Indoor Herb Garden Promotes Weight Loss
An indoor herb garden is fun and easy to create and maintain. They take up little space and once the planting is done, it requires minimal time and effort to keep them growing and producing. Creating and maintaining an indoor herb garden can also be a relaxing activity which helps calm stress.
But did you know that an indoor herb garden can also help you control your weight? Believe it or not, fresh herbs are a powerful component of a healthy diet and they can help you manage weight challenges. They affect digestion and metabolism in a positive way that can help individuals lose weight and keep it off. The easy access to fresh herbs with an indoor herbal garden can aid in your healthy weigh goals.
The use of any medications or herbs should be carefully considered and reviewed with a doctor if there is a plan to use them in their natural form or in large quantities. Supplements and herbal combinations can be harmful in some cases and herbs often interact with certain drugs negatively. But we’re not talking about herbal supplements, pills, and herbal “wonders” that claim to make the weight melt away.
The type of weight control we are talking about is safe and healthy. It simply requires the use of a herb garden to wake up foods and make them delicious – even if the food is green like broccoli or brussel sprouts! Herbs can be used to spice up the flavors of healthy, natural foods in a way that makes them more appealing and inviting. When foods taste better, people are more likely to enjoy and even crave them.
Using a herb garden to create delicious, nutritious, and flavorful dishes is one way to help control weight. Fresh herbs make a lot of difference too.
Consider the possibilities of using herbs from your indoor herb garden to enhance a dietary plan.
1. Cayenne pepper is an herb that is often used in cooking. It is a very spicy, hot addition to dishes and it wakes up flavors. It can stimulate digestion and increase metabolism. Once the body begins to metabolize foods faster, the body becomes a fat burning machine.
2. Have a cup of green tea with breakfast, lunch and dinner to aid in weight control. Green tea contains powerful antioxidants that fight cancer and it is a good way to help control weight.
3. Add a sprinkling of basil to tomatoes, pasta sauce, squash, and zucchini for a flavorful burst of taste. Using herbs to add more vegetables to your diet increases your intake of antioxidants and high fiber foods.
4. Crush mint leaves and sprinkle them over fruit, tea, or fresh vegetables. Use herbs to up your intake of fruits and veggies.
5. Nothing wakes up peppers, onions, tomatoes, and pasta sauce like fresh oregano. A light coating of homemade pasta sauce covering whole-wheat noodles is a dieter’s delight.
6. Bake chicken with a generous dusting of crushed rosemary to make it delicious and nutritious. Just remove the skin, spray lightly with cooking spray, sprinkle with crushed black pepper and a generous serving of fresh, crushed rosemary and bake at 400° for about 50 minutes. Healthy and nutritious!
7. Add a healthy sprinkling of tarragon over fish before cooking to make it tasty and healthy. Eating 2-3 portions of fish weekly will help with your weight loss efforts.
8. Thyme is often overlooked but it is one of the most versatile herbs to wake up foods and taste buds. Try some on potatoes, pork, tomatoes, pasta, eggless quiche, and other dishes. The flavor is worth it.
Indoor herb gardens are a great way to have fragrant herbs on hand any time. They are easy to grow and maintain and the rewards are tastier, healthier foods prepared at home. Wake up the flavor of foods by creating your own indoor herb garden. You’ll find the time you spend creating your herb garden is well worth it and you’ll enjoy the stress-free activity.
Growing Herbs Indoors and Out
If you are interested in growing herbs indoors or outdoors, you will find that it can be a fun, relaxing venture.An herb garden can be grown in a variety of different locations and in many different types of containers and still thrive. An indoor herb garden offers easy access to fresh herbs for cooking at a moment’s notice. And a herb garden located just outside the kitchen or back door makes it easy to grab a handful of pungent or sweet herbs to spice up or sweeten any recipe.
A lot of people plant herb gardens in an area of their yard or larger garden. Others choose an indoor herb garden due to lack of outdoor space or for convenience. Climate is also a factor and if you live in an extremely cold area of the country, it’s important to consider the types of herb plants you include in the herb garden.
One option for outdoor herb gardening is the use of half barrels or similar larger containers. Oversized patio pots are also a good choice for outdoor herb gardens. This is a very easy and handy way to create herb gardens. When you use various containers of different sizes and heights, they can add visual appeal to a patio, deck, or back porch. Their many colors, textures, and shapes are beautiful in the outdoor environment. The same is true for growing herbs indoors when smaller pots and containers are used and they can be used for decorative purposes in window sills and on tables. Just move them to the table for a centerpiece, and then move them back to the sill where they continue to thrive.
Another nice advantage about barrels and containers for herb gardens is that they can be moved around to take advantage of the seasons as the sun moves positions. They can be moved from the back patio the front porch easily and they add decorative allure in every space. When growing herbs indoors, they can be easily moved to different window sills to take advantage of the sun and they can be used for table decorations and returned to their home in the sill afterwards.
Planting herb gardens in barrels or similar containers makes it easy to plant, maintain, and harvest them. Keep in mind that many plants will grow rapidly and they can actually take over a space. An example of a rapidly growing, spreading herb plant is mint. The advantage of planting mint is that it has an especially pleasing aromatic foliage. But allowed to roam on its own, it can become overwhelming in herb gardens. Containers help contain mint and similar types of plants so they do not become unwieldy.
Your herb gardens can be planted in ceramic pots, clay pots, baskets, or other containers as long as they are well-drained. Container gardening also allows you to move pots indoors if weather becomes too harsh for the herb plants.Growing herbs indoors takes the worry out of inclement weather but it does require diligence in making sure herb gardens receive adequate natural light and sunshine throughout the year.
Container gardening such as barrels, pots, and baskets have advantages. But outdoor gardening is also a good way to go since an herb garden has visual appeal for the landscape. As long as the soil is well-drained and receives sunlight during the day, it’s a good place for herb gardens. If there is plenty of room for growth, an herb garden planted in the ground can be allowed to grow larger and accentuate the landscape even more. Lavender and mint are often used for this purpose and they offer lots of outdoor pleasure.
An indoor herb garden or a large outdoor container garden can be an easy way to get started with herb gardening. Growing herbs indoors or out is a rewarding experience from many perspectives and when you know the tips and secrets about herb gardens, you can create a garden to please the senses in every way.
Herb Gardening for a Culinary Gift
Herb gardening brings many things to mind, but nothing is as powerful as the sweet and spicy smells it evokes. Just the word “herbs” conjures up thoughts of pungent, aromatic, fragrant smells wafting from a variety of wispy plants. Herb gardening, whether an indoor herb garden or an outdoor garden, can bring countless hours of pleasure and relaxation.
Not only does herb gardening provide flavorful options for many different foods, but the garden makes it possible to experience the joy of seeing tiny plants come to life. It can also be a relaxing activity to care for a garden. And lots of money can be saved by creating a herb garden and caring for a variety of special herbs.
But saving money is just the beginning. Imagine picking fresh oregano, basil, and cilantro from a private garden to prepare healthy Italian foods and other ethnic dishes. Reaching into the culinary herb garden is a wonderful experience for those who enjoy cooking. Freshness is one of the most important benefits of growing herbs and it helps ensure that the natural oils of herbs are preserved for cooking. Sharing the treasures of a garden is the next most important benefit.
Herb gardening is a great way to create and present a very special gift to someone. Fresh tarragon, basil, and cilantro can be combined with good quality vinegar for a special treat. Choose white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, or rice wine vinegar with about a 5% acidity to create a delicious concoction of herbal delight and present your gift with a loaf of crusty bread or fresh pasta.
To prepare herbal vinegar from a Culinary Herb Garden for gift giving, follow these simple directions:
Thoroughly wash fresh herbs and lay them flat on a paper towel to dry.
Choose a tall, clear decorative container with a top and fill it 2/3 full with vinegar.
Then simply add any combination of herbs. For example, rosemary is an excellent choice for herbal vinegar. Combining rosemary, tarragon, and thyme makes a delightful salad dressing.
Allow the bottles of vinegar and herbs to set for about 24 hours and then finish filling the bottle with vinegar to within about ½ to 1 inch from the top. Seal it well.
Make the bottle even more attractive by adding fresh parsley in the top of the bottle. Attach a handmade gift tag to a colorful ribbon, attach a small bundle of fresh herbs to the ribbon, and tie the ribbon around the bottle neck. The gift is definitely from the heart!
The herb plants are decorative in the glass bottle and the herbal vinegar is delicious. A Culinary Herb Garden can ignite a new passion for gardening and create a soothing pastime. The benefits of fresh, aromatic herbs are well worth the time and effort it takes to create a herb garden. Learning more about the tips and secrets of herb gardening will have you on your way to successful gardening quicker.
Herb Plants for Culinary Herb Garden Success
Herb plants come from a variety of different plants that include annuals, perennials, and biennials. All herb plants require the use of well-drained soil, healthy sunshine, and adequate water. Most herbs do not enjoy being over-watered so it’s important not to saturate them too much. A fine mist of water is a good way to keep them watered without over-watering.
A culinary herb garden is a sensational way to create flavorful, tasty dishes for family and guests. Having fragrant herbs in the kitchen windowsill or just outside the kitchen door makes them convenient. But best of all, they are guaranteed fresh!
Fresh herbs have much more robust flavor and color than stale, dried, bottled, and otherwise prepared herbs. And packaged herbs lose their flavor quickly so storing them for a long period of time is not a good idea. It takes less of the fresh herbs than it does of bottled herbs to perk up flavors and make foods come alive. An indoor herb garden is a simple way to make cooking more fun and better tasting.
There are many different herb plants that are used for culinary purposes. Annuals such as basil, cilantro, and summer savory are delightful additions to many different dishes. Since they are not well adapted for frost, they are a good choice for an indoor herb garden. Sage and winter savory bring out lots of flavor in meats and casseroles and they return the next year.
Lots of people enjoy using parsley for decorative purposes and planting them outdoors in late spring assures they will produce wonderful herbs if conditions are appropriate. Adding sand to the soil is a good way to help parsley seeds spread more evenly since they are so small. Covering a bed of parsley seeds with a wet burlap cloth or similar covering will also keep them moist but not overly wet during their germination phase. You’ll have a beautiful garnish for your dishes at a minute’s notice with fresh parsley planted just outside the door or along the kitchen window sill.
Some of the stronger flavors are derived from herb plants such as chives, thyme, basil, and marjoram. They can be used to spark flavors from potatoes, eggs, pasta dishes, and casseroles. They are also very flavorful simply sprinkled over tomatoes and other raw vegetables when fresh vegetables are plentiful. Mix some of these flavor-popping herbs with organic butter and spread over crisp, crusty bread for a special treat.
And when it comes to cooking, don’t overlook the value of herbs in beverages too. Mint is a tasty addition to tea and water. Adding a sprig of parsley to a tall glass of tomato juice makes it even more inviting.
Herb plants are useful in the kitchen in many ways. They flavor foods, garnish dishes, and wake up beverages. Creating your own culinary herb garden is an easy way to ensure that you always have fresh herbs on hand to make every meal special. Whether you are growing herbs indoors or out, there are secrets and tips that make your gardening efforts more successful. Don’t waste a minute getting started and growing herb plants that produce flavorful herbs for years to come — learn more about the art of herb gardening and start your garden today.
An Herb Garden Offers Health Benefits
Creating an herb garden is a good way to have easy access to special herbs for cooking, grow herbs for natural health benefits, and appreciate the joy of gardening. There are many reasons people decide to grow their own herb garden. Over the past few years, people have started growing more herbs due to their natural medicinal benefits in their quest to stay healthy and live longer.
An herb garden is fairly easy to manage since it takes up very little space. Whether you are considering an indoor herb garden, or an outdoor garden, there is usually plenty of space to grow a healthy variety of herbs.
Over the years, people have begun to use herbs for medicinal purposes. Many hundreds of years ago, our forefathers recognized and appreciated the value of herbs. Today, the trend in personal herb gardening is increasing as more and more people are creating their own herb gardens. Although herbs are still considered ‘alternative medicine’, they are gaining in popularity and some traditional doctors are now embracing the value of incorporating them into a healthy lifestyle. After all, many traditional medicines are derived from natural herbs.
Some of the medicinal benefits of herbs include:
Ginseng. This herb enhances physical and mental stamina and helps individuals fight depression. By helping the body positively manage stress and adapt to stressors, it aids in increasing longevity and improving quality of life.
Ginger. This is a powerful herb that promotes endurance and helps people increase energy levels. In addition to being good for an active lifestyle, it is also a very effective herb that soothes minor burns and skin inflammations. It is also well-known as an antidote for nausea, vomiting, and motion sickness.
Chamomile. This flavorful herb is effective in helping soothe stomach problems and calming nerves. Chamomile tea is often touted as an excellent natural remedy for these problems and it creates a deliciously soothing refreshment.
Garlic. Another well-known herb that is fragrant and pungent also has medicinal purposes too. Garlic is helpful for skin irritations and it is believed to help lower LDL and triglyceride levels in the blood, leading to lower total cholesterol and better health.
Arjuna. This herb has been used by people for years to help prevent heart disease.
Ginkgo Biloba. This herb is known to help heal the heart and prevent heart disease. It is also used by some people who believe it has the ability to improve memory loss.
While there are many herbs that have medicinal effects and can help individuals live healthier, longer lives, it is also important to recognize there are harmful herbs as well. Before taking any amount of herbs for medicinal purposes, you should consult a doctor and make sure they are safe. It is also essential to determine if herbs are harmful when taken in conjunction with other medications or foods. Herb and drug interactions may have potentially harmful effects on some people.
There are many benefits for growing an herb garden and a medicinal purpose is one of those. But the additional value received from adding flavorful, aromatic herbs to foods can also help individuals eat healthier. The rich flavors that emerge with the use of herbs can lead to better weight control and greater satisfaction with healthy, natural foods by enhancing flavor.
