Five Favorites for Winter Wellness

January is winter wellness month at the store! Our head supplements buyer and Assistant Manager Zach has written up his top five go-to's for staying healthy throughout the season. Whether you like your wellness tonics strong and spicy, or sweet and smooth, there's something for everyone. 

Shire City Herbal’s Fire Cider: Made in Western MA, this immune tonic is one of my favorites for seasonal support.  A delicious infusion of raw apple cider vinegar with warming herbs and foods including turmeric, habanero pepper, horseradish, and garlic as well as flavorful lemons, oranges, and raw honey, Fire Cider is a great food-based way to support overall wellness throughout the winter months.

Not Just Skin Deep: Nate Goes Poo-less!

Finding the perfect low-maintenance but effective body care products can be a lot of tiresome trial and error - especially if you're a man! Our grocery manager Nate recently went "pooless" (more on that below) and has cultivated a selection of products that meet his discerning standards for quality, efficacy and ease.  

Nate says...

No matter what shampoo I used, they all dried my scalp out and left my hair frizzy. For the past few months I have been 'Pooless - that is, I don't shampoo my hair at all anymore. Now, before you wig out in disgust and stop reading, let it be known that going 'pooless has proven quite a revelation for the health of my hair - little to no scalp flakes with a soft, silky 'run your hands through it' feel. Here's a run-down of my all-time favorite low-maintenance body and hair care products that leave me feeling so fresh and so clean.

Ring in the New Year in Style!

Whether you're hosting or heading to a fabulous New Years' Eve house party, we've got all of your festive essentials to ring in 2015! Check out our list of must-haves for the 31st.

Urban Moonshine Maple Bitters: These maple bitters are the perfect addition to any beverage - whether mocktail or cocktail! Bitters aid in healthy digestion (preventing you from feeling sluggish after a big NYE meal) and are a wonderful flavoring agent as well. We recommend adding a dash to your glass of champagne or sparkling cider!

Zach: What I'm Gifting This Year

Assistant Manager Zach is a true connoisseur, seeking out the most interesting, unique and high-quality products to carry at the store. He's developed our now robust Men's Section, added to our line-up of effective herbal remedies for health, and sought out some incredibly delicious honeys to fill our shelves. Here he gives his top gift picks for the holiday season, great ideas for men and women alike!

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Patchouli Shaving Soap by Bower Studio  This is hands down the best shaving soap I have ever used.  Hand-Poured in Boston, it features Activated Charcoal as a mild exfoliant and skin detoxifying agent as well as a beautiful Patchouli scent that I look forward to every time I shave.  The packaging is beautifully printed and has tons of gift appeal.

The Wild Medicine Solution by Guido Mase  This book is a great gift for those in your life who are interested in nature, herbs, and alternative health.   The Wild Medicine Solution is both informative and accessible; leaving the reader feeling more informed and motivated to engage the natural world in their everyday lives.  Guido Mase’ is a well-known and respected herbalist out of Burlington, VT where he teaches and practices integrative medicine.

Cabin Sprays & Resin Colognes by Juniper Ridge  New to Cambridge Naturals,  these amazing room/body sprays and solid-colognes are beautiful, not only in smell but visually as well.  Entirely hand made with wildcrafted resins and oils produced by Juniper Ridge themselves, these are a great example of terroir.  With multiple scents for the discerning noses in your life, these are sure to be a hit.

Salt Lamps by Aloha Bay  Just in time for the short-days of winter, beautiful Himalayan Pink Salt Lamps from Aloha Bay to fill our lives with warm, beautiful, soothing light.  Mined from a single salt mine in Pakistan that has been in operation for over 4,000 years, pink salt lamps

Varietal Honeys by Savannah Bee Company  I am a huge, huge fan of honey.  And not just run of the mill, OK-but-not-great honey, but delicious, subtle, wonderful honey.  With offerings from whipped Winter White Honey to Southeastern Tupelo Honey, the gourmet honeys from Savannah Bee Company out of Savannah, Georgia are one of my go-to gifts this year.  Acacia, Georgia Wildflower, and even a honey whose purchase supports the “Bee Cause Project” to educate future generations on the importance of bees, bring some sweet into your life!

Elderberry: The Queen of Herbs

By Steph Zabel
Herbalist, Ethnobotanist and Educator

Elderberry is one of those herbs that has become wildly popular in recent years. Each winter I find that more and more people are turning to this wonderful plant for its immune strengthening virtues.

In fact, it is not uncommon to find elderberry frequently out of stock in cold and flu season. Those in-the-know get their hands on the dried berry by the time fall rolls around!

Jessica's Gifts For All Five Senses!

In the dark, dreary months of winter, we tend to crave things that intrigue our five senses - sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. Flavorful, hearty food and drinks, warm and cozy sweaters, the pungent smell of christmas trees and candles to fill our homes. That's why items that delight the senses make especially wonderful holiday gifts - Jessica has put together a list of her favorite sensory gift ideas!

Eating with the Season: Bring Bitters to your Table

by Guido Masé RH (AHG) – Chief Herbalist, Urban Moonshine

Have you noticed that, when the seasons change, our food preferences change too? It’s a bit harder to tell now that fixed fast-food menus serve up unchanging fare, but humans have always eaten differently during the colder months. We have more meats, root vegetables, and rich dairy products than in summer when we can indulge in an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables. In Vermont, hunting season is in November; squash, turnips, onions and potatoes are ready; and farmer’s market features celebratory cheeses and rich canned sauces, jams, pies and sweets. I look forward to this time: it’s more focused on the hearth; it turns us indoors as we come in from the crisp air, and we gather around the family table to spend time with folks we haven’t seen all year.

What I'm Gifting This Year: Grace

At Cambridge Naturals, we emphasize quality over commodity - bringing in only those products we really love and care about. That's true with the holiday season as well! We have so many wonderful products in the store - local, fair-trade, organic, hand-made - that make the perfect gift for a special person in your life. Whether it's your mom, brother, cousin, best friend, or significant other, there's something for everyone! Some of our staff have put together their favorite gift picks for the holiday season, starting with Grace.

Remembering Rosemary

By Steph Zabel
Herbalist, Ethnobotanist and Educator

Throughout the whole summer my potted rosemary plants soak up the warm sun, and when the days start to grow cold, I bring them indoors to make it through the winter. The sight of their dark, resinous leaves cheers me and often I’ll wind their stems into holiday wreaths. In the absence of pine or fir boughs, rosemary is a beautiful and fragrant alternative.

Like last month’s cardamom, rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is another herb that tends to be more common on the dinner plate than in the medicine cabinet. Certainly it is delicious added to potatoes or roasted meats, and its use is famous in the kitchen due to its excellent digestive properties. However, beyond its practical culinary uses, there’s more to rosemary than its pungent aroma and unique flavor…