Community Cleansing: Why Wild Foods are Awesome

When the idea of doing this cleanse first came up, I was pretty fresh out of a food forest seminar. One of the most fascinating things I learned during the seminar was how different the level of nutrition is with food that is grown in a food forest or the wild. It is the absolute highest level of nutrition possible. Not only has the food not travelled, but the plant is operating in a closed-loop system that is self-sustaining, so there are no nutrients lost in the soil due to tilling or other annual gardening practices. The plants are getting highly nutritious food, so we are too!

During the course, we were told about a man who served dinner guests some food from his food forest. His guests were baffled, and somewhat annoyed, because he only served them a small plate of food. Colourful, yes it was, but it was not the mountain high mound of food that we are used to being served at a standard North American dinner. However, much to the surprise of all the guests there, they were absolutely stuffed after only eating a few items. This is because the food was so densely nutritious that they didn't need anything more. Because the food we eat is so nutrient deficient in comparison, we need more food to feel satisfied. But here's the catch: we're not actually being more nourished if we eat more. We may feel fuller, but full doesn't mean nourished.

So clearly, all this was on my mind before starting this cleanse. If I'm going to be surviving mostly on fruits and vegetables, I want them to be as nutrient dense as possible, so that I feel nourished and not as hungry all the time. If any of you out there are planning on doing a raw food cleanse, I would highly recommend getting to know your local wild foods. In my neighbourhood in Victoria, I'm lucky enough to have a food forest right down the street that I can go harvest from whenever I want. These are some of the things I got. These will make your cleanse a heck of a lot easier:

Stinging Nettle

This is one of the most amazing plants that exists. I can't believe that to a lot of people it's considered a weed. It contains more iron than spinach, and is nutrient dense in Vitamins A, B, C, D & K, calcium, magnesium, cobalt, potassium, zinc, copper, and sulphur. It is also relatively high in protein and very high in chlorophyll. It's a diuretic, it's stimulates the kidneys and the liver, supports lymph drainage, and is an excellent thyroid support. Oh, and it's DELICIOUS. It's great steamed like kale or spinach (while not on a raw food cleanse), or in smoothies, as the sting goes away if you grind it up. I always feel amazing after eating nettles. The best thing that I heard about nettles was that it helps you "let go of your shit, literally and figuratively."
But watch, cause it stings! Actually, while I'm on the stinging, I heard once that it is actually good, believe it or not, when you're picking nettles, to let yourself get stung a little bit. The best time to pick nettles is early spring, late March to early April. A gentle sting from this plant will give you actually quite an energizing boost. I thought that was hogwash until I stung myself this year and felt a surge of energy run through my body, all the way down to my toes. So don't be afraid of the sting! (I wouldn't recommend falling into a nettle patch, though, that would hurt.)

Lovage

Also known as "poor man's celery", this is an extremely nutritious, flavourful plant. In my opinion, lovage is what celery is trying to be but fails. The flavour is quite strong, and when cooked down a little it adds a lovely flavour to soups, stir fries or stock. I've been throwing them into smoothies and I find it very cleansing. Fun fact about lovage: it is actually a deodorizing plant! Eating it can help your B.O. It's also a remedy for digestive difficulties, flatulence, and certain skin conditions. (I just learned that if you make a decoction- boil the crap out of it for 15 minutes- then pour it in the bath, it will help heal some skin conditions.)


Miner's Lettuce

This is for those of you living in the Pacific Northwest, though it may be elsewhere, I'm not sure. It's called "Miner's lettuce" because the miners used to nibble on it to fight of scurvy. It's highly rich in Vitamin C, A and Iron. You can throw it right in a salad. It's like lettuce, but more nutritious. It can also be boiled or steamed.






Black Mulberry

I have been drinking gallons of Mulberry leaf tea in the last few days. It has a subtle, very pleasant flavour, and is wonderful for levelling blood sugar. This has been really useful for me, because it keeps from having those cravings for bready, sugary things all day long. Helpful for a cleanse!
The berries are really good too! And highly nutritious.





Sea Buckthorn

I mention this because it's becoming my new favourite plant. The berries come out in summertime and they are delicious. They are also high in anti-oxidants (apparently if you leave them out overnight they won't turn brown), vitamin C, and....believe it or not....essential fatty acids! You don't need expensive fish or flax oil....Just go down to Dallas Rd (if you're in Victoria) and eat a few berries!
I have been drying the leaves and using them in tea. They have a nice green tea flavour, also contains many minerals, fatty acids, and protein. They help lower cholesterol, improve blood pressure, and are generally really flavourful and delicious. I could go on- the medicinal value of this plant is never ending!

I'll leave you with that for now. There are many, many more plants I could write about, but I would be here for several years if I embarked on that journey. The moral of this story: learn about your local plants. So much knowledge has been lost about our local sources of food and medicine. We have the power to heal and feed ourselves, if we just do a bit of learning and walking in the woods (or, sometimes, just the boulevard outside the house!)

Until next time,

Lisi