Spring is cool and in my case, it is literally cool, because the temperatures here are still mostly chilly. Still, we already seeing some green outside, and of course, the first things that start to grow are all kinds of weeds. We usually want to get rid of weeds, but did you know that many plants we consider weeds are actually edible and good for you? That is if you live somewhere far away from the big roads and pollution, of course. I happen to live in the city center, but Tallinn, our Estonian, capital is small enough to go to the nearest forest by bicycle, and still be able to pick fresh greens from the forest!
In my smoothie today, I used goutweed and stinging nettles. Both are extremely unpleasant friends in your flower garden, as they easily take over everything, but both are healthy and good for you if you pick them while they are still young.
Goutweed is rich in vitamin E and C. It is crucial to pick the leaves if they are small and still vibrantly green and use them as quickly after picking as possible to get the most nutrients out of them. The dark green leaves of stinging nettle that burn when touching them, and often even cause a rash and a burning sensation if you touch them with bare hands, can be used in smoothies to give it an extra anti-inflammatory boost that helps to fight eczemas and dermatitis. By the way, if you don’t have fresh nettle available, you can also purchase it freeze-dried from the health stores. Many other edible greens are considered weeds, so if you have a garden and some unwanted plants growing there, I recommend finding out what they are and maybe you can use them in your smoothies!
This one here is a very green smoothie; you might want to start by adding fewer weeds to your smoothie and then build-up to this version.
The Greenest Smoothie Ever
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves: 1
Ingredients:
100 g of different edible weeds from the garden
1 frozen banana
1 dl oat milk
Instructions:
Make sure you know that the weeds you collected are edible!
Roughly chop up the greens. Wear gloves if you are working with stinging nettle.
Add all the ingredients to the blender and blitz until smooth. Drink cooled.
By Kadri Raig
Kadri is a food blogger and yoga teacher from Estonia. She loves to spend time in the kitchen, but most of her recipes are simple and don’t take more than 20 minutes of active cooking time. She thinks that everybody can find time to cook healthy food at home, it is just a question of planning. "I work in an office full time, teach yoga 7-8 hours a week and write a blog. So if I manage to cook most of my meals, then so do you!" Connect with Kadri and enjoy many more of her delicious healthy recipes on her website here: www.kahvliga.ee.
Enjoy this FREE 25-Minute yoga class from home, before your delicious plaintain nachos!
25-Minute Full Body Yoga with Keith Allen