Wild plants, movement and nature – a recipe for wellbeing
In my last blog I wrote, “…..right now is the perfect time of year for seeking out wild foods…..” and after two weeks of gentle rains and bright spring sunshine, the whole of the mountain above the Earth Strength base is bursting into vibrant life. It is difficult to walk more than a few paces without coming across a plant that offers itself up for our sustenance and health, the intense colours a testament to the nutrients and goodness that they contain.
This blog is going to describe just two of these plants; borage and nettle. I’m starting with these two species because they are abundant, easy to identify, have a multitude of uses, taste wonderful and in addition are two of the healthiest plants to be found in nature.
Nettle
There can be few of us who cannot recognise this plant and have not at one time gone in search of dock leaves to soothe our stinging flesh. The nettle though, is so much more than a heavily armed pest of the wilder parts of our gardens or waysides. She is in many ways a botanical Swiss army knife, at once medicine chest, food source and tool store.
Today I was in search of her as a wild food – a spring tonic of health giving greens. With a little practise it is possible to pick the leaves raw and eat them without getting stung. The nettle eaten in this way has a rich deep flavour that no shop bought green could ever compete with. It is easy to taste the wildness in this plant, the combination of sunlight, rainwater and rich earth.
This immediate and vital aliveness is transmitted as soon as it is ingested – the goodness passing straight into our cells and invigorating us with the indigenous vitality of this plant.
Another way of harnessing these nutrients is to make a wild nettle pesto, which is exactly what I did today. After collecting a large bunch of the freshest, youngest and most tender leaves I took them home and blanched for them for one minute in boiling water. The excess water was squeezed gently from the leaves after draining and then they were placed in a blender. To this I added pine kernels collected from the trees on the mountain, local olive oil, almonds and wild garlic. Two minutes of blending later leaves me with the greenest most beautiful wild pesto, deep and rich in flavour whilst retaining the memory of the mountain and spring showers.
The perfect partner for this pesto are the locally grown sweet potatoes which we cook around the campfire on one of our Earth Strength courses. This is rich and flavourful nourishment after a morning spent ‘moving the body’ with that movement maverick Rannoch my partner at Earth Strength.
Borage
You may be more familiar with borage as a rowdy invader of polite garden borders a sort of floral gypsy in the avenues and cul-de-sacs of the suburbs. Yet she, like the nettle is so much more than that. In many more sensible parts of Europe this plant is a welcome and familiar fellow traveller along the waysides of simpler times.
Our ancestors knew that borage was a source of many gifts; all the parts of this plant were useful in the lives of these knowing people. Their senses spoke to them of the innate qualities of this plant; the richness in vitamins C, B and A, the plethora of phytonutrients, minerals and vitamins that are vital for our optimal health and wellbeing.
The intense blue flowers are sweet and they topped many an Easter cake or fancy. They could be dried and made into teas and infusions with powerful anti-inflammatory properties, the young leaves which taste of cucumber were a welcome and tasty addition to salads. Whilst the older leaves were collected and stewed with olive oil garlic and lemon juice as a delicious spring green.
Arguably though it is the seeds that contain the real jewel in borage’s crown. For these are the richest plant based source of of GLA (gamma linoleic acid). This is an omega-6 fatty acid that plays a vital role in the maintenance and restoration of joint health, immunity, as well as healthy skin and mucous membranes.
Earth Strength Courses
These are but two examples of how plants were used as a natural living supplement, a staple food source, for medicine as well as for enjoyment and sheer flavour. On an Earth Strength course we will be gathering these and many other herbs and combining them with the local ingredients of this area to make to most wonderful and healthy foods.
We will also be learning how plants can be fashioned into cordage, used in firelighting, as a medicine and to help us navigate in the wilds. As my colleague Rannoch described in our last blog – this is where movment meets nature.
When we collect these amazing plants we will be engaging all the senses, rewilding ourselves as we move with ease and imagination through the sub-tropical surroundings of the mountain. This is how we link, body, mind and nature and begin to join the dots of health and wellbeing.
This is where we practise being human.
The post Reclaiming The Commons And Your Rights To Natural Health appeared first on Earth Strength.