This week’s healing herb which you are receiving as a tea is the notorious and plentiful Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica). What are some of your first thoughts when you hear the plant’s name? That prickly little rascal? I don’t even want to get close to those things!
Well, interestingly enough these plants are PACKED with a completely balanced blend of vitamins & minerals. They are incredibly nutritious to women before and during they’re moon cycle for this reason! The leaves contain high amounts of iron, calcium, magnesium, silicon, potassium, manganese, zinc, copper, and chromium. Alongside the minerals are vitamin K, vitamin C, and most of the B vitamins.
It amazes me that many of the plants we call weeds and try to get rid of are often an incredible source of nutrients that are growing in hardy abundance. Perhaps if we consume more hardy, resilient, and wild plants, we too will absorb those qualities deep into our cells.
I personally believe that stinging nettles are far superior to many of the dark leafy salad greens we consume, and for that reason, I drink a cup of nettle tea a day! You can also make delicious pesto, steamed greens, soups, and juices with the fresh spring leaves.
I would encourage you to spend some time observing and connecting with the wild plants in your backyard, and perhaps ask them how you can both enter into a deeper relationship of mutual giving and receiving. They are waiting for you to simply pause and listen … as they have been sharing their secrets with willing humans for millennia.
By: Angelica Fisher, Intern with OUR Ecovillage, Instagram: @angel_fish254
