Cilantro Has Some Good Stuff
Posted by terrepruitt on June 18, 2013
I used to not like cilantro. Or at least I thought I didn’t like it. Funny how that happens, isn’t it? I really thought I didn’t like it then one night I was at someone’s house and they had made a salad . . . a BEAN salad at that and I tried some and I liked it. I don’t like beans and I don’t like cilantro and I don’t normally eat onions . . . . .well, that is what I would have said all that time, many months ago. When I tried the salad I decided that I did like beans and cilantro, but only in that particular salad. I figured it was the combination of all of the ingredients that made it acceptable. You might have read in some of my other posts though that I will eat kidney beans in a recipe I make called Red Beans and Rice. It is NOT the typical Red Beans and Rice recipe, click here to see. Since I do make the bean salad recipe I find myself with left over cilantro. And since I have discovered I like it, I put it in my green salad. It is a nice addition to the salad to give it a different flavor. I actually haven’t tried it in anything else I can think of. It seems like people either LOVE cilantro or HATE it. I like it. I don’t LOVE it, but it is a nice change of flavor. Today while I was making the Bean Salad I decided to give a look at what cilantro has to offer.
First of all cilantro is the leaves of the coriander plant. Coriander is the little round pellet type seasoning. Wiki states that all parts of the plant are edible, but it is the leaves and the dried seeds that are most commonly used. That is cilantro and coriander. Also, “the leaves are variously referred to as coriander leaves, fresh coriander, Chinese parsley, or cilantro (particularly in North America).”
Cilantro contains antioxidants. Coriander does too, but the leaves were found to have a stronger effect.
According an article on the Global Healing Center’s website, consuming large amounts of cilantro regularly can help clear the body of toxic metals.
Cilantro contains potassium, calcium, manganese, iron, and magnesium. It also has many vitamins including vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin K. The website Power Your Diet states that there is 30% of the daily recommended amount of vitamin C, about 225% of the daily recommended amount of vitamin A, and about 258% of the daily recommended amount of vitamin K, but in 100 grams. That seems like a lot of cilantro to eat. When I put it in my green salads or bean salad I don’t think I put but a small fraction of that. I think I put about a cup of cilantro in the bean salad today, but I don’t think it weighed near 100 grams. I still think that health benefits can be received. I don’t really need 200% of any recommend value.
I believe herbs are a good way to both flavor our food and get nutrients we need to assist our bodies in being healthy. Do you like cilantro? Do you cook with it?
Terre Pruitt's Blog 
Michele said
I like cilantro, even love it, I guess…I like it in salads and burritos. To me the taste is so fresh and distinct. And Yay for the nutrients!
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terrepruitt said
Oh, burritos. I get cilantro in my burrito when I go to the market, but I don’t put it in my “burritos” at home. I guess if you like it (love it) you can put it in whatever you want. It would add freshness and distinction!
I don’t put it in more things because when I buy it seems to go bad so fast so when I buy it for a recipe I use it. Then by the time the leftovers are done it is bad. I want to grow it!
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Michele said
Oh yes, I did grow it in my garden last year, it was easy til I let my garden go – I wonder how it would do inside. do it!!
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terrepruitt said
I think I have read it will do ok, but it does not like to be replanted. So it would have to be inside permanently. I hesitate because of Spot. 🙂
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Julia Williams said
I LOVE cilantro!! I think it’s one of those things that people either love or hate. I don’t cook with it, but I love it in a green salad and in homemade chicken burritos, and I could not imagine making salsa without it. Right now I have tons of volunteer cilantro in my garden because I let a plant go to seed last year. I think I have enough for the whole state, lol.
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terrepruitt said
Julia –
Yeah, that is what I was thinking (“I think it’s one of those things that people either love or hate.”) Even though I don’t LOVE it myself. I like it just fine, but I dont’t LOVE it. But when I think about it I hear people telling me they either LOVE it or HATE it! I don’t make a lot of salsa, but when I went to make the chunky kind or Pico De Gallo, I didn’t have any cilantro so I used fennel, here Rooster’s Beak With Cucumbers And Fennel. While I think cilantro is better in pico fennel was not bad. It made it taste unique. I would like to grow cilantro.
How is Annabelle doing?
Thanks for stopping by!
***“In Mexican cuisine, pico de gallo (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpiko ðe ˈɣaʎo], literally rooster’s beak), also called salsa fresca”***
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