Botanical Kitchen - Karina Hines

04/22/2026

I’m honored to be one of the speakers at Seaweed Week Seaweed Saturday as part of the panel:
Deep Dive: Seaweed as Food and Medicine
Saturday, April 25
2:30–3:30 pm
The Cohen Center, Gulf of Maine Research Institute, Portland

This conversation will explore seaweed through the lens of nourishment, culinary nutrition, and everyday use — from its rich nutritional profile and health-supportive properties to the many ways it can be incorporated into meals at home.

I’ll also have a table there with sea-infused goodness to try, along with information about upcoming seaweed workshops, cooking classes, and events.

If you’re curious about seaweed and want both the “why” and the “how,” I think this will be such a beautiful conversation.



Heritage Seaweed Maine Sea Grant Maine Seaweed Council
Portland Food Map HospitalityMaine Best of Portland Maine Maine Happenings Maine Tasting Center

04/20/2026

Seaweed Week begins this week, and I’m feeling grateful for the chance to celebrate one of Maine’s most nourishing and beautiful foods.

Seaweed is one of my favorite foods to work with because it offers so much in such a simple form. It is naturally rich in minerals and trace nutrients that can help support energy, hydration, thyroid health, digestion, and overall nourishment. It also brings unique fibers that can support gut health, along with a deep savory quality that makes meals more satisfying and flavorful.

What I love most is that it doesn’t take much. A small amount of seaweed can bring real nutritional value while also adding something beautiful to the plate.
This is part of why I see it as such a powerful food-as-medicine ingredient: it is accessible, deeply nourishing, and easy to weave into everyday life.

This week I’ll be sharing more about seaweed as food and medicine, where you can find me in person, and some of the ways I love to use it in everyday cooking.

There is so much wisdom and nourishment in the sea.



Heritage Seaweed Maine Sea Grant Maine Seaweed Council
Portland Food Map HospitalityMaine Best of Portland Maine Maine Happenings Maine Tasting Center

04/19/2026

Make your own Daily Dose of Goodness—a Savvy Cereal Blend

I spend a lot of time and energy looking into what is really in our food and talking about it, and the more I learn, the more I see how many food manufacturers and large companies simply do not prioritise our health or the quality of what goes into their products. There are exceptions, thankfully, but not many.

Alongside this, the rising cost of everyday foods like cereals and chocolate makes it even more worthwhile to take a more hands-on approach. Making your own is not only more cost-effective, it is a smarter, more considered way to ensure you are using ingredients you trust and that truly support your health.

I have included a free recipe for one of my favourite cereal blends. Here’s how to start your day with a nourishing, build-your-own cereal blend — a smart and savvy approach to taking control of what goes into your bowl and how it supports your health.

I love this crunchy cereal blend of puffed quinoa and millet with goji berries and cacao nib gives you great textures and botanical benefits and pairs well with fruit salads, fruit compotes, yoghurts and kefir.

Quinoa adds essential amino acids, millet, goji, and cacao are rich in essential minerals and antioxidants that help protect against cancers and chronic disease and support blood sugar balance, the cardiovascular and digestive system, plus kidney and liver detoxification. Goji berries have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries as a tonic food as medicine. “They are said to tonify liver yin, tonify kidney yin, moisten lung yin, and brighten the eyes”.

Making your cereal blends is more affordable and sustainable than buying them and allows you to adjust the recipes to suit your tastes and needs, so you get the most “nutritional bang for your bite & buck $.”

Quinoa Millet Goji Crunch Free Recipe

https://www.botanicalkitchen.com/recipes/quinoa-millet-goji-crunch/

A crunchy cereal blend of puffed quinoa and millet with goji berries and cacao nib gives you great textures and tonifying botanical benefits.

04/18/2026

A lot of people are curious about seaweed, but not always sure where to begin.

What I love about working with it is that it does not have to be complicated or “special occasion” food. Seaweed can slip into everyday meals so naturally — blended into broths, stirred into soups, folded into grains, whisked into dressings, added to pestos, sprinkled over vegetables, or used to bring more mineral-rich depth to the foods you already make.

This is part of what feels so exciting to me: seaweed is both nourishing and approachable. It invites us to expand the way we cook without needing to completely reinvent the kitchen.

As a chef, I’m always interested in ingredients that offer real support to the body while also making food more flavorful and more alive. Seaweed does both.

With Seaweed Week coming up, I’m looking forward to sharing more recipes, ideas, and ways to gather around this incredibly special food.



Heritage Seaweed Maine Sea Grant Maine Seaweed Council
Portland Food Map HospitalityMaine Best of Portland Maine Maine Happenings Maine Tasting Center

04/17/2026

As part of Seaweed Week I’ll be teaching Cooking with Maine Seaweed at Pine Cone Studio on April 29 from 9:00–12:00pm.

This class is for anyone who has been curious about seaweed and wanting a more approachable place to begin. We’ll explore how to work with Maine sea vegetables in ways that feel practical, delicious, and deeply nourishing — not complicated, not precious, just real food that supports the body and brings more vitality to the table.

I’ll be sharing some of the reasons I love cooking with seaweed, how I use it in everyday meals, and ways to make it feel like a natural part of your kitchen.
If this is something you’ve been wanting to learn more about, I would love to have you there.

Cooking with Maine Seaweed with Karina Hines
April 29
9:00–12:00 pm
Pinecone Studio
3 Cranberry Drive Brunswick, Maine 04011

Registration-https://hubs.ly/Q04cqKk10



Heritage Seaweed Maine Sea Grant Maine Seaweed Council
Portland Food Map HospitalityMaine Best of Portland Maine Maine Happenings Maine Tasting Center

04/16/2026

One of the things I love most about seaweed is that it is both deeply traditional and incredibly useful for how we want to eat today.

It has nourished coastal peoples for generations, and here in Maine, it offers us a beautiful way to eat more closely with place. Seaweed is rich in minerals, brings incredible depth of flavor, and can be woven into everyday cooking in ways that are simple, practical, and deeply supportive.

I think part of why I return to it again and again is that it doesn’t ask for much. A small amount can bring so much — to broths, soups, grains, dressings, pestos, salads, even snacks. It adds nourishment quietly, steadily, without needing to be complicated.

For me, seaweed is not just exciting because it is local. It is exciting because it helps bridge the gap between nourishment and daily life. It is one of those ingredients that reminds us food can be both beautiful and functional, both grounding and deeply alive.

As Seaweed Week gets closer, I’ll be sharing more about how I use it, why I love it, and a few ways you can come explore it with me.



Heritage Seaweed Maine Sea Grant Maine Seaweed Council
Portland Food Map HospitalityMaine Best of Portland Maine Maine Happenings Maine Tasting Center

04/12/2026

Crazy Bird
This week’s menu follows its namesake—crazy bird cookies, which are both crazy good and bring a little bit of everything you might need when you are feeling a little edgy, pressed for time, and in need of quick meals that bring a sense of ease and some interest to the table.

If there’s one thing you are going to bake this week, or even this month, then pop crazy bird cookies at the top of the list. Made with seeds, chocolate, maple syrup, chilli and sea salt, they hit all the notes—sweet, salty, warming and satisfying. Crazy bird cookies are full of nutrient-dense, grounding, moreish goodness and include ingredients that can support hormonal balance.

The other thing on the menu not to be missed is the “Amazing Tangy Herb & Miso Dressing”. It is great drizzled over just about anything savoury and contains fermented miso, which helps support gut and brain health. It goes beautifully with the winter vegetable chickpea salad, which can also be steamed with greens and upcycled into a botanical bowl, and is equally good drizzled over the crunch salad and the skillet-steamed sweet potato situation. Have fun in the kitchen—I hope you make something crazy good.

If you are not on my newsletter list and want to keep up-to-date and receive free recipes each week, you can join here
https://info.botanicalkitchen.com/newsletter-sign-up

Members Access + Free Trial Link

Chef's Table Members - log in to your portal.
https://www.botanicalkitchen.com/patch-to-plate-weekly.../

Whole Plant Life Members - log in to your portal
https://www.botanicalkitchen.com/whole-plant-life/

If you're not a member, I offer a 2-week free trial; cancel anytime.
https://www.botanicalkitchen.com/about-botanical-kitchen.../

There are 100s of free recipes to explore on my website and lots of food as medicine education. Choose a path that feels aligned with you - I hope you cook yourself something fabulous this week!

04/11/2026

Seaweed has been on my mind.

Maine Seaweed Week is coming up — an annual celebration of Maine’s kelp harvest, running April 24–May 3 — and I’ve been working on recipes, sourcing from local waters, getting cooking classes on the books, and developing a few new products.

We’re lucky here in Maine — we have our own natural multi-vitamin sea. Seaweed is one of the most mineral-rich foods we can eat, carrying the nutrient density and energy of the ocean in a way that feels both simple and powerful.

I love working with it. It brings something deeply nourishing to the table — supporting the body in a steady, grounded way, while adding incredible flavor and depth to everyday meals.

There’s something special about cooking with ingredients that are so connected to place — to our coastlines, our cold waters, and the people who harvest and grow them. It feels like a way of honoring what’s here.

I’ll be sharing more soon — classes, recipes, and ways to join.

Stay close.



Heritage Seaweed Maine Sea Grant Maine Seaweed Council

Portland Food Map HospitalityMaine Best of Portland Maine Maine Happenings Maine Tasting Center

04/09/2026

There are few things more lovely than a hot cup of fresh nettle tea on a cold spring morning.

Nettle — Urtica dioica — is one of those early spring plants that reminds us how deeply nourishing simple things can be. Rich in minerals, vitamins, and plant-based protein, it’s a steady, strengthening tonic for the body.

It’s been used for generations as both food and medicine — supporting everything from seasonal allergies and bones to overall vitality. It’s especially helpful in times of transition, offering gentle, consistent nourishment.

Nettle is soft in flavor, but strong in what it offers. A good reminder that what is subtle can still be deeply supportive.

I’ve shared a free nettle tea recipe on the site — a simple place to begin if you’re curious to work with it.

Link in bio.

—

A note: fresh nettles will sting — always cook or infuse before using, and harvest with care.

04/03/2026

Happy Friday and Spring and a Full Moon this week — some food for thought for you from my friday afternoon desk in foggy Portland Maine.

Full moon...this one is called the Pink Full Moon, traditionally named as a nod to early spring and the first blooms of the season.

It’s a time of renewal, new growth, and coming back into balance in our lives and relationships. It may show up in business, personal life, or within ourselves—where are we giving our energy away, what are we pouring our energy into, and what would we like to change.

A perfect moon to meet us in the second week of our 14-day food as medicine spring reset, and a powerful time to pause, check in, and reflect on what we are letting go of and what we are choosing to carry forward. I am also guiding a full moon parasite cleanse within the reset, as an added layer and a key step to support reducing inflammation, toxin load, and “critters” that can draw on our vital force energy.

However you choose to work with this full moon—through the food you are eating, the habits you are building, or simple reflection—it can be a time to slow down and reconnect.

If you’re feeling the shift into spring and ready to support your body in a more intentional way, you can realign your food choices with your health goals—the first step is an anti-inflammatory eating style, which is what Chef’s Table and Whole Plant Life support, with weekly inspiration and a private community.

You can also join me next month for the full moon parasite cleanse challenge and follow along. Both are simple, structured, and intentional, self-care-focused ways to begin.

This Week's Member Menus
A fun, vibrant taco meal, bringing together simple ingredients and full flavours in a healthy, anti-inflammatory, fresh Mexican fusion menu that honours using everyday food as medicine.

You can make your own tacos using anti-inflammatory, high-protein chickpea flour and warming, grounding spices. This recipe is simple to make and a sensible, wholesome alternative to wheat, refined gluten-free, and corn-based taco products.

Finish with apple-blueberry salad and chocolate-peanut superseed squares, to bring a nourishing, sweet finish to a satisfying meal that supports grounding and steady energy.

Chef's Table Members - log in to your portal.
https://www.botanicalkitchen.com/patch-to-plate-weekly.../

Whole Plant Life Members - log in to your portal
https://www.botanicalkitchen.com/whole-plant-life/

If you're not a member, I offer a 2-week free trial; cancel anytime.
https://www.botanicalkitchen.com/about-botanical-kitchen.../

If you are not on my newsletter list and want to keep up-to-date and receive free recipes each week, you can join here
https://info.botanicalkitchen.com/newsletter-sign-up

There are 100s of free recipes to explore on my website and lots of food as medicine education. Choose a path that feels aligned with you - I hope you cook yourself something fabulous this week!

04/03/2026

03/31/2026

As you wonder what to cook and eat this week, here's a little inspiration for you and a great free recipe that is both light, warming and nourishing - a simple and foundational recipe that supports digestion and the immune system as the season shifts.

Tuscan White Bean & Kale Soup is a classic Tuscan dish made with either homemade bone broth or vegetable broth, mineral-rich parsley and kale, and plant-protein-rich beans, making this a true restorative and immune-supportive food-as-medicine meal.

Free Recipe For You ~ happy cooking!
https://www.botanicalkitchen.com/recipes/tuscan-white-bean-kale-soup/

A Tuscan classic made with bone broth, mineral-rich parsley, beans, and kale makes this a true food as medicine meal!