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Wild edible plants can be found among common weeds, wildflowers and some garden flowers. Edible wild plants can turn a table into a fragrant meadow, and an ordinary dish into an exquisite dish. They also have many he alth properties. We present 11 wild plants that are worth including in your daily diet.

Wild edible plants -do you use them in your kitchens? There are many ways to prepare wild, edible plants and various flowers. They can be prepared like vegetables or added to dishes as spices. For example: fresh daisy buds are an original complement to green lettuce, dandelion leaves add splendor to the taste of ordinary cottage cheese, and tomato soup sprinkled with borage flowers is a real work of culinary art.

But it's not only about cooking. Edible wild plants have many he alth benefits, including are:

  • low calorie
  • and contain a lot of vitamins, minerals, trace elements, essential oils and fiber.

The beneficial and even healing effects of these plants on the body have been known since time immemorial. What's the best thing about them? Leaves, flowers or stems? The nutritional value of a plant depends on the growing season, so find out in advance when the best time to start harvesting is. Spring and summer are traditionally a good time to harvest flower buds, leaves, and young shoots, but not all plants. In autumn, when the plant is dormant, you can extract beneficial roots.

Meet the 11 best wild food plants for he alth and their healing properties.

Wild edible plants: dandelion

Dandeliongrows in meadows and lawns. It blooms most profusely in May. The leaves are harvested by June, because later they become bitter, the buds from April to October, and the roots in early spring and autumn. Young leaves go well with lettuce and spreads. If they are bitter, you have to cut the nerves or boil them, changing the water twice or three times. The leaves are prepared like spinach, and also added to soups, the roots - like carrots. The buds can be made into syrup, wine or marinated.

How it works on the bodydandelion?

  • is a source of B vitamins, vitamin C, beta-carotene and minerals
  • accelerates digestion
  • improves the work of the liverliver
  • accelerates urine production
  • anti-stress

Read also:Homemade ways to detoxify the liver

Wild edible plants: nasturtium

Nasturtiumis an ornamental plant with yellow and orange flowers, blooms from June until the first frost. Nasturtium flowers and leaves are edible. They have an intense aroma and a pungent taste. Dishes with cheese, eggs or salads with the addition of this plant are delicious and look effective. Nasturtium will also enrich the taste of pates, soufflés and casseroles. Marinated buds and unripe seeds replace capers in dishes. The aromatic nasturtium tincture is excellent.

How does nasturtium work on the body?

  • contains minerals, essential oils and fiber
  • bactericidal
  • supports the treatment of respiratory and urinary tract infections

Read also:Herbs for cystitis and urinary system ailments

Wild edible plants: nettle

Nettlegrows everywhere: in fields, along forest roads, in orchards, under fences, by buildings. Young nettle tops with their leaves are suitable for eating. They are harvested from April to October, but they are tastiest in the spring. In order for the nettle to stop burning, you need to pour boiling water over it or boil it. You can prepare it like spinach, add it to soups, sauces, salads, meat.

How does nettle work on the body?

  • provides plenty of iron, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, organic acids, vitamins and fiber
  • inhibits bleeding
  • stimulates the production of red blood cells and hemoglobin
  • strengthens and cleanses the body - nettle juice cleansing treatment: 1/2 cup of infusion daily for 2 weeks

Read also:Herbal blends for cleansing the body

Wild edible plants: field pansy (violet tricolor)

Pansyoccurs in fallow lands, fields, roadsides and hills. The delicate flower usually has purple upper petals, yellow side and bottom petals. But there are also purple pansies with a yellow center. The kitchen uses flowers that can be harvested from April to October. They go well with salads, vegetable dishes, soups and fruit salads.

How does pansy work on the body?

  • contains a lot of vitamin C and trace elements
  • regulates the metabolism
  • strengthensblood vessels
  • has a diuretic effect
  • detoxifies the body
  • improves vision
  • supports the treatment of adolescent acne

Edible wild plants: coltsfoot

Coltsfootgrows on embankments, wet fields, clay soils. The coltsfoot stalk is covered with reddish scales and ends with a basket of yellow flowers. It blooms in March, and only later leaves the leaves - large, heart-shaped, covered with fluff on the underside. The edible part is flowers and young leaves with stalks. The flowers are harvested in early spring. After drying, they can be brewed like tea or made into a syrup. The leaves can be plucked from May to August. They are prepared like spinach, fried, added to salads, soups and stuffing.

How does coltsfoot affect the body?

  • coltsfoot is a source of organic acids, minerals and trace elements
  • has anti-inflammatory and bactericidal properties
  • soothes irritation of the respiratory tract with colds

Wild edible plants: hare oxalis

Sorrel haresis a creeping, delicate rhizome, from which grows leaves similar to a three-leaf clover. A lot of it in forests and near streams. Sorrel flowers are white or pink with purple veins. It blooms in spring and fall. Edible leaves are harvested at the beginning of flowering. You can use them to acidify vegetable soups and borscht, add them to sauces, mayonnaise, yoghurt and salads.

How does hare oxalis work on the body?

  • contains protein, phosphorus, iron, magnesium and vitamin C
  • improves digestion
  • anti-inflammatory
  • providesoxalic acid , therefore the plant may be eaten in limited amounts
  • people with kidney stones should avoid sorrel

Wild edible plants: daisy

Daisiesflowers pastures, meadows, grow wild by balks, clearings and lawns. Buds, flowers and young leaves are edible. Leaves with buds are harvested in spring and autumn, flowers from spring to the first frost. Leaves and buds can be added to salads, sauces and soups, herb butter, spreads, omelettes. The buds can be pickled just like capers. Flowers enrich the taste and decorate food and drink, you can make syrup from them.

How does a daisy affect the body?

  • contains a lot of vitamin C, beta-carotene, essential oils, flavonoids, proteins, sugars and minerals
  • anti-inflammatory
  • soothescoughaccelerating expectoration
  • accelerates wound healing and absorption of hematomas

Wild edible plants: Kurdybanek ivy

Bluszczyk kurdybaneklushly grows over forests, hillsides, ditches, and gardens. Young shoots are edible - they taste best in spring, but they can also be harvested in June. They have a strong odor and a bitter spicy flavor. Bluszczyk kurdybanek is a wonderful ingredient of spring herbal soups and salads. It goes well with stewed vegetables and meat, especially chopped and ground, as well as vegetable soups. It enhances the flavor of omelettes, herb butter, cottage cheese and cheese spreads, scrambled eggs, dishes with potatoes, rice, noodles.

How does ivy work on the body?

  • contains a lot of vitamin C, organic acids, minerals and carotenoids
  • stimulates digestion
  • improves appetite

Wild edible plants: Lebioda (quinoa)

Lebiodacan be found in the fields, in gardens, in rubble. It used to be a popular vegetable, today it has been replaced by spinach. Alternately serrated leaves grow on a tall shoot (up to 1 m). The inflorescence resembles a panicle or spike. Edible leaves are harvested from April to October. Raw young leaves can be added to salads, larger ones can be made like spinach. Chopped onion is added to minced meat, stuffing, soups.

How does lebiod's body work?

  • contains proteins, sugars, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron and vitamin C
  • stimulates the intestines
  • strengthens the body

Wild edible plants: calendula

Calendulablooms from June to late autumn. In the wild, plants with individual yellow-orange baskets are most often found, but full-flower garden varieties are also suitable for harvesting. The main use of marigold flowers in the kitchen is they are torn out of the baskets in the phase of full flowering. They successfully replace expensive saffron in dishes. They can be added to soups, sauces, noodles and used to color rice. Young leaves are added to soups and salads.

How does calendula work on the body?

  • provides beta-carotene, flavonoids, phytosterols
  • relieves pain
  • has anti-inflammatory and diaphoretic effects
  • supports the treatment of digestive tract and bladder ailments
  • accelerates wound healing

Wild edible plants: borage

Boragegrows in meadows and gardens. It has large leaves covered with coarse hair and blue, pink or white tiny flowers that appear from June to August. Young borage leaves and flowers have the taste of fresh cucumber. They are added to salads, sauces, soups,meat, cottage cheese. It can also be used to flavor liqueurs, drinks and vinegars.

How does borage effect on the body?

  • contains magnesium, potassium, organic acids, flavonoids
  • has a diuretic and anti-inflammatory effect
  • stimulates the metabolism
  • strengthens the nervous system

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