03/18/2026
Today, I am starting something new- Wild Wisdom Wednesdays. 🌿
Each week, I will be sharing snippets of plant wisdom: teachings of herbalism, horticulture, and the old ways of living alongside the land. I am so excited to share these little bits of lived knowledge with you all, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. ♡
Today's Wild Wisdom: Unexpected Herbs for Soup Lovers
If you know me well, it is of no surprise to you that I am starting these Wednesdays by talking about soup. 👀 I am a HUGE soup lover. In my home, if it can be souped, it will be souped.
Culinary herbalism is the gateway for many budding herbalists, and for very good reason. Enriching the foods you already love with wild flavours that bring extra vitamins, minerals (especially those many of us don't get enough of!), and other valuable phytonutrients is one of the most accessible ways to improve your overall well-being. For centuries, nutrient rich broths & soups were one of the most common ways people incorporated herbs into daily meals.
In terms of culinary herbalism and nutritive herbs, the only limit is the bounds of your own creativity. In my humble opinion, discovering unexpected flavours, and creating new recipes, is one of the greatest joys of life.
While this post only scratches the surface of the delicious herbs that (I hope) will someday earn their place in your soup pot, here are a few that I consider must-tries.
♡ Fireweed - a delicious, accessible, non-intimidating 'spinach-replacement'. Like most wild greens, fireweed is rich in fibre, vitamins, minerals, and healthful phytonutrients- just 34 g provides 100% of your RDA of Manganese. It is also rich in Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, Iron, Copper, and Zinc, as well as Folate, Vitamins A, and B3, 5, & 6.
♡ Stinging Nettle - the vicious defenses of stinging nettle protect some of the most dense nutrition available to us in the wild. Served blanched, nettle is rich in Iron, Calcium, Magnesium, Manganese, Copper, Potassium, Zinc, Phosphorus, as well as Vitamins K, A, and B2, 3, 6, & 9. Nettles are also a source of protein.
♡ Carrot Greens - it breaks my soup-loving heart to see carrot greens composted; carrot leaves are considered to be even more nutritious than the roots. I use young leaves fresh, and I dry older leaves, chop them up, and put them in absolutely everything.
♡ Plantain - possibly one of my favourite wild foods, plantain is a deeply nutritious, versatile plant. Leaves can be eaten raw or cooked, but the star of this show, in my opinion, is the young seed stalks. Picked at just the right time, these can be prepared similarly to asparagus, and have a very similar flavour.
♡ Dandelion - perhaps the most accessible (and, in my own experience, one of the most well-known) wild greens, young dandelion greens are delicious raw and cooked. The roots can be harvested, and cooked similarly to a carrot.
♡ Red Clover - a delicious, unique addition to all kinds of dishes, I like to sprinkle raw red clover leaves on the top of my soup, as a beautiful garnish. Rich in protein, fibre, isoflavones, Calcium, Chromium, Magnesium, Niacin, Phosphorus, Potassium, Thiamine, and Vitamin C.
