Did you know many varieties of flowers are edible and jam packed with vitamins, minerals and micro nutrients? Placing fresh flowers on your dinner or dessert plate is a way to add beauty and nutrition to your meals. If you are a parent, it may even be a way to get your child to eat a little healthier if they are hesitant about eating vegetables. Flower salad anyone? You probably already knew you could eat dandelions, and if you did not know,
you are welcome.
It brings up an interesting observation about our current culture: a couple of generations ago everyone knew dandelions were edible and they were often gathered as an early spring green. The flowers and greens make a delicious salad when tossed in a vinaigrette. You can also eat them cooked or make the flowers into tea. People losing this kind of basic knowledge of what plants are edible all around them is one of the (many) reasons there are so many people who live in food insecurity today. During the depression, people grew gardens and gathered wild plants. (People also had a myriad of other home steady type skills which were pretty commonplace back then but do not exist in the general population today.) If they would not have known how to do this their chances of pulling through those hard times would have been very bleak indeed.
A few precautions: There are many poisonous plants out there that, to the untrained eye, may look similar to non edible ones. Similar enough to make a dangerous mistake. Make sure you know what you are eating. I promise with a little practice and some good field guides plant identification becomes easier and and also fun. There is something grounding and rewarding about being able recognize the plants around you. Also, the first time you try eating a new plant it is a good idea to consume only a small amount, in case you have a sensitivity, even if you have never experienced food allergies. Lastly, do not eat plants that have been sprayed with pesticides, forage in a place that you can be sure does not undergo spraying. Read on for more flowers you can easily incorporate into your meals. Click on the images to buy seeds of these beautiful flowers to put in your garden.
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