I have always loved foraging, and also have happy memories of childhood forays with my mum; finding nut trees, a marvelous abandoned apricot tree, a majestic old fig tree which produced just a few of the most wonderful enormous figs; the countryside around the globe has lots of interesting food available . Last weekend I went with my girls, and that we found hoards of blackberries, a mountain of damsons to create jam, unloved lonely plum trees begging to become picked, along with a bag of wild hazelnuts. It would be a great combination of fresh air, a great walk, fun together, and also the wonder and excitement in the children they could collect all this food; these were desperate to go back home and eat it. We were careful to prevent even the most tempting berries from near roads, and our bounty had the advantage of coming completely from nature; fresh and organic.
Even within the cities, you will find abandoned or unkempt places that the hardy blackberry will flourish, and that i will wager that many people can harvest a minimum of a pies-worth! Blackberries are sadly neglected since we can eat year-round tropical fruits, however they were a significant part of the northern diet since Neolithic times. The blackberry is a great source of E vitamin, Folates, Magnesium, Potassium and Copper, along with a very good supply of Dietary Fiber. It is very high in Ascorbic acid, and also contains Vitamin k supplement and Manganese. Only 10 blackberries will give you 20% of your RDA of ascorbic acid, and frozen berries will retain a lot of this important vitamin for around 6 months. If you prefer making your personal juices and smoothies, a freezer filled with blackberries will provide you with weeks of healthy vitamin-packed FREE fruit to increase your juices. I cannot resist an apple and blackberry pie, that we make with wholemeal pastry and almost no sugar, a scrummy treat with half-fat crème fraiche, along with a huge step up from fatty, sugary, processed supermarket pies. If you need to make your own Gifts, now is time for you to collect damsons, blackberries and sloes; freeze them overnight, then steep in gin or vodka along with a little sugar to create a beautiful pink sloe gin to give up to friends (or damson vodka, or blackberry and raspberry liqueur!). Seek out interesting old recipes, discover what wild foods have been in season, and get out there and grab some; it's fun healthy, and great exercise! Why not escape this weekend and find out what you can find?
Have fun fellow-foragers, but avoid anything from near a road, and EVERYTHING that you do not recognize!
Vikki Scovell BA(hons) PG DIP is really a fully qualified Fitness expert and Fitness Coach. She's a qualified Nutrition Adviser and runs successful Community Exercise classes. Vikki is really a consultant in Healthy Eating and use initiatives to schools within the independent sector and publishes School and General A healthier lifestyle newsletters. Vikki lives in Bristol within the U.K. together with her partner Jeremy and 2 young children. Enquiries for nutritional advice, fitness, corporate wellness and general enquiries.
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