Herbs with Rosalee

Is dandelion primarily a liver herb? Is it too bitter to enjoy every day? And is it only useful in the spring?
In this conversation, we explore four common myths about dandelion and the many ways this familiar plant can support our health throughout the year.
► Myth #1: Dandelion is primarily a liver herb. Discover why dandelion's effects go far beyond the liver, including its role in bile production and release, digestion, cholesterol elimination, hormone metabolism, and skin health.
► Myth #2: Dandelion is primarily a bitter herb. While dandelion root does have some bitterness, it is also sweet, earthy, and nourishing. We explore its inulin content and why it's a lovely herb to enjoy regularly.
► Myth #3: Dandelion is primarily a spring herb. Spring brings beautiful flowers and fresh leaves, but fall is an especially wonderful time to harvest dandelion roots. We also discuss how to tell when roots are ready by tasting them.
► Myth #4: Dandelion leaves don't make a good nourishing herbal infusion. We talk about using dandelion leaves for nourishing infusions and their abundance of minerals, including magnesium, calcium, and potassium.
We're also sharing our excitement about the Dandelion Immersion, including the 30-day challenge, hours of in-depth lessons, and plenty of ways to explore this incredible plant.
Join us for 30 days of dandelion here!

Think raspberry leaf is just for pregnancy? Think again! This familiar backyard plant has gifts for everyone, from supporting menstrual and prostate health to nourishing the body with an abundance of minerals.
In this episode, I'm joined by Leanne Hatfield, a physician turned farmer and herbalist, to explore the many gifts of raspberry (Rubus idaeus) beyond its familiar role in pregnancy. As Leanne explains, there's something special about a plant that offers both food and medicine, grows abundantly, and invites us to deepen our relationship with the natural world—and raspberry is just such a plant!
We also talk about the importance of local herbalism, the value of seasonal harvesting, and how our approach to herbal medicine can evolve when we move beyond thinking of plants as simply this-for-that remedies. It's a conversation that might just inspire you to look at your own backyard with fresh eyes.
Leanne also shares her recipe for Raspberry Leaf Vinaigrette, a delightful way to dress your salad in the goodness of both raspberry leaf and fruit. Download your beautifully illustrated copy here!
By the end of this episode, you’ll know:
► How raspberry leaf can support menstrual health beyond the childbearing years
► The difference between spring and fall leaves (hint: you’ll want to harvest both!)
► Why this herb might be just the ally you need for an occasional sore throat or bout of diarrhea
► What makes raspberry leaf such an interesting source of minerals, especially when it comes to its calcium bioavailability
► Why herbalism is such a great complement to standard medical care
► and so many other reasons to make raspberry leaf and berries part of your life!
For those of you who don’t know her, Leanne is a holistic family physician dedicated to natural healing modalities, nutritional medicine, and herbalism. She crafts products with herbs that she either grows or wild harvests on Seeds and Spores Family Farm in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The diverse farm, which is a United Plant Savers Botanical Sanctuary, is run by Leanne and her husband Jeff. They incorporate “beyond organic,” regenerative, and authentic farming techniques to offer nutrient dense foods and quality botanicals to their community.
I can’t wait to share our conversation with you today!
----
Get full show notes, transcript, and more information at: herbswithrosaleepodcast.com
Would you prefer watching this episode? If so, click here for the video.
You can find Leanne at SeedsAndSpores.com.
For more behind-the-scenes of this podcast, follow @rosaleedelaforet on Instagram!
Working successfully with herbs requires three essential skills. Get introduced to them by taking my free herbal jumpstart course when you sign up for my newsletter.
If you enjoy the Herbs with Rosalee podcast, we could use your support! Please consider leaving a 5-star rating and review and sharing the show with someone who needs to hear it!
On the podcast, we explore the many ways plants heal, as food, as medicine, and through nature connection. Each week, I focus on a single seasonal plant and share trusted herbal knowledge so that you can get the best results when using herbs for your health.
Learn more about Herbs with Rosalee at herbswithrosalee.com.
----
Rosalee is an herbalist and author of the bestselling book Alchemy of Herbs: Transform Everyday Ingredients Into Foods & Remedies That Heal and co-author of the bestselling book Wild Remedies: How to Forage Healing Foods and Craft Your Own Herbal Medicine. She's a registered herbalist with the American Herbalists Guild and teaches many popular online courses. Read about how Rosalee went from having a terminal illness to being a bestselling author in her full story here.

Why dandelion? Honestly, you told us!
After Nettle Immersion, we asked what plant you wanted to spend time with next, and dandelion came out on top. We couldn’t have been happier, because this is a plant both of us love so much we have it tattooed on our bodies.
Dandelion is scrappy, generous, and everywhere. It’s often the first plant people ever get to know as medicine (it was Mason’s gateway herb!), and yet there’s always more to learn from it, from the root all the way to the seed.
Join us for a month of getting to know dandelion together:
▶ Foundational teachings from root to seed
▶ Guest classes with Guido Masé and Sajah Popham
▶ A 30-day dandelion challenge
▶ Live Q&A and a closing circle
The challenge begins November 16, and registration closes November 11.
Join the challenge through here.

Enrollment for my new online course, Herbal Heart Health, closes tonight!
In this course, my friend Rich Mandelbaum and I explore how herbs can support heart health, from high cholesterol and blood pressure to arrhythmia, congestive heart failure, and stroke recovery.
You’ll learn how to choose appropriate herbs for different people, understand lab work, and navigate herb-drug interactions with greater confidence, including questions about combining herbs with statins and blood thinners.
Rich brings years of hands-on clinical herbalism experience, and together, we’re giving these important topics the depth and attention they deserve.
We meet live on Wednesday evenings, with plenty of time for your questions. You’ll also receive lifetime access to all class recordings.
This first offering is available at beta tuition, the lowest price this course will ever be.
Enrollment closes tonight! If you’d like to deepen your knowledge of herbal heart care, I’d love to see you in class.
Enroll in the Herbal Heart Health course here!

What do you get when you combine a mysterious berry, a bottle with David Bowie on the label, and an herbalist determined to get everyone dancing?
In this episode, I sit down with my good friend Mel Kasting to discuss aralia berry (Aralia racemosa), an herb that I admittedly knew almost nothing about before our conversation! Mel fondly refers to aralia berry as “dance berry” because of its remarkable ability to help people feel more at home in their bodies and more connected to one another. She also talks about the many other gifts of aralia berry, including its ability to support people who feel depleted, disconnected, or weighed down by prolonged stress or grief.
Beyond aralia berry, Mel shares insights from her work as a clinical herbalist, including a powerful lesson she learned early in her practice about the importance of meeting people where they are. We also discuss the role mentorship can play in helping herbalists build confidence, deepen their understanding, and develop their clinical skills.
You can download the beautifully illustrated recipe card for Mel’s Life of the Party Elixir, a delightful mixture of aralia berry and other herbs, here. But be careful—it might just inspire you to get up and dance!
By the end of this episode, you’ll know:
► Why Mel sees aralia berry as a plant of connection and restoration, rather than simply another stimulating herb
► What makes aralia berry different from other herbs commonly used as social lubricants
► Why Mel prefers working with aralia’s berries instead of its more well-known root
► How aralia differs from its cousin ginseng and other adaptogenic herbs
► Where to find aralia in the wild
► Tips for growing, wildcrafting, and ethically harvesting aralia berry
► and so much more…
For those of you who don’t know her, Mel Kasting is a clinical herbalist, educator, and botanist with more than ten years of clinical experience. As Clinical Director and Free Clinic Manager at the Eclectic School of Herbal Medicine, she oversees accessible community care and helps train emerging clinical herbalists. Her work integrates traditional Western herbalism, clinical nutrition, somatic practices, public health, and harm reduction.
Through Forest Edge Herbals, Mel offers consultations, mentorship, plant walks, and community education. In her clinical practice, she supports people navigating chronic illness, mental and nervous system health concerns, and mast cell and allergic conditions, including alpha-gal syndrome, with individualized, person-centered herbal support.
I’m so excited to share our conversation with you today!
----
Get full show notes, transcript, and more information at: herbswithrosaleepodcast.com
Would you prefer watching this episode? If so, click here for the video.
You can find Mel at ForestEdgeHerbals.com.
For more behind-the-scenes of this podcast, follow @rosaleedelaforet on Instagram!
Working successfully with herbs requires three essential skills. Get introduced to them by taking my free herbal jumpstart course when you sign up for my newsletter.
If you enjoy the Herbs with Rosalee podcast, we could use your support! Please consider leaving a 5-star rating and review and sharing the show with someone who needs to hear it!
On the podcast, we explore the many ways plants heal, as food, as medicine, and through nature connection. Each week, I focus on a single seasonal plant and share trusted herbal knowledge so that you can get the best results when using herbs for your health.
Learn more about Herbs with Rosalee at herbswithrosalee.com.
----
Rosalee is an herbalist and author of the bestselling book Alchemy of Herbs: Transform Everyday Ingredients Into Foods & Remedies That Heal and co-author of the bestselling book Wild Remedies: How to Forage Healing Foods and Craft Your Own Herbal Medicine. She's a registered herbalist with the American Herbalists Guild and teaches many popular online courses. Read about how Rosalee went from having a terminal illness to being a bestselling author in her full story here.