Every Autumn, I watch families shift from the free-flowing days of summer into the structure of school schedules and busy routines. The mornings get cooler, the wind picks up and sweaters come out of storage. Adjusting to new schedules along with the waning light and fluctuating temperatures calls for a little extra herbal care! 

After more than 35 years of helping folks weave herbs into daily life, I’ve noticed this late-summer-to-fall transition is an important time to focus on three things: keeping hydration steady, soothing frazzled nervous systems, and making immune care simple enough that you’ll actually do it. 

This is the season to set your herbal table. A jar of tea-blend ready to grab. A bottle of tangy, vitamin-rich herbal syrup waiting in the fridge. A nightly cup of calming tea that helps the whole household wind down. It’s not about doing everything, it’s about a few steady practices that support you through the back-to-school swirl. We'll be offering three easy herbal recipes in three different posts to support your family’s health this autumn: 

·       Fever-Ease Tea for when colds or fevers begin 

·       Chamomile Tea for calming nerves and getting better sleep 

·       Rose Hip Syrup for a daily tonic that nourishes 

Fever-Ease Tea Recipe for Seasonal Colds & Flu 

Fever isn’t the enemy. It’s the body’s built-in intelligence working to create an environment where germs can’t thrive. When a child (or adult) heats up, our job isn’t to squash the fever immediately but to help it move through in a safe, comfortable way. That’s where diaphoretic herbs come in. They help the body release heat through the skin and keep things moving.

Here’s what goes into my Fever-Ease blend: 

• Elderflower: Helps open the pores so the potential bacteria can move to the edge of the body and be sweated out 
• Lemon balm: Calms irritability, soothes the nerves, and gently supports immunity
• Chamomile: Eases restlessness, helps digestion, and brings comfort to the whole system 

Keep some premixed in a jar so you’re not fumbling at midnight. 

Ingredients:

·       2 tablespoons dried elderflower 

·       2 tablespoons dried lemon balm  

·       1 tablespoon dried chamomile  

Directions: 

Use 1–2 tablespoons of herb blend per cup of just-boiled water. Cover while steeping for 10 minutes, strain, and sip. Keep tea in a thermos to keep it warm, or re-heat the tea when you have another cup.

How to take it:

Sip small amounts through the day, 3–4 cups if you can. Keep water coming in too. 

Optional: Add a pinch of elderberries or echinacea root for more support. 
This tea is not only for fevers, it’s a great calming, cold prevention tea for the back-to-school bug exposure and the anxiety that can come with adapting to a new schedule.

Safety:

If a fever persists more than a few days or rises too high (103°F and above), or if you’re worried, get medical care. Rest, hydrate, and avoid sugar, caffeine, and alcohol while the body is doing its work. 

Putting it all together: 

Here’s how you can make these three recipes part of your week without adding more stress: 

Sunday: Mix a jar of Fever-Ease Tea, make a batch of Rose Hip Syrup, set chamomile by the tea pot.

Weekdays: After school drink warm water with Rose Hip Syrup. In the evening, chamomile tea for everyone. 

When someone feels off: Start small sips of Fever-Ease Tea and let the body rest. 

What makes these recipes work is finding some consistency. Rhythm is what builds resilience over time. But even if you just do one of these, label your jars, invite your kids to scoop and stir, and let the herbs become part of your family’s daily rhythm. Here’s to a grounded, cozy start to fall.

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Kami McBride is the author of The Herbal Kitchen and has taught herbal medicine at the University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing. Her 35 years of teaching herbal medicine is steeped in helping people feel confident in their herbal healing arts skills so they can energize home culture that embraces taking care of our bodies with herbal remedies, a deep connection with the earth and an herbal wellness-centered lifestyle that passes this knowledge on to the next generation. Kami can be reached at www.kamimcbride.com