’t have a reputable source for a fresh root, you can still use dried. For dried, I prefer to buy the powdered root as long as I know the turnover of the supplier is high. Powdered herb is more exposed to air, which means faster potential oxidation, but it usually beats trying to grind a whole, dried root by yourself. Coffee grinders don’t usually appreciate being enlisted for that task.
Many people don’t realize that you can also use ginseng leaves instead of the roots. Some suppliers have started offering this option alongside the roots. It lines up with ethnobotanical usage of the plant, but is still a rare ingredient in modern trade.
There are plenty of choices when it comes to buying your corn liquor. No longer a rare (and illegal) ingredient, these days moonshine has gone legit and has plenty of craft brewing companies providing it for the shelves at your local liquor store. It typically has words like “shine,” “white whiskey,” or “lightning” in the name.
Give yourself the full benefit of six months of anticipation, or use a percolation method to prepare your extract.
Ingredients
Yields 3–4 ounces extract
1 ounce dried, powdered ginseng root
5 ounces corn liquor
How to Make
1. If you plan to percolate, ready your percolation funnel and the dried ginseng powder, proceeding as outlined in Chapter 1.
2. If you plan to macerate, combine the ginseng powder and the corn liquor in a glass canning jar. Lid and label your concoction, and set it aside for 6 months. Tend it with a good shake every few days and make sure the corn liquor level hasn’t decreased thanks to evaporation. If needed, top it up with a little fresh liquor.
3. After 6 months, filter your extract through a coffee filter to remove the powdered herbs and bottle up in an amber glass bottle with a screw cap or dropper top. Make sure you provide your brew with a new label, too.
4. Use 60–100 drops up to 3 times a day (roughly 1⁄2–1 teaspoon up to 3 times a day).
Amber Glass Bottles
Herbalists seem to have a bit of an obsession with brown glass bottles, but there is a reason for it. Brown glass helps keep out the light, which protects the extracts inside and preserves them better. If you do need to keep them in a clear glass canning jar (say, if you run out of empty bottles or you are on a tight budget), be sure to keep the extracts in a cool, dark cupboard when you aren’t using them. Personally, I prefer to skip the dropper top bottles that are popular and use plain screw-top caps instead. I use either a set of measuring spoons or the cap of the bottle when measuring out a serving.
Super Switchel
Switchel, or haymaker’s punch, is a vinegar-based drink that usually includes some combination of molasses or honey, vinegar, and ginger. It’s an old-timey drink that originated for summertime refreshment long before sports drinks were invented.
In the summer I like to make a post-run drink that’s essentially switchel plus a dash of sodium and potassium from my Super Switchel Salt recipe to replace electrolytes lost from sweating. Super Switchel is an excellent carrier for a serving of rhodiola or eleuthero extract, too.
Now for a bit of kitchen chemistry. The typical sports drinks I scouted out on the shelf at the store have around 45mg potassium and 160mg sodium, so that was the same range I wanted for my Super Switchel. Table salt is sodium, of course, but what about potassium? Enter cream of tartar, more formally known as potassium bitartrate. It’s usually stocked somewhere in the spice section of grocery stores.
To get 30mg potassium and 143mg sodium, use 1⁄2 teaspoon of this blend per 4 servings of switchel, which puts you a tad lower per serving than the sports drinks, but still close. By the way, the bottles I looked at had 2 1⁄2servings in each. The first step to make Super Switchel is to blend together a batch of Super Switchel Salt.
Super Switchel Salt
Ingredients
Yields 1⁄2 cup (enough for 32 batches of Super Switchel)
1⁄4 cup finely ground salt (sodium)
1⁄4 cup cream of tartar (potassium bitartrate)
How to Make
1. Combine the salt and cream of tartar in a small jar with a tight-fitting lid.
2. Gently shake before each use to make sure ingredients are evenly combined.
Super Switchel
Ingredients
Yields 4 servings
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey or molasses
4 cups water
4 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (or more or less, to taste)
4 servings extract of the adaptogen of your choice (either follow the label directions or use about 21⁄2 teaspoons of a homemade extract)
1⁄2 teaspoon Super Switchel Salts
How to Make
1. Combine all ingredients in a pitcher in the refrigerator and allow to sit overnight for flavors to meld.
2. Enjoy 1 cup post-workout, or pour 2 cups in a water bottle and fill the rest of the way with water for your outdoor adventures.
Eleuthero Lemon Gelée
“Gelée” is a fancier word for the jiggly dessert you can find in little boxes on your local grocery store’s baking aisle. And this gelatin dessert is special—it has eleuthero in it! A dessert that helps support your energy rather than crashing it from all that sugar? Definitely a go for those on the go! Gelée is a quick make, too. It only needs a few minutes of stirring on the stovetop before it’s ready to hang out in the fridge.
You can use any juice as a substitute for lemon if you don’t like lemon or want to change things up. Make sure to use an equal amount, 2 cups, of your preferred juice if you want to experiment.
Ingredients
Yields 4 servings
2 cups lemon juice
2 (1⁄4-ounce) packets packaged gelatin powder or 2 tablespoons bulk gelatin powder
3 tablespoons granulated cane sugar
21⁄2 teaspoons eleuthero extract
How to Make
1. Set out four individual serving dishes. Put them in a small baking pan for easy transportation to the refrigerator in step 5.
2. Pour the 2 cups of lemon juice into a medium saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin over the juice. The juice can be cold or room temp, it doesn’t matter. Allow the gelatin to sit for a few minutes and begin to reconstitute.
3. Heat the juice and gelatin mix over low heat, and add in 3 tablespoons of granulated cane sugar. Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Add the eleuthero extract.
4. Pour the juice into the serving dishes, dividing it evenly between the dishes.
5. Move the gelée to the refrigerator and let it set up for a few hours or overnight before you dig in. It will keep for several days as long as you put a piece of plastic film over the gelée or use containers with lids.