3 Delicious Ways To Add Chickweed To Your Diet

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Here are 3 ways you can add chickweed to your family's diet!

Chickweed is one of those herbs you may find hiding in your flower bed or growing along the edge of your house. It always shows up for me in the most unexpected places! If you find it in your neck of the woods, here are a few useful, delicious ways to add it to your diet!

Chickweed is great for external needs, such as rashes, acne, boils, itching, eczema, and more! Internally, chickweed is rich in vitamin C and in minerals, especially magnesium, calcium, and potassium. Chickweed is a contact healer, strengthens the bowels and stomach, dissolves plaque in blood vessels, dissolves fatty substances, is a good blood purifier, and has an anti-cancer agent. [1]

3 Simple Ways To Add Chickweed To Your Diet

1. A Salad

A salad is a very simple way to add chickweed to the diet. Our woods here are loaded with thousands of chickweed plants. We harvest a handful of chickweed plants {stems, leaves and flowers} and toss them with our regular salad. 

2.  Chickweed Smoothie

There are several different ways to make a yummy smoothie. Here’s one option:

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of water
  • 2 or 3 tablespoons of orange juice concentrate
  • 2 bananas
  • 1/2 cup blueberries
  • Handful of chickweed

Blend well and enjoy! 

Here are 3 ways you can add chickweed to your family's diet!

3.  Chickweed Pesto

We think this pesto is really yummy! 

Ingredients

  • 1 cup fresh chickweed
  • 1 cup fresh basil
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 3-4 oz. parmesan cheese
  • 3-4 oz. almonds

Put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.  Serve with chips or crackers.

Do you have a favorite way to incorporate chickweed into your diet?  Which recipe would you like to try?

RESOURCES

  1. Keith, Velma J., and Monteen Gordon. The How to Herb Book: Lets Remedy the Situation. Mayfield Pub., 1986.

How To Make Probiotic Shakes

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Here are the 3 most common recipes my family uses to make probiotics shakes!

Probiotic shakes are a part of our breakfast almost every morning. Sometimes at lunch too, and maybe before bed on occasion. My girls would probably drink them all day long if I let them!

It’s always encouraging when your kids actually ask for something that’s so healthy for them. Kefir is the base for our probiotic shakes and there are countless ways and combinations you can come up with to make them palatable.

Kefir is so so healthy for you! It builds a little army of healthy bacteria that improves your overall health now, and in the long run! I make my own kefir shakes and you can read the simple instructions HERE.

How To Make Probiotic Shakes

Icy Cocoa Probiotic Shake

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Add all ingredients and blend until smooth.

Mixed Fruit Probiotic Shake

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Blend all ingredients until smooth.
Here are the 3 most common recipes my family uses to make probiotics shakes!

Banana Peanut Butter Shake

Ingredients

  • 1 cup kefir
  • 1 frozen banana
  • 1/4 cup nut butter
  • 1 tablespoon kefir grains
  • 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (optional)
  • 1 dropperful chocolate stevia

Directions

  1. Blend all ingredients until smooth.

Below you can watch me make probiotic shakes. Hope this helps!

What are your favorite ways to make probiotic shakes?

Teaching Kids To Eat Wild

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  Here are 4 easy-to-identify plants to teach your kids to eat wild!
I love watching my girls roam the yard and woods with wild plants hanging out of their mouths. Not only does it give me satisfaction that they are practicing what I’ve taught them, but I also know they are getting great nutrition! 
 
Wild plants have the best source of nutrition available. Most people don’t realize that eating wild plants in their yard is even better than buying organic food at the store!
 
To teach your kids to eat wild, purchase a book such as A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants or Edible Wild Plants: Wild Foods From Dirt To Plate to help you identify wild foods. I suggest starting with one edible plant that doesn’t have any poisonous look alikes. Study that one plant until you and your kids can identify and harvest it without any hesitation. Once you have that first plant mastered, begin with another one. 

Teach Your Kids To Eat Wild

These are the 5 herbs that I have started with in teaching my girls to identify wild plants:
  • Chickweed
  • Dandelion
  • Plantain
  • Wood Sorrel
  • Red Clover

1. Chickweed

Chickweed has a tiny line of hair on one side of the stem, tear-shaped leaves, and grows a tiny white star-shaped flower.  

Edible parts: leaves, stems, flowers

2. Dandelion

There are a few flowers that look similar to dandelion, but a dandelion can be easily identified by its leaves. Dandelion leaves make an arrowhead shape at the top of the leaf. Other leaves are more rounded.

Edible parts: The whole plant.  Roots, leaves, stem, flowers

3. Plantain

Plantain grows everywhere except in Antartica. The bottom of the leaf stem has a purple/red color, and the leaves are thicker with strong, raised veins on the back.

Edible parts: leaves

Underside of Plantain Leaf

4. Wood Sorrel

Wood Sorrel ( also known as sour grass) has a distinct delicious lemony flavor. My girls really enjoy this plant as a treat! Its leaves are heart-shaped, and the flower color can vary. In my area, the most common flower color for wood sorrel is yellow.

Edible parts: flowers, leaves

5. Red Clover


Red Clover is a plant with amazing nutrition! It’s a great blood purifier, cancer fighter, and is used to treat infertility. 

Edible parts: leaves and flowers

What plants have you taught your kids to identify?