Healthy Foraging

Your nearby woods or park is really nothing more than a big health food store. The produce there not only is loaded with healthy greens and fungi but it yours free for the  picking. You can pick up everything  form omelet ingredients to sides for lunch or dinner . Your local woods are amazing foodwise .

Before you go, pick up a book on foraging. Even though there are plenty of healthy plants out there, there are a few poisonous ones. Once you get acquainted with the fauna then you can start picking,.Ramps and stinging nettles are some of the healthy greens readily available Ramps are a sort of wild leek and are high in Vitamins A and C along with the mineral selenium. Since they have a taste between a garlic and an onion you can use them in a fresh made tomato sauce. You can also make a good side with them,with olive oil and hot pepper. Stinging nettles are wonderful in reducing calcifications and long with relieving joint pain. A recent recipe in the New York Times Dining (Melissa Clark's Good Appetite column)made it as part of a pasta sauce.Stinging nettles lose their sting when they're boiled.

What about mushrooms? Most people freak out when they hear about eating wild mushrooms because so many have died from eating the wrong ones. One consult a foraging book and if you;re still not sure then join a mushroom club. Experts there can guide you to the right ones. Wild mushrooms such as morelles and porcinis along with chanterelles are truly excellent in any kind of risotto and pasta. You can even make ravioli  stuffing with them. The mushrooms are known for their proteins and can easily be subbed in for animal ones.They also have glutamic acid which is essential for strengthening the immune system. Mushrooms have estrogen blockers which can prevent both breast and prostrate cancer.

The forest is truly a health food store bursting with good and tasty foods. Go out there and enjoy not only the fresh air and sunshine but freshly picked treats. It's a great way of communing with nature and keeping yourself healthy!