Lauren Haynes, Wooden Spoon Herbs: On Herbalism, Health, And Being Home

On the Being Home With Hunker podcast we have founder of Wooden Spoon Herbs, Lauren Haynes.

If there's one thing that Lauren knows, it's herbalism. She started delving into the world of herbs years ago through tinkering, and trial and error before she created Wooden Spoon Herbs. She started in her Tennessee kitchen and sold her products at an Appalachian Mountain farmers' market stall — and then over the course of years, her company grew.

"Herbs can do so many things so no matter what you're going through, whether it's mental, emotional, physical, there's an herb for that. And I think that's just really special. We're so lucky to have that available to us." — Lauren Haynes

Lauren has said that she has always found nourishment in nature, and that when it comes to plants, she sees possibility; she sees the mystical aspects of them, and their art form. Lauren believes that herbs are a powerful adjunct to conventional medicine.

In this conversation, she shares ways that we can boost our wellbeing as we move into a new year. We talk about her time living in the Appalachian Mountains in a rural town, her thoughts on wildcrafting (which is harvesting from the wild), and how we can use indoor plants for medicinal or nutritive reasons.

Click here to listen to our conversation on Being Home With Hunker.

• Website: WoodenSpoonHerbs.com
• Instagram:
  @woodenspoonherbs
• TikTok: @woodenspoonherbs

"Herbs can do so many things and they are very powerful, and it is like a valid paradigm of health care and a very powerful adjunct to conventional medicine." — Lauren Haynes

Laurie:

This is what I find so fascinating, Lauren: you created your business out of your own kitchen, just tinkering around with tinctures, which I just love. But prior to that, you've been studying herbalism for a while, is that correct?

Lauren:

Not entirely. Somewhat.

Laurie:

Okay, go.

Lauren:

I've been doing a lot of self-study in the beginning. For the first two or three years, it was nothing but tinkering and reading and trial and error and being my own Guinea pig. But I actually went to a formal herbal education program after I went full-time with Wooden Spoon.

Laurie:

Really? I love this so much.

Lauren:

Yeah. Yeah. I wanted to dive in deeper, and I at the time was thinking about going into client work, so being a clinical herbalist practitioner and just experiencing that. I was like, I think this will, one, give people peace of mind that I know what I'm doing, and two, actually teach me everything to know exactly what I'm doing. Yeah, a cart before the horse sometimes, and that's how it goes.

Laurie:

I mean, why not? That's what a lot of people say. Just take action and then the rest will follow. I love that you did that. Now, what was the very first moment of you starting it? Or have you always been doing this as a young child? Did your family have tinctures and such?

Lauren:

No, no. No, quite the opposite. My mom, I mean, growing up it was very much a nervous energy around healthcare and very quick to go to the doctor with any little thing, which they'll always give you something for. That's kind of my upbringing. But I was always personally fascinated with being outside and animals and plants. then also just was raised by very nurturing people, and that seeped into me. Herbalism really is a convergence of so many of my passions and values and interests.

For me, it kind of came from more of a mystical place, if we're being honest, because I think I was so just enamored with the fact that these beautiful plants that grow all around us, which sounds cheesy but it's true, could be used medicinally. That just didn't ever seem possible to me. Yeah, I just fell in love with the art form and the possibilities and just started playing around, personally was very excited and very spirited away.

Laurie:

I love it. I don't think it sounds cheesy at all, and I love the mystical part of all of this, the mystical, the magical. As I was using your products and thinking about herbalism, there is a part of me that's like, how does it work? First, can you just talk a little bit about herbalism? What is it?

Lauren:

Sure. Very simply put, it's using medicinal plants, edible plants for specific actions in the body or as an adjunct to a diet and lifestyle that adds nutrition. Herbalism can be as simple as using more cooking culinary spices in your food or it can be as magical as a full moon flower essence. It's such a personal practice, as with any craft, which is something I love about it. For me, well, I study in practice is more of medical herbalism, so it's learning a lot of pathophysiology and working with herbal actions, whether that's nettle as a diuretic or wild cherry bark as a bronchodilator.

If I weren't running a business, I would be seeing clients and working with people individually to address different health concerns. That's where I really love and where the magic is for me is watching someone start to work with plants and have big, small, and everything in between resolves in their own life, and tracking that progress and championing them through it. That's what I love. But herbalism can be so many things. I think that's really fun and beautiful about it, is that there's a place for everyone, no matter where your interest lies.

Laurie:

Yeah. You brought up the moon for a second there. Do you use the properties of the moon? Are you sticking your tinctures outside on the full moon to get that energy? Do you go that deep? Maybe just for your own personal use?

Lauren:

I know, I'm like, "You're really pulling anatomy." Yeah, sure. In the beginning, I definitely worked with a lot of that stuff, and I think I've had a bio dynamically tended garden personally and seen what that can do for growing patterns, and it's fascinating. I think it's really funny because, actually today, so recording this on the last full moon of 2022, coincidentally. But it's funny because within the business, we've had all of these really major events happen that we always schedule well in advance, and then without fail, they always tend to happen on a fuller new moon. It has been part of the business, but not in an intentional way.

Laurie:

Yeah, I love that, by the way. That's so cool.

Lauren:

It feels very cool.

Laurie:

Yeah. Yeah. Just speaking of your launches of your business and stuff, your packaging is so beautiful.

Lauren:

Thank you.

Laurie:

Because I know that you had a relaunch of it. I just love it. It looks so pretty out on a counter. You don't have to hide it.

Lauren:

Totally. that was very intentional. I mean, we want people to have this on their counter because the reason it exists is so that people use it, and if you don't have it constantly in front of you, you're going to forget, and it's just going to sit there for a long time. I'm glad that it's working and the shelf appeal is there.

Laurie:

It is so pretty. Yeah.

Lauren:

It's good. We put a lot of heart and soul into it, and it really is a beautiful decoration on my counter. I delight seeing it all the time, so I'm super grateful that you do as well.

Laurie:

How long were you working out of your kitchen before you expanded? Because you've had your business now for, what is it, has it been about eight years?

Lauren:

Eight years this week, maybe even today. Eight years on the eighth. We took a lot of baby steps in the direction to get to where we are now. Working out of your kitchen is great when you're selling at the farmer's market, working out of your kitchen is not great when you're selling direct to consumer to hundreds and then thousands. Right?

Laurie:

Right.

Lauren:

That's not good for anyone. We scaled up over time. I built out a commercial kitchen where I was living out in the country and then we worked out of there until we couldn't really meet demand. Then it was 2019, so four or five years in, I guess five years in, that we started the process of vetting manufacturing partners. That was a whole landscape to learn, because usually people go to a manufacturer and say, "Hey, can you make me a blend for X, Y, Z?" And they just whip it up and charge them fees and then it exists. But for me, having created all of these formulas and then trying to scale quality sourcing, trying to scale quality, traditional practice manufacturing was very challenging. It took a lot of time to find the right partners and then scale and scale again, and then all of the fun stuff that comes with working out new partnerships.

Laurie:

Yeah. Yeah, exactly. I have heard of plants as medicine, in the way that people say growing up, if I have a sunburn, they say, "Oh, clip off some aloe vera and just rub it on your sunburn." But what are some other indoor plants that people can use as medicine? And also, how would we use them? Say they don't have your products in the moment, are there just regular old indoor plants that people can use?

Lauren:

Aloe is a big one. It's a big one. It's really handy to have around, especially if you know that you got it from an organic source and that it's the, oh god, I'm blanking on the Latin name, but the [inaudible 00:09:18] type aloe, aloe vera, because you then you could use the inner gel internally. Yeah, aloe is a big one.

Laurie:

Just for sunburns though?

Lauren:

No, aloes great for digestive things. Aloe is great for, yeah, I think digestive is what comes to mind most. I also really love aloe if you have an abundance of it, because it grows quite readily, as a facial moisturizer just on the skin as a nighttime skincare routine. I've definitely done that in the past.

But definitely, I went through a phase of trying to have only medicinal indoor plants, which is of futile exercise because there aren't a ton that grow perennially indoors, right, low light or even in a window. Here's my answer. My answer is a sunny window box full of culinary herbs is perfect if that's available to you. I also really love sprouting. It's like a medicinal indoor practice, especially through the winter when maybe don't have a warm enough climate to grow things outdoors, sprouts are very nutritive, and so often if not every time I would start with a client or someone I'm talking to about getting herbs into their diet or anything that might be bothering them, I'm going to start with nutrition. Sprouts are fun to do inside.

What else? Oh, there's a plant called [inaudible 00:10:28], [inaudible 00:10:29] I think is it's common name. It's very similar in action to ginseng, but it's this weedy vine plant that will grow very large and you can grow in a pot inside in a sunny window. That was pretty fun, except that it goes dormant in the winter, so people think they've killed it.

Laurie:

Oh, it doesn't look so pretty in the winter?

Lauren:

Not all year. No.

Laurie:

When you say sprouting, what kind of sprouts? Is it just a little dish of sprouts that then you're just going to kind of chop off and eat?

Lauren:

Yeah, so you can plant the seeds and grow microgreens, or you could just sprout them, like radish sprouts, broccoli sprouts. Go to the health food store. You want to get something that's made for sprouting and then you soak them overnight and you just keep them moist and then they sprout and then you just eat them. Yeah.

Laurie:

Yeah. And they just eat them.

Lauren:

Just a simple little practice you can do. It's fun.

Laurie:

I love it. I also love keeping herbs in a window sill, because number one, it looks pretty. Which ones do you recommend though?

Lauren:

Maybe the hardier ones. I don't know. I'm not very good at growing those hardy herbs like rosemary, thyme, cilantro, if you can. It really just depends on the layout of your space and where you have the light.

Laurie:

That's true.

Lauren:

Cilantro, mints, so simple, thyme, so simple.

Laurie:

Yeah. I love all those.

Lauren:

I love all those.

Laurie:

I know.

We are at the end of 2022, we're going to be moving into 2023, a new year. I'm imagining that there are many people who are thinking about their health and thinking about how they want to show up for themselves in the new year. Either herbs or your products, where are some good places for people to start? Let's start maybe with immunity or with their digestion or just their overall wellbeing, where do you suggest people start as they're entering that kind of health forward New year?

Lauren:

Yeah, definitely with digestive health. Even touching on digestive immunity and my mind would go to stress as something most people are trying to navigate. It's going to be just microbiome health. The three things that are very simple to tick off for that is eliminating or stopping eating anything you know you're sensitive to. Most of us have a good idea of what we are sensitive to based on how it makes us feel after we eat it: dairy, gluten, sugar, common triggers, coffee can be a common trigger for a lot of people. But if you aren't sure, then one place to start is going to be things that you crave, which is a fun exercise. I think if someone's trying to really be intentional about their health, it's worth doing a 30 to 90-day break from certain foods.

Which doesn't sound fun and I don't like to be very prescriptive, but gut health is going to affect everything else and you really can't do a ton of intervention without starting there. That's where I would start. Probiotics, fermented foods, drinking plenty of water, eliminating inflammation triggers, the ways and foods I just mentioned. Then, yeah, I mean, it could be so many things. It's so particular to every person. Again, going back to the nutritive focus, nutritive just meaning things that nourish you, things that have a high content and vitamins and minerals and fibers. Herbal, you could do nettle, alfalfa, oat straw. You could eat those fresh if they're available to you, the nettles and maybe the oats. Or do strong teas of them. I really love doing that for people. Is a really basic thing. Drinking more water, always, always, always. Moving around daily. I mean, I think it's rote because it works and it's true, but I'm happy to answer any more specifics.

Laurie:

Do you like the teas that are not in the tea bags, just the loose teas, do you feel like that is better? I don't know if better's the right word, but as opposed to going to the store and just buying a box of tea off of the shelf?

Lauren:

I'm a convenience girl. I'm always going to do a bagged tea. Yeah.

Laurie:

I love hearing this.

Lauren:

Yeah, no, I think that's it. It's just so important. You can get as dogmatic to the Nth degree, but honestly, it just comes down to your preference and what you're actually going to do. Because if you have herbs or herbal teas or tinctures sitting in your cupboard that you're not using, then it's pointless. The point is to be interacting with it and connecting with it and learning about yourself and learning about the plants. Sure, you're going to have a better extraction from a loose-leaf tea that where there's no paper involved, there's no barriers, the volatile oils are touching all of the water and they're not getting stopped by that paper bag. But it doesn't matter. It truly doesn't matter.

Laurie:

Yeah. Yeah. I love that you talked about stress as part of our wellbeing thinking about the new year, because I kind of went straight to digestion or immunity, but stress really is such a huge thing for all of us, and I'm just happy you touched upon that, because I think that does affect, whether we realize it or not, so much about our health and wellbeing. I like the idea, I don't know if I like it, the idea of taking some things out of our diet to see our sensitivities. I know it's the smart thing to do, though. It's challenging, especially if it's something like coffee.

Lauren:

It is. But I think what's so fascinating about doing that, even though you're not setting yourself up for a good time, it's always hard, is that literally medically speaking, elimination diets, if you want to term it that way, are the gold standard for finding food sensitivities. Because the testing is so variable because your body's in constant flux, 30 to 90-day elimination diets are actually the gold standard in medical culture. It's something you can easily for free do and track at home.

Laurie:

That is true. Have you done it for yourself in the past?

Lauren:

Absolutely. Oh yeah. I mean, I've seen shifts in my body that have been 20-year patterns shift with just a 90-day elimination of three offending food sensitivities. Not only that, but because 90 days is what your body needs to repair and rebuild your gut lining and your microbiome to get a better footing of balance and diversity, once I reintroduced those foods, I no longer had the symptom patterns I had before I did the break. That's I think really heartening for people because it's like, "I don't want to do that," but it's like, "Yeah." All you have to commit to is 90 days and then on the other side of that is a whole new world.

Laurie:

Yeah. You brought up nature earlier. Is that really essential to your own personal wellbeing?

Lauren:

Yes. Yes, it is.

Laurie:

Very connected to it?

Lauren:

Absolutely. Yeah.

Laurie:

Yeah. Are you still living in Tennessee? You were living in the Appalachian Mountains for a while, is this right?

Lauren:

Well, I'm from Chattanooga, which is kind of in the foothills. Chattanooga's in a valley surrounded by sweet small mountains. But I was living on a mountain that's actually the southern most true Appalachian mountain in the chain. I was living out in the country for six years in a rural mountain town. Then I moved back to Chattanooga this year. I've been here almost a year.

Laurie:

How was it living in this rural mountain town?

Lauren:

It was more romantic than I thought it was going to be.

Laurie:

It was?

Lauren:

Absolutely. Yeah.

Laurie:

That's so nice.

Lauren:

Yes. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I loved it.

Laurie:

I'm imagining that it would be romantic. In my mind, I'm picturing access to hiking and mountains and nature and everything. I mean, it sounds beautiful.

Lauren:

Yeah. It was perfect for what I'm into.

Laurie:

Yeah. Yeah, really. Then were you going out on hikes and just chopping down some herbs along the way? Or is that not good to do?

Lauren:

Again, personal preference, I told myself when I moved to this piece of land where I was living, that I would give it a year of just observation and connection before I harvested anything, which is really important to me just trying to get out of the mindset of being entitled to everything, especially because I'm bigger and more mobile than these plant beings. Yeah, so I did that, and then I lived there for five and a half years. Over time, as needs happened in my immediate family and community, I would harvest from my surroundings. But it was never commercially, never for funsies. It was always for a need. That's what I hope for people who do wild crafting, which is a term for harvesting from the wild, or it can be called foraging depending on your use case.

Laurie:

Yeah. Are there rituals around wild crafting? Is there you're giving thanks as you're doing it, back to the earth and to the plants?

Lauren:

Totally. Yeah. Yeah.

Laurie:

Yeah. Anything that you say about that?

Lauren:

A lot of cultures have their own indigenous practices of reciprocity. I think that energetic reciprocity is something that I have practiced and think is very important. I mean, I've done things that are tangible and physical as well, but I think it really goes back to just building in reciprocity as a lifestyle and to whatever you're doing. It can be as simple as watering your garden that you're harvesting from, or giving food to the plants that you're eating.

But for me, one thing I really like to exercise is I think you hear a lot in herbal circles the term asking for permission from the plant, which is cool. It's a helpful line to frame a practice. But I think for me what that means is just like, say I'm harvesting from a stand of rose hips, maybe I'm going to feel more drawn and resonant and feel more of a quote-unquote, "Yes," from this particular cluster over this other particular cluster. Just being really in tune is how I like to practice that.

Laurie:

I love that. Are you ever asking for permission and then you hear, "No."

Lauren:

Totally. Yeah.

Laurie:

No, thank you.

Lauren:

Absolutely. Yeah.

Laurie:

That's really cool. One thing I wanted to ask you when I was thinking about herbalism is how long does it take for it to work? If you're taking a tincture for sleep, let's say, do you need to take it for X amount of days before you actually see the results or feel different?

Lauren:

There's a lot of ways. It's dependent on so many factors and variables, but I think you can either treat the, and I mean, I'm not a doctor, so I'm not treating anything, but I think you can either address a sleeplessness. I mean, I don't want to be reductive and say a bandaid approach, but you can treat it as a symptom. You can treat that symptom.

Laurie:

Right. Right.

Lauren:

You can take sedating herbs and see what happens. Maybe you sleep, maybe your body is calmer, maybe your mind is still restless. Maybe you don't have that quality of sleep you're actually looking for, but maybe you sleep great and maybe those herbs are actually right for what's going on in your body. It really does come back to trial and error and tuning into how you feel and what you can learn from how you feel. But I would go further, obviously, if someone really has long-term patterns of insomnia, then we're going to start with nutrition, and we're going to start with taking magnesium a hundred percent of your RDA every single day for two weeks, and then we're going to see how your sleep is before we try any of those herbal formulas.

Laurie:

Right. Right. It really is an immersive practice. It's not just a pill that you take to fix something, it is the whole bean, is what I'm hearing, with herbalism. There are the plants, there are the herbs, and yet there's also your lifestyle, what you're eating. It's a whole thing.

Lauren:

Absolutely. It's very holistic.

Laurie:

Yeah. Yeah. That's the word. Yeah.

Lauren:

Yeah. That's the word and why they came up with it.

Laurie:

It's whole. Yeah.

Lauren:

Well, it's whole in that it's always in flux. Right? It's whole in that these are all tools, and if you don't have the bandwidth to remember to take a magnesium every day, then have the tincture. There's really no right or wrong answer. It's just about where you are, what you're able to keep up with, what you feel like doing. That's really so much of it is. Because even seeing clients, you can know exactly what needs to happen, but that's step one. I mean, yeah, there's just so many variables and it's really helping the person understand and then having that first proving where they feel better because of something you suggested and explained to them. Then just really guiding them down that path and then letting them from there decide when they want to feel good, when they don't. Because there are even times, I mean, God forbid, there are even times that I don't care enough to be taking all the proper measures to work towards optimal health. It's exhausting. It is care, it's care of yourself, just as much as caring for any other person or thing is work.

Laurie:

It's really fascinating. I do believe in the energy of herbalism, and as you say, kind of the mystical, magical part of it. It's kind of like, why not? You know? There's a reason why these plants do work.

Lauren:

There are many reasons and many ways that the plants do work. I think the way I really think of it is as a connection, a relationship you would have with a person or a friend. There's so many things to explore because there's the history of the plant. There's the mythology of the plant. There's like modern scientific proof of X, Y, Z about these plants. There's the Latin name of the plant. There's probably five or six common names for the plant.

All of those are different ways to connect and get to know and ultimately love each plant. And sure, a wealth of knowledge, it's an ocean of knowledge. But that's how I really came to learn all of the parts, all of the more, I'm like, is it right-brained or left, all of the science of the plants and the structure of the plants is coming to it being like, "Okay, well, it's just another way to get to know this plant and another layer of knowledge and ultimately respect and reverence."

Laurie:

Yeah. I have a few other questions I wanted to ask. For some reason, our audience at Hunker is just in love with pantries, what people stock in their pantries.

Lauren:

Fun.

Laurie:

What are some things that you just love having in your pantry, are staples that are either for your pleasure or just for your greater wellbeing? What would we find in your pantry?

Lauren:

A bunch of weird things.

Laurie:

Yay. Let's go.

Lauren:

Oh God. I'm mentally sifting through it in my mind. I mean, there's always tahini. The standards. Tahini, some sort of weird rice cracker, spirulina, some kind of gross collagen powder. Always a ton of dried beans. Some beautiful rices. Let's see. I love pantries too. I have a separate herb cabinet, so that's its own cabinet.

Laurie:

You do?

Lauren:

Yeah, definitely

Laurie:

A separate herb cabinet of the actual herbs or herbs in tinctures?

Lauren:

No. Well, there's like the pantry, there's the spice drawer, and then there's the herb cabinet. Then in an ideal world, there's also the giant chest of dried herbs and tinctures, which we're building back. Yeah. I don't know. I love having just the super basics: miso, lemon tahini. Yeah, beans, fresh produce. That's not a pantry item, I know. Oh, a bunch of beautiful artisanal vinegars.

Laurie:

Oh, I like, yeah.

Lauren:

You know, if it's a good year, we have artisanal tamari hanging out. Let's see. Sesame seeds. I don't know. It's pretty basic.

Laurie:

Yeah. One other question I have for you, what is something that you wish people knew about herbs?

Lauren:

I think what I really want to say is that herbs can do so many things, so no matter what you're going through, whether it's mental, emotional, physical, there's an herb for that. I think that's just really special. We're so lucky to have that available to us. Obviously, I'm not downplaying complex medical conditions or conditions of mind, but herbs can really do so many things, and they are very powerful, and it is a valid paradigm of healthcare and a very powerful adjunct to conventional medicine.

I also think that people get really intimidated by herbs and herbalism. I don't know, using any herb is better than using no herb. They all have some benefit and they're all going to add richness to your life. I think take your time, don't get overwhelmed, and just really focus on one herb at a time or connecting more deeply versus having this breadth of knowledge. Because, going back to your earlier point about what if we don't have products on hand or this herb or that herb, that's something I've been thinking about a lot lately with colds and flus going around is like, okay, cool, what do you have on hand and what do you do from there? Because every herb is so versatile and one herb can do dozens of different actions.

Laurie:

I like it. I know that you've said that we all our different people, we all have different things going on, so different herbs for different reasons. But if someone wanted to try one product from Wooden Spoon Herbs just to get started, is there one that you would recommend?

Lauren:

It's always different every single day, but today, I would recommend this. It's an alcohol-free tincture called the Light Ray. It's kind of build as an adaptogenic skincare ingestible tonic. But I've been using it daily as a lung moistener because it has gotu kola and it has Schisandra berry, which are very moistening herbs. I've been using it as a moistening lung tonic through the air turning dry since we're recording in winter, then also all of the respiratory illness going around. That's the one I would recommend right now. It does also benefit your skin and tissues when taken long term. But it also tastes really good, which is why I've been taking it as well is because it's just fun to take little droppers full throughout the day. It's like a nice little cheer me up moment.

Laurie:

Okay. I need to try this. I'm going to try this one. Especially anything for the skin. We all love that stuff. Okay, so I have just one more question for you. Our podcast is called Being Home With Hunker. What does being home mean to you?

Lauren:

So much. I think it just means carving out space where you can have a three-dimensional representation of your internal world and a space where you can nestle in and do all the things that bring the most simple joy. I'm a huge homebody, so it means a lot to me. Yeah, I work at my kitchen table every day, and that's where I prefer to be with all my creature comforts.

Laurie:

Well, I love what you're doing. You're extremely delightful too, Lauren. Thank you so much for talking with me.

Lauren:

Thank you. Thanks, Laurie. It's been a treat.

Laurie:

It sure has.

To learn more about Lauren and Wooden Spoon Herbs, visit woodenspoonherbs.com. Once there, use the code hunker15 to receive 15% off your first or next order. You can also find them on Instagram @woodenspoonherbs. Also in our show notes, you can discover other episodes we think you might like, such as my chat with celebrity nutritionist Kelly Levette.

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