Wild Foods, Anyone?

Grab a grocery bag and visit meadow, field, or forest for tender green spring plants provided by Nature.
With a Roger Tory Peterson's 'Field Guide to the Birds' in hand, and Euell Gibbons 'Stalking the Wild Asparagus' or 'Handbook of Edible Wild Plants', you can forage for delicious greens provided by nature. As long as you stay away from well-traveled roadsides to avoid vehicle exhaust pollutants, and steer clear of any land that has been sprayed with chemicals, you're safe. Of course it's essential to know what you're gathering, and exactly what it looks like, botanical features, etc. The best way to learn is to go with someone who knows wild plants.

The Native Americans not only hunted for game and fished rivers and streams, but gathered wild berries, fruits and nuts. Milkweed, cattails, mullein -- they knew all things that grew abundantly in different seasons, and collected those items to supplement their diet. With early cultivation, the produce known as the Three Sisters were corn, squash, and beans. But Native Americans knew how to identify and make use of wild potatoes, mushrooms, and Jerusalem artichokes, plus a great deal more of nature's bounty.

There are also plants peculiar to certain regions. A reader on Pat Veretto's Frugal Living message board told me about Devil's Club, a hardy plant that grows in the Pacific Northwest, a member of the ginseng family. But here's a list of things to gather that aren't so exotic: chestnuts, hickory nuts, black walnuts, hazelnuts, and beech nuts; dandelion greens, watercress, amaranth, wild garlic, fiddlehead ferns, lambs quarters; wild mustard, violet leaves, grape leaves; wild strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, red and black raspberries, mulberries, fox grapes; mayapples, crab apples -- even wild horseradish and teaberries for its chewing gum-like leaves.

If you'd enjoy a peaceful springtime excursion, take a quiet stroll through forest or field to find a few edible plants. Go to http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com for starters, to learn more.

About the Author

Stephania is a human service professional with nearly 40 years in the field. She publishes a content-rich ezine, "Tidbits from the Pantry," about self-help, growth, and relationships to over 11,000 subscribers, and offers a life coaching service. To subscribe to her ezine, mailto:info@humansrv.net?subject=SUB Visit her site at http://www.humansrv.net

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