12/04/2023
🌿🌼🌿 Dandelion is our Herb of the Week! 🌿🌼🌿
Volumes could be written on the many uses of dandelion as food and medicine– indeed they have been! This common w**d is often hated and poisoned by those preferring a “w**d free” lawn, while those of us in love with dandelion and its many uses happily support it taking over our lawns.
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This plant was purposefully brought to North America by Europeans not wanting to leave this valuable resource behind. Every part of the dandelion can be used as food or medicine, making backdoor herbalism simple and easy, as it should be.
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When the first spring leaves pop up out of the ground they can be harvested heavily and eaten fresh with salads, made into a delicious pesto, or dried for tea. Dandelions are amazing growers and spreaders, but please be careful and leave plenty for the bees.
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Dandelion leaves are highly nutritious, containing large amounts of vitamin A, calcium, potassium, and many more vitamins and minerals. The French call this plant pissenlit, which alludes to its strong diuretic properties. A tea of dandelion leaves is a great way to flush excess water from the system.
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When eaten with meals, the bitter taste of the leaves helps to promote digestion by stimulating bile to relieve indigestion and other digestive disturbances.
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Dandelion root is a great ally for the liver. It can be tinctured or eaten fresh in a variety of recipes. Dandelion root can help clear up acne and other skin disruptions with the root cause being a stagnant liver. Most herbalists agree that long-term use of dandelion is needed for best results.
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The flower can be eaten in salads, or fried up as fritters. An oil made from dandelion flowers is warming and can be applied externally to relieve arthritis and other aches and pains.
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Click the following link for my Dandelion Pesto and Marinated Dandelion Flower Buds recipes, as well as more dandelion-as-food tips: https://bit.ly/2UWq5DU
