This might seem a little weird to some of you, but maybe there are a few other weird people out there like me.
Have you ever just went outside and picked some dandelions (greens, flowers, and/or roots) and eaten them? Obviously you would want to watch out for any that may have been sprayed, but I don’t know why more people don’t do this.
They are a little bitter, but they are free and they are really good for you. I bought some at whole foods once just to try them, but then I thought why not just pick them for free?
The roots are natural diuretics too, so anybody needed to cut a little water weight might want to give them a go.
I doubt there will be too much discussion on this one since it doesn’t have a whole lot to do with making your biceps bigger, but hopefully a few of you care about health too and arent afraid to try new things.
Always wanted to try this - just need to watch out for polluted ones!
Any other common plants I can munch on?
Dandelion root is a pretty powerful diuretic in my experience.
That and horsetail
I’ve seen a shit-ton of variations from dandelion to dandelion, is this variance due to the plant itself (high tendencies for mutations) or does the air-borne cross-pollination aspect of it make it a natural carrier of pesticides and such?
I would be wary of consuming something that people routinely use chemicals to try and kill, before it floats away and lands in your front yard.
raw danelion greens and flowers, havent tried roots. I tried frying flowers in butter but didnt like it much. The greens are like a salad lol. next time your outdoors catch a few grasshoppers for protein haha. I tried raw meal worms and it wasn’t pleast, apparently anything is good deep friend though.
Why not just go to a god damned Greek restaurant and order a plate of dandelion leaves. I do it almost every time I’m in Astoria.
Some restaurants use dandelions in there salad mixes, some of the Mennonites around here make dandelion jelly that’s pretty good too. Kudzu is another plant you can make salads and stuff from and down south it’s in overabundance.
We used to call them ‘piss the beds’ when we were kids. Pick one and you pissed the bed that night lol! Obviously linked to the diuretic effect they have.
Stinging nettle is another great edible freebie and is everywhere!. Best picked in spring when the first leaves are budding. Soak them in water or boil them to remove the stinging chemicals. Losdsa health benefits incl. diuretic action, vits A, C, D, iron calcium etc. Taste like spinach when cooked.
Wild garlic is another one and packs a serious punch for the little bulbs you get from the plant.
Oh yeh’ lest not forget magic mushrooms but thats for another thread, no health benfits there 
Petermus,
Last fall I did try some fried grasshoppers. Wasn’t good, wasn’t bad…but a free source of protein. I think they would have been a lot better if I would have taken the heads off…those are like eating sunflower seed shells.
A lot of other cultures eat them, so why not try…not going to be a staple in my diet by any means, but I will try again this fall.
Also, man up on the dandelions and don’t blanch them just cause they are a little bitter. You are wasting all the good nutrients.
Saw a show on PBS where a guy was in a big city and would gather herbs and salads like dandelion from cracks in the street or medians on busy roads or in abandoned lots. That shit stuck in my memory. Not sure if I’d try it like that, but they’d probably be pretty easy to grow, or even get from the wild, just not the damed street corner where dogs are pissing and God knows what else gets on there.