Jan 7. I grew up in Vancouver and had pretty much zero experience homesteading before my husband, Ryan and I decided we wanted to escape the rat race, become less dependent on the modern industrial food system and all modern industrialized systems , and dove head first into this lifestyle around a decade ago.

We packed up and moved to Vancouver Island where we live now, started our first garden, and the rest is pretty much history.

We all know for a fact now that our food system, healthcare system, financial system, transportation system and so much more are all really just a house of cards built on shaky ground.

Not by a long shot. I still rely on the grocery store, on modern medicine, and on many modern conveniences to get by, but I balance it as much as I can: Continued in comments… Nov And our family includes our animals! But who wants to be up at the crack of dawn to open the coop, or wake up to a bloodbath because you forgot to close the coop the night before?

The answer is obviously no one… No one wants that. Automating our homesteading tasks as much as possible allows us to worry about other things and saves us a ton of time. Plus, it makes sure that things get taken care of, whether we remember or not. Using an automatic chicken door has been a GAME CHANGER for us.

Oct 8. Yes, you read that right… Modern Homesteading Magazine is coming to an end. And so this final farewell issue is bittersweet. Click the link in my profile or visit modernhomesteadingmagazine. Thanks to everyone who has read the magazine over the past 4 years.

Sep Life today looks a lot different than it did 10 years ago, when our homesteading and self-reliance journey was just beginning. Back then we still lived in our city condo and were just beginning to dabble in all of this stuff.

But my husband Ryan and I felt a sense urgency to start pursuing a more self-reliant lifestyle, and we committed to taking small steps, one day at a time to make that vision a reality.

Link in profile to enroll before midnight tonight, or go to thehouseandhomestead. Sep 7. There are so many reasons to grow your own food at home: 💰 Saves you money at the grocery store 🍴 Healthier than conventionally grown food 🔑 increases your overall food security 🫙 Gives you an abundance to preserve and share But perhaps the number one reason is because it just tastes better!

But that also means changing our relationship with food and learning to appreciate the work that goes into producing it and the natural seasonality of organically grown fruits and vegetables.

It also means learning to preserve it so you can make the most of it and enjoy homegrown food all year long. The doors to the Society are now open for a limited time only. Click the link in my profile or go to thehouseandhomestead.

foodsecurity homegrownfood homesteading selfreliance selfsufficiency homegrownfoodjusttastesbetter Sep 6. When I first launched this online membership program last year, my goal was to create a one-stop resource where members could go to learn and practice every aspect of self-reliance, as well as a space to connect with other like-minded people pursuing the same goal.

Join us inside The Society of Self-Reliance and empower yourself with the skills you need to thrive in the new world! Link in profile or visit thehouseandhomestead. selfreliance selfreliant selfsufficiency selfsufficientliving sustainableliving modernhomesteading homesteadingskills preparedness Aug Got out for an early morning harvest today.

Been up since 3am, contemplating life, the future and the past, the order of things… There is a rumbling right now, not just in North America, but around the world.

Many of us can feel it, and know we are on the precipice of something big. His new song Rich Men North of Richmond has had 14 million views on YouTube in the past week alone, so I decided to check it out. Trying to cling to better days; To a simpler time; To the old ways, all while doing our best to get by in the new world.

And while the future may feel uncertain and even a little scary, remember that if we stand united, we the people are a force to be reckoned with. Continued in comments… Jul Another garlic harvest in the books! Garlic is easily one of my favourite crops to grow.

We plant in the fall and leave it to overwinter, fertilize a couple times in the spring, start watering only once the ground starts to dry out, and then harvest in the summer.

We can even plant a fall succession crop after our garlic if we want so it really makes great use of garden space all year round. We now grow enough to eat all year and then some!

A while back I compiled a comprehensive guide to growing, harvesting and using garlic both as an edible and medicinal crop. garlic garlicharvest homesteading selfsufficient selfsufficiency selfsufficientliving selfreliance homegrown groworganic growfoodnotlawns gardenersofinstagram homesteadersofinstagram Jul 7.

Going through photos and videos from our trip to the modernhomesteadingconference and the vast majority are of our daughter having the time of her life! Even if I personally got nothing else out of this gathering which I most certainly did , watching her discover her own love of this lifestyle outside of what we do at home made my heart grow three sizes!

Homesteading is about so much more than homegrown food and self-reliance. Being around so many other kids and families who are also pursuing a homesteading lifestyle helped show our little one that this is a movement that is so much bigger and greater than what our own family does on our little plot of land.

This is a lifestyle worth pursuing, with a community unlike any other. homesteading modernhomesteading raisinglittles Jun 5. Head over using the link in my bio! houseandhomestead momentsofcalm pursuejoy simplepleasuresoflife thatauthenticfeeling findhappiness artofslowliving simplelifepleasures lifesimplepleasure simplepleasuresinlife thatauthenticlife authenticlifestyle liveanauthenticlife livinginspired savouringhappiness livemoment localgoodness simplelive lifeouthere enjoywhatyouhave frugallifestyle homesteadingmama offgridhomestead modernfarmhousekitchen crunchymama rusticfarmhouse farmhouseinspo farmhouselife modernhomesteading backyardfarmer Homemade Elderberry Syrup Recipe.

Jump to Recipe. This makes elderberry an excellent plant ally to promote resilience during times when our body's systems are particularly stressed the winter holidays come to mind!

So why syrup? There are a couple reasons that these berries, which can be prepared in many ways, are so often enjoyed in syrup form. One reason is practicality. The other reason many folks choose elderberry syrup? The taste! The flavor of elderberries really shines with a little sweetening, which is why variations of elderberry syrup are used for purely enjoyable reasons, such as a topping for pancakes, oatmeal , or desserts.

Also, many traditional wellness-centric syrup recipes include some high-proof alcohol to further extend their shelf life. Makes about 3 cups of syrup without alcohol, 4 cups with alcohol. Active Time: 1 hour. You can use fresh or dried elderberries for making syrup.

I often use dried because they are usually easier to find and store year-round. If using fresh berries, use twice the amount of dried berries your recipe recommends.

As we covered above, syrups that are shelf stable, meaning that they are able to sit out at room temperature for a long period of time without spoiling, require more sugar, alcohol, or a combination of the two.

You're going to have to add something to discourage the development of bacteria and mold. To make this syrup more family-friendly, my recipe uses less sugar and no alcohol and is intended to be kept in the refrigerator.

However, if you want a more shelf stable syrup, you can double the honey in our recipe or add the optional alcohol. Pans with synthetic nonstick coatings release some nasty stuff when heated, so avoid them when making syrup.

Remember that your finished herbal product is only as good as the ingredients you start with, and that includes water. The water you include should be distilled, or it should be a good spring water or purified water, depending upon where you live and what you have access to. I think one of the things that beginners often struggle with when they're just learning how to make herbal products for their home is being too rigid in how they do things.

So be creative with your syrups! You can add vanilla I love a slice of vanilla bean in mine , cardamom tastes really good. The stems and leaves are toxic. According to Dr. Elisa Song, a Cytokine Storm is when the immune system overreacts and goes haywire.

There is some concern that elderberry might increase the risk of this, especially with certain novel viruses. In short, the evidence right now points to focusing on Vitamin C, Vitamin D levels, sleep and a clean diet. The parts of the immune system that create inflammation are in overdrive, and the parts of the immune system that are supposed to REGULATE and bring this inflammation back to equilibrium is not active enough.

We need inflammation to heal. But inflammation that goes unregulated is the REAL problem. Do I think that elderberry can trigger or make a cytokine storm more likely when you have influenza? There have not been case reports of elderberry-induced cytokine storms, and I have not stopped using elderberry for my kids or my patients, even with autoimmune disease.

The study authors found no evidence of a link between elderberry and cytokine storms. And there was some evidence elderberry may help reduce inflammation. They also reported on a small study that found elderberry sometimes worked as well as the anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac.

Order early because they always run out come Fall! You can get wildcrafted or organic elderberries here. If you would like to purchase a full kit , our friend at Kombucha Kamp has a great one for sale. If we get hit with a minor illness, we double or triple that dose until we feel better.

Elderberry is commonly used for immune support and can be used year round as needed for its health benefits. The unique and complex flavor of elderberries also makes this syrup a great ingredient in certain recipes. It would also make a yummy topping for homemade ice cream. This is really a question for an herbalist or natural healthcare provider.

Personally, I take 1 teaspoon a day as an adult and give half of this to my kids. During illness, I double or triple this amount. I prefer to use raw, local honey when possible, but raw honey from the store will also work. And cinnamon sticks and whole cloves could be substituted for the powdered herbs.

Some elderberry recipes add herbs like rosehips, echinacea , star anise, or even lemon juice. Some people prefer not to use a sweetener.

Some easy substitutes are:. This article was medically reviewed by Dr. Scott Soerries, MD , Family Physician, and Medical Director of SteadyMD. As always, this is not personal medical advice and we recommend that you talk with your doctor. Ever taken elderberry?

Will you try this recipe? What natural ways do you use to ward off illness? Katie Wells , CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse , has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition.

As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team.

Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox. I need help. However I was using the older recipe that says to simmer covered. I just saw where it now says to do uncovered so I tried that with my latest batch.

I still ended up with half what I should have had. How do I fix this?! Would it hurt to start with more water? The important thing is for the steam to escape so the mixture can reduce and release the toxic cyanogenic glycosides.

Or will I still be able to pour the syrup from a bottle after refrigerating it? Is that correct? Thank you so much for such a great recipe! Absolutely loved it. I did the 3x recipe and with that I can fill 11 of the 8oz half pint jars.

My question is, how long if properly water sealed are these shelf stable for? Even sealed this recipe has a high water content and a low sugar content. Jams and jellies have a longer shelf life because the sugar acts as a preservative. If you want a long lasting elderberry syrup it would be best to use a canning recipe specifically for that.

This recipe can be frozen though if you want it to last a longer time. Has anyone else noticed this? Thanks for the recipe! I am very fortunate where I live I am able to forage for a good amount of elderberries and purchase local honey.

I made this recipe a couple years ago and quadrupled it because I had so many berries and wanted to share with friends during the winter months. A friend of mine was home in bed sick with Covid so I brought her a bottle.

About a week later I got Covid and thanks to my syrup preparation I was only sick for one day! Well enough to go for a long beach walk the very next day. I love using herbs for cooking and other remedies but this recipe has definitely stood out with its effectiveness.

Thanks again! How much of the liquid should be left after straining? I may have over reduced mine. Recipe is awesome! Resulting syrup and advice given by Jamie, top notch! Just wanted to thank you for being a super source for those wanting to know how to make elderberry syrup.

I made this today using foraged elderberries, and found 1 cup of honey to be too sweet and the honey taste overwhelmed the delicate flavor of the elderberries.