Find out how to improve your mental focus and add some clarity to your thinking with these sweet herbal treats made with important adaptogen herbs. These candied walnuts with eleuthero are perfect for gifting at the holidays, a Fall spicy treat, or to enjoy any time you want a mental pick-me-up! And now I am officially addicted!

What is an Adaptogen Herb?

Herbs with adaptogen actions help your body react and balance in healthy ways to different kinds of stressors. They help the body adjust to stress from the typical day-to-day work, the stress athletes' bodies endure from physical stressors, stress from illness, emotional trauma, etc. They are truly the best form of general health-supporting herbs and are safe to take every day. In this way, they often are also called “tonic” herbs.

Here are characteristics an herb must have for it to qualify as being an adaptogen:

It is non-toxic
It "produces...an increase in the power of resistance against multiple stressors, including physical, chemical, or biological agents."
Helps "normalize" and balance the body's physiological responses to any kind of stress

Now, let’s enjoy the recipe for Candied Walnuts with Eleuthero---and my GOSH, these ARE. SO. GOOD! I am addicted!

Click here, and I’ll send along your Herbal Remedy Guide and Cheat Sheet!

Click HERE to Take the 5 Day Herbalism Email Course

FTC Disclosure: There are affiliate links scattered throughout this article. If you click through and make any kind of purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

How to Make Brain Candy: Candied Walnuts with Eleuthero

These healthy treats are so easy to make, it's almost ridiculous. Coupled with the fact they are GOOD for you is just incredible and makes them the perfect snack for eating yourself or giving to a loved one as a gift. (I'm thinking Christmas, here, my friend!)

NOTE: This recipe is inspired by the recipe found in Agatha Noveille’s book, The Complete Guide to Adaptogens.

Ingredients for Candied Walnuts:

Note: I doubled the recipe in the book because I knew I would love these. I'm so glad I did! Also, the labels "organic" and "grass-fed" are my own because I feel strongly we should be eating foods without pesticides and non-GMO and non-CAFO if we can. Just saying.

*** 2 cups organic walnut halves

*** 2 tablespoons grass-fed butter

*** 1/2 cup organic sugar

*** 1 teaspoon organic Cinnamon (I used a little more. I love Cinnamon)

*** 2 teaspoons Eleuthero Powder (I had eleuthero root, which you will see in the pictures. I had to grind the root as fine as I could, but you can purchase the powder which is much nicer, I'm sure.)

Here's my Eleuthero root in the spice grinder. Ideally, you would use Eleuthero Powder, but I didn't have any on hand. I ground the root as finely as I could, and I was still delicious! I get my herbs from Starwest Botanicals, but the link above is … — Here's my Eleuthero root in the spice grinder. Ideally, you would use Eleuthero Powder, but I didn't have any on hand. I ground the root as finely as I could, and I was still delicious! I get my herbs from Starwest Botanicals, but the link above is for Amazon.

Directions for Making Candied Walnuts (Brain Food):

Step 1) Toast the walnuts on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, more or less. You can adjust to your level of toastiness. This will give your walnuts a wonderful toasted crisp flavor. If you don't want to toast them, though, you can just skip this part.

Step 2) Line a separate sheet with parchment paper (I had to use foil, as I didn't have the parchment paper. It worked out fine, however, keep in mind parchment paper is much better for your health.)

Step 3) Place the butter, sugar, and spices into a small sauce pan. Stir continuously until the butter has melted and everything is mixed together well.

Stirring the sugar, butter, and spices--

Step 4) Now quickly stir the toasted (or not) walnuts into the mixture. Stir gently so as not to break the walnuts and continuously until they are all coated with the sugar mixture. YUM!

Step 5) Spread the coated walnuts onto the parchment paper lined sheet. Try to separate them from each other if you can so they don't stick together. Let them cool completely.

Step 6) Store them in an airtight container---I just used a pint sized Mason jar, since I doubled the recipe.

Step 7) ENJOY! Mr. V. and I ate at least half of these the very first night. Oh. My. Gosh! Delicious!

I’d love to send you a FREE Herbal Remedy Guide and Cheat Sheet! It’s perfect for your home apothecary or kitchen.

There are so many recipes in this book, it was truly difficult to decide which one to try first!

Click HERE to learn more about the School of Botanical Arts & Sciences and our courses!

How Do the Spices in This Candied Walnut With Eleuthero Recipe Help You?

This is a question I definitely want to answer, because this candied walnut recipe is different than your typical candied nut treat. Here's how the Cinnamon and the Eleuthero are so special and good for you:

Cinnamon:

Cinnamon is a stimulating herb. It's not stimulating like caffeine, but it helps increase the action of the primary herb. The primary herb in this case is the Eleuthero. Cinnamon has many other benefits, but it's not the star of this recipe--- It's here because it is delicious and helps the power of eleuthero---

Eleuthero:

I love eleuthero! It's one of my favorite adaptogens. Here is a little bit of what Agatha says about Eleuthero in her book, The Complete Guide to Adaptogens:

"Equally suited for men and women and especially beneficial for the elderly, eleuthero is gentle, suppportive, and good for long-term use. It has nervine actions and offers cognitive support, aids the health of the immune system, and can support healthy cholesterol levels and heart health during stressful times."

Eleuthero is also great for athletes, as it supports endurance and shortens recovery times. If you work in a very stressful job, have long or atypical hours, or have trouble sleeping, eleuthero may just help you out!

Walnuts:

Yep! Walnuts, the main ingredient, are also terrific for your brain and body. They have high levels of DHA, which is an important omega fatty acid. This type of fatty acid helps the neurons in your brain function better. Super brain food, my friend.

Final Thoughts on Adaptogens and Brain Candy Recipe

If you are trying to improve your health with herbs, using adaptogens is a great way to start. This book will help give you a great overall background in herbs that are excellent adaptogens, tons of great recipes that are easy to use, and information and ideas you can easily integrate into your daily life for ultimate health.

As far as this particular recipe goes---I will be making these candied walnuts often. When I said I'm addicted, I'm not even kidding. I am wondering if you could use raw honey? Hmmmm? This is something I'll be researching and trying.

Besides just enjoying these as is, you can add them to yogurt, granola, trail mix, and oatmeal!

What is your favorite sweet treat that is healthy? And if you've made candied walnuts before, do you know if it's ok to use honey? Leave comments in the comments section!

Other places to find Healing Harvest Homestead besides the website are:

Our YouTube channel! Please subscribe, like, follow, etc.!
Instagram—-come along and see what we do!
Facebook page
Private Facebook group, Practical Herbs with Heidi

Before you go, you may also enjoy these related articles:

Hugs, Health, and Self-Reliance,

Heidi

P.S. Sign up for our newsletter if you haven't done so yet! We'd love to have you, and you'll never miss a thing. In addition, I have three free eBooks for you, too. Oh! And the newsletter contains tips and information not found on the blog--it's free too! :-)

Get the Newsletter and Never Miss a Thing!

Make Herbal Candy to Support the Brain and Cognitive Health with Adaptogens