There are many things you can do with lavender. You can take pictures in the lavender field to post on social media, as many people do. Or, you can enjoy the wonderful aroma of this plant, prepare natural medicines or cook special dishes…
It all depends on your goal.
I decided to share with you several ways to use lavender for your own benefit. I'm sure you'll find something interesting here.
Lavender tea
Indications for use: colds, tonsillitis, pain in the stomach and intestines.
Lavender combines the soothing effects of valerian with the anti-inflammatory effects of sage. Due to its bactericidal properties, lavender tea successfully treats colds and is an excellent prophylactic.
Also, lavender has the ability to normalize the acidity of the stomach, it increases appetite, helps with hypertension, and promotes the outflow of bile.
Recipe: In order to prepare lavender tea, you need to pour 1 teaspoon of lavender flowers into 200 g of boiling water, leave for 5 minutes, strain. Take 50 g of tea 3 times a day and at night before going to bed.
Decoction of lavender flowers
Indications for use: migraine, neurasthenia, neuralgic pain and as a sleeping pill for insomnia.
The use of lavender in the form of a decoction helps to reduce cranial pressure, restores cerebral circulation, and improves memory.
Recipe: Pour a tablespoon of dried lavender flowers with 400 ml of boiling water and close the vessel tightly for 10-15 minutes so that the essential oil does not evaporate. You can add honey to taste when the drink has cooled down a bit. Take half a glass during the day, half an hour before meals.
Lavender tincture
Indications for external use: joint pain, sprains and bruises.
Indications for internal use: mood swings, hormonal changes.
Lavender tincture with alcohol is a good antiseptic.
Recipe: To prepare lavender tincture, you need 5 tablespoons of flowers to pour 1/2 liter of alcohol (vodka) for two weeks. Store in a bottle in a dark place, shaking twice a day. Strain before using. Take 20-30 drops of lavender tincture with 100 ml of water 2-3 times a day or use the tincture as a compress.
Lavender syrup
Indications for use: neurasthenia, tachycardia, headaches, colds.
Recipe: To make lavender syrup you will need: 1 glass of water; 1 cup of sugar; 3 tablespoons of lavender flowers.
Wash the lavender flowers before making the syrup. Pour water into a suitably sized pot, bring to a boil, then add the lavender flowers. This decoction is wrapped and infused for a day. After that, the infusion is filtered, a new portion of dry lavender is poured with the resulting broth and the procedure is repeated. Then the resulting broth is mixed with 250 g of sugar, this mixture is put on fire and boiled until a thick syrup is obtained.
For medicinal purposes, take 1 teaspoon half an hour before meals 3 times a day.
Lavender milk
Indications for use: colds, obsessive thoughts and insomnia.
Delicate lavender flowers give the milk a light aroma that relaxes and promotes good sleep. But even if you are not going to sleep, such a delicious drink will give you moments of real relaxation, after which you will feel truly renewed.
Recipe: Lavender milk can be prepared in many ways. For example, just heat milk overnight (nearly boiling) and throw in a pinch of lavender. You can also separately brew a strong infusion of lavender and add it to milk (50 to 50).
Therapeutic baths with lavender
Indications for use: They are recommended for people suffering from hypotension, as well as for nervous exhaustion.
Lavender baths perfectly restore psycho-emotional balance, relieves physical stress and nervous overexcitation.
Recipe: Prepare a decoction of 60 g of dry or 200-300 g of fresh lavender leaves and flowers, which are poured into 1 liter of water and slowly heated to a boil. After that, the broth is infused for a quarter of an hour and poured into the bath. Take this bath for 15 minutes.
Sachet of lavender
Indications for use: everyday life.
Sachets are fabric bags, most often made of beautiful material, filled with dry fragrant herbs and flowers. Lavender is the best for this purpose. In the closet, sachets with lavender will scare away moths and add fragrance to clothes. A bag of flowers can be placed between bed linen or towels.
Lavender lemonade
Indications for use: refreshing drink.
Recipe: For 1.5 tablespoons of lavender flowers, take 7 cups of boiling water, 0.5 cups of sugar and 0.5 cups of lemon juice (3 lemons).
Pour lavender flowers with four cups of boiling water (when using fresh flowers, the taste of lavender lemonade will be more delicate), cover, leave for 10 minutes. Dissolve sugar in three cups of boiling water. Squeeze juice from lemons. Strain lavender flower water, mix with sugar syrup and lemon juice. Serve cold with ice and lemon.
Lavender sugar
Indications for use: Cooking.
Lavender sugar has an unusual taste. It will give a pleasant subtle aroma to tea, and if you add it to the dough for baking, it will turn out fragrant and have a magical effect. For example, lavender cookies are an excellent remedy for insomnia.
Recipe: To make sugar, pour 5 flowering stalks of lavender into 300 g of granulated sugar and let it brew for a week.
Marinade for meat with lavender
Indications for use: Cooking.
Since we have come to the topic of cooking, I want to present to you an interesting marinade recipe. I assure you, lavender marinade is no worse than traditional recipes with lemon, vinegar or mayonnaise!
Ingredients: dry lavender flowers – 1 tsp, vegetable oil – 2 tbsp., mustard – 1 tbsp., honey – 1 tbsp., lemon zest – 1 tsp, spices to taste.
The cooking method is quite simple – mix all the ingredients. Then put the beef or chicken in the marinade, wrap in cling film and leave overnight. The meat in this marinade can be grilled or baked in the oven. If you add a small amount of wet lavender salt to the marinade, the aroma will be stronger and the taste will be sharper.
There are a lot of recipes for home use of lavender, and each of you will definitely find something to your liking.