Stellaria media, Chickweed

Chickweed has been esteemed as an internal cleanser and external healer. It is a soothing and healing herb for the entire digestive system, helping to relieve conditions such as inflammation, ulceration, and bowel disorders. It is said that chickweed possesses many of the healing properties of the valued American Indian remedy, slippery elm. All respiratory complaints can benefit from chickweed. It also has been used as atea and the leaves are eaten for arthritis, rheumatism, blood poisoning, constipation, colitis, gastritis, acid indigestion, diabetes, candida, cancer, fatigue, fractures, mouth ulcers, to strengthen the heart, improve eyesight and to assist the function of the thyroid, liver, gall, kidneys, bladder and lymphatic system. Stellaria media, the plants botanical name, means little star and this plant with its star flowers, in herbal folklore is a 'star' at helping, when we need to gently dissolve something, or to relieve and cool inflamed tissue. As a folk remedy, taken daily over a number of months, it has been known to dissolve cysts, lumps in the breast and elsewhere in the body. Chickweed also thins the membranes of the cells, so that nutrients are more readily absorbed and utilised.

Thrives in the cooler months and in shade, as a sprawling ground cover with soft 1cm long, ovate-shaped, lime green leaves; a line of tiny white hairs runs down the opposing sides of each stem, between each pair of leaves; star- like, tiny white flowers form at stem terminals. In some areas of Europe, chickweed is encouraged in orchards, as it is believed to increase yields of fruit.

From this article 'Getting to know and use edible weeds' from Isabel Shipards's how can I be prepared With Self Sufficency and Survival Foods? book

Get garden in

a morning green smoothie
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Chickweed, milk thistle, lemon thyme
1/2 avocado
1/4 cup walnut milk
2 tsp coconut oil
7 tsp carob powder
1 tsp agave
1 and 1/2 cups water
This was almost awesome, a little gritty and fiborous, would have been good with some lemon and a bit less chickweed

Green Smoothie love

The green smoothie phenomena is quickly becoming a central part of my life. Everyday I pick greens and blend them with water and whatever fruit I can find. Everyday I invent a new recipe and find out you really can eat everything that grows (almost haha).














Here are a couple of recent smoothies I really enjoyed
--
24.08.10
parsley and a few leaves of cos lettuce (from garden)
a grapefruit and 2 bananas
1 cup of water
-
23.08.10
fresh parsley
1 and 1/2 bananas
tablespoon each of carob powder and dessicated coconut
1 cup of water
--
22.08.10
(made with Chita)
milk thistle and nettles
1 orange, stick of celery and 2 bananas
3 cups of water
--
17.08.10
lots of spinach stalk and all
a small apple and half a banana,
spoon of tahini and a spoon of hemp protein
1 and 1/2 cups of water
--
11.08.10
lots of chickweed!
Spoon each of hemp, cacao and carob powders
4 squishy Turkish dates
1 banana and 1/4 of an avocado
1 and 1/2 cups of water
--
another version of chickweed chocolate!
04.08.10
chickweed!!
Half an avocado
1 banana and 3 strawberries
raw cacao and maca powder to taste
a tiny bit of agave of you need to balance sweetness
1 and 1/2 cups of water
(by all the exclamations you can probably see I am fond of chickweed-chocolate smoothies...)
--
01.08.10
buk choy leaves
2 bananas and 3 strawberries (these were high flavoured organic strawberries so don't need many, also I don't generally use much expensive fruits in my smoothies, since the high proliferation of bananas, I buy ripe ones from the markets and keep in freezer, I do the same with avocadoes sometimes-removing skin, quartering and freezing-rationing)
spoon of maca
1 and 1/2 cups of water