Dandelions....a springtime green to add to your cooking!



A weed nightmare?  or a veritable grocery store?

I follow a reknowned yogini named Rainbeau Mars.  I have been enamoured with this girl since I was pregnant over 4 years ago.  She was the star of a yoga for pregnancy video.  Her take on yoga inspired me.  Now I follow Rainbeau for more than just yoga instruction.  Her belief is yoga is only one part of the whole when it comes to whole body health.  That is how I discovered her mother Brigitte Mars.  She is a master herbalist and Rainbeau speaks of her highly and often.  On a recent post from Rainbeau, she discusses whether or not to mow your lawn...

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=kmdo5zbab&v=001RTSvD7iYYABjMZvHZ6S3E0hJYJg_5OZEcDCa-RELc4K272zNuRSoWl0lNiFlptpYSsTrtyWe9ZhffCz5nU80MNZfRLl-yWh99YMCMW1FVtk5xuWk0r3NRw%3D%3D

Click above for the whole newsletter!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXyKLPEeEXo

Click above to go directly to Brigitte Mars discuss your living lawn and the healthy benefits of dandelions!  (she talks about dandelions around the 1:08 mark)

After viewing the above video, I decided to take a second look around my lawn to see what I have growing there.  I saw loads of clover (which the local bunnies just love) and an extremely high content of dandelions.  (even more than I noticed yesterday!!!)  I found a small patch where the leaves were visable and the flowers were not out yet.  I plucked the leaves and brought them inside, washing them thoroughly in cold water and diced them up to sprinkle on my lunch salad.  As an avid salad lover, I find it challenging to keep the ol' salad interesting sometimes. 



Spinach and Dandelion salad with Balsamic Vinigrette


This salad did NOT disappoint!  A healthy base of baby spinach, topped with chopped avocado, diced, turkey slices, cukes, tomatoes and the lovely dandelion greens.  Drizzled over the lot was my home made balsamic dressing.  WINNING!

I was VERY surprised at how the leaves tasted.  I'm not sure what I was expecting, perhaps a bitter strong flavour that would over power the whole mess.  I stand corrected!  They added a flavour that was not unlike a fine mescalun mix or the same strength of flavour as arugula. 

For REAL wild and gathered greens salad....I dare you to try dandelion greens on your next salad.

I double dog dare you!