FORAGING – WILD FOOD AND MOVEMENT
Now that we’ve moved to the country side here in Denmark, we’ve been foraging more wild plants. Dinner last night included Dandelion leafs (Taraxacum vulgare) and Goutweed (Aegopodium podagraria umbelliferae) in the summer salad and Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) used for dairy free pesto.
Foraging equals nutritious wild food, movement, natural light and spending time in nature.
Wild foods are more nutrient dense as we’ve literally bred the nutrients out of much of our modern produce in an effort to make them sweeter. Wild foods also comes package free and locally grown. Also, you avoid the food being “wasted” for human consumption. Depending on where you live, look out for roadside spraying and car exhausts.
Movement by walking, bending down, squatting and reaching with your arms. Yesterday, I also walked barefooted. I walk barefoot when possible as shoes, some more than others restrict your muscles, bones, ligament and cells in your food to more. When walking barefoot I also receive negative charged electrons from the Earth’s surface equalising the accumulated positive charge in my body from pollution and free radicals.
Spending time in nature is also crucial for our wellbeing and research supports the theory that our relationship with nature is a fundamental component of maintaining good health. In a public health context, exposure to nature has been used as therapy for short-term recovery from stress or mental fatigue and faster physical recovery from illness. We evolved outdoors and amongst nature for most of the last two million years of our species’ existence until recent times where we’ve moved into a largely indoor environment.
You can find the recipe for the nettle pesto below. I used three cups of stinging nettle leaves and macadamia nuts but you could use two cups of nettle leaves and one cup of basil leaves and other “oily” nuts. Don’t forget to wear gloves when handling the stinging nettles but when the leaves are chopped up fine they won’t sting. I also recommend that you pick the youngest leaves.
INGREDIENTS
3 cups Fresh nettle leaves
3-4 Garlic cloves
¾ cups Macadamia or pine nuts
¼ cups Extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp Sea salt
1 tbsp Lemon juice
DIRECTIONS
Place all ingredients into your Thermomix, food processor or blender and mix to desired consistency. Add more olive oil if needed.
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