Parsley For Health: Grow It, Eat It, Preserve It

Often parsley is a garnish to make a meal look pretty.  Most people set it aside or toss it out.  Did you know that chewing parsley can freshen breath?  And that is the least of what it's good for.  Parsley is an excellent source of vitamins K, C and A.  Folate and iron content is also high.  It contains other necessary nutrients like B vitamins, calcium and potassium.

It contains folic acid which protects the heart.  It keeps the system flushed and is considered an excellent diuretic.  That is why you will find all kinds of "cleanses" using parsley.

Buy only organic parsley that is bright green and fresh looking, or better yet, grow your own.

One caution is that this green leafy vegetable is one of the few that contain a measurable amount of oxalates.  In some cases, this can cause problems.  Spinach is at the top of the oxalate containing list, and I have cut way down on eating it, but I don't worry about the smaller amount in parsley.  From what I've read, oxalates can possibly contribute to the formation of kidney stones.

Parsley plants are green and leafy and they have a lovely aroma when cut or crushed.  Tall stalks support large leaves at the tip.   Those leaves can be flat (known as Italian parsley) or curly, and that is the part of the plant I chop to add to recipes.

It's easiest to grow this plant from small seedlings purchased at farm stands or stores.  This year I also grew parsley from seeds I planted outside in the ground.  Not all of them grew, but I did have a nice crop.  The seedlings are a guarantee whereas the seeds can be washed away in a heavy rain.

The plants tolerate drought quite well, but I water them if they look droopy.    To use cuttings, break off the stems on the outer edge at the bottom of the plant.  This way the newer shoots come up in the center to replace what is used.

If you don't plan to use a lot of it, one or two plants may be enough to grow.  In order to preserve this herb for later enjoyment (by freezing or drying - I talk more about this down the page), you will want to grow more.

I've found that I love to add this healthy herb to almost everything I cook.  Since I have cut way down on my salt consumption, adding natural flavor enhancers is essential to eating good-tasting food.  Every soup, stew, stir-fry, omelet, side-dish, and meat / fish dish I prepare will contain some fresh, chopped parsley.

One parsley specific recipe is Tabouli.  I found a recipe at cookieandkate.com for Quinoa Tabouli which looks yummy.  And below you'll find other recipes that use parsley in the list below.

But, you don't need specific recipes, just add it to whatever needs flavor.  

Right now I have no "best" recipes because all my recipes include this herb!  Well, almost all.  I don't know how I ever cooked anything delicious before I used parsley to enhance the taste of food.

Here are some examples of how I incorporate parsley when cooking.

• Mix chopped parsley into pizza crust, and add it to tomato sauce.
• Include it in your omelets and scrambled eggs. 
• Add handfuls of the stuff to the juicer when making homemade vegetable juice.  
• Chop and mix into salsa and salads.
• Sprinkle into soups
• Crush and rub onto roasts
• Works well to season potatoes

While I thoroughly love stepping outside my back door and grabbing some fresh parsley to eat, the growing season in New England is quite short.  Parsley will last well into the fall (until the deer come and find it!), but after that, I must resort to the dried form.

Last year I bought a bottle of dried, organic parsley and it cost me close to $6.00!  This year I vowed to dry my own.  I did a little herb drying in my dehydrator last summer, but this year I got serious.  I filled the layers of the machine with only parsley.  It has to dry for close to 24 hours, so I set the dehydrator in a room I don't use.  I've dried two batches and have filled three large mason jars with the leaves.  (Three jars were just barely enough for winter.  Four would have been better.)

HINT:  ** The drying guide suggests that it not be crushed until ready to use so I saved the leaves whole.  I'll use my mortar and pestal to crush them as needed when I cook.  Just using fingers works too.

Freezing is one of my favorite ways to preserve parsley.  Pick it, wash it, dry it, and wrap it up in plastic wrap, in log shape, to store in the freezer.  

I pick bunches of it and rinse it well.  Then I lay it out on kitchen towels to dry.  Break off the thicker stems, and gather the bunches of leaves and tightly roll together.  Wrap the rolled tube of parsley in freezer paper, or saran wrap.  Store in the freezer until needed.

When you need to use some frozen parsley, unwrap it and slice it thinly with a sharp knife.  Re-wrap the rest and put back into the freezer.  I used my dried parsley first, then went to the frozen.  But honestly freezing is less work than waiting for it to dry in the dehumidifier.  

In 2011 I had to have my appendix removed and that is when I first learned about poly-cystic kidney disease (PKD).  To be sure about appendicitis, I underwent a scan which showed "lots of cysts" on my kidneys and confirmed appendicitis.  At the time, being told about the cysts was the least of my worries, so I put the info on the back burner of my mind.  

Later on, as I began researching PKD, I found that there is no cure for it.  Since the medical community gives me no hope for getting better (they gave me pills to control my blood pressure), I began to research how to make my kidneys more healthy.   I have a new blog "Dustytoes" which is about my struggle with the disease.  It's a place to share information about helping the kidneys work better.  

Although I have read conflicting information about parstly being good for the kidneys, the overall health benefits of eating parsley have me convinced that I need to include it in my diet.

Please feel free to follow my Kidney Health board at Pinterest.

I am not a doctor and the information on this page has come from sites I consider to be reliable, but use your own judgement.  Also ask a health professional if you have concerns and conditions that may be adversely affected by eating parsley.

If you have PKD (poly-cystic kidney disease), the PKD Foundation website has some very good information.

These sites have more information on the use of parsley as a healthy food source.

whfoods.com The World's Healthiest Foods site, parsley page.

simple kidney cleanse Good Guy at Hubpages

You can read more about foods that contain oxalates at the World's Healthiest Foods site.