Eat your greens! Wild and weedy edibles for spring health

Off your mat and into the yard, garden and forest!

Spring is full on here in the Pacific Northwest.  I love it. Out my window, I’m enjoying the lovely blossoms on all the fruit trees, and in the yard, garden and forest, a feast awaits. I'm not talking about the lettuce plants, although they are growing nicely.  I’m talking about the wild and weedy edibles that Nature has provided for my spring feasting.

Eat from your ecosystem!

The deeper I go into yoga and Ayurveda, the more keenly primed I am to align my body with the rhythms of nature. In the spring, our bodies sense the seasonal change and there is a natural urge to make a clean, fresh start. Our physiology is primed for lightening up and clearing winter stagnation.  I feel the desire to hit the reset button and detox my body, and the forest, yards and garden are full of nutrient dense greens to support this process. 

Most of what nature has to offer in the greens department right now have flavors that are BITTER, ASTRINGENT and PUNGENT flavors found in plant foods that are anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and generally detoxifying.  Some of these flavors may be strong or unfamiliar to you, and I give you the challenge to "wild your palate", that is, to get curious about the flavors of the wild edibles in your ecosystem.

Here’s a sampling of what I’ve been eating lately:

• GREEN SMOOTHIES WITH DANDELION AND SORREL
• NETTLE SOUP
• NETTLE-GREEN GARLIC PESTO

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