When cooking, I never use herbs as the heart of a dish. A sprinkling of basil or parsley can add that extra zing of flavor that pushes a meal from blah to delish, so I have never considered using herbs as more than ingredients. But they can be!

Because it's summertime, I crave cool, refreshing salads. For your next meal, rather than falling back on the standard lettuce-tomato-cucumber salad, skip the lettuce and use fresh herbs instead. Try this mouth-watering mushroom and fresh herb salad, from The New York Times, which is rich in vitamins, beneficial flavonoids and volatile elements. The recipe uses "sweet- and sharp-tasting herbs, such as tarragon, chervil, parsley, wild arugula and dill."

(Read The New York Time's "A Focus on Fresh Herbs")

Try combining fresh herbs with mixed greens like in our Herb Companion recipe for a fresh herb and flower salad.

Photo by Vigilant20/Courtesy Flickr
www.flickr.com/photos/lynnszwalkiewicz/

Wild Spring Herb and Flower Salad

Serves 4

• 1/2 head romaine lettuce, washed, patted dry, and torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 head red leaf lettuce, washed, patted dry, and torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1/4 cup sweet violet flowers (Viola spp., the common wild perennial)
• 1/3 cup unsprayed sweet violet leaves, stems removed
• 12 small young yarrow leaves
• 1/4 cup arugula flowers or 8 arugula leaves
• 1/4 cup organic dandelion leaves, picked before flowering
• 12 tips each of two mild herbs, such as dill and lemon balm
• 3 tablespoons cold-pressed olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons seasoned rice wine vinegar
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. In a large bowl, toss all the greens and herbs with the olive oil. Drizzle the rice wine vinegar over the greens and serve with salt and pepper on the side.

Not only do herb salads make for a refreshing change, but they also offer health benefits. The dark green color of fresh herbs indicates their high nutrition value. For example, parsley is a good source of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K and iron, while basil packs a punch with vitamin A, vitamin K, iron and calcium.

Do you have a delicious (and nutritious) herb salad recipe? What herbs do you think would make the best salads? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Human cases of Swine Influenza, otherwise known as swine flu, may be emerging in the United States. On April 29, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the nation’s first fatality from this outbreak. The CDC also reported a number of laboratory confirmed cases of the swine flu in 10 states throughout the U.S.

According to the CDC, the swine flu is a respiratory disease caused by type A influenza viruses, which cause regular outbreaks in pigs. People do not normally get swine flu, but human infections can and do happen. Usually, swine flu viruses infect humans with direct exposure to pigs. But more recently, it has been reported to spread from person-to-person. The anxiety this flu is causing is so strong all over the world that the Egyptian government has ordered the slaughter of the country's entire hog population, according to NPR.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/

What can you do? Washing your hands frequently is one of the most important steps we can take to prevent infection and spreading germs. Here are some guidelines for washing your hands the right way from the CDC.

• Wet your hands with clean running water and apply soap. Use warm water if available.
• Rub hands together to make a lather and scrub all surfaces.
• Continue rubbing hands for 15-20 seconds. Need a timer? Imagine singing "Happy Birthday" twice through to a friend.
• Rinse hands well under running water.
• Dry your hands using a paper towel or air dryer. If possible, use your paper towel to turn off the faucet.
• Always use soap and water if your hands are visibly dirty.

When using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer:

• Apply product to the palm of one hand.
• Rub hands together.
• Rub the product over all surfaces of hands and fingers until hands are dry.

Courtesy Flickr/Andreas Levers
http://www.flickr.com/photos/96dpi/

Here are some antiviral soaps that you can use to stay healthy and swine flu-free. Herbs such as elderberry, astragalus, ginger, licorice, zinc, lavender and ginseng all appear to have antiviral activity.

• Peppermint Frog Bar Soap by Brigit True Organics ($10) is 88 percent organic, has pure essential oils of peppermint, and is both antiviral and antiseptic.   
• Elderberry Flowers with Garden Iris and French Clay by Botanical Soap Shop ($7.99) is certified organic, soothing and calming and acts as an antiviral and antibacterial agent.
• Ginger Pomelo Hand Soap Liquid by Caldrea ($10.50) has a blend of essential oils including ginger, pomelo and aloe vera.

And last but certainly not least, you can enter for a chance to win Natural Hand Refresher by Green Tea Goods on our website in a few weeks.  It’s a wonderful hand sanitizer that naturally cleans your skin without that alcohol smell. The product uses a blend of Chinese herbs that have anti-bacterial functions. These herbs include mugwort leaf, licorice root and coptis chinensis.

On Friday, I had the opportunity to speak with one of the very few reporters on the scene at the groundbreaking of First Lady Michelle Obama’s new "victory garden." On site were 26 fifth graders from Washington's Bancroft Elementary who helped the First Lady dig up the L-shaped plot and prepare the soil for planting.

The garden, the first White House vegetable garden since Eleanor Roosevelt’s during WWII, came partially in response to pleas that the White House promote locally grown food. Mrs. Obama said the project would give the First Family access to healthy fruits and vegetables and educate the students and the country on the importance of a healthy diet.

"What I found with my girls is that they like vegetables more if they taste good," Mrs. Obama says, according to pool reports. "Especially if they were involved in planting it and picking it, they were more curious about giving it a try."

The new garden is all organic and includes a variety of perennial herbs including sorrel, thyme, oregano, sage, rosemary, marjoram, chives, chamomile, garlic chives and anise hyssop with mint growing in a separate container. There are also a few annual herbs: dill, cilantro and parsley in addition to the many vegetables and even some edible flowers including nasturtium and marigolds, which help keep bugs away.

My source said that the plot is actually quite far from the house, nestled in the southeast corner of the South Lawn toward where the public might catch a glimpse through the gate on E Street. The L-shaped garden is approximately 1,100 square feet and the herb section was partly prepared by the First Lady herself for ten minutes before she said jokingly, ‘Are we done yet?’ The students will be back in a few weeks to begin planting.

On a side note, I think this is a really simple, yet effective way of personally inviting us to feel like a part of the First Family. This relatable, conversational style of government has translated well from the early days of Obama's campaign to his presidency.

When I got the chance to meet the now-president Obama when he first started campaigning, I was impressed by how down-to-earth and caring he really was, willing to address us individually and even pose for a picture. I'm glad to see this personable interaction has not been lost (so far) in translation - it demonstrates the kind of movement toward greener living and environmental-conciousness I'm proud to believe the United States is shifting toward. Hey, maybe I'll send them a gnome in honor of The Herb Companion!

How many of you fellow herbies like to wash your hair daily? I have many friends who tell me they can’t go a day without lathering, rinsing and repeating for a variety of reasons, including “If I don’t my hair feels greasy.” In fact, they gasp and judge me when I tell them that I don’t. I am an outcast.

I don’t wash my hair daily for two main reasons:
1.) My hair is so thick it is much more of a hassle to manage–it takes a lot longer to wash, dry and style than the average person’s hair.
2.) When I wash my hair daily, my hair loses its shine and it starts to feel very dry.

According to a story on NPR by Allison Aubrey, I’ve been doing it right! Washing your hair daily is way too often–it strips the natural oils from your scalp. You only need to wash 2 to 3 times a week. "If you wash your hair every day, you're removing the sebum," Michelle Hanjani, dermatologist at Columbia University, says in When it Comes to Shampoo, Less is More. "Then the oil glands compensate by producing more oil.” So the more natural oils we strip from our hair, the more demand we create for oils and thus our body will make more.

Try to wean yourself away from this common practice with these tips:
• Sprinkle a quarter-size amount of baking soda into your palm along with your favorite shampoo. This removes residue that styling products leave behind so your hair is more manageable. (Arm & Hammer)
• Clean your hair with a small combination of baking soda and apple cider vinegar. (Nature Moms)
• Use a small amount of conditioner in between shampoo days.
• Brush a combination of witch hazel and lavender essential oils through your hair for a quick refreshment. (K.C. Compton)
• Instead of using bottled shampoo daily, you could alternate with shampoo bars. Try Rawganique's Organic Hemp Bar or Lush's Vegan Godiva Bar. (Ideal Bite)
• Rinse with 3 drops essential oil, 1 pint herbal tea and 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice; leave in for several minutes and rinse. (Aromatherapy: A Complete Guide to the Healing Art)

If you insist on shampooing daily, try these recently reviewed shampoos:
• John Masters Organics
• Verikira Naturals
• Jurlique
• Organix
• The Healing Seed 

How often do you wash your hair? Are you addicted to shampoo? Leave me a comment!

Last night, I was surprised to hear on the news what Ankeny, Iowa recently used to de-ice their roads: garlic salt.

Photo by dogfaceboy/ Courtesy flickr

The garlic, which was mixed with regular road salt, was donated by spice producer Tone Brothers, Inc. The nine tons of garlic salt would have ended up in a landfill if it hadn’t have been for this donation.

It’s great to see how people continue to discover new ways herbs can be used in this modern day in age, but I have to wonder how this new use really works. Why did they have to mix the garlic salt with regular road salt? Was the use of less road salt the main benefit, saving road salt for future icy days? Or was the benefit a sustainable solution for using landfill-destined waste. Does garlic salt actually work best for ensuring safety on the roads? And wouldn’t the roads smell like a pizza joint? Tell me what you think!

I’ll leave you with these Herb Companion garlic articles:
• The Goodness of Garlic 
• Garlic: Nature’s Gift for Life 
• Garlic Makes it Good