How to Stock Your Healing Pantry and Create an Herbal Medicine Cabinet

Learn how to create your Healing Pantry in today’s video and blog post. I show you all the herbs, spices, and supplies that you’ll need to create an extensive set of healing preparations, including medicinal oils, salves, soups, syrups, teas, and tinctures.

And be sure to download my Healing Pantry Inventory List to help you know what supplies you have and those you’ll want to get. Print out the inventory list and watch my Healing Pantry video to learn how to fill it out for your needs.

At the end of this process, you’ll have a well-stocked Healing Pantry and Herbal Medicine Cabinet to make homemade remedies that will help you and your family.

Disclaimer

I am not a doctor or medical professional. If you are not feeling well, please seek professional medical attention and medicine. And if you are thinking of supplementing your treatment with home remedies, be sure to talk to your medical professional about them. It’s important that you get the medicine and treatments you need to get back to good health.

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The Healing Pantry is Part of Your Four Corners Pantry

The Four Corners Pantry consists of the four main regions where you store food and supplies in your home:

• Working Pantry – Where you store your everyday shelf-stable supplies.
• Refrigerator
• Freezer
• Extended or Prepper Pantry – Where you store your long-term shelf-stable supplies.

When supplies in your working pantry are low, you can go to your Prepper Pantry to restock your working pantry. And you can restock your Prepper Pantry with supplies over time or more quickly when there’s a particularly good sale on items you need.

Your Prepper Pantry doesn’t have to be in one particular spot. For example, I have a central place for my Prepper Pantry supplies in my home, but I also have a few other locations, such as a cupboard in my laundry room, where I store dried herbs. I also consider this area to be part of my Prepper Pantry.

Your Prepper Pantry consists of two additional sub-pantries:

• Emergency Pantry
• Healing Pantry

Note that if the concept of a Prepper Pantry is new to you, I have a set of introductory Prepper Pantry videos to get you started building one with real food and on a budget.

How to Stock Your Emergency Pantry

You’ll store your shelf-stable food in your Prepper Pantry, but you’ll also include emergency supplies, which you may need when an unexpected disaster strikes. This area of your Prepper Pantry is called your Emergency Pantry, and I show you how to stock your Emergency Pantry as well as how to prepare an Emergency or Bug Out Bag with real food, so it’s always ready for you.

How to Stock Your Healing Pantry

You’ll also have a place in your Prepper Pantry called the Healing Pantry, where you store the supplies you use to create homemade remedies. In your Healing Pantry, you’ll keep the herbs, spices, and other supplies that you need to make any one of the following healing preparations:

• Oils
• Salves
• Soups
• Syrups
• Teas
• Tinctures

I show you how to make these healing preparations with my comprehensive set of Master Medicinal Herbal recipes. You will store the herbal preparations you make in your Herbal Medicine Cabinet, and this cabinet is part of your Healing Pantry.

Download The Healing Pantry Inventory List

Be sure to download the following Healing Pantry Inventory List and learn how to use it with this blog post and my Healing Pantry video.

The Healing Pantry Inventory List consists of three main sections:

• Herbs (Dried)
• Spices (Dried)
• Supplies

With this printable list, you can inventory all the herbs, spices, and supplies in your Healing Pantry that you can use to make healing oils, salves, soups, syrups, teas, and tinctures.

Herbs for Your Healing Pantry

Herbs serve both culinary and medicinal uses. In my printable inventory, I list more than 15 herbs you can consider including in your Healing Pantry. You may want to have the herb in both the dried form and as garden seeds.

You can use your stock of dried herbs to readily make the healing recipe or preparation you need. And you can store the garden seeds, so you can plant them at a later time to grow the herb in your kitchen garden.

After you fill out the # Stored and # Garden Seeds columns in your inventory list, you’ll know which herbs you have and which ones you may want to buy or grow to complete your Healing Pantry. And if you have any herbs that you like, but that are not on this list, feel free to add them.

If you’re unfamiliar with the different herbs, you’ll want to research to learn more about them and talk with your medical professional for guidance.

Researching Herbs: Videos

In my two-part series on Essential Medicinal Herbs to Grow for Making Home Remedies, I talk about the herbs in my Healing Pantry and provide some links to research articles discussing their uses and effectiveness.

Researching Herbs: Books

As I discussed in my Healing Pantry video, I also recommend that you consult the following reference books, as they provide a wealth of information on herbs and how to grow and use them. They are an essential part of your herbal library.

• Rosemary Gladstar’s Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide: 33 Healing Herbs to Know, Grow, and Use
• Kami McBride’s The Herbal Kitchen: Bring Lasting Health to You and Your Family with 50 Easy-to-Find Common Herbs and Over 250 Recipes

Herb Garden Seeds

If you’re looking for garden seeds to grow your own herbs, visit Survival Garden Seeds to learn about their heirloom varieties of vegetables, herbs, and flowers. I like that their seeds are open-pollinated, non-GMO, and non-hybrid.

If you decide you want one of their special seed collections, they’ve provided my viewers with a special MARYSNEST discount code to be able to get 10% off any of the three following products:

• Home Garden Collection (30 Pack)
• Homesteader Collection (50 Pack)
• Farmers Seed Vault Collection (100 Pack)
• New: Ultimate Medicinal Herb Collection (36 Variety Pack)

Herbal Ingredient: Chamomile

When you think of an herb that may help you drift off to sleep, Chamomile probably comes to mind. However, is Chamomile right for everyone? If you’re allergic to ragweed, you may also have a similar reaction to Chamomile. So if you’re unsure how you would react to this herb, be sure to research it and consult your medical professional.

However, if you’re not allergic to Chamomile and have enjoyed it in the past in a commercial-prepared herbal tea blend, you may want to use Chamomile in your homemade medicinal remedies. For example, in the following video, I show you how to use Chamomile along with Lemon Balm and Lavender to create a homemade medicinal herbal tea for a great night’s sleep.

Spices for Your Healing Pantry

In the next section of my Healing Pantry Inventory List, I list the common dried spices you’re most likely to use when making a healing recipe. Instead of columns to fill in, I have checkboxes so you can just indicate whether you have the item or not.

Although you may find some of the spices fresh at your grocery store, such as turmeric root, you’re unlikely to grow most of the spices. Cinnamon, for example, is harvested from the bark of a tree that you wouldn’t grow in your kitchen garden. However, you may have luck growing garlic and onions.

Spices: Turmeric

Like herbs, spices can have culinary and medicinal uses. In the following videos, I show you how to use turmeric to make Golden Milk and an immune-boosting tea. In addition, I share a special story of my young son’s experience with Golden Milk that you’ll enjoy.

Supplies for Your Healing Pantry

The last section in my Healing Pantry Inventory List covers the supplies that you’ll need when making herbal remedies. You’ll find everything listed, from bottles and eye droppers to tea bags and vinegar. I talk about the different supplies in my Healing Pantry video.

You may be surprised to find pots, pans, and bowls listed in the supplies section. These are actually good to stock in your Healing Pantry so that you can dedicate them to making herbal remedies. This way, you do not have to hunt around for the right type of cookware when you’re ready to make your medicinal recipes. And since some of the recipes might stain your regular pots and pans, it’s best to reserve a set of cookware that you use only for making herbal or home remedies.

Oh, and your herbal books, especially the two that I mentioned earlier, are also part of your Healing Pantry supplies.

Supplies: Homemade Tea

For making homemade herbal teas, you’ll want to stock a few supplies depending on how you want to make your tea.

For example, after you make a blend of dried herbs, you can place them in a small muslin bag tea that you can store in a jar and take out when you want to make hot tea. Alternatively, you may want to place your herbs in a stainless steel tea ball that you can quickly dip into hot water and steep for a soothing cup of tea. Fortunately, you can wash and reuse both your muslin bag and tea balls for future recipes.

Making Homemade Remedies from Your Healing Pantry

With the herbs, spices, and supplies from your Healing Pantry, I show you how to make the following herbal preparations in these master recipe videos:

• Oils and Salves
• Soups
• Syrups
• Teas
• Tinctures

These herbal preparations are what you will store in your Herbal Medicine Cabinet. Is this an actual cabinet? It can be if you want. Or, like me, you can simply designate a shelf in your Healing Pantry where you store your homemade herbal remedies. For those herbal preparations that require a cooler environment, your Herbal Medicine Cabinet will be in your refrigerator or freezer.

Commercially-Made Items for Your Healing Pantry

Not everything you store in your Healing Pantry (or specifically in your Herbal Medicine Cabinet in the case of premade preparations) needs to be the basic elements to make homemade remedies. You can also stock commercially-made items, such as herbal teas, that you can use when you may not feel well enough to go through the steps of making a homemade recipe.

In my Healing Pantry video, I talk about the teas that I enjoy from Organic India. In particular, I like their Tulsi (Holy Basil) teas:

• Tulsi Original (Caffeine-free and with Holy Basil)
• Tulsi Turmeric Ginger (Two wonderful ingredients together)
• Tulsi Lemon Ginger (Another excellent blend)
• Tulsi Moringa

Additionally, many of the ground spices you store in your Healing Pantry will be commercially made or prepared. I especially like to keep the spices I frequently use in the larger bags they were originally packaged in. And you don’t always need to scour the Internet for your ingredients. For example, I found this bag of Cacao Powder during one of my shopping trips to Costco.

Commercially-prepared items provide convenience, but if you ever want to customize your ingredients, such as to include more Chamomile in a recipe, homemade herbal preparations are the way to go.

Homeopathy Products for Your Healing Pantry

You can also stock homeopathy products in your Healing Pantry. As I show you in my Healing Pantry video, there are a few brands that I like and use. I find Genexa’s AllergyCare to be helpful, especially with all the allergens that tend to proliferate in Central Texas, such as with Cedar pollen in December and January.

I also keep a Top 100 Remedy Kit from Washington Homeopathic Products in my Healing Pantry. I haven’t used it yet, but as with different supplies we keep in our Prepper Pantry, it’s available in case my family or I need it.

Homeopathy may not be suitable for everyone, so again, be sure to do your research and consult with your medical professional.

How to Build Your Prepper Pantry

I refer to the Prepper Pantry a lot in this blog post and video. However, if the concept of a Prepper Pantry is new to you, watch the following videos for the basics of why you need a Prepper Pantry and how to stock your Prepper Pantry with real food and on a budget.

As you watch these videos, remember that you can do this! You don’t have to stock a Prepper Pantry overnight. Instead, you can build it over time and within your budget to give you and your family real food, supplies, and peace of mind no matter what the future holds.

After you’ve finished these introductory videos, you can dive into all the videos in my Prepper Pantry playlist, where I talk about how to properly store foods for the long term, how to use mylar bags, and much more!

Download Your Free 36-Page Pantry List

For an extensive list of the traditional foods you can make and purchase to stock your pantry, be sure to download my free 36-page Traditional Foods Pantry List. This comprehensive eBook is full of links to recipe videos, helpful articles, and more!

And if you’re looking for a printed book full of my traditional foods recipes to show you how to create a traditional foods kitchen, be sure to order your copy of my new bestselling book, The Modern Pioneer Cookbook.

Kitchen Academy Videos

Are you looking for more traditional foods videos? If so, I invite you to join the Traditional Foods Kitchen Academy. Members of this optional paid YouTube community get access to exclusive videos, live streams, and other members-only perks. Plus, your YouTube comments include a special members-only badge.

In the following video replay of my members-only live stream, I talk about How to Fight Rising Grocery Prices with New Foods.

Stay in Touch with Mary’s Nest

1. Subscribe to My YouTube Channel for Traditional Foods Videos (Free) - When you subscribe, be sure to click on the notification bell that will let you know each time I upload a new video.
2. Subscribe to Mary’s Traditional Foods Newsletter (Free) - Get a free 36-page eBook for signing up: How to Stock Your Essential Traditional Foods Four-Corners Pantry.
3. Join the Traditional Foods Kitchen Academy (Optional Paid) - For more detailed videos and exclusive members-only perks, join my YouTube membership community.
4. Order The Modern Pioneer Cookbook (Optional Paid) - Get a printed book of Mary's nourishing recipes from a Traditional Foods Kitchen. This bestselling cookbook is published by Penguin Random House with their DK imprint.

I look forward to having you join me in my Texas Hill Country Kitchen!

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Shop for items used in this blog post or video

Favorite Home Remedy Supplies

• Glass Jars
• Replacement Gaskets
• Glass Bottles with Eye Droppers
• Muslin Bags (Various Sizes)
• Muslin Tea Bags
• Homeopathic Kit
• Genexa AllergyCare
• Tulsi Tea
• Portable Cooktop

Favorite Prepper Pantry Supplies

• Wireless Fridge and Freezer Exterior Thermometer
• Life Straw
• Water Disinfection Tablets
• Water BOB Tub Liner
• Cast Iron Trivet
• Tea Lights
• Glass Kettle
• Manual Can Opener
• Battery Powered Can Opener
• Long Lasting Ice Packs
• Igloo Cooler
• YETI Cooler
• Electric Cooler
• Jackery Solar Power Station
• Jackery Portable Solar Panels
• 10 Gauge Power Cord
• Kill A Watt EZ
• Hand Crank Flashlight
• High Powered Flashlight
• Hand Crank Emergency Radio

More Favorite Kitchen Supplies

• Favorite Aprons
• Spice Grinder
• Countertop Burner (On my kitchen island in many recipe videos.)
• Handheld Vacuum Sealing System
• Vacuum Lids
• Whisk
• Silica Gel Packets (Helps keep moisture from building up in your mix)
• Cast Iron Dutch Oven
• 8-Quart Slow-Cooker
• Fat Separator (Clever kitchen device to help you decant bone broth)
• Flour Sack Towels
• pH Strips (Helps you check on the acidity of your vinegar)

Amazon Shop and Shopping Guide

• Visit Mary’s Nest Amazon Shop
• Visit my Shopping Guide page
  Get up to 15% off for stocking your Traditional Foods Pantry and equipping your Modern Pioneer Kitchen, including discounts from US Wellness Meats, Farmhouse Teas, Lehman's, Masontops, Cultures for Health, Survival Garden Seeds, Redmond Real Salt, Plan to Eat, and More!

Recommended Reading

• Homeopathic Self-Care: The Quick and Easy Guide for the Whole Family

• Where There Is No Doctor: A Village Health Care Handbook