Edible Plants, Foraging and Recipes
Creativity in the kitchen can result in some funky meals. I had some leeks in my fridge the other day (sadly they were store-bought, not foraged) and I wanted soup. In my recipe collection, I have a killer leek soup recipe but it requires milk in order to make it creamy and I decided against [...]
Dandelion flowers are open once again and although these are viewed as a nuisance to some people – they add a cheerful colour to the landscape and are amazingly good for our health. In fact, dandelion greens are sold in most grocery stores nowadays! Some people consider dandelions a weed, yet categorically dandelions are no [...]
Forsythia bushes are not just for ornamental purposes. These springtime beauties have been an integral part of Chinese medicine for centuries and to this day, are used for many health ailments. As medicine, a cup of springtime tea or on a salad, forsythia flowers have many useful purposes. When pruning your forsythia this spring, be sure to save the flowers – you’ll be glad you did!
Garlic mustard is a wild edible that has earned the title of being invasive in many geographical areas. This nutritious weed even made headline news in the Green Bay Press Gazette: “Invasive species get jumpstart from warm weather, DNR warns.” Hmmm… The March 31, 2012 story makes this edible plant sound like a wanted suspect. [...]
Food really matters – and with two out of three cancers being related to food choices there is a wake-up call for all of us to start reading labels and stop putting faith into the system. Many items are approved by government agencies, yet whether these items act alone or synergistically with other chemical additives [...]
Free Food from Foraging is an eBook that is available for $4 a copy. This 20 page book discusses topics such as nutrition, soil nutrition, vitamins and supplements, food prices and food miles as well as offering foraging tips.
“Free Food from Foraging” comes in mobile, PDF and hardcopy versions!
March is Nutrition Month and there’s no better time to educate ourselves on the amazing nutrients that wild edible foods have. In addition, it’s important to educate ourselves on the “real” nutrient levels in all the food and ‘food-like’ products we purchase at typical grocery stores.
This is a guest blog written by Lorraine Crowston.
Eating Evolution is an online magazine owned by Lorraine Crowston. Her passion to teach others what meals to prepare that are high in nutrition and low in cost is admirable. Lorraine has an impressive background and had graciously provided Edible Wild Food this blog post.
Innovative ways to take care of your heart and your skin are in the first issue of Nutrition – Nature’s Way! Never before have edible weeds been looked at this comprehensively as a possible means to help keep your heart healthy.
Taking care of your skin naturally is the simplest, most economical and the best way to cleanse and to hydrate. Inside February’s issue you’ll find out just how simple it is!
Christmas is over and for those of you who are waiting for the special curbside pick-up to take away your tree – wait!
Why not capture all the amazing nutrients your tree has to offer? Yes, you can eat or drink your tree and your health will benefit from it!
Today is New Year’s Eve and this is a time in which many of us reflect on the year that’s ending and to contemplate what’s ahead in the coming year.
Many people are approaching 2012 with some apprehension as there is no shortage of evidence that the world as we know it, is about to see some drastic changes. There are a plethora of predictions from another false flag attack on the U.S. to aliens making their appearance at the Olympics in London – and everything else in between. Regardless of what you may feel is coming up in 2012 there are several things to keep in mind that are most important.
Out of the Black Death there may have come some good. The history of herbalism indicates that during this time period, a type of herbal vinegar may have been discovered.
One of the most interesting herbal legends is the story about the Vinegar of Four Thieves. These thieves averted the plague and survived – thanks to a special herbal vinegar.
Last night I spent over two hours listening to Dr. Cass Ingram at a local venue. His knowledge of what is going on in the world politically, especially as it pertains to our health, is right on the mark. He started off the evening by stating, “It’s almost abnormal to be FULLY healthy and to feel good.”
Dr. Ingram stated that some top officials in the pharmaceutical industry refer to their vaccines as being nothing more than “the bargain basement of healthcare.” He says that fortunately, many people have become aware about the heavy metals added into vaccines, but what many are not aware of is that they are “teeming with germs” and contain aspartame.
So many credible books on native North American flora often share the same story about Joe Pye yet seldom provide sourced information. Was Joe Pye a real person and if so, who was he?
Many websites and books refer to Joe Pye as being a Native medicine man from Salem, Massachusetts who earned his fame from curing colonial settlers of typhus using his eponymous healing herb. Some sources state that Joe Pye was a phonetic translation of jopi or jopai.
This is a guest blog written by Sharon Falsetto.
As an aromatherapist, I have a natural affiliation with plants and the variety of benefits that they can give us. Although you might be familiar with several plants as food sources, you might not necessarily be as familiar with the benefits that those same plants can have, when used externally.
Wild grapes can be found growing in almost every climate. There are so many different varieties located in the far north, tropical areas and apparently, even the desert. Wild grape vines ‘grow like weeds’, therefore they can be easily trained to grow on a fence or any structure for that matter; and they are a good choice to use as a natural screen. Wild grape vine is an excellent habitat for birds and combined with their health benefits and wide range of uses, it only makes sense to either forage for these wild edible grapes or even start growing them in your garden.
Vitamin B 17 is a naturally occurring nutrient that has numerous (independent) scientific studies indicating that it may prevent cancer, significantly reducing arthritic pain and even lowering high blood pressure.
B 17 (also known as amydalin) was removed from the American market by the FDA, stating that is contains cyanide. Many foods naturally contain cyanide and eating these in moderation will not cause harm (unless the person ingesting that food has a food allergy). These foods include: almonds, millet sprouts, lima beans, soy, spinach and bamboo shoots.
Plants in autumn provide windows of wildcrafting opportunity for the fervent forager. Pickings are getting slim, but depending on where you live, there are still ample opportunities to collect autumn weeds before the frost hits.
Where I live, September brought some amazing temperatures and with it plenty of new growth to take advantage of. Although I may be on borrowed time, my backyard still allows me to collect broadleaf plantain, dandelion, knotgrass, ground ivy (creeping charlie), toadflax and red clover. It was a great feeling to be outside on the first day of October collecting wild edibles to prepare for last night’s meal – and our dinner guests enjoyed every dish!
There is and has been no shortage of negative news headlines when it comes to the lack of proper nutrition and poor health. Every nutritional angle imaginable has been covered from obesity to diseases, but one thing is for sure, for a country that boasts great food choices we sure are an unhealthy lot.
