Cilantro for Natural Health
Cilantro, or coriander, is a culinary star! Or czar if you’re obsessed with Cs like I am this week.
Cilantro is tasty, snappy, cool and crispy. It adds zest to your cooking of ethnic Mexican and Indian cuisine. But cilantro isn’t just a pretty plant, it’s really good for you. Like many similar herbs (parsley), it’s chock full of health-protecting and life-enriching antioxidants. Herbal antioxidants are one of the easiest ways you can eat and cook yourself to a long life.
A self-seeding annual, with a tangy, almost pungent flavor, cilantro is used in a great variety of Mexican and Indian dishes. Its leaves add the zip to fresh green salsas, bean and rice dishes, soups, stews and moles. Coriander seeds are ground and added to stews.
Doctors and researchers have found that cilantro is one of the most effective natural heavy metal detoxifiers available. One teaspoon daily of fresh cilantro can rid the body of mercury and other metal toxins. To reap the benefits of cilantro detoxing for things like mercury in your dental fillings, finely chop eight or more heaping teaspoons of the fresh cilantro, steeping in approximately one quart (or one liter) broth or water, covered for twenty minutes. Use only Pyrex or Corningware to make the tea, as the cilantro will eat through the metal of the pot! Sip the tea all day long, continuing for at least two or three months, and damage done by mercury in your teeth will be reduced greatly!
Or eat Cilantro Pesto!
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans
- salt to taste
- 1/2 cup olive oil
In a blender or an electric food processor combine cilantro, garlic, vinegar, Parmesan cheese, cayenne pepper, nuts, and salt. Add 1/4 C. of the olive oil, and mix the pesto. Add a little more olive oil until the pesto is the right consistency. Serve over pasta or garlic bread!
