“Henbit, a member of the mint family, is an upright winter annual that blooms in the spring. The leaves are rounded on the end with rounded toothed edges that grow opposite one another on square stems Upper leaves lack petioles. Henbit can grow from 4 to 12 inches tall on weak stems. Although an upright plant, weak stems sprouting from the bottom may lay almost horizontal.”
With spring right around the corner, the lovely buffet of wild edibles will start popping up all over. Aside from my severe allergies that come with spring, This is my favorite time of year. Nice weather and a bounty of fresh plants make hiking extra fun. My suggestion is, go out and get yourself a couple of decent “wild edibles” field guides and start looking in your own backyard. It truly amazes me what many people consider weeds. Someone once said ” A weed is merely a plant that you can find no use for”. People want to eradicate Dandelions…WHY? Dandelions are wonderful and good for you. I stepped outside the other day and just looked around my yard for a few minutes and found about 5 wild edibles.
In the next few weeks I will try to get a few more edible plant showcases posted on here. Look for a showcase on Henbit tomorrow.
Pine Needle Tea
Pine Tree Needle Tea is a traditional remedy that may be used in the treatment of about 80% of human diseases. The remedy is effective for working with the smooth muscles that line the blood vessels and other muscular related diseases such as sclerosis. This is known to have very good success rates with cancer in the first stage.
This can be made faster than what I am about to describe, however it will be milder and not have as much nutrition in it. To make pine needle to you need to do the following:
That requires some time and patience, however, you may not have that kind of time. On the trail, simply bring to a boil for a few minutes and let steep. pour into canteen and/or let cool slightly then drink. This tea will be milder, but will still be beneficial.
These are just some really quick meal kits that I put together for an easy grab and go. These are not technically MREs…as you must cook them. All of the food in mine may not be the most nutritional, but I also went for cheap.
I have included:
Ramen
rice and lentils
soup
broth
drink mix
coffee
tea
sugar(alternative)
hard candy
spam
chicken
granola bars
snack crackers
vitamins and supplements
Now not all of this is in each bag, I varied them up so that I don’t get too bored with ramen…and that is easy to do. I was able to make about 25 bags altogether including some large 2 person packs for under $50. Now, set aside the obvious difference between MREs and my MRGs, I got 25 MRGs for half the price of 12 MREs. This is food packing on a budget.
The great thing about these, you can customize them to fit your food restrictions, tastes, and amount. These however are not going to be SHTF rations. MREs still have a much longer shelf life and are better suited for that. I like the fact that these easily will fit into a cargo pocket and I can take them anywere. When I go hiking, I carry one of these in one pocket, and my fire kit in the other. I use a canteen cup to cook in.
Check out the tab in the upper right hamd corner. Starting January 2010 we will be starting our survival school. We will be hosting one day classes at least 1 day a week and 2 dayclasses every weekend. We will aslo be hosting a 3 day class over the MLK holiday. We will also be taking appointments for any other time as well.
Pokeweed
“Pokeweed is edible (cooked) and medicinal. It has a long history of use by Native Americans and in alternative medicine. The young shoots are boiled in two changes of water and taste similar to asparagus, berries are cooked and the resulting liquid used to color canned fruits and vegetables. The root is alterative, anodyne, antiinflammatory, cathartic, expectorant, hypnotic, narcotic and purgative. It is used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, tonsillitis, mumps, glandular fever and other complaints involving swollen glands, chronic catarrh, bronchitis and diseases related to a compromised immune system it has potential as an anti-AIDS drug. Some of the chemical constituents in the plant are triterpenoid saponins, lectins, antiviral proteins and many phytolaccagenic acids, which are not completely understood.”
CAUTION is advised! you must not eat raw! Research proper preperation before eating.
Rose hips are the seed pods of roses.
Both rose hips and rose petals are edible. Roses are in the same family as apples and crabapples, so the resemblance of their fruits is not purely coincidental. Rose hips also have a bit of the tartness of crabapples and are a great source of vitamin C.
All roses should produce hips, although rugosa roses are said to have the best tasting hips. These are also generally the largest and most abundant.
Greenbriers
Greenbriers are good as asparagus, in salad, and cooked by using the young shoots, leaves, and tendrils. According to the Peterson’s guide, The powder from crushed roots can be mixed half and half with wheat flour to create a “thickening agent,” or can be diluted in a liquid (water) to make a cold drink.
Spiderwort
This plant gets it name due to the sap it produces. when stretched, it resembles spider silk. Another name is “cow Slobber”
You can eat the leaves, stems, flowers, seed pods. Roots are supposed to be edible too. It tastes very bland…kind of like asparagus. Harvest before it flowers for tenderest stalks, but it’s still edible afterwards. Each stalk will snap off where it’s tender.
Dandelion
This common weed found in many a yard is a very useful plant. The yellow flower can be rolled in flower and fried, and is delicious. The leaves when the plant is young can be used in a salad and eaten like lettuce. The root can be dried, baked and ground and used for coffee.
Be careful when picking this from yards and such due to fertilizers and pesticides!
