Raw Foods Diet & Raw Food Weight Loss Blog

Jim here… Wow, it’s Monday, April 27! Let’s do something different today: Let’s celebrate Monday instead of bemoaning this day that represents the taditional start of the dreaded work week. Why? Because it’s our sincere hope that whatever you do in your work week is a labor of love. And, if you’re not quite there yet, then celebrate the fact that you WILL be there sometime soon. For us, it means another week of working to inspire you to achieve optimal health — and that’s not “work” at all; it’s actually FUN!

So, without further adieu, let’s jump into this week’s fun. Our good friends Melissa and Dave Sokulski have launched a site recently called FoodUnderFoot (“unleash the energy of wild edibles”). Even in it’s young seedling state, I think it’s already a fascinating site, and promises to become an encyclopedic web destination for anyone interested in foraging wild edibles. So, check them out for some informative info and valuable freebies, too!

Part of their local offerings include wild edible walks, in which people gather at local parks and Melissa & Dave walk the group around identifying various edible goodies here and there. It’s incredible how much there is to eat out there right under our feet! We went on such a walk yesterday, and wanted to give you an example of the kind of incredible information Melissa and Dave are teaching.

I knew a bit about the burdock and mugwort they showed us (from previous walks of theirs). But, learning about Japanese Knotweed was a huge eye opener for me. I’d never even heard of it, and here were huge patches of it all over the place! Here’s another pic:

The stems/stalks of the knotweed kind of resemble bamboo, only smaller and greener. These are younger shoots. In time, they’ll grow taller and the stalks will become too woody to eat.  We pulled a few of them out to sample. The roots were small and red. With some experimentation, we found that the easiest way to eat this stuff was to peel back the harder outer skin:

Then, you can just munch the insides for a tangy / lemony treat (likened to rhubarb). Wendi dug it:

… and so did I.

I sadly chuckled a bit to read on the Wikipedia page for Japanese knotweed that it’s considered to be “one of the world’s 100 worst invasive species.” How backward is our society when we consider a FOOD to be an invasive species?!  I tell you, I absolutely cringe every time I hear radio ads such as some recent ones in our parts touting new “advanced technology for ridding your lawn of those invasive dandelions.”

One of the many insights that really wakes up in your head as you study wild edibles is the undeniable fact that nature is trying to communicate with us at all times. No matter how awfully we treat her, she’s continually doing all she can to provide for us. People are hungry, yet there’s food literally everywhere. People are sick, yet there are cures sprouting up on their front lawns. So, give FoodUnderFoot a visit, as this info is important and surprisingly tasty!