Tea is so healing for the body and soul after birth, and as an herbalist and nutrition coach, there are plenty of blends I could recommend to you. However, I have one ALL TIME FAVORITE postpartum tea recipe that I’ll share with you today.
My favorite way to prepare this tea is to make a large batch in advance (as part of my postpartum food prep!) and freeze it in single cup portions, so that you literally just reheat it and drink immediately later on. But you can also make this blend fresh during postpartum as there aren’t too many steps involved.
This blend can also be enjoyed during pregnancy, or really any time during your motherhood journey that you need a hug in a mug (it’s my fav to return to during my cycle!). I swear the aroma of this tea can completely turn your day around.
In addition to being delicious medicine for the soul, this tea blend is warming, increases circulation and encourages healing. Jujubes are a Traditional Chinese Medicine food ideal for pregnancy and postpartum. Native American herbalism values goji berry (aka wolf berry) for it’s ability to support mama in creating healthy boundaries. Cinnamon is warming (wonderful for postpartum healing!), Nettle is full of vitamins and minerals, and Red Raspberry Leaf supports the uterus to heal after birth. That’s one gentle yet powerful blend!
Ingredients:
For ~4 quarts of water
Jujubes (about 6)
Goji berries (1/2 C)
Cinnamon (1 tbsp)
Stinging Nettle (1/2 C)
Red Raspberry Leaf (1/2 C)
Directions:
Remove pits from jujube’s s. Bring a medium-large pot of water to a boil on the stove top and add jujubes, goji berries, and cinnamon. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 30-60 mins. Turn off heat and stir in nettle and RRL. Cover with lid and let sit to infuse for 2-8 hours. The longer it sits, the more medicinal it becomes (aka the better)! But it’s still wonderful if it just sits for an hour or so.
Strain contents through a fine mesh strainer and store in air tight jars in the fridge for up to 5 days.
To enjoy, pour desired amount into a small pot and reheat on the stove top. Enjoy!
Notes:
Look for jujubes (also known as Chinese red dates) and goji berries in the dried goods section of your local health food store. At certain times of the year you can find fresh jujubes too which you can also eat like an apple! If you can’t find them locally, you can order online from a company like Just Jujubes, which sells organic, California grown dried jujubes. You can literally use the ground cinnamon that you probably already have in your spice drawer (look for ceylon cinnamon specifically next time you’re buying it for greatest benefit), or buy the sticks to feel extra fancy. You can find stinging nettle and RRL in dry tea form, and in the spring time you may find them fresh at your local farmers market as well.
Missing an ingredient? You can improvise! The jujubes really are the star of this blend (from a medicinal and taste point of view), and the cinnamon really gives it a little something as well, but you can try swapping out the nettle and RRL for something similar (like oatstraw or moringa), or omitting all together.
Use your extra goji berries in other cooking projects for a superfood boost, like stirred into oatmeal, energy balls, smoothies, on top of yogurt or cottage cheese, etc.