Parsley

A lovely herb that you can use both fresh and dried; did you know that as well as being a great flavour addition, parsley has some brilliant benefits for your body?

I use parsley in my breakfast, lunch and dinner!

I’m not much of a gardener or herb expert, but even I have managed to keep a pot of fresh parsley alive in my windowsill all year - so I am confident in saying that you will be able to do the same. With lots of regular watering and as much access to sunlight as possible, you will be able to do what I do; go and grab a few leaves to chuck in with your scrambled eggs in the morning, add to your croutons for your lunch salad or sprinkle all over your comforting oyakodon for dinner.

If you don’t have a chance to grow your own fresh parsley, you can get a bunch from most supermarkets very cheap. And a small jar of dried parsley at the ready alongside your other spices and herbs is definitely recommended too! It’s a super versatile and flavour enhancing herb - but you might not be aware that it has great health benefits too! Keep in mind that there are a few different types of parsley, so some benefits may vary. But still! Let’s have a look at some benefits according to Healthline:

• It is rich in Vitamin K! Vitamin K, often found in a lot of herbs and greens, is a great thing to include in your diet. It helps prevent blood clotting and improves bone health, among other things.

• It is also rich in antioxidants like flavonoids, carotenoids and Vitamin C, which all bring fantastic benefits like lowering the risk of heart disease and colon cancer, and improving your immune system and preventing chronic illness. Here’s the fact that surprised me the most: dried parsley might actually be higher in antioxidants than fresh leaves, some studies show!

• Parsley is good for your eyes. The carotenoids (a group antioxidants) I mentioned above, can help prevent eye disease and Vitamin A, which parsley also contains large amounts of, helps protect your eyes!

Isn’t that pretty cool? I don’t know about you, but knowing that something I like cooking with has great benefits for my body just makes me want to find new ways of including it in my cooking.

Do you use fresh or dried parsley? How do you use it? Post on Instagram and tag me @TheFromScratchBody and use the hashtag #TheFromScratchBody so I don’t miss it!