I consider the season for tea and juice from fresh nettles to be open. It's the end of March and you can already find the first nettles in the fields, meadows and forests. Wonderful news, because this is the time of year they taste the best!
After a long time of drinking dried herbs, there is finally an opportunity to pick fresh, aromatic ones that contain much more valuable vitamins and microelements. And all natural sources of these ingredients are much better absorbed than artificial pills.
Nettle is worth harvesting from April to the end of May, just before it blooms. Its leaves and stems are fresh, juicy and have the most health-promoting properties. It's worth picking the top 10cm of nettle branches because they are the most delicate.
What's more, you can pick nettles in any secluded place and be sure that at least no one has treated them with pesticides or watered them with growth accelerators like they do with other produce. Purely natural. It doesn't get better than that. At NaturalHerbals, you can buy nettle supplements.
What will you find in today's post?
Why drink nettle tea?
Why drink nettle tea? Nettle contains a lot of minerals and vitamins that strengthen, cleanse and regenerate our bodies. This is particularly useful, especially after winter and during the period of any infections, when we are weakened.
So what valuable properties does nettle have? Nettle has distinct benefits for the user. First of all, in nettle we find:
Vitamins A, B2, C, E, K, folic acid, as well as easily absorbable iron, magnesium, calcium, silicon, potassium, and flavonoids (anti-inflammatory, detoxifying and anticancer effects).
Nettle - Contraindications
Contraindications to drinking nettle tea are diabetes, planned surgery, kidney, heart or reproductive organ diseases, as well as too high iron levels. In such a situation, it is advisable to consult a doctor or nutritionist. I think that it is worth to implement it as a routine. Thanks to this it will be easier to control our health and make corrections to our menu.
How to make nettle tea?
Fresh Nettle vs. Dried Nettle
I don't like bought nettle sachets. I don't like it because it tastes bad in my opinion. Like mud with weeds. However, freshly brewed nettle leaves taste completely different! This is a completely different dimension of nettle tea. The color is different. Not like an old toad decoction, just so delicate, green, fresh.
I really strongly encourage you to collect nettle on your own . Get gloves, a basket and pick up fresh twigs. Before making nettle tea, rinse the leaves under running water. You have to be careful not to burn yourself.
Option I: Express Nettle Tea , or Nettle Infusion:
Making nettle tea, specifically nettle tea, is very easy. I usually brew a few leaves in a mug and sip it while working at the computer. The nettle can be ground up by cutting it into smaller pieces or simply nibbling on the leaves. The more crushed, the more juice will leak out of it.
Option II: Traditional Nettle Tea
If only I have more time, I make a portion of nettle tea for all the household members. I put a few twigs (usually 2-3 sprigs of fresh nettle or a handful of dried) into a pot with boiling water, cook for about 5 minutes and leave it covered for about 10 minutes. Then I strain it and pour the finished tea into a jug.
Option III: Pump up the taste of nettle tea
You can make your own tea mixtures from herbs. I like to add fresh mint to the nettle, because then its taste becomes very refreshing and pleasant. My husband often brews nettle, chamomile, mint or lemon balm in one jug, which we have at home.
The taste of nettle tea is wonderfully enriched by lemon or ginger. I often use the latter in the winter season, when we are more prone to various infections. It is worth remembering that the longer we brew nettle tea, the stronger, darker and more diuretic it gets.
How often can you drink nettle tea?
Nettle tea cannot and should not be your only drink. I treat it as a prophylaxis and diversification of the diet by enriching it with vitamins and minerals. For the detoxification action of the body, it is recommended to drink nettle tea 2-3 times a day for several days.
Nettle in The Kitchen - Ideas for Dishes with Nettle
Nettle is a plant that can be used in many ways in the kitchen. In addition to the aforementioned tea, you can squeeze a juice out of it , which you can drink on your own or mixed with other juices. Here's a recipe for a green nettle smoothie. The easiest way to squeeze the nettle juice is with a slow juicer.
Another idea for using nettle in the kitchen is to add it to any hot dish that you normally throw in greens such as spinach. So you can throw it into soups, stews, stuffing for dumplings or pancakes. I recently tested the addition of nettle to potato pancakes, the taste did not change, my little food critic accepted the pancakes without any comments.
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