About a year ago I had this "crazy" idea to write a kid friendly herbal beverage book that would appeal to people that already enjoyed making their own herbal teas as well as those that are more mainstream and completely new to the concept.  It  took me a while to take myself seriously enough to do it, but 9 months ago I finally made the decision to start working on it.  I got my kids involved as taste testers and started doing some research into kid friendly herbs like hibiscus, chamomile, fennel, nettles, etc.  I also wanted to simplify making herbal teas so that people who were new to it wouldn't think things like "I can't do that."  or "Why would I bother."  It's not much more complicated than making lemonade and the recipes are healthy, simple and all of them were approved by the kids.  I knew I was on the right track when my usually super picky, sugar-loving 10 year old asked for a second cup of my Throat Tea for the sore throat he had and I didn't have to add any sweetener to it.

I couldn't be happier that my own project is prompting my kids to start creating!  After seeing the website I put up for the book, my 13 year old has decided to create his own animations to post on his own website.  And after receiving the first self-published copy of the book today, my 10 year old wants to write his own recipe book.  Maybe my next blog post will be an announcement of the works my kids have completed to share with you!

I am taking pre-orders for my book at www.theherbalbeveragebook.com.  (No account will be charged until I ship; which will be in 1 to 2 weeks.)  The book gives you recipes for making your own herbal teas, broths, milks, lemonades, smoothies, cocoas and syrups.  I also gave you a simple guide in the back of the book regarding the traditional uses for each of the herbs.  A few of the recipes included are Chocolate Chai, Ginger Cocoa, Elderberry Syrup and Cough Tea. 

My kids and I have learned a LOT during the past 9 months of writing this & I really hope anyone who orders the book enjoys not only how the recipes taste but also how much symptom relief you can get from them.