Eat Your Weeds!

Backyard Foraging: Part 1

   You know those weeds in your yard that you spend so much time trying to get rid of? The ones you get sore knees from pulling up? Many of those very weeds growing in your yard, through cracks in the side walk and in parks, are not only edible, but really good for you! In fact wild edibles are almost always more nutrient dense the their cultivated counterparts. The idea of eating weeds is not a new one. It has just recently, in the last century or so, become less common. Which is why the concept may seem strange to some in our modern society. But humans have been eating things that spring from the earth of their own accord since the beginning of, well.... humans.

   Why should we be seeking out these weeds and eating them? Aside from the nutrient density, they are free, sustainable, and lets face it, fun to harvest! Also, at the risk of sounding crazy, if society ever collapses, knowing which weeds are edible could prove extremely useful.

   So, get ready we are going to take a little walk down foraging lane (metaphorically speaking). Lets take a look at two wild edibles that are in season and most likely growing somewhere within a blocks radius of where you are right now. All you have to do is know how to identify these edible weeds and you can find a salad pretty much anywhere.

Cautionary note: Do not, under any circumstances, EVER pick and eat a wild plant that you cannot positively identify! 


  Purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.): Purslane is a succulent that grows in most temperate climates around the world. It needs lots of sunshine and moist soil to sprout, but once established, is drought tolerant and can survive in partly shady conditions. In ideal conditions, it branches out along the ground. I've seen plants up to 3 feet wide or so, the leaves up to an inch long. Below is a picture of Purslane now before flowering or going to seed.

   You'll notice the leaves are very rounded and a little glossy, as with most succulents. The stems are a pale reddish color with some green tinges. Later in the season it will have yellow flowers up to 1/4 inch in diameter. After flowering, the seed pods, even smaller than the flowers, look like a birds nests with tiny black seeds inside. The whole plant can be eaten but for picky eaters the most tender parts are the tips, cut or break off about the first two inches, stem and all.

   Purslane is very mild with a slight lemony flavor. The leaves are great in salads for some extra crunch, also it's a very tender green which makes it kid friendly and great in smoothies. My kids will pick and eat the leaves just as they are. Lets not forget it's a nutritional powerhouse as well! It is one of, if not the, highest in Omega 3 fatty acids of any green. Also high in vitamin E and packed with many other phytonutrients. The Mediterraneans are notorious for including this wild green in their diet. Experts on the subject theorize that this little veggie is part of the key to their longevity. 

   Wood Sorrel (Oxalis stricta); You'll find Wood Sorrel starting in the spring. It prefers moist soil and shady areas. Although it will grow in full sun if it has enough water. You can possibly find other types of Sorrel at your grocery store or farmers market. The cultivated types do not usually look similar but taste very much alike in my opinion. At fist sight many people may mistake this plant for clover but with a closer look, will see there are at least a few distinct differences. The color of the leaves ranges from plum to green. While clover has three distinct tear drop shaped leaves, Wood Sorrel has three slightly smaller heart shaped leaves. 

   About now in the season you will find yellow flowers 3/8 inches in diameter with 5 petals. In the daytime the leaves and flowers will be open but as dusk sets in both fold up. The seed pods stand perpendicular to the ground and look like tiny folded up umbrellas. 

   Nutritionally, Wood Sorrel is high in iron, calcium and vitamin C. As far as taste goes it is very sour, almost like biting into a lemon. The oxalate present adds to the tartness but there are lots of other acids that add to it. This is why, for culinary purposes I use it more like an herb that a leafy green. Chop up a bit and add it to any dish that you would add lemon too. I like to sprinkle it in with sauteed spinach or kale or use it as a bed to lay baked salmon on. It's also great in salads to add a tartness. Keep in mind the flavor will become more mild when cooked. 

  So what are you waiting for, go eat your weeds!

Happy foraging

 

Kid Friendly Popsicle Recipes

   I have been making these popsicles since my oldest daughter was about 1, in an attempt to get some leafy greens into my (at the time), very picky toddler. They are now a staple in our house. My kids will even whine for more when they run out. These two recipes are just guidelines really, I have experimented with many different combinations over the years, most of which where a hit.

Note: The leafy greens are optional...my kids eat them up with no hesitation, but this may not be the case with more picky eaters. You can always decrease the amount of greens as well. Even without, these are still a much healthier option than the popsicles found at the store.

Each recipe makes approximately 3 cups or 6 medium size popsicles.

Classic Fruit and Yogurt Pops

-1 cup coarsely chopped strawberries

-1 banana

-1 cup plain, unsweetened, whole milk yogurt or kiefir

-1 Tblsp honey (optional)

Green Pops

-2 medium handfuls of spinach (or other mild leafy green)

-1 and 1/2 cup coarsely chopped strawberries

-1 and 1/2 cup coconut milk

-1 and 1/2 Tblsp honey

Blend well, pour into popsicle molds, freeze, and enjoy!

6 Reasons To Shop Locally This Summer

  Do you ever stop and think about the long journey food makes before it reaches your grocery bag? When we walk into a grocery store, most of the food on the shelves and even in the produce section, is shipped from sometimes thousands of miles away. This is what allows us to have such a variety year round. Like being able to buy pineapple in November! If you told someone that lived a century ago, this would be possible, they would have thought you were crazy. So in a century or so we have gone from eating only food that was "local" to mostly food shipped long distances. This is great for convenience sake. I can honestly say, I enjoy being able to choose from such a variety of fruits and veggies in the middle of winter. However, our family has found that eating locally comes with many benefits and summer is the best time to do this!

Reasons to buy locally;

-It's a great summer activity to go walk around a farmers market, especially if you have kids. When I take my girls, they just love seeing all the different vendors and the sunshine is a welcome change from neon lights beaming down on you.

-Food that's fresh tastes better! I get spoiled in the summer buying produce that's been picked that day, it can have vastly better flavor than produce that has made a long journey. Plus there are often heirloom varieties that you won't see in the grocery store.

-It helps the local economy. When you put your money in the pockets of local farmers it stays in the community.

-It's one of the most eco-friendly things you can do. Think of all the fuel used up by trucks, boats, etc, traveling hundreds or thousands of miles to bring us food. This doesn't happen when your food only travels down the road.

-Food that's fresh and grown locally can be more nutritious. There are beneficial compounds in all fruits and vegetables called Phytochemicals, more commonly known as Phytonutrients, that dissipate starting after they are harvested. So the fresher, the better it is for you!

-It supports local farmers, and these are people you want to support, trust me. I have personally met and talked to a handful of local, small scale farmers. What I have found, is that they are not in it for financial gain. They are passionate about growing healthy, good quality food, in a sustainable way.

   If the idea of shopping locally is all new to you as it once was to me, don't worry! This web site www.localharvest.org  is a great tool to help you find local farmers markets and farms you can visit. There are even some farms that deliver. Happy shopping!

Flower Child Craft

   I have to give the credit for this idea to my four year old, Simone. We where at the park having a play date with friends. It was a perfect day, not too hot with a little breeze. Running up to the play structure came two little girls with flowing whimsical dresses and crowns of cloth flowers on their heads, ribbons trailing in the wind as they ran. At which point Simone gasps audibly.

  "Mommy", she says, "I neeeeed one of those flower crowns!'

   "Well, honey", I say "I don't know where you would even get something like that"

  "Mommy, we can make them!" she exclaims, enthusiasm and persuasion radiating from her voice.

     I thought for a minute. Tried to inspect the flower crowns from a distance and said, "Yes, I think we can Simone."

   So this is how we ended up at the craft store directly after leaving the park. We bought everything we needed to make at least 6 crowns for about 12 dollars. I'm sure you could shop around and get better prices but we where in a hurry! I have to say this is most likely a better craft for older girls, maybe 6 and up. My daughter Simone is very crafty, however. I still ended up doing most of the work, but she did help cut the flowers and pick the order they should go in. She even did some of the wrapping, with help.

This is what you need;

-Scissors

-Floral tape

-Floral wire (we got the cloth covered kind so no sharp edges)

-3 bunches or so of fabric flowers.

-Ribbon (we just used the type for wrapping presents but you could get fancy and use fabric ribbon)

   To get started, lay all your supplies out on a table. Then cut the flowers off the bunches leaving an inch or so of stem for wrapping.

   Next, you'll need to take two lengths of wire and wrap the ends around each other to make one longer piece. Then take this and wrap loosely around the persons head you want it to fit.

 Wrap the wires around each other until you've made a circle.

   Next, it's time to get wrapping! Cut a piece of floral tape from 12 to 18 inches long and start wrapping. If you run out of floral tape, just cut another length.

   Keep wrapping until there is just a small gap between where you started and ended. Now, take 3 lengths of ribbon about 18 inches long and tie a knot at one end. Take the knotted end and wrap on to the wire where you left the gap, in the same way you wrapped the flowers. Viola! You've made a flower crown.

  This is what the finished product looks like.

   These turned out great, and I had so much fun making them, I probably would have done it even if I didn't have kids! I will most likely be using the leftover supplies to make more for little girls birthdays and such. There is a part of me that wants to frolic in the park with one of these on my head, wearing a whimsical dress! Most importantly my kids love them and I'm sure will use them for dress up for years to come.

Lions and Tigers and...Sunscreen!? Oh My!

Summer is upon us, so its only fitting to do a post on sunscreen. Over the past few weeks I have been asked by friends,

    "What's your take on sunscreen?"

 I would reply,

   "Sunscreen can be toxic so we use it in moderation."

To which came the next question, 

    "But don't your kids get sunburned!?"

To which I would answer,

   "Well, no, they never have."

Although at the time I had no idea why it was toxic, or why, for unexplained reasons, my sunshine loving kids have never been sunburned. What? You say, how is this possible? To be honest I was as perplexed as you probably are right now. So, being the information junkie I am, my curiosity was sparked and I did some digging. This is what I found.  

There is much controversy over the once widely excepted idea, that slathering on a high SPF sunscreen every time you walk out the door, is the best way to prevent skin cancer and premature aging. The controversy stems from the known carcinogens and nano-particles that are in almost all sunscreens. Yes, you heard me right, known carcinogens in the very thing we are applying to our skin to prevent the carcinogenic affects of the sun! 

First there are two main types of sunscreens, chemical and organic. No, not organic as in grown without pesticides. Organic meaning, containing carbon compounds. These are the "physical" sunscreens. They block the suns rays by refracting light. An example of an organic sunscreen is any product containing zinc oxide. These organic sunscreens could be the safest potentially, but most have particles so small that they enter the blood stream through the skin. This wouldn't be too much of a problem if our body just flushed them out before they could do much harm. But that's not the case. Nano-particles of a normally non-reactive substance like zinc oxide become reactive. This happens because the properties of matter start changing at this size. While the relative volume of a particle shrinks its surface area becomes larger in ratio to its volume. This larger surface area causes it to become more reactive than the same substance at a larger size. The smaller the particle, the more reactive. So you can see why you may not want nano-particles floating around in your bloodstream. Why do companies use nano-particles? Because they can take a substance like zinc oxide that would normally appear white on the skin and make it appear clear when rubbed in, and that's what consumers want.

 The second main type of sunscreen, chemical, has just as many issues. These sunscreens work by neutralizing the free radicals caused by UV rays on the skin. Well that's great you say! Yes while the neutralizing of free radicals is great, at what cost? While there are many potentially carcinogenic chemicals used in these types of sunscreens, oxybenzone and retinyl palmitate are two of the most studied. Oxybenzone may potentially disrupt endocrine function, changing a persons hormone levels and promoting the growth of cancer cells. Also in studies of hairless mice, the use of retinyln palimate as a sun protectant proved to cause more cancer growth than rats exposed to the sun without the use of this chemical. So what if we just avoid these two chemicals in sunscreen? Well, as I stated earlier, these are just the two most studied chemicals. There are hundreds of other potentially harmful chemicals that haven’t had enough, if any research done, (due to lack of funding) to prove they are harmful. Where is the FDA in all of this? When it comes to funding they put it in the hands of producers, and what motive do sunscreen companies have to dish out money for studies when they are still raking in the dough? None. The FDA will continue to promote the use of chemical ridden sunscreens and perpetuate the myth that it is our only option when it comes to sun protection.

 This leaves us with a catch 22. Wear sunscreen, get cancer. Don't wear sunscreen, get cancer. Not so! There is more to the story. So what are your options? There is mounting evidence that diet can play a role in whether you sunburn or not. Specifically, consuming antioxidant rich foods of many kinds have shown to lessen your chances of burning in the sun. It makes sense right, since sunburn is the sign of oxidative stress, that antioxidants would counteract that, and they do! Specifically, vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, lycopene, resveritrol and astaxanthin just to name a few. So which foods contain these? Good sources of vitamin C, I'm sure we all know but just in case, two good sources are citrus fruits and strawberries. Vitamin E rich foods include, sunflower seeds, almonds, avocados, olive oil and egg yolks. The best sources of selenium are fish and mushrooms. Lycopene, tomatoes, (cooked is better) and watermelon. Resveritrol, Peanuts, (although I recommend consuming these in moderation for reasons I may talk about in blogs to come) Japanese knotweed, blueberries and red grapes. Astaxanthin, shellfish, salmon, fruits and vegetables with red pigment such as red bell peppers. If you can't remember all of these foods specifically you will no doubt be getting at least a few in your diet if you eat veggies and fruits daily! Even more so there is a bioflavaniod found in green tea called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) that has shown in studies of mice and human trials to drastically reduce oxidative stress, specifically from the sun. Just any old green tea will do but if you want to up your dose of this amazing compound get matcha green tea powder. It can have 100 times more EGCG that regular green tea. Matcha can be kind of spendy but in my opinion it is well worth the price because the benefits do not end with sun protection. You are getting all the benefits of high doses of antioxidants, such as, slowed aging and lower risk of all types of cancer. If eating even just a few of these foods isn’t realistic for you on a day to day basis there are so many antioxidant supplements on the market these days. I am not a big supplement taker so wouldn't know which ones may be the best. Who knows there may even be a supplement to help protect your skin specifically.

This should go without saying but I'll say it anyway. Diet is not the ONLY factor. Things like the natural pigment of your skin, time of year and location have much to do with how easily you burn. This being said, my two year old who it very fair, with blue eyes and blond hair, can be in the full sun for up to two hours in the summer without burning. 

Another option, which I must say I have not tried yet but plan to this summer, are seed and vegetable oils applied topically before and during sun exposure. Red raspberry seed oil has up to a 50 SPF, carrot seed around 40. Others include wheat germ at 20 SPF and soybean at 10. These findings where published in Pharagognosy Magazine in 2009. 

Then there is the most basic preventive measure you can take and that is cover up! Wear a hat, sunglasses, lightweight long sleeves and pants. There are even clothing lines devoted entirely to sun protection. Although I feel I should add, a tan accrued from gradual sun exposure starting in early spring will not cause cancer! The pigment, melenin, in your skin actually shields you from a good deal of free radical damage. This doesn't mean go lay in the sun for two hours without protection when your pasty pale. What this means is gradually increase your time in the sun throughout the summer. Also I am sure you've heard over the past few years all the new findings on vitamin D and why its so important. One finding being that larger amounts of this vitamin in the body show direct correlation with less occurrence of all forms of cancer. You've probably also heard that a fair skinned person only needs 15 minutes on their arms and legs to get their daily requirement. While this is true, it doesn't account for those winter months where your getting little if no sunshine. Well what about a supplement you say? I don't discredit that a supplement is a good option for vitamin D in the winter. But depending on the dose and form, very little may actually be absorbed. Our bodies are designed to store vitamin D for the winter. Vitamin D is a fat soluble, meaning it is stored in our fat and gradually released when our body needs it. 

Lastly, if you’ve utilized some of these other options and your still worried about burning, sunscreen is definitely an option! Yes there are safe sunscreens out there. The Environmental Work Group has a site www.ewg.org/  that will give you safety ratings on many popular brands. Thinksport is one but I'm sure there are others. 

If all of this information isn't enough, there is one statistic that should put all doubts out of your mind. Since the 70's sunscreen sales have increased 30 times,  yet we have seen a 30% increase in deaths from melanoma, coincidence, I think not!

At the very least I hope this information makes you think twice about slathering on chemical laden sunscreen every time the sun touches your skin. Because now you know there are safe and affective options that you can feel good about utilizing. If all of them are used in conjunction I believe we will be healthy, happy and burn free!

Disclaimer: These are my opinions based on information gathered and my own personal experiences. In no way is this article meant to take the place of a qualified medical professional. 

Unruly Roots

Hello readers! This will be my first blog and first entry ever. So I'll start out by telling you what it will encompass and my reasons for starting it. This blog will be about my journey as a  mother and wife, to find the balance between new age and traditional ways of living. I will be writing about natural living, healthy cooking, herbal medicine, foraging, gardening and more. I am writing to share my experiences, knowledge and opinions. I would love to hear input on what you think of my blog and suggestions for topics you would like me to write about. Thanks for reading! More blogs to come.