Recently I wrote about foraging for Stinging Nettle seeds, which are highly nutritious and have amazing adaptogenic properties. Now that my seeds have dried, I have passed them through a sieve to remove any twiggy bits, stems and leaves. Now I have a jar…
Here’s a lovely recipe that is dairy-free and perfect for the hot weather we have been having recently. Banana, Coconut & Chocolate Ice Lollies Makes 6 lollies Ingredients: 400ml additive-free coconut milk 2 bananas 1 tbsp. good quality vanilla extract 75g…
Common hogweed is one of my favourite wild plants to forage. It’s tasty and abundant. You do have to be careful when picking common hogweed as you could get it confused with giant hogweed which is toxic.
Giant hogweed and common hogweed have quite different stems, so this is one of the easiest ways to tell them apart. Giant hogweed has purple blotches on the stem.
The stems of common hogweed do not have purple blotches.
Both common and giant hogweed can cause photosensitive blisters if your skin comes into contact with the sap. For this reason I recommend always harvesting hogweed whilst wearing gloves.
You should also always cook Common hogweed rather than eating the plant raw. It is in the same family as celery and can cause allergic reactions in some people, so make sure you only eat a tiny amount to begin with, and avoid it completely if you are allergic to celery.
In the spring the fresh young shoots of hogweed are delicious fried in butter. I like to eat the shoots fried up with eggs at breakfast.
In July they produce a second tasty crop of the unopened flower buds which can be cooked like broccoli. This is what I am picking at the moment.
You can cook them like broccoli florets. Remove the papery sheaths from the buds and then steam or boil for just a few minutes. Serve with lots of butter, salt and pepper. The flavour is fragrant, unusual and delicious!
Later, in August you can also harvest the seeds.
They can be used in recipes in place of cardamom.
Common hogweed is an extremely nutritious plant with a unique and delicious flavour. As its name suggests it is very common throughout the UK, growing in most hedgerows. It is high in protein (relatively for a plant), vitamins and minerals.
Do remember the points I made earlier:
However, if you have covered off the above – it is well worth foraging this delicious and nutritious wild plant!
Let me know in the comments below if you have ever picked and eaten hogweed.
Until tomorrow,
Chloe x
Hello, I’m Chloe. I’m a nutrition and health coach and I’m on a mission to inspire & support women so they can go from feeling fatigued to feeling fabulous!
I help women who are FED up of being overweight, addicted to sugar and feeling tired ALL THE TIME to lose weight and optimise their health by fixing hormonal, digestive, autoimmune and energy issues.
My step-by-step programme, Revitalise, will help you lose weight, get back your energy, restore vitality and create lifelong health using the power of beautiful & delicious REAL FOOD.
I’m here to make it easy for you to eat healthy, delicious food without counting calories or feeling deprived. You’ll reset your relationship with food, shift your mindset and build new habits for a complete health transformation!
Disclaimer: All information provided is for informational purposes only, and is not to be construed as medical advice or instruction. Please consult your GP or a qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health and wellbeing. I am a nutritional educator and do not dispense medical advice nor prescribe treatment. While nutritional support can be an important complement to your medical care, a nutritional therapy program is not a substitute for the diagnosis, treatment, or care of a disease, illness, or injury by a medical provider. Nutritional evaluations and lifestyle assessments are not intended for the diagnoses of disease.
Disclaimer: chloearchard.com is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk. Buying through our affiliate links does not cost you anything but helps us keep this website up and running. Thank you!
All information provided within this blog post is for informational purposes only, and is not to be construed as medical advice or instruction. Please consult your GP or a qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health and wellbeing or on any opinions expressed within this blog post. The information provided in this blog post is believed to be accurate based on the best judgment of the author. However, you as the reader must be responsible for consulting with your own GP or other health professional on matters raised within. chloearchard.com will not accept responsibility for the actions or consequential results of any action taken by any reader.
The material in this blog post may include information, products or services by third parties. Third Party Materials comprise of the products and opinions expressed by their owners. As such, chloearchard.com does not assume responsibility or liability for any Third Party material or opinions. The publication of such Third Party Materials does not constitute our guarantee of any information, instruction, opinion, products or services contained within the Third Party Material. Publication of such Third Party Material is simply a recommendation and an expression of our own opinion of that material.
Serves 2 Ingredients: 2 large courgettes or 4 smaller courgettes 500g lamb mince 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil 1 red onion, chopped 2 tsp. ground cumin 2 tsp. ground coriander ½ tsp. ground cinnamon 1 fresh green chilli, finely chopped 5cm piece fresh…
Gazpacho is a wonderfully vibrant summer dish that really wakes up the taste buds on a hot summer’s day. It is one of my favourite things to eat for lunch in the summer. It is essentially a chilled tomato soup, flavoured with whatever else…
I would personally class kefir as a superfood, and here’s why: the various types of beneficial microbiota contained in kefir make it one of the most potent probiotic foods available.
It contains many different strains of not just beneficial bacteria, but beneficial yeasts as well. Kefir contains several major strains of bacteria not commonly found in yogurt. The naturally occurring bacteria and yeast combine symbiotically to give superior health benefits.
We don’t fully understand the gut microbiome, but more and more research is showing how vital the bacteria that live in our digestive system are to our health. For fascinating reading on the gut micro biome, check out the Human Food Project.
Kefir is an excellent source of essential amino acids. The complete proteins in kefir are partially digested and therefore more easily utilised by the body. It is a good source of the amino acid tryptophan.
Melatonin and serotonin, both synthesized by the body from the amino acid tryptophan, together regulate peristalsis of the digestive tract and have a relaxing effect on the nervous system.
Kefir is a rich source of vitamins and minerals, particularly those important for bone health such as calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. Since it is a product of bacterial fermentation, it is also very likely a good source of the elusive vitamin K2, which is also crucial for bone health, particularly if the milk comes from grass-fed cows. It is also a good source of B vitamins, particularly B12.
Even people with lactose-intolerance can usually tolerate kefir since the beneficial bacteria and yeasts consume most of the lactose originally present in the milk.
The curd size of kefir is smaller than yogurt, making it easier to digest so it is a particularly excellent and nutritious food for babies, the elderly and some people with digestive disorders.
Research has demonstrated that kefir has anti-microbial properties (against bacteria such as E-coli and Salmonella) as well as anti-inflammatory properties.
Some studies have also shown an anti-tumour effect. In one study, kefir consumption inhibited tumour growth and induced the apoptotic form of tumor cell lysis, suggesting that kefir may play a role in cancer prevention.
This paper reviews the literature on kefir: Microbiological, technological and therapeutic properties of kefir: a natural probiotic beverage.
Read Chris Kresser’s article on kefir here.
I get raw (unpasteurised) kefir from Plawhatch Farm on the edge of the Ashdown Forest, near Sharpthorne. The farm is a community-run, organic, biodynamic farm and the cows are grass-fed. For anyone local – you can visit their website to find out more.
Chuckling Goat sell raw goat’s milk kefir and coconut water kefir, available to buy online.
Rhythm Health produce raw coconut milk kefir, available to buy in Wholefoods and certain branches of Holland and Barratt: http://www.rhythmhealth.co.uk
You can drink kefir as it is, if you like the taste. I add it to smoothies, where it adds a creamy taste and texture. Check out the recipe for my Ultimate Gut Health Smoothie here.
It is a rich source of vitamins and minerals and an easily digested and bioavailable source of protein. It is also a fantastic source of beneficial bacteria and yeasts making it a great probiotic.
Considering the price of most decent probiotics on the market, and comparing the list of strains found in common probiotics compared to the long list of microbes commonly found in kefir, you can see that kefir is cheap in comparison and probably superior too. So if you can’t afford probiotic supplements then you should definitely consider adding kefir to your daily diet.
BACTERIAL STRAINS COMMON TO MILK KEFIR GRAINS
YEAST STRAINS COMMON TO MILK KEFIR GRAINS
Microbiological study of lactic acid bacteria in kefir grains by culture-dependent and culture-independent methods
Analysis of the microflora in Tibetan kefir grains using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis
NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION
Typical of milk, several dietary minerals are found in kefir, such as calcium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium, copper, molybdenum, manganese, and zinc. Also similar to milk,[13] kefir contains vitamins in variable amounts, including vitamin A, vitamin B1 (thiamine), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), vitamin B9 (folic acid), vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin), vitamin C, vitamin D, and vitamin E.[15] Essential amino acids found in kefir include methionine, cysteine, tryptophan, phenylalanine, tyrosine, leucine, isoleucine, threonine, lysine, and valine,[15] as for any milk product.[13]
PROBIOTICS
Probiotic bacteria found in kefir products include Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, Lactobacillus helveticus, Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens, Lactococcus lactis, and Leuconostoc species.[3][12][16] The significance of probiotic content to nutrition or health remains unproven.[17][18]
Lactobacilli in kefir may exist in concentrations varying from approximately 1 million to 1 billion colony-forming units per milliliter and are the bacteria responsible for the synthesis of the polysaccharide kefiran.[4]
In addition to bacteria, kefir often contains strains of yeast that can metabolize lactose, such as Kluyveromyces marxianus, Kluyveromyces lactis and Saccharomyces fragilis, as well as strains of yeast that do not metabolize lactose, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Torulaspora delbrueckii, and Kazachstania unispora.[3] The nutritional significance of these strains is unknown.
Hello, I’m Chloe. I’m a nutrition and health coach and I’m on a mission to inspire & support women so they can go from feeling fatigued to feeling fabulous!
I help women who are FED up of being overweight, addicted to sugar and feeling tired ALL THE TIME to lose weight and optimise their health by fixing hormonal, digestive, autoimmune and energy issues.
My step-by-step programme, Revitalise, will help you lose weight, get back your energy, restore vitality and create lifelong health using the power of beautiful & delicious REAL FOOD.
I’m here to make it easy for you to eat healthy, delicious food without counting calories or feeling deprived. You’ll reset your relationship with food, shift your mindset and build new habits for a complete health transformation!
Disclaimer: All information provided is for informational purposes only, and is not to be construed as medical advice or instruction. Please consult your GP or a qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health and wellbeing. I am a nutritional educator and do not dispense medical advice nor prescribe treatment. While nutritional support can be an important complement to your medical care, a nutritional therapy program is not a substitute for the diagnosis, treatment, or care of a disease, illness, or injury by a medical provider. Nutritional evaluations and lifestyle assessments are not intended for the diagnoses of disease.
Disclaimer: chloearchard.com is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk. Buying through our affiliate links does not cost you anything but helps us keep this website up and running. Thank you!
All information provided within this blog post is for informational purposes only, and is not to be construed as medical advice or instruction. Please consult your GP or a qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health and wellbeing or on any opinions expressed within this blog post. The information provided in this blog post is believed to be accurate based on the best judgment of the author. However, you as the reader must be responsible for consulting with your own GP or other health professional on matters raised within. chloearchard.com will not accept responsibility for the actions or consequential results of any action taken by any reader.
The material in this blog post may include information, products or services by third parties. Third Party Materials comprise of the products and opinions expressed by their owners. As such, chloearchard.com does not assume responsibility or liability for any Third Party material or opinions. The publication of such Third Party Materials does not constitute our guarantee of any information, instruction, opinion, products or services contained within the Third Party Material. Publication of such Third Party Material is simply a recommendation and an expression of our own opinion of that material.
One of the first plants I learnt how to forage and one of my favourite wild plants are Stinging Nettles! Urtica dioica is a plant that needs little introduction. Most children recognise nettles and avoid them to prevent their itchy sting. Nettle is a…
You can eat healthy, unprocessed foods even if you are on a budget, by buying simple, wholesome ingredients, readily available in all UK supermarkets. Often a big criticism of eating healthily and eating real and wholefoods is that it’s “too expensive”. So we wanted…
This week the National Food Strategy was published. The National Food Strategy is an independent review commissioned by the government to set out a vision and a plan for a better food system.
It is intended to be an overarching strategy for the government, designed to ensure that our food system delivers safe, healthy, affordable food; regardless of where people live or how much they earn.
The report was written by Henry Dimbleby who co-founded the Leon restaurant chain, before going on to become Director of London Union, which runs some of London’s most successful street food markets. He was a co-founder of the Sustainable Restaurant Association and co-authored The School Food Plan (2013), which set out actions to transform what children eat in schools and how they learn about food.
Henry Dimbleby was appointed lead non-executive board member of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in March 2018.
“One of the miserable legacies of Covid-19 is likely to be a dramatic increase in unemployment and poverty, and therefore hunger,” the first instalment, published last summer, states. The effects of this hunger on children’s bodies and minds are likely to be long lasting and to exacerbate social inequalities, it said.
Expanding eligibility for the Free School Meal scheme to include every child up to the age of 16 from a household where the parent or guardian is in receipt of Universal Credit or equivalent benefits, will help “shore up the diets” of the country’s most deprived young people, the report advised.
It also recommended that the value of Healthy Start vouchers, which can be used to purchase products including cow’s milk and baby formula, be increased from £3.10 to £4.25 per week. The value of the Healthy Start vouchers rose to £4.25 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in April.
Part two – published this week – sets out in stark detail how poor diets contribute to around 64,000 deaths every year in England alone and cost the economy an estimated £74 billion. Dimbleby also warns that our eating habits are destroying the environment, which in turn threatens our food security. The food we eat accounts for around a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions and is the leading cause of biodiversity destruction.
The independent report calls for the introduction of the world’s first Sugar and Salt Reformulation Tax, with some of the money being used to expand free school meals and support the diets of those living in the most deprived neighbourhoods. It also calls for food education to be central to the national curriculum, and for food standards to be protected in any new trade deals.
Dimbleby also recommends measures to restore and protect our natural environment, by investing in sustainable farming techniques and new food technologies such as novel proteins.
The National Food Strategy report sets out how diets will need to change over the next ten years to meet the Government’s existing targets on health, climate and nature. By 2032, fruit and vegetable consumption will have to increase by 30%, and fibre consumption by 50%, while consumption of food high in saturated fat, salt and sugar will have to go down by 25%, and meat consumption should reduce by 30%.
In the past I have written at length about the problems with our dietary guidelines in my post Shocking New ‘Eatwell’ Guide Heavily Influenced by Processed Food Comapnies.
The Brazilian dietary guidelines published in 2014 are so clear and easy to understand. I wrote about how good it would be if we were to have similar dietary guidelines.
It would be amazing if as a result of the National Food Strategy the Government could provide more practical guidance for families as to how to eat well on a budget – with ideas for weekly shopping lists and recipes.
A lot of people don’t know what to shop for or what to cook to create a healthy, balanced meal plan for their family for a week.
Tomorrow I will post some ideas for cheap and healthy meals based on whole foods that you can feed your family if you are on a budget.
Hello, I’m Chloe. I’m a nutrition and health coach and I’m on a mission to inspire & support women so they can go from feeling fatigued to feeling fabulous!
I help women who are FED up of being overweight, addicted to sugar and feeling tired ALL THE TIME to lose weight and optimise their health by fixing hormonal, digestive, autoimmune and energy issues.
My step-by-step programme, Revitalise, will help you lose weight, get back your energy, restore vitality and create lifelong health using the power of beautiful & delicious REAL FOOD.
I’m here to make it easy for you to eat healthy, delicious food without counting calories or feeling deprived. You’ll reset your relationship with food, shift your mindset and build new habits for a complete health transformation!
Disclaimer: All information provided is for informational purposes only, and is not to be construed as medical advice or instruction. Please consult your GP or a qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health and wellbeing. I am a nutritional educator and do not dispense medical advice nor prescribe treatment. While nutritional support can be an important complement to your medical care, a nutritional therapy program is not a substitute for the diagnosis, treatment, or care of a disease, illness, or injury by a medical provider. Nutritional evaluations and lifestyle assessments are not intended for the diagnoses of disease.
Disclaimer: chloearchard.com is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk. Buying through our affiliate links does not cost you anything but helps us keep this website up and running. Thank you!
All information provided within this blog post is for informational purposes only, and is not to be construed as medical advice or instruction. Please consult your GP or a qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health and wellbeing or on any opinions expressed within this blog post. The information provided in this blog post is believed to be accurate based on the best judgment of the author. However, you as the reader must be responsible for consulting with your own GP or other health professional on matters raised within. chloearchard.com will not accept responsibility for the actions or consequential results of any action taken by any reader.
The material in this blog post may include information, products or services by third parties. Third Party Materials comprise of the products and opinions expressed by their owners. As such, chloearchard.com does not assume responsibility or liability for any Third Party material or opinions. The publication of such Third Party Materials does not constitute our guarantee of any information, instruction, opinion, products or services contained within the Third Party Material. Publication of such Third Party Material is simply a recommendation and an expression of our own opinion of that material.
Sulforaphane was discovered by scientists at Johns Hopkins in 1992. Since then, over 2,400 studies have been published on it in the peer-reviewed literature. Scientists have identified 39 distinct pro-health mechanisms for sulforaphane so far. Many health professionals and researchers believe that sulforaphane is…
