Herbs and Spices — Antioxidant Powerhouses
Herbs and spices, as well as taking your cooking from mundane to marvelous, are healthy sources of antioxidants. We all know that antioxidants are an essential component in our diets, helping to prevent cardiovascular diseases, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and inflammation.
By growing your own organic herbs so that you have a healthy and fresh source, and by stocking up on more exotic spices, you may even double the nutritional value of your meals, according to Dr. Mercola. Herbs offer the greatest benefits in their unprocessed state, and freshly grown ones in your garden will give you the most benefit.
Another benefit of growing your own herbs and making use of them is the fact that they are low in calories, adding a lot of flavor to your cooking as well as giving anti-inflammatory and natural antioxidant power to your food. In fact, some herbs and spices, on a weight for weight basis, outrank the antioxidant power of fruits and vegetables.
Oregano is the herb with the highest level of antioxidant power, even outdoing the highly antioxidant blueberry! One tablespoon of fresh oregano has as much antioxidant power as an apple. Marjoram, sage and thyme also rank highly as powerhouses of antioxidants. Grow these four herbs in your kitchen garden, and do your health a favor.
The Huffington Post also recently featured a handy list of herbs based on their health benefits:
* Rosemary and basil for their anti-inflammatory power
* Cumin and sage for their dementia-fighting power
* Cayenne and cinnamon for their obesity-fighting power
* Coriander and cinnamon for their sugar regulating powers
* Lemon grass, nutmeg, bay leaves and saffron for their calming effects on your mood
* Turmeric for its cancer fighting power
* Oregano for its fungus-beating power
* Garlic, mustard seed and chicory for their heart-pumping power
* Basil and thyme for their skin-saving power
* Turmeric, basil, cinnamon, thyme, saffron, and ginger for their immune-boosting power
* Coriander, rosemary, cayenne, allspice and black pepper for their depression-busting power
Dandelions – Weed or Nutritional Herb?
One of the earliest and most nutritious greens we can find in spring is that commonly hated dandelion (Taraxacum officinale). In North America, most people view dandelions as a weed, good only to ruthlessly remove from lawns and gardens. However, other cultures, especially Europeans, value the common dandelion, and grow it as a valued plant in the garden.
Every part of the dandelion can be used. The flowers are used to make an herbal wine, or even put into stir fries or battered and cooked as fritters. The young fresh leaves are a tasty and peppery addition to spring salads, stir-frys and soups, or served steamed like spinach. Make sure only to use young leaves, as the older ones quickly become bitter.
High in beta carotene, iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium and other minerals, the leaves and root are highly nutritious. Most of our common greens, like spinach, lettuce and chards do not come close as nutritional powerhouses. They are also full of Vitamin A, most B vitamins, and have a high Vitamin C content.
This is a perennial plant, and if you plan to use the roots, allow at least two growing seasons so the root reaches a good size. They can be dug in the fall, cut into small pieces and dried, roasted and used to make a caffeine free tea. This tea can be used as a diuretic, helps with cleansing the liver and is a digestive tonic. The milky white sap has astringent qualities, so can help dry up some skin conditions like eczema and acne. However, it’s best to do some testing, since some people react adversely to it.
Dandelions grow almost any where, in all zones from 2 to 9. They prefer full sun, but will grow in partly shady spots quite well. They don’t seem to mind what type of soil is provided, as long as it is loose. If you decide to plant dandelions in your garden as a spring green, collect wild seeds from the puffballs in summer. Organic seeds are available from some growers commercially.
Sow the seeds shallowly in early spring where you want them to grow, since they don’t take well to transplanting. If you plan to use the roots, dig in compost or rotted manure, and loosen the soil. The plants will grow into a 6 to 12 inch rosette of deeply toothed dark green leaves above a long taproot.
In late spring the bright golden flowers appear, followed by the white puffballs of seeds. One precaution – keep ahead of those airy parachute seed heads, since a wayward breeze can easily seed your whole garden with dandelions for the following year.
