How to Use Wild Edible Plants and Herbs for Better Health and Cheaper Groceries

– by Angelina Elliott

My days are often started in my my backyard foraging for goodies to use for my smoothies, juices, salads, and daily beauty masks. I look to nature for all my beauty needs, inside and out.

In our garden this year, we decided to go wild and I am so glad we did! Although I love cultivated foods, I love wild foods even more.

Wild native foods have long root systems that heal, nourish, and fortify the soil, they are stronger and hardier, completely sustainable, and the nutrients in wild plants are far superior to even the finest cultivated foods.

Where the Wild Things Are

I delight in going into my little jungle where the wild things are! New plants come in as old plants are leaving, so a trip out in my wild garden is always a surprise. The birds, butterflies, bees, lady bugs, worms, and other wildlife appreciate the wild area as much as I do.

At any given moment, I can look outside and see birds playing and eating, butterflies and hummingbirds feasting, lizards lounging, and so much more! I have had a bee sanctuary for over 4 years now.

I have at least 500,000 bees and they absolutely LOVE IT HERE! We love having them here too, because they pollinate our goodies.

I’ve thought about having our backyard certified as a backyard wildlife Sanctuary, as we definitely qualify! We have Mexican parrots that eat fruit and poop trees in our yard. We now have three gourmet varieties of loquat, thanks to you lovely Parrots!

I know that if I ever cultivate my garden again, it will be even better than it was before and this time, I will keep the wilds among my cultivated plants to support, nourish, and provide shade for the cultivated plants.

The Best Things In Life Are FREE!

Did you know that wild foods use less water if any at all?

Did you know that wild foods have at least 10 times more nutrients than cultivated foods?

The best part about wild foods is they are FREE.

Wild food gives you freedom from genetically modified organisms, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, and fertilizers.

Wild foods are bug resistant and feed the soil while they are growing, so there’s no need for the long list of supplies needed to grow conventional or even organic food.

Oh and did I mention, less fuss? 😉

How To Identify Wild Edibles In Your Yard

…So, you are probably wondering how to identify the wild edibles in your yard.

A Few Safety Guidelines:

To avoid potentially poisonous plants, stay away from any wild or unknown plants that have —

Milky or discolored sap.
Beans, bulbs, or seeds inside pods.
Bitter or soapy taste.
Spines, fine hairs, or thorns.
Dill, carrot, parsnip, or parsley-like foliage.
“Almond” scent in woody parts and leaves.
Grain heads with pink, purplish, or black spurs.
Three-leaved growth pattern.

Some of the Most Common Wild Edibles Are…

chickweed
catsear
dandelion
malva
cleavers
sow thistle
lamb’s quarters
clover
mustard
nasturtiums
coo koo weed
sorrel
nettles

The Best Ways to Use Wild Edibles

I rotate my greens for my green smoothies and juices using all the above wild edibles.
I put the above wild edibles in salads along with my cultivated salad greens that came back this year and a few of my tomatoes from my old garden
I use aloe, wild sage, wild rosemary, clovers, and cleavers along with MSM, wild honey, olive oil, seaweed, and home-made coconut yogurt to make my skin masks.

I hope you will consider foraging for wild edibles. You’ll be glad you did. My energy is through the roof, well even more than it was! I look younger and younger, I feel so full of vitality, and my gourmet foods never tasted so good!

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Angelina Elliott has published a number of Raw Food Recipe books; Alive in 5, Decadent Desserts and The Simple Gourmet. She’s an avid health-loving heroine who makes an enormous contribution to the world around her.