With Labor Day just around the corner, everyone is planning their favorite BBQ meals and party menus! This easy and Creamy Lemon Rosemary Potato Salad is a great side dish to bring to your next gathering, and is perfect for the Whole30, Paleo and Vegan diets! The slight lemony flavor complements the creaminess of the potato salad, and the fresh taste of rosemary makes you feel like we’ll be in summer forever!
There are so many reasons to love rosemary, but I’ve listed a few below!
Some health benefits of rosemary
Rosemary is originally from the Mediterranean region, and in case you haven’t heard how much the Mediterranean diet can be good for heart health, you can read more about it on my recipe page for my One Pan Greek-Inspired Chicken. Rosemary is a perennial herb that is related to both mint and lavender, all of which belong to the mint family of Lamiaceae. Rosemary was used widely in the ancient world for various remedies. Some of the widely held beliefs about rosemary was that it would improve memory, could reduce muscle pain, and could even help with hair growth.
In more modern times, rosemary has been said to help with indigestion, and is even approved in Germany as a medical treatment for indigestion. Several sites have pointed out that there is no known evidence for rosemary curing indigestion, and in my (brief) research, I could not find any scholarly articles supporting the claim that rosemary can help with indigestion. However, I do believe that there are many other health benefits that can be supported with modern science and technology.
Photo by Vincent Foret on Unsplash
It seems that maybe some of the ancients who believed rosemary was good for your memory may have been correct. In 2012, a study was conducted in the UK to see how cognitive performance and mood changed (if at all) after participants were exposed to rosemary aromatherapy. Participants had their mood assessed before completing any tasks. Then, the completed a set of tasks exposed to rosemary aroma through a diffuser. Their mood was again assessed after the tasks and the exposure to the rosemary aroma, and a blood sample was also drawn. The studies indicated that there was a significant improvement in concentration on the cognitive task when participants were exposed to the rosemary aroma, and also had a higher cognitive performance. The researchers also concluded that mood was affected positively, although the results did not have as strong of a correlation as the correlation between the aromatherapy and concentration leading to a higher cognitive performance.
There are some studies that suggest that rosemary not only can improve your memory and concentration, but can improve even the memory and concentration of a patient with dementia. One study conducted in 2009 looked at the effects of rosemary aromatherapy on dementia patients. Some of the participants in the study had progressed to Alzheimer’s Disease, indicating a severe memory loss in these patients. Using aromatherapy that included rosemary, the researchers found that memory in all patients was significantly improved, and had no noticeable side effects. They suggested that more research be conducted, and that rosemary aromatherapy could be a potential non-pharmacological treatment for those with dementia.
Although this study concludes that rosemary can be beneficial when using it as an aromatherapy, there are benefits of ingesting rosemary regularly as part of a healthy diet. Rosemary extract was tested as a potential treatment for proliferating (rapidly reproducing) breast cancer cells and cells associated with leukemia. The results of the study indicated that in some cases, the rosemary extract significantly reduced the proliferation of these cancer cells, causing the researchers to conclude that more research is needed to explore this amazingly effective herb.
I sincerely could go on all day about the benefits of rosemary, but these first few bits of information are more than enough to convince you to start growing it in your garden immediately. Or at least, I hope it’s convinced you to add more rosemary into your diet!
How to make Creamy Lemon Rosemary Potato Salad
The ingredient list for this recipe is simple!
- gold potatoes
- spinach
- red onion
- fresh rosemary
- fresh lemon juice
- mayonnaise of your choice (can be vegan)
- salt and pepper to taste
Making this potato salad is not difficult in the least, although you do need to cook the potatoes beforehand so that they have time to cool. Start by washing your potatoes, removing any dirt and any eyes that may have started to sprout. Gold potatoes are my favorite type of potato to use in this recipe; they are firm and more likely to stay together after boiling. After washing your potatoes, boil them whole for about 45 minutes. They are unlikely to fall apart, so feel free to do other things while they boil. They are done when they easily slide off a fork or knife when prodded. Drain the water from the potatoes and set them aside to cool. I sometimes put them in a container in the refrigerator until they are cool enough to finish the recipe.
When the potatoes have cooled, chop them into bite-sized pieces and place in a large container. Next, finely chop your spinach, red onion, and rosemary. Add your chopped ingredients to the potatoes. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise and the lemon juice. Pour the mayonnaise mixture over the potatoes and chopped ingredients. Stir well. Season with salt and pepper to your liking, and place in the refrigerator to cool further. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for about a week.
Enjoy this at your next BBQ with friends, or as part of your weekday meal!
Creamy Lemon Rosemary Potato Salad (Whole30, Paleo, Vegan)
Ingredients
- 5 medium-large gold potatoes
- 1/2 cup chopped spinach
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion
- 4 tbsp chopped rosemary
- 1 lemon, juiced (or more if you love lemony foods!)
- 1 cup mayonnaise of choice (can be vegan)
Instructions
- Wash the outsides of your potatoes before boiling. Remove any dirt and eyes that have begun to sprout.
- Boil the potatoes until they are soft. About 45 minutes.
- Remove the cooked potatoes and set aside for them to completely cool. Consider putting them in a container in the refrigerator until the next day.
- Once potatoes have completely cooled, chop them into small pieces (no more 1/2" big). Set aside in a big bowl.
- Chop the spinach, red onion, and rosemary. Add them to the bowl with the potatoes.
- In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise and lemon juice. Pour the mixture over the potatoes and vegetables and stir well to combine. The mayonnaise mixture should be combined evenly. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Place in the refrigerator to cool for about 30 minutes before serving cold. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for about a week.
Notes
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings: 8 | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 157 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 10.1g | 13% |
| Saturated Fat 1.6g | 8% |
| Cholesterol 8mg | 3% |
| Sodium 212mg | 9% |
| Total Carbohydrate 17g | 6% |
| Dietary Fiber 2.3g | 8% |
| Total Sugars 3g | |
| Protein 1.2g | |
| Vitamin D 0mcg | 0% |
| Calcium 31mg | 2% |
| Iron 1mg | 5% |
| Potassium 243mg | 5% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice. | |
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