In many countries, eating bugs, grubs and worms as well as what we term weeds,is part of a normal daily diet. As the Earth changes start to take a hold and increased crop shortages become the norm, new food sources will be sought after and utilized in daily diets. For those who have back gardens or go to parks etc, they will notice that dandelions, goosefoot, and mushrooms along with other wild edibles are readily available.
For instance the whole of the dandelion plant can be eaten, providing a lot of nutrition. That creeping garden weed, chickweed is a lively peppery addition to salads. That pervasive variegated plant in the corner of the garden - groutwart - the leaves can be eaten just like spinach. There are many surprising plants and insects that provide the nutrition we need when food is scarse.
There are plenty of plants and insects that provide delicious meals and snacks. What has been included here is just a sample, showing how to prepare, cook and eat wild edibles and insects. As always safety comes first and safety tips for collecting wild edibles and insects has been included.
Dried and powdered worms/bug stores well and can thicken soup. Corn and Amaranth ground up together makes a corn cake equivalent to red meat in protein.
It’s Almost Fiddlehead Season! Here’s How To Cook This Springtime Veggie Properly
Fiddleheads are a Canadian delicacy, but undercooking them can lead to food poisoning.
The fiddlehead season is short, so get 'em while you can!
Fiddlehead season is short, so when you see the adorable green curlicues at your grocery store or farmers’ market, buy them while you can. Before chowing down on these little springtime delicacies, there’s a few things you should know first since fiddleheads can cause food poisoning if they’re not cooked properly.
What are fiddleheads?
These tightly curled coils are ostrich fern fronds. They start appearing in late April and early May in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and are usually found in forests, marshes and by rivers and streams. Taste-wise, fiddleheads, which are popular amongst food foragers, are oftencomparedto asparagus and artichokes. They’repacked with nutrients, including omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamin A, vitamin C and are a good source of fibre.
How to cook fiddleheads
Health Canadaurges Canadians to never consume raw or undercooked fiddleheads since these spring greens have been associated with cases of food poisoning. Here are its recommendations for properly preparing fiddleheads:
Start by removing as much of the brown husk as possible.
To get rid of the rest of the husk and dirt, wash your fiddleheads in multiple changes of cold water.
Cook fiddleheads before adding them to stir-fries, frittatas or any other dish by boiling them for 15 minutes. Or, steam them for 10-12 minutes.
Top 10 edible roots to help keep you alive and healthy in a survival situation
When hermit monk Brother Simon reappeared at the farmer Farrin’s market after not being seen for seven years, people thought they were seeing a ghost. After realizing that Brother Simon was, in fact, alive and well, people started asking him how he managed to survive completely off grid. “I used the knowledge of our wilderness which I learned from my father…When God created the world, He made it flourish with beautiful and edible plants,” Brother Simon said humbly. “My vow was to eat only edible roots. The past seven years have tested my understanding of my father’s lessons.”
Brother Simon then listed 10 edible roots that he personally ate to survive.
Arrowroot– As the name suggests, the plant has leaves that are shaped like arrows. Arrowroots like to grow around muddy areas. They may look small, but they actually have an extensive root system. The roots can be yellowish or white (resembling a parsnip) but with constricted rings down its length. The tubers are starchy and can help people feel full longer. Before you boil the roots though, make sure to remove the scales.
Cattail– More known as the small bulrush, this rhizome grows abundantlyalong the temperate northern hemisphere. You’ve probably seen a bunch of these plants along the edges of lakes and marshes. Most parts of the plant are edible, but Brother Simon says that the rootstock is the most nutritious and filling. He says that the rhizome can be eaten raw or boiled. The roots can even be roasted until they are black. The inside flesh is then eaten as a snack.
Chicory– This plant grows quite fast, and is sometimes considered to be a weed. They are easily distinguished by their white and slightly blue flowers. Each part of the plant can be eaten, but it is recommended to boil the root before eating it. Taking chicory raw can cause some gastrointestinal issues.
Dandelion– We all think of dandelions as weeds, but this backyard plant has many medicinal properties. The plant can be enjoyed in many ways; maybe you remember your own grandmother adding the flower to salads or making the leaves into a refreshing tea. The roots of the dandelion are also highly nutritious and can stave off hunger during emergencies. (Related: 14 Reasons To Become Obsessed With Dandelions.)
FloweringRush – Many botanists consider this plant to be an invasive species; thus making it a weed in many people’s eyes. Still, the small plant with bright pinkish blooms can be found near bodies of water. Once they are pulled out, they are revealed to have a thick, fleshy root which can be peeled and boiled like a potato.
JerusalemArtichoke – This is one of the easiest plants to spot due to their bright yellow flowers. Brother Simon said that the root should be harvested around two weeks after the flowers begin to fade. One of the ways he enjoyed eating the root of the Jerusalem artichoke was as a soup.
MilkThistle – This is a popular plant used in homeopathy and naturopathic medicine. The plant contains various antioxidants that promote liver health and weight loss. It has also been noted to reduce the symptoms of asthma. To gain their full benefits, it is best to boil them. You can easily identify them by their violently purple flower with unique leaves that have milky-white veins running through them.
NutGrass – This is another plant that thrives along the edges of marshes and ponds. The root of this plant can be taken raw, but it is best consumed when boiled and peeled. Nut grass is a favorite among traditional Chinesehealers, who call the plant, Xiang Fu or Sha Cao. It is typically prescribed as an antidote for various skin diseases like insect bites and ringworms. It can also be used to alleviate symptoms of acid reflux.
WildOnion – A bulb that you can easily find in woodlands or fields is the wild onion. “There are several varieties, but all have a distinct ‘onion’ odor — if it smells like an onion it’s safe,” said Brother Simon. “If it looks like an onion but doesn’t smell like one, it may be toxic.” These bulbs can be eaten raw or cooked.
Humans will eat maggot sausages as a meat alternative: scientists
“One hot dog, please — heavy on the maggots.”
Food scientists at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia areincorporating insectssuch as maggots and locusts into a range of specialty foods, including sausage, as well as formulating sustainable insect-based feeds for the livestock themselves.
Hoffman says conventional livestock production will soon be unable to meet global demand for meat, so other fillers and alternatives will be needed to supplement the food supply with sufficient protein sources.
“An overpopulated world is going to struggle to find enough protein unless people are willing to open their minds, and stomachs, to a much broader notion of food,” says meat science professor Dr. Louwrens Hoffman. “Would you eat a commercial sausage made from maggots? What about other insect larvae and even whole insects like locusts? The biggest potential for sustainable protein production lies with insects and new plant sources.”
The Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) team is focusing on pleasing Western palates by disguising insects in pre-prepared foods, says Hoffman, as studies have shown they shy away from eating whole insects.
Burger King plans to take its new fake-meat Whopper nationwide
“In other words, insect protein needs to be incorporated into existing food products as an ingredient, he says. “One of my students has created a very tasty insect ice cream.”
In terms of other sustainable sources of protein, Hoffman also brings up kangaroo meat — ideal because they don’t require grasslands for grazing. They are also supplementing chicken feed, which is currently made mostly of grains, with black fly larvae, with promising results.
“Poultry is a massive industry worldwide and the industry is under pressure to find alternative proteins that are more sustainable, ethical and green than the grain crops currently being used,” says Hoffman, and points out that wild chickens eat mostly insects.
“It’s all pretty logical if you think about it.”
In 2013, a Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) of the United Nations reporturged global citizens to eat more insects, which, compared to conventional meats, are nutritious, cheaper to produce and more sustainable. Inspired by the report and other studies, several snack makers havemarketed insect-based productsin the US, including Chirps chips and Chapulprotein bars.
Hoffman notes that while eating bugs might seem bonkers to Westerners, “for many millions of people around the world they are a familiar part of the diet.” He also calls for a “global reappraisal of what can constitute healthy, nutritional and safe food for all.”
20 Vegetables and Herbs You Can Grow Indoors from Scraps
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Sure, you’ve heard that buyingorganic foodover the genetically modified or pesticide exposed versions is ideal for your health, but it can get costly. Due to the limited supply of organic foods as well as the additional labor and maintenance required to produce them, you may be paying 20-100% more for an organic banana!
Fortunately, here are six vegetables and herbs you can grow indoors using parts of the produce you would throw away anyways, and this can save you a pretty penny the next time you go grocery shopping.
Romaine Lettuce
Similar to celery, keep the base of your romaine lettuce in a bowl with a ½ inch of warm water. Leave it to sit in direct sunlight, and in a week or two, your lettuce stem will produce fresh, new lettuce leaves for all your great salads. Transplant your lettuce to soil to continue growing. They should be full grown in three to four weeks. This process works for Bok Choy as well.
Garlic Sprouts
Are those tentacles?! Nope, those long green things growing out your garlic are green shoots. You can put them in a little water, under a lot of sunlight and grow a bunch of garlic sprouts. They are milder in taste than garlic cloves, and are great in salads, pastas and as a garnish.
Carrots
Place chopped off carrot tops in a container filled with a bit of water. Pretty soon, they will begin to sprout delicious greens from the top that are a nice addition to meals. Using a deeper contain and more water, use toothpicks to keep carrots halfway in the water and wait for them to root. Once they root, you can plant them in your garden for a continuous supply!
Turnip
Like carrots, cut off turnip tops and leave them in a shallow container with water until they begin growing roots. This can take a couple of weeks. Once they’ve sprouted, plant them outside the same way you would your carrots!
Sweet potato
Unlike most vegetables, sweet potatoes aren’t started by seed but by slips (or shoots). Clean and cut a sweet potato in half, then place it half in/half out of a jar full of water using toothpicks. Over a few days, your sweet potato will begin to sprout slips at which point you remove them and place them in water to grow roots. You should have rooted slips with the week. Next, plant them in loose, well-drained soil and water everyday in the first week, and then every other day (or as needed) the following weeks.
Ginger
With ginger you already have, look for pieces that already have little things growing out of them. With that piece, cut off the parts that look like they’re about to start what’s called a “rhizome” because they’re the key to growing new ginger plants. Growing this food takes minimal effort but does require the right conditions. Warm, slightly humid places like kitchens are perfect. Plant the piece of ginger about 3-5 inches in the soil with its rhizome pointing upwards. Water it regularly. It’s a labor of love and can take up to ten months before you get a sufficient amount of ginger, but itshealth benefitsare more than worth it.
Pineapple
This will definitely take a few years but if you’ve got the time and right climate, why not try? Take apineappleand cut the flowery “crown” off about an inch below the leaves. Trim around the bottom until you see little brownish bumps (these are the root buds). Before planting, dehydrate the pineapple crown to prevent rotting too soon. Now, with your prepped pineapple cutting, place it in a shallow container of warm water. When the cutting begins to root, replant it into a container with soil and be sure to water once a week. If possible, keep it in a bright, warm place with as much direct sunlight as possible.
Rosemary
Like other herbs, you can regrow rosemary from 5-6 inch cuttings. Place them in water and within a few weeks, there should be enough that have rooted and not rotted. In a 4″ pot filled with damp potting soil, make a 3″ hole with a pen or pencil and place the rosemary cutting gently into it. Because this herb is so delicate, only water it when the soil starts feeling dry. Keep it direct sunlight for 6-8 hours per day because it needs light to flourish. If the soil isn’t dry yet, giving them a quick mist is also okay.
Potatoes
When growing potatoes, you need ones with ‘eyes’ (or slips) growing on it. When you’ve got a potato with a lot of eyes, cut it into 2 inch squares with each piece having a couple of eyes. Leave them out in room temperature for a couple of days to let them dry out to help prevent rotting. In a deep pot, place the cubes 8″ deep with the eyes facing upwards and cover it with another 4″ of soil. As more roots begin to grow, continuously add more soil and keep modestly watered. In as little as 70 days, you should have quite a few potatoes!
Tomatoes
We’ve written on how to grow this wonderful food before! So, if you want to learn how to grow a tomato plant that reaches up to eight feet, head overhere.
Celery
To grow thishealthy snackat home, cut off the base of the celery and leave it in a bowl with a little bit of warm water. Keep the bowl in direct sunlight, and in a week, your celery base will start to grow leaves. Transplant the celery in soil and watch it grow!
Cabbage
Don’t throw away the bottom of your cabbage head just yet. Just like celery, leave it in a container with an inch or two of water in a well-lit area and wait. Over time, it will start to regrow with no planting required.
Avocado
Chances are if you accepted the challenge of growing a pineapple, you’ll also love this one. To learn how to grow an avocado tree from a single pit, you can learn how to do so in eight steps righthere.
Mint
To grow mint, get a clipping and plant it 3″ deep in a 5-8″ pot of damp soil. Make sure your mint plant is in a slightly humid, sun-exposed room (the kitchen is ideal). Every few days, to allow for the plant to grow evenly, rotate the pot. Within a few weeks, your mint plant should begin to flourish and be ready to be plucked for delicious dishes and drinks.
Lemon
To grow a lemon tree at home, you will need an organic lemon with non-germinating seeds, nutrient-rich potting soil, a planting pot that’s 6″ wide and 6″ deep, a seedling pot that’s 24″ wide and 12″ deep, and a sunny growing location (possibly with a grow lamp). You’ll find the next steps for growing a lemon tree from seed explained clearly, righthere.
Mushrooms
Instead of seeds, you’ll be working with spores! Bonnie Grant, a Certified Urban Agriculturist, actually explains everything perfect at Gardening Know How, so if you want to learn how to propagate your own mushrooms from ends in the comfort of your home, this iswhat you have to do.
Peppers
According to Off the Grid News, it’s not too hard to start growing peppers indoors.
“Seeds should be planted in a mixture of peat moss, vermiculite and sand (roughly equal parts of each). Place two seeds in each pot near its center, and push the seeds just below the surface of the soil. Keep soil moist but not wet, and keep pots in a spot where they will get sunlight throughout the day.
It is possible to keep your pepper plants fruiting the entire winter – but you will need to keep them toasty warm and give them sufficient light if you are to be successful. Ideally, the room that they are in should be a constant 65-75 degrees. Using very bring florescent lighting or a combination of sunlight and florescent light is best. Peppers tend to need more light than other plants, so if you want fruit you should plan on leaving their lights on for 14-16 hours per day. Some people control this using a timer, but it is also fine to leave the lights on 24 hours a day. Once plants have flowers, they should be fertilized on a weekly basis… Watering may be done whenever the soil is slightly dry.”
Scallion
You can regrow scallion, (green onions,) in as little as five days. Simply leave at least an inch attached to the roots of your left over scallion, put them in a small glass of water, topping up the water if it evaporates. Your scallions will flourish.
Basil
Got some basil clippings lying around? If they have at least four inch stems, gather them up and put them in a glass of water under direct sunlight. When the stems grow two inches long, you can put them in some soil in a pot and grow your very own basil plant. No more basil shopping for you!
Onions
Unlike the other foods on this list, onions have to go directly in the soil to grow. Take the bottom end of the onion and plant it in a pot or directly in the soil outside. If it’s potted, water it when needed. The more of a bottom you leave on the onion, the better. At three weeks, the onion will develop roots. By the fourth week. It will sprout leaves.
As you can see, most of the procedures follow similar methods: a container of water and direct sunlight. Each process is fairly easy, saves you a lot of money and ensures that you are putting fresh, organic food in your body.
Foraging your own wild edibles is an exciting way to: cultivate a life of self reliance, expand one's knowledge, and connect with the great outdoors. In this video, I examine 7 common wild edibles. They are as follows:
Common Milkweed Stir-fry- 00:00 Pine Cambium Chips- 09:52 Ostrich Fern Fried Fiddleheads- 18:12 White Pine Needle Tea- 23:26 Cattail Veggie Pasta- 29:43 Evergreen Needle Teas- 36:54 Yellow Birch Sap- 43:18
(Identifying and making meals and teas from wild edibles)
Foraging your own wild edibles is an exciting way to: cultivate a life of self reliance, expand one's knowledge, and connect with the great outdoors. In this video, I examine 7 common wild edibles. They are as follows: Riverbank Grape Leaf Chips- 00:00 Black Raspberry Tea- 07:21 Red Clover Flower Fritters- 13:51 Fried Yellow Morels - 19:02 White Cedar Tea- 26:08 Ramps / Leek Soup- 32:55 Yellow Birch Twig Tea- 41:05
Fritter batter recipe: - 1 Cup Flour - 1 Tspn baking powder - 2 Tbsp vanilla extract - 1 Egg - ¼ Cup melted butter - ¾ Cup milk
Stop Buying Garlic. Here’s How To Grow An Endless Supply Of Garlic Right At Home
Garlic is one of the most delicious and versatile vegetables we can consume, with a myriad of potent medicinal properties, a unique aroma, and a distinguishing taste that are valued all around the world.
It is low in calories, but rich in essential nutrients, manganese, vitamin C, potassium, selenium, and calcium.
Garlic improves overall health in numerous different ways. Its consumption lowers the risk of heart disease and lowers cholesterol and blood pressure. It also reduces the risk of sickness by an incredible 62%, by strengthening the immune system.
According to Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DMN, CNS:
“Intensely aromatic and flavorful, garlic is used in virtually every cuisine in the world. When eaten raw, it has a powerful, pungent flavor to match the truly mighty garlic benefits.
Garlic is particularly high in certain sulfur compounds that are believed to be responsible for its scent and taste, as well as its very positive effects on human health.
At this time, there are more than 5,100 peer-reviewed articles that evaluated garlic’s ability to prevent and improve a wide spectrum of diseases.
Eating garlic regularly is not only good for us; it has been linked to reducing or even helping to prevent four of the major causes of death worldwide, including heart disease, stroke, cancer, and infections. Other than the most extreme, rare situations, I believe every person on the planet should consume garlic. It’s extremely cost-effective, super easy to grow and tastes absolutely fantastic. “
The best way to reap the health benefits offered by garlic is to consume the organic one, which, fortunately, can be grown with ease at home.
The best time to plant your garlic is fall after the frost has passed and the soil is cool. You can also plant garlic in late winter when the soil thaws, but the ones planted in fall form larger and better bulbs.
Here are the details you need:
Take a larger pot and fill it with potting soil.
Break a bulb of garlic and place the cloves in loose damp soil, few inches deep, pointing upwards.
The garlic does not need much water, but keep the pot in an area exposed to the sun
Cut the greens when they reach 3-4 inches, and leave an inch so they can regrow again.
When the greens dry up and turn brown dig out the cloves, as each of them has formed a full bulb.
You can take a clove of the bulb and start this all over.
Now, you have an endless supply of garlic to enjoy its amazing healing properties!
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