Adding fresh herbs to your meals provides many benefits from wonderful flavor to supporting better health. Herbs, like leafy green vegetables, are a rich source of vitamins A, C, and K. They also contain polyphenols which are known to improve health due to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
September is the perfect time to harvest fresh herbs from your garden or to purchase them at a farm stand. Locally available produce happens to be more nutritious as the nutrients has not been depleted over time during shipping or storage. Additionally, they are typically sold at a better price now, than at other seasons.
The primary reason our clients mention not using fresh herbs is the waste. Often a recipe requires only a small amount of a fresh herb, with the rest going to waste. Here are some ideas, from Michigan State Extension, on how to use up those fresh herbs within the same week.
Ideas for eating more herbs on a regular basis:
Make salads with herbs as the main ingredient (e.g., Tabbouleh).
Substitute 1/2 of the greens in lettuce salads with herbs such as parsley, dill, and basil.
Mix handfuls of fresh herbs into cold potato and pasta salads.
Top soups with handfuls of fresh herbs.
Garnish an entire dinner plate with fresh herbs.
Make a sandwich with herbs rather than lettuce (e.g., grilled cheese with basil).
Add fresh herbs to drinks (mint lemonades and rosemary ice teas, fresh chamomile in hot tea).
Use fresh herb sauces in pasta or on top of cooked meats (pesto in pasta; fresh mint sauce on cooked lamb).
Another reason fresh herbs are avoided is their short shelf life. Please see the below PDF for some tips to extend their use!
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