This superfood can change your life!

I am excited to share with you the greatest superfood I know - nettle seeds! They help boost your energy, reduce inflammation, and help manage burn out, stress and adrenal exhaustion. 

The magic of nettle leaves

Stinging nettle grows all around us and has been used with great success for thousands of years. The whole plant is used in tinctures, creams, teas and as a food. My mum used to make nettle soup from fresh nettle in the spring and in early summer and it was so delicious!

I have been using nettle in my cooking for many years.

My favourite recipes include nettle soup, nettle pesto or nettle welted with garlic, just like spinach. I have even used it in desserts, like green muffins or pancakes with some spirulina. They look and taste great.

I also love nettle tea, which is deeply refreshing. I make it from fresh leaves that I pick on my daily walks.

The nettle leaves are meant to be used only when the plant is small – before it produces flowers.

Why is nettle such a magical healing, detoxifying and restorative plant?

Nettle is full of minerals and vitamins: 

The leaves, seeds and stalks are high in calcium, magnesium, trace minerals, chlorophyll, chromium, cobalt, iron, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, sulphur, protein, manganese, selenium, vitamin C, D, K and B complex, and carotenes.

It helps kidneys and adrenal glands:

Nettle is a diuretic, so it restores the kidney and adrenal glands by flushing toxins out.  It is also a blood purifier, an astringent as well as an anti-inflammatory. It helps the body to heal wounds by promoting cell growth and repair. It is also considered a hormone balancer. Nettle is often used or added to formulas for allergies, anemia /blood deficiency, a sluggish thyroid, arthritis, high blood pressure and rheumatism.

It helps in relaxing:

As a flower essence, nettle has a calming effect on the mind. This can help with clearing brain fog, aiding us in making clear and concise decisions and grounding us when we feel overwhelmed. It may also help healing from unresolved tensions and promote better sleep.

The magic of nettle seeds

I would love to encourage you to pick your own fresh nettle seeds in the late summer and early autumn.

There are so many benefits of nettle seeds!  They strengthen skin, hair and nails, are packed with iron, vitamin C, essential fatty acids, strengthen the blood and are excellent for anaemia. They are incredibly nutrient dense and contain a wide array of vitamins, minerals and polyphenols!

Nettle seeds even more than nettle leaves support adrenal glands and endocrine system. They're extremely effective for people who are burnt-out, run down and low in energy.

Nettle seeds are so energising that one teaspoon a day is enough. If you take 2 for instance it may keep you up the whole night! The fresh (not dried seeds) are more potent and more energising. Compared to many other seeds, nettle seeds are soft and could be eaten just as they are, but are better mixed into foods. For example smoothies, muesli, soup, yoghurt and porridge. You can crush the seeds in a pestle and mortar before you use it.

Interesting fact: In the past, horse traders would feed nettle seed to horses a few weeks before selling them. It helped them become sprightly again with high spirits, shiny coats and bright eyes.

So this is why I believe that nettle is the greatest superfood which is completely free and grows all around us!

Remember to put your gloves on when you pick your nettle!

More info about how to pick it and dry it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGFNCXiVf0w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gThFZAmuq-g

https://www.blognourishedbynature.com/blog-991883/nettle-seeds-for-va-va-voom

Lots of love, 

Gosia