nutritive_nettle Archives

Well, the new school year has started already. Kids are forced to sit for several hours a day in school, concentrating and learning a lot of new things that hopefully they will benefit from later on in their lives. Studying can be really tiring for a young, still-developing brain, that’s why sleeping and proper nutrition are necessary.

Giving your not too small little babies – they go to school already! – an extra mineral boost with a herbal infusion works great. Nettle is filled with nutrients that a kid needs, so it’s a great choice to prepare nettle for your kids. Nettle contains so much calcium that it is an excellent remedy for growing pains in children. And everyone needs a big refuel at lunchtime, so pack this nettle infusion to their lunch. This kid-friendly hydrating and mineral-rich herbal infusion recipe is for your family:

Ingredients:

3 tsp nettle
2 tsp hibiscus
1 litre of water
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tsp honey

Preparation:

Put the nettle and hibiscus at a mason jar, French Press, or teapot. Pour the cold water over the herbs and let them steep overnight. You can steep up to 24 hours if you wish. After the infusion has steeped, strain off the herbs and enjoy. You can add a squeeze of lemon and for the kids new to herbal tea you can drizzle in the raw honey. Just shake up the infusion and honey in a jar and it will dissolve.

Good herbal power for school!

Nowadays, thanks to the recognized nutritional qualities of nettle (Urtica dioica), it is gradually becoming integrated into our diet. Who would have thought that nettle is richer in vitamin C than an orange? But it is!

Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food ~ Hippocrates

Nettle is also an important source of iron, calcium, magnesium and protein, much more than soybeans, making it an interesting addition to diets containing little or no meat at all and/or dairy products, such as vegetarian and vegan diets.

Stinging nettle can supply higher concentrations of essential amino acids than brussels sprouts and has a better amino acid profile than most other leafy vegetables. Although similar to spinach in terms of total amino acid content, nettle contains higher levels of all essential amino acids except leucine and lysine.

Fortunately, nettle retains significant amounts of minerals, vitamins, and other functional values after blanching or cooking. Scientific results show that processed nettle can supply 90–100% of vitamin A (including vitamin A as ?-carotene). Fresh or processed nettle is recommended as a high-protein, low-calorie source of essential nutrients, minerals, and vitamins particularly in vegetarian, diabetic, or other specialized diets.

They eat nettle as a leafy vegetable or a curry, sour soup, a potherb or spinach alternative and vegetable complement in a dish in many cultures. In the Basque region of Spain, young shoots are eaten raw or included in omelets. In Georgia, a meal of boiled stinging nettle seasoned with walnut is common. Romanians use sour soup made from fermented wheat bran vegetables and green nettle leaves harvested from young plants.

If you would like to know more about the nutritional properties of nettle, read this or this article.

Tag: nutritive_nettle

Nettle for your Kids

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