There are 100’s of herbs and spices available with many different flavors, plus they are little power houses of nutrients. I recently taught a class about healing herbs and spices from the kitchen and thought I would share a few things from the class.
Benefits of Herbs and Spices
- Increase vitamins and minerals in our diet
- Prime the digestive system – improving digestion, stimulating the liver and gallbladder to aid digestion (especially of fats), and help eliminate toxins
- Provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal properties
- Best of all, they add flavor to our food
Rosemary is one of the herbs that I shared about. Rosmarinus officinalis is its Latin name for those who like all that scientific stuff. Rosemary is a dense, woody, evergreen perennial, native to the Mediterranean, and is a member of the mint family.
Its flavor is strong and doesn’t really diminish even with long cooking, so use rosemary sparingly. The leaves are the most commonly used part.
Benefits from Rosemary
- Digestive disorders – Rosemary relaxes the stomach, relieves intestinal cramps and spasms, eases bloated feeling and stops flatulence, stimulates bile, and aids digestion of dietary fat.
- Memory/brain – Rosemary has been shown to increase the blood flow to the head and brain, thus improving concentration and poor memory.
- Cancer – Rosemary has a strong antioxidant effect (fights free radicals), and can help prevent cancer causing chemicals from binding to and causing mutations in cellular DNA.
- Inflammatory conditions – Rosemary can be potentially useful for rheumatoid arthritis and bronchial asthma. It contains substances that are useful for stimulating the immune system.
- Other conditions – Eczema, sore muscles, lowering cholesterol, high and low blood pressure, and anti-tumor.
It is awesome that we can get so many benefits from adding herbs to our meals and snacks. Just imagine how our bodies would appreciate these wonderful nutrients added to our food on a daily basis, and the power our bodies could have to fight off so many conditions. Rosemary has no significant safety concerns associated with dietary levels consumed which is great news, too.
Now you may say I would like to add rosemary to my diet, but I don’t know what foods that it pairs well with or how to use it? Read on and you will be able to start adding rosemary to your favorite foods and boost your health all at the same time.
Rosemary pairs well with apricots, oranges, cabbage, cream cheese, eggplant, eggs, onions, mushrooms, peas, lentils, parsnips, potatoes, pumpkin , winter squash, spinach, tomatoes, beef, fish, pork, lamb, poultry, veal, and baked goods.
Serving Ideas
- Add to soups, stew, and meat dishes
- Brush new potatoes with olive oil, sprinkle with fresh rosemary, bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes
- Add to omelets and frittatas
- Simmer 1 cup milk or nut milk with 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves and honey to make an Italian-inspired beverage
- Add to tomato sauces
- Make homemade croutons seasoned with rosemary
Rosemary is just one herb that can be added to your diet for awesome healing potential, and it can be great fun to start experimenting with adding it and others to your diet. Here is a recipe I make quite often that has rosemary.
Do you use rosemary often? What is your favorite recipe that uses rosemary?
Be blessed, try to visit your local farmer’s market and start enjoying those fresh herbs.
Heather
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