The Importance of Whole Plants

There has been a lot of talk lately, especially with the rise of MLM companies, that Essential Oils are quite safe to use internally in both food and drinks, and even more amazingly, as nutritional supplements.

And not only are they touted as safe, they are downright pushed at customers to be used in these exact ways.

Let me make one thing very clear - Essential Oils do not have nutritional value!

They are not vitamins or minerals.

Essential Oils are highly concentrated plant essences which should never be taken internally by the general public, whether it be in food, drink or capsule form for any reason unless under the strict guidance of a practitioner fully trained in Aromatic Medicine. Period.

The Jewel Green Tones of Spearmint

The topic of Essential Oil safety is a huge one so I won't go into it fully in this post, except to say that you do not need to use them in cooking.

The whole herb or plant is very versatile in and of itself, and it's sooo much cheaper too!

An aromatic Herb or Spice is already in its most perfect form for food or flavouring.

Essential Oils have an important place in healing but they are extremely concentrated and frankly, if ever there is a case where the whole plant can be used, such as during cooking, or to reap the nutritional value from the plant, then one should always choose the whole plant.

Using Essential Oils instead is quite simply unnecessary, potentially dangerous and just plain wasteful.

Who can resist these Herbs with their jewel-like colours, fragrant foliage and mild yet delicious flavours? They're a joy to use in the kitchen!

And if you grow your own, you can develop a special relationship with each plant - sowing the seed, working in the sun and soil, watering, harvesting, drying and preserving them until finally, enjoying them added to your own nourishing meals, knowing they've been tended with love.

Rosemary

Blended together to create unique and aromatic culinary delights, these plants are a boon to food lovers and what's more, they don't have the same safety concerns attached to them that Essential Oils do, so you can rest assured the food you choose to nourish your family with will do them no harm.

I will be going into the safe use of Essential Oils more fully in a later post but in the meantime, I highly recommend The Tisserand Institute for its fantastic wealth of knowledge regarding Essential Oil Safety as a great place to start.

Bon Appetit,

Michelle xx