Summer has filled a colorful fruit basket for us and spoils us with many a treat. But it is also worth taking a look downwards. Herbs enrich our cuisine, they can be processed into delicious juices and salads – a good contrast to the sweetness of fruit and a healthy addition to our drinking and eating plan.
Dandelion – more than just a weed
Anyone who dismisses dandelions as annoying weeds is doing the yellow-flowering herb an injustice. The fresh leaves of the dandelion can not only be prepared as a delicious salad. If they are processed into juice, this stimulates the appetite and digestion.
The juice is usually made from the fresh leaves and flowers of the wild herb. Dandelions grow in fields, meadows and along roadsides. The young leaves should be used, preferably picked from wildflower meadows or in the garden at home – this way the dandelion is not only fresh and free of harmful substances, but what we eat also has a very good ecological balance. Its digestive and metabolism-stimulating ingredients are particularly effective in dissolved form. Drinking water has a positive effect on our body. This consists of about 65 percent water, the water content of blood and body fluids is much higher. Water serves as a solvent and means of transportation in the body. Our body can only function optimally if it has sufficient fluids at its disposal. As a rule, we should drink 1.5 to 2 liters a day. Drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning boosts digestion and metabolism. If we also drink dandelion juice before meals throughout the day, it stimulates the digestive juices, which not only benefits the stomach and intestines, but also the liver and gives us a better appetite.
Dandelion juice as a source of vitamins
But dandelion juice not only has a stimulating effect, it also provides our body with valuable vitamins – which you can simply pick along the way.
Its content of vitamins A to D, and especially its vitamin C content, make dandelion juice a real vitamin package. The green juice has an invigorating effect in summer, but also prepares the body and immune system for the coming fall. It is therefore also used in smoothies, salads and soups – all foods that also benefit our daily fluid balance and provide the body with additional water when drinking falls by the wayside.
Homemade dandelion juice – here’s how it works
Do-it-yourself is the order of the day, even when it comes to making dandelion juice. You need a grass press or a powerful juicer to prepare fresh plant juice. Use this to juice as many freshly picked and washed dandelion leaves three times a day until you get 50 milliliters of juice each time.
Drinking this in small sips half an hour before meals allows its digestive effect to unfold best. If this is too time-consuming, you can buy ready-made dandelion juice in organic quality and benefit just as much from this as from homemade juice.
Dandelion salad – a fresh source of liquid
But you don’t just benefit from the dandelion’s good ingredients when you drink it. If you pick the very young leaves, you can use them to conjure up a tasty salad that adds a very special touch to summer cooking and also gives the body a fluid bonus, as salads are the dishes with the highest fluid content alongside soups.
For a dandelion salad for
two people are needed:
about 100 g young dandelion leaves
8 slices of bacon
1 hard-boiled egg
2 peeled tomatoes
1 garlic clove
2 shallots or 1 onion
For the salad dressing:
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
1 tbsp light balsamic vinegar
5 – 8 tablespoons vegetable stock
Salt
Black pepper
1 tbsp sugar
3 tablespoons olive oil
Preparation:
First wash the dandelion leaves. Then place them in warm water for a good ten minutes to remove the bitterness. Then chop up the dandelion. In a non-stick frying pan, fry the strips of bacon together with the diced onions until crispy. Stir together a marinade from the vinegars, salt and sugar, pressed garlic and a few tablespoons of stock. Once the bacon and onions have cooled down a little, pour them and the marinade over the prepared dandelions, diced tomatoes and diced egg. The whole thing is then seasoned with two tablespoons of olive oil and ground pepper and can then be served as a wild herb specialty.
Herbal juice for health and well-being
Dandelions are not only strong when it comes to breaking through the asphalt. In summer, it also provides valuable ingredients in the form of juice or salad, which aid digestion and supply the body with vitamins. A healthy aperitif or tasty salad that can be found everywhere and is quick to make yourself – a great way to score points with guests.
