View Full Version : Plants for a healthier world
Found this treasure of information on this website about
Edible wild plants:
http://www.pfaf.org/leaflets/top20.php
I receive wild plants once a week here from a Dutch website
(in Dutch....but worth a look, maybe, www.degodin.nl (http://www.degodin.nl)) from an ecological garden near the German border. Wild plants containing ten times the minerals/vitamins as in 'ordinary' supermarket vegetables which are so
depleted of it.
Some of these wonderful plants:
Dandelion:
http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/8466/dandelionb.jpg
Stinging nettle:
http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/8749/stingingnettle.jpg
Red clover:
http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/4241/redclover.jpg
Photo's, info and receipes on this site:
http://gardeningfromthegroundup.us/Edible%20wild%20plants.htm
Some of this info could be posted on the survival-threads (but I had to choose, so here because of the health-relation)
Before plucking dandelions&co, be careful:
Be sure of your identification of the wild edible plant BEFORE you eat it! Some wild edible plants have very poisonous look-alikes.
You may be allergic to some wild edible plants. If you are at all unsure if you will be allergic to a particular plant, eat just a little bit at first.
(from this site)
http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/food/edibleplants/
Wild salad:
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/9810/wildsalad2.jpg
Why Eat Wild Herbs and Edible Plants?
from:
http://www.wildhealthfood.com/why-eat-wild-herbs-and-edible-plants
The Benefits of Wild Edible Plants
For hundreds of years people took advantage of the medicine cabinet at their doorstep. Before the advent of processed foods and modern convenience stores, wild plants were a common dietary supplement. They were the ultimate natural multivitamin!
Often the plants we call weeds have therapeutic value. Our pharmaceutical industry bases many new medicines on the healing factors in herbs.
Why eat wild herbs?
They are power packed with phyto-nutrients, hundreds of times the vitamin and mineral density of a supermarket lettuce. Remember our common lettuce started out in the wild. Due to thousands of years of agriculture it has become rather meek and mild, compared to its ancestors.
They are free; great value nutrition.
You only need a little to reap the nutritional benefits.
Nutrient dense wild plants support all levels of health, starting at a cellular level.
What if you live in the city?
Not everyone lives in the countryside these days, with healthy spray free wild herbs at their doorstep. How can you get the benefits of wild plants without turning into a forager?
Drink herbal teas made from wild herbs, like nettle (http://www.wildhealthfood.com/the-benefits-of-eating-nettles) .
Eat darker leafy green vegetables whenever possible. Shop at a farmers market for the older varieties and more unusual green vegetables. These vegetables are most likely less hybridised and therefore intrinsically more powerful health wise.
Take a green powder like barley grass (http://www.wildhealthfood.com/barley-grass-powder) or Vitamineral green (http://www.wildhealthfood.com/vitamineral-green) . Vitamineral green contains wild plants in its nutrient dense ingredient profile.
If you do live rurally, how do you spot the good ones?
People ask us, "how do you avoid the poisonous ones?” Good question! Ask around and learn one edible variety at a time. Often community gardens have people in the know. Gather this precious knowledge slowly. Read books. You will feel more connected to your local environment and
What to do with wild herbs and dark leafy greens?
Wild herbs can be juiced (the forerunner to wheat grass juice!) with carrots and apples, made into dressings or pesto, and chopped finely into salads.
What are some of our favourite wild herbs?
Remember - the best way to identify these plants is with an excellent reference book, or better still, with someone who knows. Ask around. Consult herbalists and herbal books as to how to prepare these herbs.
The uses of the herbs written below are based on my own small and still growing knowledge. They all have many more valuable indications.
Nettle - see the article on nettles (http://www.wildhealthfood.com/the-benefits-of-eating-nettles) -makes a nice quiche!
Mallow - excellent for soothing the intestinal tract
Dandelion - Ideal liver tonic... great to detox the body in springtime - good in salads
Cleaver - helpful for drawing excess mucus out of the body - lovely juiced with apples
Chickweed - One of my most beloved weeds. Soothing for the body both internally and externally. Cooling. Good for skin conditions and inflamed digestive system. Mkae yummy pesto.
Lemon balm - gorgeous digestive tea
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/1416/krokus1.jpg
http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/921/salade2.jpg
The Dutch website where I order my wild plant salads (it's controlled, so you're sure you don't get poisonous plants) uses a method called
"Terra Sana", which means that the plant is kept alive in the process,
only a few leaves, flowers are taken every time.
jolinemaria
06-04-2009, 07:49 PM
Gaaf! :)
(Cool!)
Hey, thanks jolinemaria :D
Do look at www.degodin.nl (http://www.degodin.nl) if you haven't yet.
Nice lady working there (Groningen)
and very healthy, surprisingly tasty superfood plants.
I ordered my wild salads till October already.
jolinemaria
07-04-2009, 05:26 PM
I didn't read everything in your post (yet).
But so far, so good.
Have you done any of their workshops?
I would like to go for their raw-food course and also the one on edible wild plants.
Fun!
Haven't done any of the workshops yet. Sounds very interesting.
You can order the salads and seeds between April 1st (started last week) and October 1st.
I would like to visit the garden once (probably before summer) to actually see the plants I'm eating and learn more about the (anthroposofic I believe) methods they are using.
I can keep a nettle apart from a dandelion :D, but I still have to look up what I'm eating.
From: http://www.soul-guidance.com/health/wildfoods.htm
Nettles:
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/8139/nettles.jpg
Nettles are maybe the most nutritious green plant on the planet! a real power food! Many of the benefits are due to the plant's very high levels of minerals, also the intensely green chlorophyll that they have. They're a good source of beta-carotene, and B complex vitamins. Nettles also have high levels of easily absorbable amino acids. They're ten percent protein, more than any other vegetable.
The stinging element is on the underside of the leaves. It is no longer stinging after the leaves have been cooked. We cook them for an absolute minimum of time, just until they have thoroughly wilted. About a minute or less. Cook either in a small amount of water and cover, or in garlic and butter or oil. A tea is excellent, and also is very healthy for your scalp, and thickens the hair.
Dandelion:
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/4964/dandelion2.jpg
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) Dandelion is everywhere in the world. Dandelion grows to a height of 12 inches. Dandelion's leaves and root may have benefits on liver, gallbladder, kidney, and joint health. Dandelion may also be a blood purifier.
Dandelion is high in vitamin A , iron and calcium. It also contains silicon, magnesium, zinc, vitamin C, D and B-vitamins.
Dandelion leaves are best in early spring, when they're the tastiest, before the flowers appear. They are tender again in late fall. After a frost, their protective bitterness disappears. Look for dandelions that are growing in rich, moist soil, The ones with the broadest leaves and largest roots are the best. It is good to eat the greens from spring to fall, even when they're very bitter. Dandelion greens are wonderful in salads, sautéed or steamed. Cook for only a minute or two. They taste like chicory and endive.
You can also eat dandelion flowers, or use them to make wine, before mid-spring, when the most flowers bloom. Use the flower’s yellow parts. The green sepals at the flower’s base are bitter.
Also from: http://www.soul-guidance.com/health/wildfoods.htm
Chicory:
http://img93.imageshack.us/img93/4955/chicory.jpg
Chicory (Cichorium intybus) Chicory is growing all over our property, actually it is found all over the region. It springs up in the garden too, where it grows even better due to the fertile soil. They bloom in the morning and all day if it's cloudy, bringing wonderful color to the meadow.
All parts are edible. Eat the young leaves as a salad or boil to eat as a vegetable. Cook the roots as a vegetable.
The roots also make an excellent coffee substitute, (without the caffeine), when roasted in an oven until dark brown and brittle, ground, and prepared like coffee; use roughly 1-1/2 teaspoons chicory for each cup of water. The very young leaves can be eaten fresh in salads and the older, bitter leaves can be boiled in several waters and eaten.
Chicory is a good source for potassium, vitamin A and C, folate, and calcium.
(I didn't know this: all parts are edible! Be careful though, maybe it can be hard to digest with a sensitive stomach?)
neuf08
07-05-2009, 08:25 PM
Wow, tons of great info here. I had never thought to order wild plants for salads and such. Definitely a great idea. As I don't like in an area where I can get these plants readily (without ordering them anyway), I do add in Vitamineral Green (http://www.seacoastvitamins.com/topic.php?health=vitamineral+green). I love the stuff and definitely notice such a difference when I'm taking it. It gives so much energy and you just feel so good taking it.
Wow, tons of great info here. I had never thought to order wild plants for salads and such. Definitely a great idea. As I don't like in an area where I can get these plants readily (without ordering them anyway), I do add in Vitamineral Green (http://www.seacoastvitamins.com/topic.php?health=vitamineral+green). I love the stuff and definitely notice such a difference when I'm taking it. It gives so much energy and you just feel so good taking it.
Hi neufo8, thanks for bumping this :)
I had already forgotten about it.
Some nice websites indeed. I have a good Dutch site, but I don't think
that will be helpful. I receive a salad every other week, these are
herbs and plants that used to grow here and still do in the wild. Sometimes they contain ten times the minerals and vitamins
you would find in the depleted vegetables you buy in supermarkets.
They even put in flowers, which is very strange to eat!
Vitamineral Green, is that like Green Magma?
problem with dandelions is that they could be pissed on by pets.
runlikehell
07-05-2009, 09:08 PM
Before plucking dandelions&co, be careful:
Be sure of your identification of the wild edible plant BEFORE you eat it! Some wild edible plants have very poisonous look-alikes.
You may be allergic to some wild edible plants. If you are at all unsure if you will be allergic to a particular plant, eat just a little bit at first.
(from this site)
http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/food/edibleplants/
And watch they haven't been sprayed with pestacides!
Pick them from as natural a place you can (IE not aross the road from your house where some council worker has been)
problem with dandelions is that they could be pissed on by pets.
That's why I order my wild plant salads :D
If you want to get them yourself....besides what dogs might have done,
if there's heavy traffic in the area...and most important, you have to be sure
what you're collecting, because some plants may be poisonous or a certain amount of the plant can be.
There is a lot of info on those sites. Something for the survival-threads as well.