Stinging nettle is not only a great forage food, it is a wonderful medicinal herb. For a food source, I had once heard it has more protein per ounce than meat. I have yet to verify it, but I would not doubt that it has at least a good amount for a green. Because of this and its many nutrients and health boosting properties, I like to harvest, dehydrate, and add it to my mixed greens blend that I use in most all my meals from soups to casseroles, even in gravies. It is just another way to get good beneficial greens into our diet. I do occasionally add the fresh picked leaves to stir fries and casseroles like my last batch of homemade mac and cheese: https://steemit.com/food/@raincountry/hamburger-mac-and-cheese-with-gluten-free-option
Here is a video on how I harvest, dehydrate, then put up for long term storage by vacuum sealing into jars using Food Saver jar tops and a brake bleeder. I find the brake bleeder works much better for vacuum sealing jars than the Food Saver itself, AND, it requires no electricity to use!
I will go into more detail about how I use the brake bleeder (or you can watch the video and see how it is done) but I want to first go over some of the health benefits of stinging nettle.
The reason I made the decision to start growing the nettle was because I had learned it was good for helping to boost the thyroid. Patrick and I had been on thyroid meds for hypothyroidism for 15 years each. I had already taken us off all OTC drugs (pain killers, allergy medications, et cetera) and now it was time to dump the prescription thyroid medications too. I spent a lot of time studying all the nutrients and foods best for helping to heal the thyroid and stinging nettle was one of them. Side note, we have been off ALL pharma drugs for at least 5 years now and feel better now in our 50's than we did in our 30's.
Besides helping to boost low thyroid, it is also beneficial in detoxifying the body, aiding circulation and digestion, and helping with skin, heart and bone health. It is also good for women's health including a pregnancy and nursing aid. Used in tea form, it can help soothe coughs, throat infections, and clear mucus. The benefits do not stop there so I suggest looking it up. Some great places to learn such things are Mother Earth News: www.motherearthnews.com, and Dr. Josh Axe: https://draxe.com
a pint jar of dried nettle
Now for the vacuum sealing you will need Food Saver vacuum sealer tops, I will link to those right here: http://amzn.to/2mSi57C
and a brake bleeder, here is the one I have: http://amzn.to/2oep0Z9.
You simply put the right size lid on your mason jar (Tattler lids work great for this too), then the appropriate size Food Saver top, insert and hold the tip of the brake bleeder into the hole on top of the Food Saver lid and hand pump to 15 psi. Remove Food Saver top and your jar should be sealed. If you need a more visual demonstration, you can find this at the 9:45 minute mark in the above video.
Hope you enjoyed this post and learned something new! Thanks for stopping by! ~Heidi
NOTE: I am NOT a doctor nor pretend to be one. Nothing I say should be used to replace professional medical counseling! Also, PLEASE do your OWN research!
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