Eat What Nature Gave Us

Driving through Corbin last week, I noticed in the green grassy areas in the city, the beautiful, bright bursts of yellow that are everywhere!

Each year, dandelions announce spring with their pure sunshiny color, and what do we do? We all rush to mow them down like they are not supposed to be there.

I admit, lush, green yards are beautiful manicured, but so are those happy little yellow flowers that God sprinkles everywhere, like He’s decorating a cupcake.

Actually, until the 1800s people would pull grass out of their yards to make room for dandelions and other useful and edible weeds like chamomile and chickweed.

Driving along, I couldn’t help but smile as I watched a child pick a hand full them and run as hard as it could to take the flowers to its parents as if the flowers would disappear right out of the child’s hand, if it didn’t get them to its parents fast enough.

Memories returned of doing the same as a child and if, by chance, the dandelions lived to maturity and blossomed into little white puff balls, I would gently pick them, close my eyes and try to blow the little white balls away and make wishes. If all the seeds released, then the wish would come true. However, if some seeds remained, the wish was a bit iffy and the chances of it coming true were according to how many seeds stayed on.

Every part of the amazing dandelion plant is useful to humans, and has been used centuries for either medicine, food, or dye for coloring items.

Have you ever eaten deep fried dandelion blooms? What about dandelion greens made from the toothy green leaves? Have you had dandelion syrup, or dandelion jelly? What about dandelion wine made from the flowers or a dandelion tea made from the roots of the plant?

I took a chance, after hearing some friends talk about how good the blooms were fried, and I fried up a batch of the blooms the other night. They were delicious.

Why do we not eat natural foods like this more often? Is it because of the time and effort that goes into preparing the foods?

I have also had the green leaves from the dandelion plant in mixed green salads before, but after trying the fried blooms, I believe the blooms are my favorite part.

Everything I have heard and read about consuming dandelions is positive, as the plants are highly nutritious and would be a beneficial addition to anyone’s diet.

If you plan on eating dandelions, make sure to pick the flowers and greens in an area away from roads or highways and make sure the plants have not been sprayed with any kind of chemicals or pesticides.

Also wash the plants thoroughly. I washed mine, did a salt water soak, then washed them again to make sure they were clean before battering them up to fry. It was a little time consuming, but very easy and well worth the effort.

Dandelions have more Vitamin C than tomatoes, more Vitamin A than spinach and are a powerhouse of calcium, iron and potassium. They have been known to help ailments such as weakness, lethargy and depression. Dandelions flush toxins from your liver, and are a diuretic, so consuming them may cause excessive urination.

Use caution. While consuming dandelions is generally safe, there is always a possibility that someone could be allergic to the plant.

With that being said, why don’t you go out and enjoy some of the food that nature gave us? I don’t believe you will be disappointed.