Thank you so much to all the people who joined us in Beaver for our wild edibles walk!

Our group assembling in front of Three Rivers Yoga Beaver

Thanks, too, to Andrea of Three Rivers Yoga Beaver for being such a wonderful host and making us feel so welcome! It was so nice seeing old friends and new faces. We hope to go back there this fall and do another walk, or perhaps a workshop making and sampling some edible creations! Stay tuned!

We found some great edibles on the walk: (for more info on any of these plants, use the search box on this blog - you’ll find tons of information!)

• Plantain - leaves are edible, as are the seeds, which can be used just like psyllium seeds (which are from another variety of Plantago…P. psyllium or P. ovata. The one pictured is P. major.) Leaves can also be crushed and placed on bites, stings, cuts or rashes (”Fairy Band-aids”.) Here is how to make plantain oil.
  
  

  Plantain, Plantago major

  
  
  

  Plantain seeds, use as you would psyllium seeds

• Purslane - this succulent edible plant has appreciable amounts of omega 3 fatty acids (like fish oil and flax seed oil)
  
  

  purslane

• Dandelion - see our Dandelion page for lots of information on dandelions!
• Lambs Quarters - also known as wild spinach, this relative of quinoa is high in protein and has more calcium than kale
  
  

  Lambs Quarters - Chenopodium album

• Burdock - see our Burdock page for more information on Burdock
• Wild Carrot/Queen Anne’s Lace…which although is edible we do not eat due to its close resemblance to its deadly relatives: Poison Hemlock and Water Hemlock.
  
  

  Wild Carrot Flowers

  

  Wild Carrot Root - smells like a carrot!

• Poke Weed - only edible in the early spring, when it first shoots from the ground, though herbalists use tiny amounts of the tinctured root and/or berries to treat cancer. (The root and berries are generally considered poisonous.) The berries are used as a dye for fabric.
• Acorns/Oak Tree - many acorns are bitter, because they are high in tannins. Boil the nut meats in water, refreshing the water as it turns brown until it no longer does. Now you can dry the acorns and eat them whole or grind them into flour, which is how the Native Americans used them.
  
  

  Acorns in a White Oak Tree

• Sumac, with which we love to make a lemony drink, but steeping the red fruits in cold water overnight.
  
  

  Sumac

• We also discussed the differences between Red Clover and Crown Vetch (one edible, one poisonous)

Two of our favorite books on wild edibles are:

• Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods
• Stalking The Wild Asparagus
  (this is not a field guide, but has some great information on how to use wild plants.)

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Oh yes! We mentioned the Vitamix - the Blender we love to use! As readers of Food Under Foot, you are able to get free shipping when you order your vitamix right from the company! To see more about this blender and get your shipping code, just visit our blender recommendation page.

Thanks again!

Melissa and David Sokulski

Food Under Foot
Birch Center for Health