Raw Food Recipes with Nettles

I'm discovering tasty ways to use the 'free' edible weeds that grow abundantly in my garden. Nettles are one of our most nutritious weeds, and I often use them to make nettle soup for my family - It's their favourite soup!

I've been experimenting with ways to eat nettles raw, by adding them to smoothies and juices. I've discovered they are delicious juiced with apples, but more of an acquired taste in smoothies.

Apple Juice with Nettles and Lemon

This juice tastes lovely :)

Green Juice Ingredients

• 3 apples
• 1/2 lemon
• 3 stems and leaves of young spring nettle

how to make

With my Samson Juicer I juice the nettles by adding them a stem at a time into the juicer, then I juice the apples and lemon. If your using a centrifugal juicer I'd alternate juicing the nettle with juicing the apples. The apple should help push the nettle through, and stop the juicer getting blocked up.

Apple Juice with Beetroot, Broccoli, Nettles, and Lemon

This vegetable juice recipe was so successful that I only got a few sips of it. My six year old son decided he was thirsty and drank the lot!

Ingredients

• 3 apples
• 1 very small beetroot
• left over broccoli stems
• 3 stems of nettle - with lots of young leaves on
• 1/2 lemon

How to Make

1. Core and slice the apples to fit in your juicer.
2. Wash and slice the beetroot and broccoli to fit your juicer.
3. Peel the lemon, and cut to size.
4. Juice and enjoy. Alternate juicing the nettle with juicing the apples.

Nettles and Cleavers
Amazing Green Drink Recipe

I've been experimenting with juicing nettles to make a seriously green vegetable juice. I juiced a huge handful of cleavers stems, another big handful of nettle stems, and some nice sweet apples. The resulting green drink is far too green to drink a large glass of, but makes an excellent substitute for wheatgrass juice.

If you make too much like I did you can freeze some in an ice-cube tray and defrost an ice-cube in a shot glass when needed.

Ingredients

• 3 apples
• 1 large handful of cleavers
• 1 large handful of nettles

How To Make

You'll need a juicer that handles greens well for this one!

1. Core and slice the apples to fit your juicer.
2. Feed in the cleavers and nettles.
3. Drink a tequila shot glass of it for a fantastic pick me up - not a huge glass like the one pictured above!

Green Smoothie Recipe with Nettles

As well as adding nettles to juices, you can also blend them to create healthy green smoothies.

Almond Milk with Nettles

I added some young spring nettle tops to create an unusual raw food recipe for my lunch time smoothie.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon ground almonds
• 1 cup of water
• 4 soaked dates
• 2 small bananas
• 1 gloved handful of tender young nettle leaves
• a pinch of cinnamon

How To Make

Last night I soaked the dates in a cup of water. This isn't essential but makes it much easier on the blender. If your short on time warm water will soften the dates faster.

1. First add the dates and their soak water into the blender, and blend with the ground almonds to make easy almond milk.
2. Break (or chop) the bananas into chunks and add to the blender, along with the nettle leaves. Add the cinnamon if your like it.
3. Blend until smooth, and serve.

This tasted sweet and fresh.

Green Smoothie with Nettles and Mint

This is a lovely raw food recipe. The mint and nettles are very fresh and powerful.

Ingredients

• 10 soaked almonds with the skins removed
• 4 soaked dates, and their soak water
• 1 large banana
• 1 small gloved handful of tender young nettle leaves
• 1 small handful of mint

This makes a very thick smoothie, more of a pudding really. I usually like to eat my smoothies with a spoon. If you prefer to drink your smoothies then add another cup of water.

Green Smoothie in disguise

If the green colour puts you off you can always turn your green smoothie a lovely shade of purple.

Ingredients

• 10 soaked almonds with the skins removed
• 1 cup of water
• 1 cup of frozen blackberries
• 4 soaked dates, and their soak water
• 1 large banana
• 1 large gloved handful of tender young nettle leaves

This tastes lovely. The seeds from the backberries give it a crunchy texture. For a totally smooth smoothie make it using blackberry almond milk, or use blueberries instead.

Nettle leaf

For those times when you can't get out foraging for edible weeds

It's great to get out there and forage for your own free superfoods, but sometmes I just don't have the time, or the weathers so cold that even nettles won't grow!

When your can't get fresh nettles it's really handy to have dried nettle leaf to make nettle tea or add to your smoothies for a blast of extra nutrition.

Nettle leaf contains a natural antihistamine and I often use nettle tea to stop my eyes from itching when it's hay fever season. You can make the tea from freshly foraged nettle tops or you use dried nettles. It's handy to have a supply of dried organic nettle leaf in your cupboard so you've always got some on hand. Store in an airtight container out of direct sunlight.

If you don't like the taste of nettles you can still get the benefits by taking them in capsule form. You can buy Nature's Way Nettle Leaf Capsules here.

Another great alternative to fresh nutritious weeds like nettles and dandelions is to grow your own wheatgrass, or sunflower greens.

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