Planting Herbs for Health, Decor and Flavor

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfTvPoYrMLg0IOo4BF8wobvTX_VY8fxkJzAQouKV0jY-KLiECz6cnfCROvYIdnUQ_bLawe4Gzp7CatZawTm67Gi7HxyhAOTsZSR3hSt3N5MkNDylPve0de5UFiU0n8kQAykgBYGKUkqNKe/s1600/planting_herbs.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Planting herbs can bring a whole new look to your home and add a variety of healthy, fresh flavors to any dish." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfTvPoYrMLg0IOo4BF8wobvTX_VY8fxkJzAQouKV0jY-KLiECz6cnfCROvYIdnUQ_bLawe4Gzp7CatZawTm67Gi7HxyhAOTsZSR3hSt3N5MkNDylPve0de5UFiU0n8kQAykgBYGKUkqNKe/s1600/planting_herbs.png" title="Planting herbs. " /></a></div> <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div> <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Have you ever wanted to add a little pizazz to your home without spending lots of time and money? Or wished you had a little something lying around to add some flavor to that clean soup or meat dish? Well, I know something that can satisfy both of those cravings - herb planting! A nice herb plant adds life to any part of your home and serves as an easy resource of flavor when it comes to your cooking endeavors.</span></div> <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-269fcb50-8483-cc18-25ed-5f107b7fa368" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b> </span></span><br /> <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As you may know from my previous blog posts, I love recipes that use fresh, yummy herbs. Plus, herbs have great health value - here is a great source for finding the nutritional values of herbs: </span><a href="http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/healthy-herbs.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/healthy-herbs.html</span></a></span></span></div> <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b> </span></span><br /> <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These are my top choices for what to choose when herb planting:</span></div> <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b> </span></span><br /> <ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <li dir="ltr" style="font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Basil: This delicious herb is great for flavoring soups or adding some great seasoning to a pizza or bread dish. Consider basil when planting herbs for its fresh smell and decorative leaves.</span></div> </li> </ul> <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b> </span></span><br /> <ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <li dir="ltr" style="font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cilantro: The perfect green of cilantro is great to add vibrant color to any dish or window sill. The popular flavor of cilantro is great in salsa and salads and is great when paired with lime. The key to planting herbs is choosing ones you will use often so make sure you love what you plant!</span></div> </li> </ul> <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b> </span></span><br /> <ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <li dir="ltr" style="font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chives: One of my favorites, chives are a form of onion that can add flavor to almost any dish - they are even great as a raw snack by themselves. Chives are a great option for planting herbs at home because they are easy to grow and easy to use; it’s a win/win!</span></div> </li> </ul> <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b> </span></span><br /> <ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <li dir="ltr" style="font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mint: In addition to smelling great, mint has all sorts of nutritional and medicinal values. It’s delicious in a nice herb tea, great for adding flavor to fresh water and adds a nice garnish to most dishes. I recommend planting herbs that have lots of versatility like the mint leaf.</span></div> </li> </ul> <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b> </span></span><br /> <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Obviously, planting herbs is done best when you choose the ones that are most delicious to you and ones you will actually use. You don’t need a green thumb to plant a few herbs so what are you waiting for? Harvest the benefits of your own herb planting!</span></div> <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span> <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span> <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Herbs are an easy and great way to supplement your decor and add a little more delicious to your dishes. Planting herbs in your own home can also help boost your nutritional intake, so plant away!  </span></div> <div> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>

afitnurse, basil, chives, cilantro, herbs, mint, Recipes

Planting Herbs for Health, Decor and Flavor

Have you ever wanted to add a little pizazz to your home without spending lots of time and money? Or wished you had a little something ...

Clean Italian Wedding Soup

<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Josefin Slab'; font-size: 30px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative;"><a href="http://melaniemitro.blogspot.com/2011/11/italian-wedding-soup.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Italian Wedding Soup</a></h3><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Coming Soon'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-5331406234965650917" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Coming Soon'; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 708px;">So I made this recipe for the first time yesterday and  made it in the crock pot.  I will give you the recipe as is but then I'll give you my tweeks!  I think it has great potential but I would do some things differently.  If you make this recipe please comment on what you did differently so we can update the recipe and make it even yummier!  Who doesn't love wedding soup on a cold winter day!<br /> <br /> <strong>Ingredients:</strong><br /> <ul style="line-height: 1.4; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">1 lb extra-lean ground turkey breast</li> <li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">2 eggs beaten</li> <li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">3/4 cup oat bran</li> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWXDB7BbAC6XG8sBbNwru0R2NX2RFPvF_ZRPwnQXolII13XVN32YoLO5SeY4pX9XFYynqif0Wg2vTY1ZsdrxM87K7XQpkEgFryEfVvmYAS8y-CUmkH95EGh3mcLmp7q4uC3QYJLMVoDtY/s1600/wedding+soup.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #888888; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" hda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWXDB7BbAC6XG8sBbNwru0R2NX2RFPvF_ZRPwnQXolII13XVN32YoLO5SeY4pX9XFYynqif0Wg2vTY1ZsdrxM87K7XQpkEgFryEfVvmYAS8y-CUmkH95EGh3mcLmp7q4uC3QYJLMVoDtY/s1600/wedding+soup.bmp" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" /></a></div><div class="pinit-wrapper" style="cursor: pointer; left: 529px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 311.96875px; visibility: visible; z-index: 9999;"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http://melaniemitro.blogspot.com/2011/11/italian-wedding-soup.html&media=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWXDB7BbAC6XG8sBbNwru0R2NX2RFPvF_ZRPwnQXolII13XVN32YoLO5SeY4pX9XFYynqif0Wg2vTY1ZsdrxM87K7XQpkEgFryEfVvmYAS8y-CUmkH95EGh3mcLmp7q4uC3QYJLMVoDtY/s1600/wedding+soup.bmp&description=Italian%20Wedding%20Soup" style="color: #888888; display: block; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img class="pinimg" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfXXyo7bKndheoAlxIdk154ze6nfus2h9Vp4aED76mrKmRUR0j5GX7xkVzg6eUtmW9bwK5rOQhPgxHiWj2QpgxHi0we4BsS-84QF9-3L5Z-2Fp3-KD95OO7gLzS-gJ6AJs3r6kuickRvm-/s1600/pinterestx1_72.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: none; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; box-shadow: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" title="Pin on Pinterest" /></a></div><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">3 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese, divided</li> <li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">2 tbsp minced fresh basil</li> <li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">3 tbsp minced onion</li> <li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">8 cups low-sodium chicken stock</li> <li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">2 cups spinach, rinsed, packed and thinly chopped</li> <li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">3/4 cup diced carrots</li> </ul><strong>Method</strong><br /> <ul style="line-height: 1.4; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">In a medium bowl, combine the turkey, eggs, oat bran, 2 tbsp parmesan cheese, basil and onion.  Shape mixture into 3/4 inch balls and set aside.</li> <li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">In a large stockpot, heat chicken broth to boiling.  Stir in spinach, carrots and meatballs.  Return to boil; reduce heat to medium.  cook, stirring frequently, at a slow boil for 10 minutes, or until the meatballs are no longer pink.</li> <li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Serve hot with the rest of the Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.</li> </ul><em>So, I thought that the meatballs were to mushy so I would suggest baking the meatballs in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.  Then, add them to the soup and cook the rest of the way.  I would also add additional carrots into the soup!  The soup had great flavor and I absolutely loved it!</em><br /> <br /> <strong>Nutritional Info:  (serving is 1 cup)</strong><br /> Calories:  153<br /> Calories from fat:  6<br /> Protein:  17 g<br /> Total Carbs:  9 g<br /> Total Fat:  7g<br /> Fiber: 2g<br /> Sodium:  609 mg<br /> <br /> <em>This recipe was found in the Eat-Clean Diet Favorites Magazine by Tosca Reno!</em><br /> <div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div><em><br /> </em></div><div style="float: right; margin: 4px;"><a href="javascript:void((function(){var%20e=document.createElement('script');e.setAttribute('type','text/javascript');e.setAttribute('charset','UTF-8');e.setAttribute('src','http://assets.pinterest.com/js/pinmarklet.js?r='+Math.random()*99999999);document.body.appendChild(e)})());"><img alt="Pin It" class="aligncenter" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v419/green_tea/pin.jpg" /></a></div>

basil, carrots, chicken stock, Clean eating wedding soup, eggs, ground turkey breast, oat bran, onion, parmesan cheese, spinach

Clean Italian Wedding Soup

Italian Wedding Soup So I made this recipe for the first time yesterday and  made it in the crock pot.  I will give you the recipe as is but...