Nuts For Nettle

Hello!

Every year around spring time I try to find new ways to treat my seasonal allergies. I absolutely hate my runny nose and itchy throat due to pollen, dust and mold particles. I do have an actual allergy medicine I take but I also like to treat my symptoms with more natural ways. Lately I have been trying out nettle since it is said to be good for allergies.

Nettle contains biologically active compounds that reduce inflammation. This is why it makes a great natural remedy for allergies, asthma, urinary tract infection, skin irritations and mucus congestion. It also helps if you are bloated because it reduces water retention.

Funny thing is, my mom used to pick&dry young nettle when I was little, but I hated it so much back then. My mom made me drink nettle tea when I was sick, and I used to think that the taste was horrible! I guess your taste buds develop as you get older because I don't think nettle tastes that bad anymore, plus I have noticed that nettle really helps with sniffels (*moms really know the best, giggle*).

My favorite store bought nettle tea is this organic nettle&lemon from Clipper. It tastes really yummy when you add a little drop of honey. It soothes my itchy/sore throat immediately.

Besides drinking nettle tea, I also incorporate fresh nettle to my cooking and baking. My dad picked and froze nettle for me last spring, and I still have couple bags left in my freezer. I'm trying to use it sparingly, so it would last through the worst of my allergy season.

Last weekend I made nettle pancakes for breakfast. I used a normal pancake recipe but I switched white flour with whole wheat flour, and I added about a cup of frozen nettle. Since the nettle was frozen, I didn't have to worry about it stinging me. Besides freezing nettle, you can also quickly boil it or dry it, to get rid of the stinging effect.

My dad used zip lock bags to freeze nettle for me (*thanks dad*).

I mixed the frozen nettle directly to the pancake batter.

Lush&green nettle full of healthy vitamins.

Nettle pancake batter.

I used real butter to cook the pancakes.

You know they taste good when you see this pretty golden color.

I served my pancakes with butter, cottage cheese and syrup. This might sound like a weird combination but it tasted really good! 

My pancakes were full of fiber and vitamins, cottage cheese provided protein and butter/syrup was there for extra yumminess!

Besides tea and pancakes, nettle can be used in many recipes. It makes a great substitute for spinach. Nettle acts like fresh spinach but it actually has more nutrients. Nettle is full of protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, and beta-carotene. It also has high amounts of vitamins A, C, D, and B.

If you are interested harvesting your own wild nettle, make sure you do it in the spring. Young nettle plants have more vitamins and nutrients compared to older nettle later on in the summer. Never pick plants near a road/street because they can be contaminated by pollution and fumes.

Also, remember to wear gloves because nettle will sting you when you pick it. I make my dad to pick my nettle because I'm very allergic to nettle stings as well (*ironic, huh?*), plus my dad lives in the countryside with very little pollution. I actually need to remind my dad to make sure he harvests more nettle for me this spring too.

That's it for today. Maybe you will go nuts for nettle too. It won't hurt to try (*unless you forget the gloves, ha ha*). Have a fun weekend everyone!!