Kid-friendly Ways to Incorporate Herbs into Mealtime

The definition of an herb is:  any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume.  With this in mind, it becomes easy to begin adding nutritional/medicinal herbs into the daily routine.  Following are some of our favorite ways to accomplish this:

Smoothies

There are so many different ways to add super nutrition to a smoothie and still have your children enjoy them.  Years ago, there used to be an ad campaign for milk which said, “Got milk?”, then there would be a picture of a child with a white milk mustache.  After drinking one of our smoothies at home, I noticed that my children had a green mustache, so I captured this picture to show what a healthy mustache should look like:

A smoothie can be as simple as putting pineapple juice, a banana, some ice and your powdered greens into a blender or you can gather fresh ingredients and get as creative as you have time and patience for.  The most important thing is that you use this opportunity to pack in as much nutrition as possible.  Here are some suggestions of herbs you might want to add:

Spirulina (also known as blue-green algae)

This is a seaweed which is considered to be one of the ‘super foods’.  It contains protein (great source if you happen to be a vegetarian), vitamins B1, B2, B3, copper, iron, magnesium, potassium, manganese, calcium, vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate, and vitamins B-6, A, and K.  It’s high in antioxidants and has anti-inflammatory properties. Research has shown that spirulina will help with: gut health, diabetes management, blood pressure, cholesterol, risk of heart disease, metabolic rate, allergy symptoms, and mental health.

Wheatgrass

Also considered to be a ‘super food’.  Wheatgrass is full of nutrition: Iron, calcium, enzymes, magnesium, phytonutrients, 17 amino acids, vitamins A, C, E, K, and B complex.

Chlorophyll

Chlorophyll helps to detoxify the body, boosts metabolism, improves cognitive function, high in antioxidants, been shown to kill cancer cells, improves immunity, improves digestion along with many other health benefits.

Alfalfa

Alfalfa is an amazing plant which is full of almost every mineral known to man.  Many people believe that drinking well water or hard water will give them the minerals they need to be healthy.  Unfortunately, the minerals found in this type of water comes from broken down rocks.  We are not rock eaters, so it is hard for our body to assimilate these minerals which means they get deposited in different areas of the body.

Plants are rock eaters.  They send their roots down into the soil and pull up the minerals into the plant.  They are now in an organic form which our bodies can easily assimilate.  Alfalfa is an amazing plant because it will send its tap root down 20 or more feet into the ground searching for minerals. Typically, we raise alfalfa to feed to the cattle and then we eat the cattle to get the minerals they got from the alfalfa. We would probably be further ahead the bypass the cattle and just eat the alfalfa ourselves.

Barley Grass

Barley grass is used the world over for a variety of culinary purposes. It is used in soups and broths and also used to bake barley bread. In fact, some of you may even recall that barley malt is an important ingredient in the making of Beer. Barley is a proud member of the grass family and is, in fact, a major cereal consumed all over the world. It is a powerful antioxidant, helps to boost the immune system and is known to help with ulcerative colitis. It promotes bone health, improves skin health and reduces excess acidity.

Rose Hips

Rose hips is the fruit that develops from the blossoms of the wild rose plant. It ranges in color from orange to purplish black and usually develops in the latter part of the growing season, around late summer to autumn.  Rose hips contain a number of important antioxidants including vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene and lycopine.  

These are just a few suggestions on herbs you might want to add to your smoothies – there are many more herbs and many more healthy additions you could make such as chia seeds, flax oil, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, essential oils, etc. 

Smoothie Recipes

Spinach Smoothie

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh spinach

• 1 cup almond milk

• 1 ½ - 2 bananas, frozen

• 1 Tbsp almond butter

• 2 Tbsp cacao powder

• ½ tsp vanilla extract

Direcitons

Place spinach and almond milk in blender.  Puree until smooth. Add bananas, almond butter and cacao – blend again.

Beginner’s Luck Green Smoothie (100daysofrealfood.com)

Ingredients

• 2 cups spinach

• 2 cups water

• 1 cup mango

• 1 cup pineapple

• 2 cup bananas

Directions

Tightly pack 2 cups of leafy greens in a measuring cup and toss in blender. Add water and blend together until all leafy chunks are gone. Add mango, pineapple and bananas and blend again until smooth. Pour into mason jar or glass and enjoy.

Salad Recipes

Another easy way to incorporate herbs into your daily meals is through fresh salads. There are endless varieties and recipes for making a salad. The more children are introduced to fresh foods, the easier it will be to develop their taste buds in a healthy way. Toddlers sometimes have a difficult time eating raw greens, so making fresh fruit salads in the younger years can help introduce them to nutritious raw foods. You can pack a lot of nutrition into a tasty salad that they can enjoy. Here are a couple of recipes to try with your family:

Kid-friendly Pasta Salad   

Choose a fun pasta like bow ties or twirls - according to healthychildren.org, the recommended pasta portion per child is: ages 1 to 3 is ¼ cup cooked pasta, ages 4 to 6 is 1/3 cup and ages 7 to 10 is 1/2 cup. Choose a variety of colorful vegetables your child will enjoy.  Then, depending on their age, decide if you are going to steam the vegetables or leave them raw. Make sure to chop them up small enough for them to handle and eat.

Ingredients

• ½ cup uncooked farfalle pasta or 1 cup of cooked pasta

• ¼ cup fresh peas or frozen and thawed

• 1 carrot diced

• ½ cucumber peeled and dice

• ½ red bell pepper diced

• ¼ cup steamed corn kernels

Dressing

• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 2 Tbsp lemon juice

• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions

Cook pasta in salted boiling water for 10 minutes or cook according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Mix the pasta with rest of the ingredients in a bowl and serve at room temperature or cold.

Green Salad

Ingredients

• 1 head romaine lettuce

• 3 cups baby spinach

• 1 cup strawberries, chopped

• 1 cup blueberries

• 1 cup raspberries

• 1 cup blackberries

• ½ cup feta cheese

• 1/3 cup chopped pecans

Dressing

• ½ cup unsweetened plain non-dairy yogurt

• 2 – 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup

• 2– 3 teaspoons poppy seeds

• Generous pinch of mineral salt

Soup Recipes

Using herbs as ingredients in your soup or as flavorings is a great way to incorporate nutritious herbs into meal times – especially on cold winter nights.

Herbal Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

• 2 TBsp extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 medium onions (peeled and chopped, about 2 cups)

• 3 celery ribs (rinsed and chopped, about 1 cup)

• 3 carrots (peeled and sliced, about 1 cup)

• 3 (¼-inch) slices ginger (peeled)

• 3 large garlic cloves

• 6 cups water

• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes (including juice)

• 1 (10-ounce) package spinach (frozen, chopped)

• 1 large zucchini (or 2 medium, sliced; about 2 cups)

• 1 large potato (peeled and chopped, about 1 cup)

• ¼ cup pearl barley

• 2 tsp salt

• 1 tsp dried basil

• 1 tsp dried thyme

• 1 bay leaf

• Black pepper (freshly ground, to taste)

• Garnish: fresh basil or parsley (optional)

Directions

Gather the ingredients.Heat the oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, carrots, ginger, and garlic. Sauté until the onions begin to soften and turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the water, tomatoes, spinach, zucchini, potato, and barley. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once the soup comes to a boil, lower the heat and add the salt, basil, thyme, bay leaf, and black pepper (to taste). Simmer the soup, partially covered, for 30 to 40 minutes, until vegetables and barley reach desired tenderness. Remove the ginger, garlic cloves, and bay leaf. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with fresh herbs (if desired).

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”.

As we bring these super foods into our diet and make them a part of our daily routine – we are taking active measures toward promoting good health for ourselves and our families.  Health is a choice we make every day.  We do not have to go down a road of declining health if we are willing to make life-style choices which will lead us down a path of health and vitality.  

The very best way we can teach our children about good nutrition is to practice it ourselves.  When they see us eating healthy foods, commenting on how good it is and how much we enjoy healthy choices – they will be much more inclined to join us in our decision to eat healthy.  If we are introducing fruits and vegetables when they first start converting to solid foods – they will be more likely to develop a taste for fresh, healthy foods as opposed to craving unhealthy, processed, packaged foods.  

If your children are already older and tend to be picky eaters – try to make the food as attractive as possible and never give up.  Keep promoting and encouraging healthy habits.  As your children watch your example and see your zest for life, they will want to be part of your life and your lifestyle.