Edible Spring Flowers
Amrita Ma Devi
Herbs, flowers and spices transform a bland meal into a decadent and delicious experience. Everything intensifies into colour, aroma and flavour. Plantlife has the ability to improve your mood and reduce stress, energizing mind and body and become healing happy foods. Ayurveda is timeless wisdom about the sacred way of being in harmony with the world, we need this more than ever right now as a planet. So rather than buying some chemical made remedy from the pharmacy I want to show you how you can use herbs as everyday ingredients for health and wholeness.
In this blog we will share with you a few of the edible flower which I have been using in my kitchen apothecary. I will teach you how to wash, dry and use in your self-care rituals and teas.
My hope is to empower you to find time to make observations and start your own journey of personal discovery with plants that will transform your health. If you have any medical condition or are on medication please get advice from your doctor before substituting your usual medications
My own journey
I cannot imagine myself walking into a pharmacy for over the counter drugs for colds any more. My life in my late 20’s was quite a different one. But since I was diagnosed after our first child was born with hypothyroidism, my trust in doctors having all the answers for my health changed. Living in a foreign countries I was not familiar with the Health care system and was already on an alternative holistic path, I made the choice to only use natural medicine rather than drugs for my symptoms. Determined to go to the root cause of my illness I took it upon myself to go deeply into meditation and a whole foods diet. Holistically cooking our food from scratch, for everything I used and radical self-care were my tools. This is a long path to healing but one I highly recommend anyone to become their own best healer for their family and their self.
As time went on I studied more about the benefits of what I was using in the kitchen and now instead of a hobby I am certified to help others find their own unique place of health through there diet and lifestyle. You can read about this on my blog What is an Ayurvedic Health Coach.
Because I have frequently witnessed what herbs and spices can do, it does seem strange the way we are set up as masses to go to a stranger often aka the doctor and expect the magical pill or cream to work. What is often happening is we are given a system suppressor which works for a while. Never mind the brain fog and toxicity in which the body has to deal with later. If we continue to suppress our system we start storing extra weight, as the liver gets clogged and fat cells lock away the toxins deeper and deeper until further disease becomes apparent. When all we really needed to do was eat the right foods for our own digestive fire, create a balanced lifestyle and listen to our bodies needs.
The edible flowers we are going to talk about today are currently available in spring season. Whatever you find locally will be most useful for your health as plants come into season to support our current seasonal ailments.
In this video I show you the plants and how to wash & prepare them for use.
Borage
Borage is an annual plant of the Boraginaceae family (the borage or forget-me-not family). The plant is covered with stiff coarse hairs, and it can grow up to 70 cm high or 28 inches. The stem is erect with oval or long leaves that are rough and furry. They have large purple star-shaped flowers with five petals that turn blue.
The fresh leaves, flowers are used for teas and in food.
Action: Adrenal gland restorative, antidepressant “borage cheers the heart and raises drooping spirits” Pedacio Dioscorides, anti inflammatory for stomach and intestines in cases of toxicity. Reduces chronic catarrh and reduces cholesterol deposits (Kapha related issues) & increase breast milk. Oil from the seeds is rich in GLA which is helpful for ache, eczema and skin problems.
Uses: Tea 1 tsp flowers in boiling water infuse for 15 minutes three times a day.
Use the flowers and leaves in soups – undried is best.
Mustard
This plant has been cultivated for thousands of years in Europe it was the Romans who created the first recipe for what we add to our sandwiches and hotdogs today. You can use the seeds, and flowers of the plant.
Uses: To create a stimulating decongestive and pain-relieving including placing the flowers under bandaging, compression garments, manual lymphatic drainage, steaming in bath water.
Add to Epsom salts in the bath for aches and pains.
Recipe for bath salts: Add 1 cup Epsom salt with ¼ cup baking powder, ¼ cup mustard seed flowers and 20 drops of essential oil such as rosemary, lavender, ginger, and peppermint.
Sage
Magical sage can be identified by its long pointy, silver fur like under leaves. It has a mystical scent, along with many great qualities and uses. The taste in food is also incredibly flavoursome and strong, it can be used as a sauce for veggies alone with some ghee. The flowers are a beautiful bright purple and bees love them.
Taste: Astringent, is toning and tightening
Action: Antiseptic, carminative, circulatory, stimulant, antibiotic, oestrogenic.
Uses: Sore throats, laryngitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis. Sage helps to reduces blood sugar, gas, catarrh in the GI tract, headaches and night sweats. It helps to improve memory loss and attention with people with Alzheimer’s symptoms and mood.
Thyme
This plant needs little space to grow and can be harvested three times a year. The small pink or white flowers and leaves can be a pretty and potent addition to recipes. It can be used to stop dry hacking, unproductive coughing when used in conjunction with cherry bark and marshmallow (HerbalColdCare.com). I like to use this in homemade zataar with sumac, sesame seeds, and cumin powder. Or for the seasonal jam with 1/2 cup dark honey and 5 large strawberries, 2 Tbsp thyme and 1/2 lemon juiced and zested. Strawberry Thyme Herbal Honey
Strawberry Thyme Herbal Honey this amber liquid has a special twist as it contains one of the highest antioxidant berries and the best taste which lingers in the mouth. Antioxidants are important for neutralising the harmful free radicals in our bodies, and in doing so they help to defend against ageing and disease.
1/2 cup dark honey
1 cup strawberries
2 Tbsp thyme
1 tbsp lemon juice and zest
What you may find near you are elderberry flowers, chamomile, rose, lavender or dandelion. They all can be included daily as teas for digestion and good mood.
I’m Amrita, your new guide.
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“Amrita here. Mom of 3 and lover of ancient wisdom, meditation & yoga. I transformed my family’s health with a plant-based diet.”
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