I am a huge proponent of people getting far more greens into their diet! Victoria Botenko in her fantastic book ‘green for life’ talks about the diet of wild chimpanzees. They share 99% of our DNA and eat a diet that consists of around 50% fruit, 40% greens, and 10% nuts, seeds and small amounts of bark and also insects. Many of our western diseases can be attributed to an excess of animal products, a processed starch heavy diet and inactivity. I believe that including more raw greens into our diet can go a long way to helping our bodies heal and can give us significantly more energy so that we will WANT to do that exercise!
However, greens can be expensive! Particularly organic greens which are what ideally we want to be eating. Unlike fruit which often has a skin to help protect them from spraying – greens have no skin! So all of the nasty pesticides etc. will collect on the leaves and then be able to enter our bodies when we eat them. One way around this is to collect your own wild greens to help supplement your store-bought greens. There may be many wild, edible greens simply growing freely in your backyard in a perfect state to add into your smoothies, soups, salads and stir-fries!
Unfortunately, due to our high sugar diets, we have all gone a bit soft in terms of consuming food that is bitter. The fruit that we eat has been specifically cultivated over time to contain more sugar than it ever would have in the wild and probably our greens too! The greens that we buy are often rather tasteless! Wild greens are really bitter but are full of amazing goodness. Wild greens contain valuable vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients in more concentrated amounts that what is available in conventionally grown varieties. Start small by adding a leaf here and there and try to build up slowly while changing your taste buds in the process!
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1. FATHEN
2. DANDELION (FLOWERS + SEED PODS ARE ALSO EDIBLE)
3. LAMBSQUARTERS
4. CHICKWEED (FLOWERS ARE ALSO EDIBLE)
5. DOCK
6. STINGING NETTLE (BE CAREFUL WHEN HARVESTING AS IT CAN STING. DON’T EAT IT RAW! PROPERLY PREPARE
TO ENSURE EDIBLE)
7. PLANTAIN (NARROW LEAF VARIETY SHOWN. HEADS ARE ALSO EDIBLE)
8. YARROW (DON’T EAT IF PREGNANT/BREASTFEEDING AS THIS IS A KNOWN UTERINE STIMULANT. FLOWERS ARE ALSO EDIBLE)
9. PUHA (NATIVE TO NZ. IT HAS A SIMILAR FLOWER TO THE DANDELION BUT IT IS A TALL FLOWERING PLANT)
All of these weeds are commonly found in New Zealand. Some of them are also commonly found in other countries also. Do your own research as to what nutritious weeds may be available in your area!
Wild Weed Foraging Tips + Tricks:
- If you can’t identify it – absolutely don’t eat it! There are many toxic and poisonous plants out there so only eat it if you are 100% sure.
- Along roadsides and path sides have often been sprayed by the council – look for telltale signs of yellow leaves and wilting.
- Young plants are the least bitter. So learn to look for the young shoots and catch them early!
- Don’t forage weeds from paddocks with animals in because it could be contaminated with their waste – yuck!
- Thoroughly wash any foraged weeds. Use a splash of vinegar to help naturally disinfect them.
Happy foraging ♥
Links:
Janine from @thevegkat on her Wild Greens Smoothie Routine
A large list of NZ edible weeds from Julia’s Edible Weeds
