8 WEEDS THAT YOU CAN EAT

If weeding is the bane of your life then the realization that you can eat many of them may make the chore more palatable. Several of those annoying green invaders are actually stuffed with antioxidants, vitamins and protein which means that they are good for you. You just have to make sure that you are choosing the right ones before you start your meal. To help you I found an article by Emily Main on Rodale’s Organic Life website which describes eight weeds you can try.

If you think everything in your yard that isn’t grass must be a nuisance, you’re missing out?on a free lunch. Those pesky weeds invading your lush green patch of paradise are actually valuable foods, loaded with antioxidants, vitamins and protein, sometimes even more nutritious than what you’ll find at the grocery store. Things like dandelions and clovers are commonly found in American lawns, and if you pick them early, you’ll get an incredibly sweet, nutritious addition to your next meal.
Here are some suggestions for finding free munchies in your backyard. Just remember to ID them with a credible source if you?re not plant-savvy?there’s even an app for that! If you’ve got a smart phone, download the?Wild Edibles?app created by Steve Brill, a botanist known for giving edible-plant tours of New York City’s Central Park. Also, wash your harvest thoroughly before consuming, and steer clear of areas that may have been treated with chemicals or pesticides.
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Photograph by PAWEL WEGLARZ/FLICKR


Perhaps the most familiar lawn weed of them all, the dandelion may also be the weed that?s most known to be edible. In fact, the reason it exists in the U.S. is that European settlers introduced it as a salad green. You can buy dandelion greens at some specialty food markets, but odds are, there are some growing for free a whole lot closer to you.
Related: Curried Cauliflower + Dandelion Green Salad
They have a slightly bitter taste when they mature, so harvest the tender leaves that appear in early spring and in late fall, when they’re sweetest. The flowers are edible too and have a mildly bittersweet flavor. And eat them up! Dandelions have more beta-carotene than carrots.
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Photograph by SAKSAN/FLICKR
Purslane

This plant has rounded, succulent, leaves and a reddish stem and grows everywhere, so it’s very likely that you’ll find a purslane plant somewhere in your neighborhood. Notoriously difficult to kill as a weed, purslane is probably better suited to your dinner plate anyway. It’s loaded with antioxidant vitamins like vitamins A and C, and also contains healthy omega-3 fatty acids. You can eat the stems and leaves fresh?try them in salads or sandwiches?or use them in soups or in recipes that call for spinach (they?re related and have a similar taste).

See more at Rodale’s Organic Life
Image source: Gordon Joly/Flickr