How to Use Herbs for Flavor and Health Benefits

In the past, I discussed the importance of regularly cutting your herbs to keep your plants healthy, as well as ways to store them once they are cut. This time, I thought it would be perfect to talk a bit about ways to use those herbs, along with their health benefits, to hopefully get you motivated to use them!

I am not an herbalist, so I will not be talking about how to use herbs medicinally, but I can talk about the nutrients found in herbs (with the help of my dietitian daughter!). 😊

Herbs as Flavor and Nutrition

Though I generally use herbs to season my dishes, as most people probably do, I would like to get people to think of herbs as not just a flavoring, but also as a health benefit. Herbs are full of nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, etc., so you get two in one - deliciousness and nutrition!

Herbs as a Salt Alternative

I noticed in the early 2000’s that there was an increase in the use of herbs when it was found that sodium consumption complicates hypertension. An easy way to help control salt intake is to reduce sodium intake with the use of herbs to improve flavor without adding more salt.

I have to admit that my weakness is not sugar, but salt. When offered a chocolate bar or a bag of chips, I’d reach for the chips. So using herbs really helped me get the flavor I wanted in my food with less salt.

Using Vinegar with Herbs

You can also use vinegars if you are a vinegar/pickle person like me (more about this later)! Here are some of my favorite herb blends I love to use!

Nutritional Value of Herbs

When I was researching for workshops, I was surprised by the many nutrients herbs offer; nutrients we normally think about being in vegetables. For example, most herbs and vegetables (broccoli, kale, spinach, parsley, cilantro, arugula, etc.) are high in potassium and calcium. Think green!

Meeting Nutrient Needs Naturally

My doctor suggested I take extra calcium. My husband needs extra potassium. We can get quite a bit of these minerals with what we eat, not only with our veggies (we all should be getting at least five servings a day!), but also by tossing herbs into our meals.

Example: 1/4c of broccoli has 71 mg of potassium

1/4c of parsley has 83 mg of potassium

If you think a ¼ cup of parsley is a lot, consider making salads like Tabbouleh (get my favorite recipe here) or put in soups. Heck, just tossing some chopped parsley into a normal tossed salad is easy and won’t really change the flavor of it at all!

Think about sprinkling a couple of tablespoons of different herbs to various meals throughout the day to get an overall nutrient boost.

Caution: green vegetables and herbs are also high in vitamin K. If you are on blood thinners, this could be an issue for you. Please ask your doctor or dietitian before adding extra herbs or greens to your diet.

Herbal Vinegar Benefits

As promised, let's talk about vinegar! Do you love pickled foods as much as I do? 😃

Consider herbal vinegar as kind of like a tincture, getting the benefits of the herbs in the vinegar (along with flavor). They are great for marinades, salad dressings and delicious drizzled over vegetables. Again, this is an option for reducing salt in food.

My Zesty Italian Vinegar

Here is one of my favorite recipes for Zesty Vinegar that I almost always have on hand. Heather and I made a video of us making this, stay tuned to our socials (Facebook and Insta) to watch it!

If you love the idea of herbal vinegars, a good resource is Herbal Vinegar by Maggie Oster.

Fresh vs Dried in Preparations

When making vinegars, you can use fresh herbs; the water in the herbs will blend in the vinegar. If you are making herbal oils, use only dried herbs to avoid the possibility of the oil going rancid.

Herbal Tea Benefits

Drinking herbal tea is another way to gain an herb's health benefits.Of course, you can use any kind of herb to make tea and you will gain the health benefits from them by drinking them this way, as well. The longer they steep, the more nutrients get into the tea.

DIY Body Care with Herbs

If you love the idea of making your own body care, like lotions and salves, you can use your cut herbs to make your own. Calendula, chamomile and comfrey are excellent choices.

I have YouTube videos on how to make your own comfrey salve and lavender lotion. But you can use any kind of herb you love to make these things!

Understanding Herb Health Benefits

As I said, I'm not an herbalist, but I just want to go a little more in depth on the health benefits of a couple of herbs here so you can get an idea just how much of an influence they can have on your health. This is definitely not an exhaustive list - a whole book can be written about this!

If you would like more personalized advice, seek out an herbalist or talk to your doctor before trying anything like this if you have a serious health malady or are on medication to make sure there aren't any adverse reactions.

Thyme

First, is thyme. It contains thymol, an antiseptic, which is the main active ingredient in Listerine mouthwash. Before the advent of modern antibiotics, it was used on bandages. Medicinally thyme was used for respiratory infections, so tea made by infusing the herb in water was used for cough and bronchitis. This Wikipedia page has good info if you want to learn more!

I remember the University of Florida was doing research looking at using thyme oil to fight bacterial disease in plants for organic growers. If you are interested, here's the blog article.

Oregano

Another is oregano. Maybe you have seen oil of oregano sold as an antimicrobial with some other health claims? Nutritionally, it is high in antioxidant activity, due to a high content of phenolic acids and flavonoids. It also contains thymol, like thyme, which has shown antimicrobial activity against various pathogenic bacterial strains. If you'd like to read more, this page has good info!

Here’s a fun fact: On a per gram weight basis, oregano (dried) has demonstrated 42 times more antioxidant activity than apples, 30 times more than potatoes, 12 times more than oranges and 4 times more than blueberries! (reference) Of course, that’s a lot of oregano, so you still need your fruits and veggies, but adding it to your food or teas will contribute to overall benefits.

I hope this information gets you motivated to start using your herbs more often to reap the benefits to your health!

I have always thought it a good idea to eat your medicine. Here is the evidence to prove it! :) Have fun with your herbs!