Herb Series #3: Parsley
Benefits + Recipes
I hope you're enjoying this herb series so far and have been finding lots of ways to incorporate them into your meals this summer. I've been loving the feedback and hearing about all the ways you're using herbs in your kitchen!
Today I'm sharing the benefits of parsley, which is a relative to cilantro that we discussed in last week's post.
One of my first experiences cooking with parsley was making tabbouleh and falafel in my Multicultural Foods Class in college, which are both traditional Middle Eastern dishes (recipes below). Prior to that I had mostly encountered parsley as a garnish on meals at restaurants, but have come to love the flavor that it brings to dishes, and of course the benefits that it has on our health!
Like the other herbs we've explored, parsley is full of anti-inflammatory phytochemicals that protect our cells from free radical damage and also repair cells that have already been damaged. This slows aging at the cellular level and reduces the risk of disease as a result.
If you, too, have only used parsley to garnish your dishes, I hope that the research and recipes below inspire you to add more of this herb into your meals!
Parsley Benefits
Parsley is a low-calorie and nutrient dense herb, with ½ cup of fresh parsley leaves providing the following:
11 calories
0 grams fat
1.9 grams carb
1 gram fiber
1 gram protein
It also contains 33% the daily value of vitamin C, 10% iron, 4% calcium, as well as magnesium, folate, and B-vitamins.
Parsley is abundant in antioxidants including carotenoids and flavonoids that have many protective properties on our health as outlined below.