Eat Ur Weeds!Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale is an excellent all-purpose plant of many uses. All parts of the plant are edible and are delicious any time of year. In the spring, pick the flower buds; fill a jar with the buds, a few cloves of garlic, some grated ginger, and apple cider vinegar to make a delicious, healthy condiment to add to salads, rice, beans, eggs... (Check out the recipes page and learn to prepare these delicious pickled dandelion buds!)
When he was a kid, my Dad's Grandma used to send him out to pick dandelion leaves in the spring and cooked them up with onions, garlic and bacon grease for a nutritious and inexpensive (read free, at least for the dandelions!) dish. Feel free to substitute olive oil for the bacon grease if you wish.
As the seasons progress to summer, the dandelion flowers infused in oil make a wonderful rub for strains and bruises. The fresh leaves are a valuable addition to salads and to replace pale, nutritionless lettuce. Dandelions stimulate the digestive system and may inspire a desire to eat in those with dull appetites.
Your liver continuously performs myriad functions every day of your life. You could live with one lung or one kidney, lose some fingers or toes, but you could not live without your liver. It produces bile, which is excreted into the gall bladder to wait to be released into the small intestine to aid in the digestion of the foods you eat. The liver produces hormones and is a storage room/transfer station for heavy metals and toxins. It filters your blood, removes and breaks down fats, alcohol and more. Dandelion is the premiere herb to support the liver and entire digestive system, allowing it to be strengthened, healthy and available at all times to do the many jobs it is designed to do.
Dandelion nourishes and strengthens our immune system. It is a digestive bitter - gently helping those with constipation, blockages and "sour" stomachs. It heals and nourishes the entire digestive tract. The whole plant helps us to get full nutrition from the foods we eat. Dandelion tones and nourishes the spleen, skin, nerves, kidneys, glands, urinary, circulatory, lymph, gall bladder. Dandelion charges up your chi! Zaps the zits!
Dandelion acts as a diuretic, removing and moving excess water from the body, adding potassium and other minerals to the body at the same time. Commercial diuretics remove potassium and minerals from the body. With potassium being vital to cardiac health, dandelions may be the better choice as a diuretic.
In the winter, dig the roots to make tinctures, vinegars and to dry for tea. Winter and early spring are also good times to roast chopped dandelion roots.I find that I can still pick leaves for sautéing with olive oil, garlic and onions as a nourishing winter green. Bon appetit!
LOVE YOUR LIVER TEA
Our LOVE YOUR LIVER TEA contains wildcrafted roasted and dried Dandelion roots, along with other liver loving herbs: Milk Thistle Seed, Burdock Root, Red Dock Root, Bupleurum Root, Oregon Grape Root, Nettles, Oat Heads, Ginger, Lemon Balm - all wildcrafted and/or organically grown.
- Simmer 1 TB herb per cup of water for 10 min.
- Sip to stimulate, heal, protect and nourish the liver and entire digestive tract.
One cup per day for maintenance, 2 or more cups a day for sluggish digestive problems. Cut back on the tea if you develop a headache in the forehead region as that is a sign of an overstimulated liver.
Cedar Mountain Botanicals - Cedar Mountain Herb School
suzanne@cedarmountainherbs.com
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