Herbal Salad Recipes for Humans and Horses!
Shredded lettuce, tomatoes, red peppers, cucumbers, and a selection of herbs including fresh parsley, rosemary, thyme, sage, and chives.
Herbal salads are incredibly easy to make, and taste amazing. Start with a base salad that you love – mine includes shredded lettuce, cherry tomatoes, red peppers, and cucumbers. Some with chronic Lyme are sensitive to night shades, so definitely go with a base salad that works for you! I then add whatever I have fresh in my garden or my indoor herb containers (if it’s winter) – I usually have rosemary, thyme, and parsley at the very least, but love to add sage and chives as well.
Not only does this salad taste really good, but the herbs give it a flavor you can’t find in regular salads – and trust me when I say the benefits out-weigh the negatives. There’s minimal time investment or cleanup to add a few herbs to your salad, so for me there really are no negatives here!
Rosemary is one of my favorite antioxidant herbs, and along with sage and thyme is good for sluggish digestion (plus many other benefits). Parsley has a broad range of benefits including as a kidney tonic, and I use it often for my PSSM horse that’s prone to UTI’s and other kidney issues. Chives have similar benefits to garlic but milder, and is used more as a culinary herb rather than medicinal, but it does have some immune boosting properties along with other benefits, so is worth the addition!
This herbal salad is good as a stand alone meal, snack, or as a side. My favorite dressing for it is Italian with roasted red pepper. I often mix in shreds of chicken or strip steak for extra protein if I’m eating this salad as a meal instead of a side. This herbal salad is a great companion for my keto Alfredo sauce with quinoa and tilapia recipe.
I like to use my 5-blade herb shears (pictured above) for salads, but also use a coffee grinder when I want herbs cut a bit finer (to mix into bread recipes, etc).
Herbal Salads for Horses? Why of course!
My common herbal salad for my PSSM horse and his older companion includes rosemary, mint, parsley, oregano, sage, and thyme. On occasion I add extras like lemon balm and catnip (yes, it’s also good for horses and people!).
I mix herbal salads into my PSSM horse’s wet mash, and it has been an amazing addition for him. I started doing this back in late 2018 to early 2019 when he was still highly symptomatic for his muscle disorder, and still use them on occasion even though he’s now healthy (but still a bit quirky!). If you want to see more about our journey, visit PSSM – Jax’s Story for more!