How Eating Weeds Is Going To Make You Lose Weight

Spring Super Herb

Suppose someone tells you that there is a miracle herb that if eaten as a part of your regular diet will prevent or cure liver diseases, act as a tonic and gentle diuretic to purify your blood, cleanse your system, dissolve kidney stones, and otherwise improve gastro-intestinal health; assist in weight reduction; cleanse your skin and eliminate acne; improve your bowel function, working equally well to relieve both constipation and diarrhea; prevent or lower high blood pressure; prevent or cure anemia; lower your serum cholesterol by as much as half; eliminate or drastically reduce acid indigestion and gas buildup by cutting the heaviness of fatty foods; prevent or cure various forms of cancer; prevent or control diabetes mellitus; and, at the same time, have no negative side effects and selectively act on only what ails you. If I also told you that it tastes good in both food and tea, would you start start shaking me to get the name of this herb?

Well, thankfully you don’t have to do it! I am voluntarily sharing this precious information with you.

Peter Grail, an herb specialist, says that all the above curative functions, and more, have been attributed to one plant known to everyone, Taraxacum officinale, which means the “Official Remedy for Disorders.” We call it the common dandelion.

Peter also notes that according to the USDA Bulletin #8, “Composition of Foods” (Haytowitz and Matthews 1984), dandelions rank in the top 4 green vegetables in overall nutritional value. According to these data, dandelions are nature’s richest green vegetable source of beta-carotene, from which Vitamin A is created, and the third richest source of Vitamin A of all foods, after cod-liver oil and beef liver! They also are particularly rich in fiber, potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and the B vitamins, thiamine and riboflavin, and are a good source of protein.

Ayurveda describes (treats, puts into a category) puts dandelions into a category of bitter greens that stimulate liver, realease toxins and reduce Kapha. Modern reserach supports the power of dandelion to icrease weight loss. Laboratory research with laboratory mice and rats indicates that a fat loss of up to 30% of body weight in 30 days was possible when the animals were fed dandelion extract with their food. Those on grass extract lost much less. The control group on plain water actually gained weight.

For more benefits read here.

Spring is here and it is the perfect dandelion harvesting time. When I was 5 years old I picked bright yellow dandelion flowers to braid then into a pretty little crown. Now i am hunting Farmers Markets for dandelion greens! Our love affair is never ending!

Dandelions are great in salads, cooked or steeped as tea!
Here is how you can include dandelions in your daily menu:
Dandelion Greens Saute
1 lb. dandelion greens
3 tablespoons olive oil
5 cloves garlic
1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Wash and slice greens. Blanch in enough water to cover about 1 minute. Drain and saute in the olive oil for 3-4 minutes, then add the sesame and garlic and saute for couple minutes more. Add the sesame oil and serve.

Plain Cooked Mild Dandelions
adapted from Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables by E. Schneider
1 generous bunch dandelion greens, cleaned and stems removed
2 Tablespoons butter or ½ cup heavy (whipping) cream
S & P to taste
Blanch the greens by dunking into boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Drain, drop into a bowl of ice water, then drain again. Chop and set aside.
Shortly before serving, saute dandy greens in a skillet in butter until heated through. Or boil cream for a few minutes to reduce it slightly, then add greens and simmer until almost no liquid remains. Season to taste with S & P and serve. Serves 4
Julia’s butter note: I sometimes substitute a smaller amount of another cooking oil, and sometimes I use butter, you could use just 1 T in this recipe. It depends on what I’m serving with it: how heavy it is, will there be dessert, etc. Adapt to your kitchen and circumstance, adapt every day!

Dandelions with Green Garlic
adapted from Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables by E. Schneider
3 Tablespoons ghee
2 stalks minced green garlic (use the white and light green part, as you would a leek)
1 large bunch dandelion greens, cleaned and trimmed, cut into bite sized pieces
about ½ cup stock of any flavor
S & P to taste
optional: hot sauce or pepper vinegar
Heat ghee in a large skillet; add garlic and stir. Add greens and stock and cook over moderate heat, partly covered, for 2 minutes.
Uncover and continue cooking until greens are tender and liquid has almost evaporated. (Timing can vary considerably – from 3-4 minutes to 15, depending upon the age and size of the leaves.) If liquid evaporates before leaves are sufficiently tender, add stock.
Season to taste with salt and pepper, and hot sauce or hot vinegar if you like. Serves 4

Salad of Dandelion and Fresh Goat Cheese
adapted from Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables by E. Schneider
1 bunch dandelion greens, cleaned and dried
about 1/4 pound fresh white goat cheese, cut into ½ inch cubes
1/3 cup or so of chopped red onion, or chopped scallions
2 T sherry or other light vinegar
2 T walnut or other nut oil, can use a good olive oil if that’s what’s on hand
½ t sugar
3-4 T toasted and coarsely chopped walnuts
Cut off and discard stem bases. Cut each stalk into 2-inch pieces. Pile on a serving dish; intersperse with cheese. Sprinkle with onion to taste.
In small nonaluminum pan combine vinegar, oil, and sugar; bring to a boil, stirring. Pour over salad and toss lightly. Sprinkle with nuts and serve at once.

Dandelion Colombo, adapted from Recipes from America’s Small Farms
6 cups dandelion leaves, roughly chopped
3 to 4 medium potatoes, or 1 medium head
cauliflower, sliced
6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 small hot peppers, seeds and ribs removed,
or 1/4 tsp. red pepper to taste
2 TBS peanut oil
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 cup silken tofu
1 1/2 TBS mellow (light colored) miso
2 TBS rum, wine, or sherry, or 1/4 tsp. rum
extract (optional)
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground turmeric
1 tsp. dry mustard
Saute the dandelions, cauliflower or potatoes, garlic, and hot peppers in the peanut oil for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, puree the coconut milk, tofu 1/4 cup water, miso, rum if using, coriander, turmeric, and mustard in a blender. Mix puree into the sauteed ingredients, bring to a boil reduce the heat to low, cover and cook another 10 minutes, or until the potatoes or cauliflower are tender.

Bon Appetit!