Free food in nature

Food as medicine column with Lynda McFarland

There was a great quote in a movie I watched recently called 'Where the Crawdads Sing' about a young girl fending for herself in a North Carolina marsh. It said:"Whenever I stumbled, the land caught me". Nature can be a real sanctuary for us, especially when times are tough. During 2020, it seems that the people who got through the year relatively unscathed were those who embraced nature, who started growing their own vegetables, who planted trees and fruit bushes, who started bee-keeping, who kept chickens and who foraged the hedgerows for free food and medicine. I always tell my nutrition clients about the benefits of nettles and dandelions, these wild herbs are nature's very own multi-vitamins and minerals.

Throughout history, there are stories of people consuming nettles as a tonic in the spring-time to replace minerals in the body that were used up during the winter and even using the sting to relieve arthritic pain, but personally I would prefer them in tea or soup form! Dandelions, too, have powerful healing properties and every part can be used, the leaves, the flower and the root.

It is a bitter herb and when it grows in the spring it is the ideal time to cleanse and stimulate the liver and gall bladder after the winter season of heavier eating and feasting. The benefits of wild foods are two-fold because the act of going outside and connecting with nature is therapeutic in itself before you even bring them home to make a tea or tincture with.

Herbalists believe nature provides all the medicine we need, that everything growing around us is there for a reason. Isn't that a lovely thought! There are great local herbalists who regularly organise Wild Herb Walks and there are lots of great books on the subject. So in 2023, whenever out for a walk keep an eye out for free food! The land and hedgerows provide an abundance of it pretty much all through the year if you include mushrooms, however, you need make sure you only pick edible and safe-to-eat mushrooms.

Some of my favourite free food that we gathered last year includes wild garlic (grows like crazy around Meehambee Dolmen in Drum, Athlone) for dressings and pestos, nettles for soups and stir-fries, sorrel and cleavers for smoothies, dandelion leaves for dressings, elderflowers and berries for cordials. Wild strawberries are a treat whenever you spot them and blackberries, rosehips and sloes for jams are great for Christmas liqueurs. Our most popular jam in the shop last year was our hedgerow jam that we foraged for and sold out in about two hours after we posted it online!

Free and Wild Herbal Teas

Save yourself a fortune this year by making your own herbal teas and medicine! I like to mix wild herbs such as nettles, dandelions and cleavers with some that I grow such as mint, rosemary, sage etc. Use gloves when picking nettles, you do figure out a way to pinch them without getting stung too badly but gloves are a safer bet!

Nettle, Mint & Rosemary

Elderflowers & Lemon Verbena

Dandelion & Thyme

Raspberry & Blackberry leaves & Rosehips

Rose petals & Rosehips

The combinations are endless, and the flavours and nutritional value are far superior than anything you get in a tea-bag!

Just place 1-2 handfuls of herbs in a tea-pot with boiling water and leave to infuse, length of time will depend on herbs used, some such as nettles benefit from an overnight infusion to get lots of goodness from them. Strain and enjoy, gently re-heat if required.

Lynda McFarland is a local nutritional therapist, chef and co-owner of Lowe & Co. Organic Grocery on O'Connell Street, Athlone along with her partner Eddie Lowe. Lowe & Co. opened in 2016 to provide nourishing chemical free food that Lynda's nutrition clients were finding difficult to source locally, such as sourdough breads and other fermented foods and organic vegetables, meats and dairy. Lynda manages the shop and Eddie manages their small-holding where they grow vegetables and keep chickens and pigs, and hopefully this year, bees for honey.

Lowe & Co. is open Thursday to Saturday 9.30 to 5.30pm.