Nettle is a real source of nutrients. It strengthens the immune system, cleanses the body, improves skin and hair condition, and supports joint and cardiovascular health. Nettle: health and beauty benefits.
Nettle contains vitamins A, C, K, B2 and B5, as well as iron, calcium, magnesium and silicon. Vitamin C supports the immune system and fights free radicals. Vitamin K is important for blood clotting and bone health. Iron helps fight anemia and supports energy levels. Nettle has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which makes it a valuable plant for promoting health.
Nettle helps to cope with acne, inflammation and excessive greasiness of the skin due to its antiseptic properties. It is also used to strengthen hair, prevent hair loss and stimulate growth.
(1) – “Stinging nettle leaves are typically rich in fibers, minerals and vitamins, as well as antioxidant compounds, polyphenols and carotenoids.”
When to collect nettles for treatment. Nettle: health and beauty benefits.
The period of plant collection depends on the purpose of use, so pay attention to this. If you plan to use nettle for medicinal purposes, then it is necessary to collect it during the period of full flowering.
It is necessary to start collecting nettles only in dry weather, and it is best to do this at lunchtime. The fact is that in the morning all the plants are covered with dew, and excess moisture will only disrupt the drying process. Therefore, we need to wait until lunchtime so that the sun dries the nettle leaves.
A plant suitable for drying must meet the following characteristics:
The leaf surface is clean, without any traces or damage.
The plant is not covered with cobwebs.
The color is uniform, without inclusions.
The stem is powerful with several branches and a large number of leaves.
The leaves are juicy, without signs of wilting.
Depending on the purpose of using the plant, the plant will be collected at different times.
1. For cooking healthy dishes
If you need nettle for culinary purposes, it will be used fresh. Therefore, nettles can be collected in early spring.
During this period, nettle leaves are quite juicy and tender. From fresh leaves you can prepare not only healthy soups, but also salads.
The purpose of preparing such dishes is to obtain vitamins important for the body, which will help strengthen it.
2. For tea
Fresh nettle leaves are also used to make tea. Fresh leaves have a fairly bright herbal taste.
Nettle tea can be made from fresh and dried leaves. Therefore, if you need medicinal tea, then you should collect the leaves in mid-summer. But if you just want to enjoy a tasty drink, then start collecting in early spring.
3. For the preparation of cosmetic hair care products
A decoction for strengthening the hair structure can be prepared from both fresh and dried nettle leaves. Fresh leaves can be collected as early as early spring.
How to properly dry and store nettles (storage periods). Nettle: health and beauty benefits.
When touching nettles, you may get burns. This is due to the presence of small stinging hairs on the leaf, which are what leave burns on our skin.
Therefore, before going for this aggressive plant, you need to arm yourself with thick gloves. There are two main drying methods, which differ in the type of heat.
#1. Natural
The raw material is laid out on a flat surface and placed in the attic, terrace or canopy. Good ventilation of the room is important here to speed up the drying process of the plant.
It is important that the leaves are not exposed to direct sunlight, as this can lead to the loss of useful substances in the nettle. Exposure to ultraviolet rays on the leaves leads to the destruction of chlorophyll, causing them to lose their color.
#2. Artificial
In this case, drying of leaves is carried out in an oven or a special dryer. The plant should be dried at a temperature not exceeding 50 degrees.
As soon as you notice that the plant has completely dried, you need to sort it out. Among the homogeneous green mass, yellow or brown leaves may be visible, which it is advisable to remove.
The shelf life of nettles directly depends on the correctness of the drying procedure. If you did everything correctly, and the plant has completely dried, then the raw material will be safely stored for about a year.
There are several rules that will help increase their shelf life:
Place the dried plant in a dry container (paper bags, cardboard boxes, cloth bags or glass jars).
Tie or close the container with the contents tightly and move it to a cool, well-ventilated room.
If you prefer cloth bags, it is best to hang them on the walls. This way, they will be exposed to fresh air from all sides.
The appearance of dried herbs may be the same for several years, but this does not mean that they will still contain all the necessary nutrients. Nettle can only be beneficial during the first year of storage.
How to understand if the raw material is ready?
You can simply send the nettle to dry on the balcony and remember about it in six months, but then the plant will lose most of its useful substances. In order to get really high-quality raw materials at the output, we need to carefully monitor its condition.
The readiness of the raw material is determined by the following signs:
The color of the leaves changes to dark green.
A bright herbal aroma, reminiscent of hay, is felt in the air.
The surface of the leaf becomes rough to the touch.
The leaf loses its juiciness and decreases in size by half.
Recipes with nettles. Nettle: health and beauty benefits.
Go to the forest or to your dacha for nettles – the grass there will be cleaner than in the yard of a city house. Use gloves when collecting, and eat only the leaves – you will not need the stems. As you might have guessed, when interacting with hot water, the unpleasant properties of nettles disappear: it stops stinging and becomes softer.
Therefore, the grass must undergo heat treatment, even if you are preparing a salad. Experienced housewives advise freezing nettles for the winter, like any other greens. As a result, green cabbage soup can be prepared even in the cold season!
#1. Omelette with nettles
This dish can be served for breakfast or made quickly in the evening. Cook in the oven or on the stove.
Ingredients:
nettle leaves 3.53oz
chicken eggs 5 pcs.
milk 5 tablespoons
cheese 3.53oz
olive oil 1 tablespoon
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method of preparation:
Cooking time 30 minutes
Wash the nettles thoroughly under running water. Then pour boiling water over them for 5 minutes. Enjoy the aroma!
Drain the water and finely chop the nettle leaves. Grate the cheese.
In a deep bowl, beat the eggs with milk, salt and pepper, add the cheese and nettles. Mix.
Pour the mixture into a mold greased with olive oil. Bake in the oven at 356 for 15–20 minutes. You can use an ovenproof frying pan instead of a mold. Serve the dish hot!
#2. Buns with cheese and nettles. Nettle: health and beauty benefits.
These buns can be served for breakfast or taken with you to the countryside. They are delicious and aromatic!
Ingredients:
For the dough:
wheat flour 1 cup
butter 3.53oz
milk 1/2 cup
chicken eggs 1 pc.
liquid honey 2 tablespoons spoons
vegetable oil 1 tablespoons
salt 1 teaspoon
dry yeast 1 teaspoon
For the filling:
nettle leaves 5.29oz
hard cheese 3.53oz
crushed almonds 3 tablespoons
spices to taste
Additionally:
chicken eggs 1 pc.
milk 3 tablespoons
Instructions:
Cooking time 40 minutes
In a large bowl, mix flour, salt and yeast.
Then add liquid honey and softened butter, cut into cubes. Start kneading the dough with your hands.
Pour room temperature milk into a deep container, beat in an egg and whisk gently. Mix with the flour mixture and knead the dough for 5 minutes. Add more flour if necessary.
Take a deep container, grease it with vegetable oil and put the dough in it. Cover with a clean towel and put it in a warm place for 1 hour. The dough should double in size.
Place the risen dough on a work surface dusted with flour and roll it out into a thin rectangle. Grease the top with a small amount of melted butter.
Grate the cheese, blanch the nettle leaves and place on a paper towel to absorb excess moisture. Finely chop the grass.
Cut the dough crosswise into wide strips of any size. Place the filling: nettles and spices, grated cheese and crushed almonds on top.
Roll the blank into a roll, turn the filling up and press lightly. Do the same with the rest of the blanks.
Brush the buns with a mixture of egg and milk using a culinary brush.
Place the blanks on a baking sheet greased with vegetable oil. Bake at 356F for 15-20 minutes, until golden. Serve warm or cooled! While the nettle season is in full swing, get going! Enjoy your meal!
#3. Pancakes with kefir and nettles
This dish can be made salty or sweet. To do this, increase the amount of sugar, and add only 1 pinch of salt. Also exclude herbs and black pepper.
Ingredients:
kefir 2 cups
chicken eggs 2 pcs.
wheat flour 1.5 cups
nettle leaves 5.29oz
baking powder 1 teaspoon
salt ⅓ teaspoon
sugar to taste
vegetable oil 2 tablespoons
herbs to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions:
Cooking time 20 minutes
Pour kefir into a large bowl, add sugar, salt and black pepper. Whisk.
Mix flour with baking powder and add to the egg-kefir mixture. Knead the dough.
Scald the nettle leaves with boiling water, chop with the rest of the herbs – parsley and dill. Place in the dough and mix.
Heat the frying pan well, grease it with vegetable oil. Fry the pancakes on both sides until golden. Serve with sour cream at any time of the day!
#4. Tea from dried nettle leaves. Nettle: health and beauty benefits.
You can easily make this tea from dried nettles that were harvested in the summer.
Pour boiling water over two teaspoons of raw material and cover tightly with a lid. Give the mixture about ten minutes to fully brew.
The strained infusion can be supplemented with a slice of lemon or a spoonful of honey. This tea will be very useful in the cold season, when our body is so vulnerable to colds.
Decoction for strengthening hair
Nettle contains substances that help strengthen the hair follicle. Using such a decoction helps stop the process of hair loss.
To prepare it, we need two tablespoons of nettle leaves. Pour water over the raw material and bring to a boil, then boil for five minutes.
Next, let the product cool and brew for half an hour. After that, strain the decoction with a colander and, in fact, proceed to rinsing your hair with nettle.
Many of us are sure that there is nothing complicated in collecting a plant such as nettle, and it does not matter at all when to collect nettle. But everything is not as simple as it seems, because the plant can only be collected at a certain time, and under special conditions.
The benefits of the resulting raw materials, which you will use throughout the year, will depend on this. By following some recommendations, you will be able to properly prepare the plant, and therefore extract all the benefits from it.
Elena runs a private practice as a nutrition coach in the USA and many countries around the world. https://elenasunshinemagazine.com/services/
I offer:
Evaluate current meal plans and give general recommendations.
Individual consultations.
Making individual meal plans.
Recommend gradual dietary changes and consistent dietary practice.
Discuss the importance of balanced macronutrient intake.
To offer recommendations on eating behavior.
Promote the calorie recommendations set out by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, MyPlate, the Eatwell Guide in the United Kingdom, or other acceptable organizations.
(1) – US National Library of Medicine; Nutrient Composition and Antioxidant Performances of Bread-Making Products Enriched with Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) Leaves; Annalisa Maietti, Paola Tedeschi, Martina Catani, Claudia Stevanin, Luisa Pasti, Alberto Cavazzini, Nicola Marchetti; 2021 Apr 25. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33922901/
