Description of alfalfa, calorie content and chemical composition. Useful properties and possible harm when used. How is alfalfa eaten, what dishes and drinks are they prepared? A bit of history about legumes. Alfalfa is practically the only plant that contains natural fluoride. This natural substance, unlike artificially synthesized, is absolutely non-toxic.
Benefits of alfalfa
All aerial parts of the plant have healing properties.
The benefits of alfalfa for the body:
- Reduces blood sugar and cholesterol levels, prevents the development of atherosclerosis and diabetes mellitus.
- Promotes the elimination of toxins from the body.
- Reduces the likelihood of hypertension, stroke, angina pectoris and heart attack.
- Improves brain activity, has a positive effect on memorization.
- Restores strength after increased mental and physical exertion.
- Reduces negative symptoms in diseases of the ARVI group, in combination with carrot juice, increases the level of hemoglobin, prevents anemia.
- It has a mild laxative and diuretic effect, stimulates the production of bile, relieves constipation and dissolves calculi in the kidneys.
- Normalizes the endocrine system, prevents malignancy of neoplasms.
- Helps to stop the deterioration of vision, prevents the development of "night blindness", stops age-related changes in the optic nerve.
- Strengthens tooth enamel and prevents tooth decay.
Alfalfa is especially useful for women, regardless of physiological status and age. It normalizes the menstrual cycle in young girls, eliminates the painful symptoms of PMS in middle age, facilitates the transition to menopause, and stops the inflammatory processes of gynecological organs.
During pregnancy, it stimulates the formation of bone tissue in the fetus, and during lactation it increases milk production.
Homemade cosmetics with alfalfa have a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin and hair. Masks with plant juice stop age-related changes, restore skin structure, prevent the formation of wrinkles, stimulate hair growth and the production of coloring pigments.
Contraindications and harm of the mussel herb
There are no absolute contraindications to the use of the plant, but allergy sufferers should use the plant with caution. Start introducing into the diet in small portions, analyzing the body's reaction to a new product on the menu.
Alfalfa can cause harm during exacerbations of inflammatory processes in the digestive organs - with peptic ulcer disease, gastritis, erosion of the esophageal mucosa.
Also contraindications are lupus erythematosus, shingles, rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune processes in the body.
Do not add to food for babies under 3 years old, pregnant and lactating, if organic diseases have worsened. For children aged 3 to 12 years, the herbal supplement is administered with caution.
How is alfalfa eaten?
Avoid harvesting alfalfa from the fields by cutting off flowers and branches. It is best to germinate the sprouts on your own windowsill. To do this, the seeds are soaked in water at room temperature for 8 hours, washed in running water and placed in a jar, which was placed on a horizontal surface to remove excess water. Every day, the seeds are washed and put back in a glass container until the sprouts hatch. This usually takes up to 10-12 days.
Then all the shoots are washed, carefully peeling off the coarse black seed coat, and laid out on a paper towel to dry. Dried sprouts are collected in a container. Alfalfa is eaten like green peas, added to food as needed. Flower heads can also be used. They are often used to decorate dishes.
But this is not the only way to "get" the crop. If in the future the herb will be consumed in a dried or pickled form, then it is harvested as soon as flowering begins. Leaves and flowers are cut. And the stems must be carefully sorted. They have almost no nutrients, but a lot of coarse fibers.
Mead recipes
The young sprouts taste like young juicy peas. You can add a vegetable component to snacks, combining with vegetables, mushrooms, nuts, fruits and dried fruits. This ingredient can be added to hot dishes - side dishes, soups, desserts, meat, poultry, fish and seafood. You can suggest the following alfalfa recipes.
Salads:
- Fresh alfalfa … Leaves and flowers are seasoned with mayonnaise or sour cream, a little salt. You can use olive oil as a dressing.
- With tuna … Quail eggs, 6 pieces, boil and knead with a fork. From canned tuna, 300 g, decant the juice, cut into small pieces. 100 g leeks and 200 g alfalfa sprouts are washed and chopped. Pour 4 grated gherkins into the mixture. Dressing - lemon mayonnaise.
- With vegetables … You can mix sprouts with cucumber and watercress, season with lemon juice. Option two: alfalfa, grated hard-boiled egg, watercress, and fresh cucumbers. The taste of legume sprouts also goes well with a tomato and bell pepper salad. Season with sour cream or mayonnaise.
Soups:
- Millet … Prepare chicken broth in advance. Bring to a boil, dip a couple of diced potatoes and a handful of millet. Cook for 15 minutes, then add grated carrots, and a minute before turning off - alfalfa sprouts. Before serving, season with sour cream and sprinkle with herbs - parsley or dill.
- With dumplings … Cut the carrots into slices and cook. While it is boiling, knead the dough from flour, eggs and butter. With a spoon, gently dip the soft dough into boiling water. When all the dumplings come up, add salt, add alfalfa sprouts and cook for another 5 minutes.
Hot:
- Cutlets … Minced meat is mixed from a glass of boiled rice, 2 eggs, onion rolled through a meat grinder, 2 glasses of alfalfa. Add salt, form cutlets. Roll in breadcrumbs and fry in a pan in heated sunflower oil.
- Meat … Portions of pork or beef are fried on both sides, pepper, salt, mushrooms and crushed garlic are added to the pan. Pour in some soy sauce and water, cover and leave to simmer until the meat is completely cooked. Then add bacon cubes and alfalfa sprouts, dill and cilantro to the pan, leave for 5 minutes.
- Alfalfa in dough … Collect inflorescences that are already starting to bloom. The dough is kneaded from one egg, 2, 5 tbsp. flour and 1 tbsp. vodka. Separately beat the protein with salt into a strong foam. Gently mix the protein with the dough. Warm up sunflower oil. The inflorescences are dipped into the dough, and then deep-fried.
Snacks:
- Rolls … In a ceramic bowl, mix mashed potatoes from a third of an avocado, half a zest from one lemon, 2 tablespoons of lime juice. Add sliced bell pepper - 1 piece, 100 g of feta cheese, a bunch of cilantro, 2 tablespoons of chopped green onions, season with a teaspoon of chili sauce. The mango is cut into small pieces. Warm water is poured into an enameled wide bowl, rice paper is softened. Put the avocado mixture in the middle of the rice paper, leaving 2.5 cm on each side. Place the alfalfa sprouts on top, spreading them evenly. The last layer is mango pieces. Roll up the roll, starting at the edge. For better fixing, the rice paper is re-wetted before the last turn. Cut the "roll" into even rolls.
- Rolls in romano leaves … The lettuce head is disassembled into individual leaves. Sliced tomatoes, avocado, cilantro, oregano, basil, onions and alfalfa sprouts are mixed. Roll up the rolls. Before serving, you can sprinkle with lemon juice or season with soy sauce.
Beverages:
- Alfalfa juice … Squeezed out of fresh sprouts. Dilute in half with water or carrot juice. From 2 liters of fresh sprouts, 800 ml of alfalfa juice can be obtained.
- Invigorating tea … Brew 2 tablespoons of dried flower heads and young sprouts 0.5 liters of water. Cover with a lid, leave for 15 minutes. Add honey for flavor. It is consumed hot.
Interesting facts about alfalfa
The legume culture began to be used for food purposes as early as 7000 BC. The Greeks and Romans appreciated the beneficial properties and added fresh sprouts to food, dried stems were used to heal wounds after numerous battles.
The plant was brought to Eurasia in the 5th century AD and was used to feed livestock, mainly horses.
Bean culture gained popularity as a food additive in the middle of the twentieth century thanks to Karl Renborg, an American chemist. He became interested in the properties of the plant while studying the works of Chinese healers. After studying many treatises describing the plant, Rehnborg came to the conclusion that alfalfa "contains the universe" and created the world's first food supplement with a bean extract.
In Ayurvedic medicine, alfalfa was used as a tonic and for the elimination of arthritis and rheumatism, recommended for breath freshening and against hangover.
Currently, more than 30 million hectares are sown with alfalfa per year. This crop occupies one of the leading places in the agriculture of the USA, India, Argentina, Bulgaria and Russia.
Watch a video about alfalfa:
If you are planning to expand the diet with a new supplement, and you could not get the seeds, you can pick the flower heads and prepare them for the winter. You just need to know which species to collect. For forage legumes, the row spacing is up to 15 cm, and in order to get seeds that will germinate in the future, they maintain a distance between rows of up to 1 m. You cannot be mistaken, even if you have never been involved in growing plants. The most popular varieties: Fairy, Bagira, hop-shaped, North, sickle.
