Tending Your Gut Health
~ January 2026 Newsletter ~In January, it's natural to reflect on the past year and decide what we want to shed, how we want to do things differently, and what we want to add in. After the hubbub of the holidays and our busy lives, we're generally ready for some down time, healthier food, and focus on rest and/or movement.  As I reflect on 2025, as busy as it was, I was successful in my the movement goals I set last January: 100 miles xc skiing, 100 (actually did 200) miles paddling, and well over 100 miles on foot (mostly a slow walk while checking email on the  office treadmill, but still). Bonus: I finally started going to a strength training gym 2x/week. (A life first - gotta take care of my post-menopausal bones and muscles!) This was a
tremendous improvement on the prior few years where we had almost zero time off and barely did any exercise at all. Shannon wanted us to have more intense milage goals, but I chose to keep them at levels that inspired me to move without feeling overwhelmingly inaccessible and adding stress. Â 2026 starts with a busy work spell for me. I've finalized and opened the 2026 class schedule for
registration (woot!). I've caught too many colds (boo). My Herbal Gut Health book releases this month, and I have an intense round of book edits for manuscript #5 blocking off the month of February, along with a flurry of board and clinical work. But, after that, I'm taking some steps back.  My personal goals for
2026: - No new books for a long while! (Manuscript #5 will be a hot potato this year in edit rounds, releasing sometime mid/late 2027. After writing three books the three past winters, I'm glad not to have a big book deadline over my head.)
- No more working weekends (except the very occasional conference)
- Leave the office closer to 5 pm more regularly
- Keep up with the 2025 movement goals, adding in the strength training, more yoga, and more hiking
- Take an extended vacation later this year (booked!)
- Unwind myself from some of my board obligations, passing one or more of my committee chair roles to others
- A slightly lighter teaching schedule
- As always, appreciate loved ones and spend
time with them
New & Seasonal in This Email• Herbal Gut Health Releases this Month! Preorders, Recipe & Sneak Peaks • Herbal Gut Health Podcast with Camille Freeman • 2026 Course Lineup Open for Registration • Plant Spotlight: Evergreens • Upcoming Classes ***RELEASES JANUARY 13, 2026***
Preorder to get your Signed Copy FIRST!Herbal Gut Health Book
Natural Therapies to Promote
Healthy Digestion,Â
Boost Your Microbiome, and Support Gut RepairA healthy gut is the key to good overall health—both physical and mental—and researchers are beginning to uncover the links between an unbalanced gut microbiome and chronic conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, and cancer. As a clinical herbalist with decades
of experience, Maria Noël Groves has helped patients of all ages resolve their digestive complaints and related health issues by teaching them how to adopt healthier dietary habits, employ herbs to alleviate digestive issues and improve digestion, and incorporate balanced lifestyle practices—resolving their diseases and dramatically improving their quality of life. Gorgeous full-color illustrated book, 300+ pages, including anatomy and physiology, herbal actions,
detailed plant profiles, protocol points for key concerns, herbal energetics, recipes, charts, and more! The book will ship mid-January when it releases!  Local Pick Up Option: See Upcoming Classes section below for more information on how to preorder a book or stop by my
January Concord Co-op class.  Includes Special Bonuses!• Free Access to Maria’s  Herbal Gut Health Mini Course Live Streamed Online & On Demand course, happening March 2026 • Special one-time discount for 10% off Maria’s online live streamed and on-demand classes and series when you buy the book direct from her here. • And of course, your book will be signed by Maria!  Herbal Gut Health Sneak PeaksPink Dandelion-Rose Chai Latte RecipeEnjoy this recipe from the book as a gentle and delicious digestive bitter blend excerpted from the book! Honestly, this started by me simply adding rose petals and beet root powder to Traditional Medicinals Dandelion tea bag and a 1/2-1 teaspoon of Diaspora Co. Chai Masala powder. You can make this
recipe as complicated or simple as as you like.  The combination of creamy white "milk" and beet root powder makes it lovely pink, beautifully complimenting the rose aromatics, but they're optional.  • 1-2 heaping teaspoons dandelion, chicory, and/or burdock cut/sifted dry roots
(roasted and/or raw) •  2 cinnamon sticks • 2-4 cardamom pods • 7 whole cloves • 1 star anise pod • 1/2-1 teaspoon beet root powder (optional, makes it pink) • 1/2-1 teaspoon rose petals or buds oat milk or other milk/creamer of choice 1/2 tsp vanilla extraction (optional) pinch of nutmeg Other nice ingredients: oat straw, oat tops, linden, marshmallow, maca...  Combine with 12-16 ounces hot water.  It's
better/stronger if you simmer it for about 20 minutes, but I'm busy/lazy and usually just infuse it for 30-6o min while I get ready in the morning. Â In case you're wondering, this mushroom mug is from Woods & Water
PotteryÂ
(thank you, Julie!) |
2026 Course Lineups Announced!Now Open for Registration Herbal Gut Health Mini-SeriesÂ
(Free with Herbal Gut Health Book Purchase)Wednesday Nights, 6-8 pm eastern & recorded This mini-class highlights key points of gut health and the book and is free with book purchase. These
two-hour classes include the opportunity for questions and interaction. Â If you purchase(d) the book through Maria, you're automatically registered. We'll email you updates and access as the classes approach. Â If you purchase(d) the book elsewhere, you need
to register here and be sure to add the discount code at check out: See page 336 of the book (under Helpful Websites, Wintergreen Botanicals) for the promo discount code to get this mini-course for free. DO NOT FORGET TO ADD THE DISCOUNT CODE. We
cannot process refunds after the fact.  • March 11: Intro to Digestion & Digestion-Enhancing Herbs • March 18: Gut Repair & Soothing, Healing Herbs • March 25: Microbiome & Dysbiosis Support including Gas/Bloat and Antimicrobial
Herbs  ~*~Home Herbalist SeriesSummer Wednesday Nights, 6-9 pm eastern & recorded Join me for my most popular foundational 9-class course. This year will have both in-person (limited!) and live stream options, and everything is also recorded and available
on-demand. ~*~Advanced Clinical & Assessment Skills Series Spring & Fall Wednesday Nights live streamed & recorded This series is for advanced students and practitioners to help bridge your skill sets from herbal student to
clinician or to refine your clinical skills. (Be sure to check out the pre-requisites before you register!) We have a fantastic lineup of class topics taught by Maria and guest teachers. (Drop in class registration for individual classes will open up later in 2026.) Topics include the art of intake, physical and and tongue assessment, functional bloodwork and genetic labs, red flags, trauma-informed care, inclusivity, herbal practice business skills, pregnancy and
lactation, EDS and hypermobility, assessment for the complicated case, and more. Guest teachers include Camille Freeman, Ember Peters, Mel Kasting, Keren Dolan, Larken Bunce, Lauren Eadline, Renée Camilla, Vilde Chaya Fenster-Ehrlich, Andrew Appello, and Julie Beal.  Winter Herb WalkWild Medicinals of WinterThe EvergreensIn Winter, we rarely harvest herbs. However, our gracious evergreens are available
to give us medicine as we need them. Most of our common evergreens have medicinal properties. (Please note that while many evergreens are healing – and several are edible – not all are safe to consume. Be particularly cautious with landscape/cultivated evergreens. Yew is a good example of a potentially toxic evergreen.) Learn more in my virtual herb walk below.  Upcoming Community Classes & EventsBook Release & Free Class!Herbs to Stimulate and Support DigestionWith Local Herbalist & Author Maria Noël Groves, RH(AHG)Thursday, January 22,
class 5:30-6:30 pm (Snow Date Jan 29) (book sales and pre-order pick up starting at 4 pm and after class til 7 pm) In Person only at the Concord Food Co-op Cafe, 24 South Main Street, Concord NH Join Maria for a special free class in celebration of the
release of her latest book Herbal Gut Health. In this free 1-hour class, Maria will focus on herbs that enhance and support healthy digestive function including digestive bitters, aromatic carminatives, and sours. She will share how each category of herbs benefits digestive function, why this aids overall health, and feature a few favorite examples of each—such as ginger, fennel, dandelion, and chamomile. Learn how, why, and when they work best as well as recipe tips and tricks. Free and
open to the public.  Place Your Book Pick Up Preorder or Buy at the Event: Maria’s book will be available for sale/pick up before and after class from 4 to 7 pm. You can preorder signed copies at wintergreenbotanicals.com for pick up (use the discount code COOP to remove the shipping fee and get pick up at the event) or simply come that night to buy a book while supplies last. A selection of Maria’s other books will also be available for sale (cash, credit cards accepted).  Backyard Medicine & the
Secret Lives of Garden HerbsAs part of the Rye Driftwood Garden Club meeting on Tuesday, February 17, 2026 that runs 9:30-11:30 am In Person at the Fellowship. Hall, Rye Congregational Church, 580 Washington Road, Rye, NH Learn about the medicinal benefits of a variety of common and lesser known herbs
that can easily be grown in your own backyard. We will cover several of Maria’s favorite medicinal herbs and how to incorporate them into your diet and health routine including anti-stress and bedtime teas, brain boosters, and allies in vital aging, digestive health, immune function, and nutrition. You’ll go home with a handout of recipes and quick remedy-making tips. Maria will sign and sell her books after the 1-1.5 hour talk. (If Rye School District closes schools due to snow/ice, this talk will be cancelled.)  |
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