Sometimes I dream of having my own little garden and creating a permaculture and flower garden. But I remain too curious about the world to settle in one place. There is so much to explore. What can possibly beat a beach house on wheels, a tent, or floating house with changing scenery and 100% nature all around? And with learning more and more about the world of wild edibles, fresh, local organic superpowers are all around. With this blogpost, I hope to get you more curious to get out in nature, exploring the nutrition it has to offer, wherever you are, and to forage safely.
Table of Contents
- Essential Nomad skill: Foraging for food
- How to figure out what are edible plants and what is safe to eat?
- Which wild edibles I'm finding now in northern Spain?
Essential Nomad skill: Foraging for food
Foraging refers to the ancient practice of gathering wild food from nature’s galore. Integrate foraging into your lifestyle, allows you to connect deeper with nature, save money, and eat fresh, local, healthy foods. And to be out in nature, foraging for wild plants and learning to identify them responsibly. Freshly picked wild greens can turn a basic sandwich or salad into something super exciting!
Combined with the slowmad nomad lifestyle, the act of foraging for food, keeps you in tune with the changing scenery, seasons and supports a self-sufficient lifestyle. Though you’re moving, it makes makes you feel grounded, superpowered, and healthy – a testament to the benefits of foraging for wild plants. You kind of have a seasonal pesticide free wild food supermarket wherever you sail, park, or hike in search of blackberry hedgerows and other nutritious treasures.
How to figure out what are edible plants and what is safe to eat?
Be super curious
Look around the corners and give everything a close-up. Begin with easily recognizable plants like dandelions, nettles, or wild berries. As you gain confidence, expand your foraging repertoire.
Talk with the locals
Chat with locals to learn about foraging responsibly in the area. They’ll have insights on the best spots and seasonal yummyness, including where to find non-poisonous fungus.
Educate Yourself
Before picking anything, know your plants. See if there’s a good regional foraging guidebook or go on a harvest tour with your grandma and people teaching foraging (In the Netherlands, check ReWild Wild Human and Buit Eetbare Natuur). Read and study books on Foraging for food. See if there is a local reference guide.
Wild Remedies: How to Forage Healing Foods and Craft Your Own Herbal Medicine
Food For Free – Richard Mabey
Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine
Ocean Greens: Explore the world of edible seaweeds and sea vegetables
Eetbare wilde planten, 200 soorten herkennen en gebruiken (Dutch)- Steffen Guido Fleischhauer
See more recommended books on the resources page.
Trial & Error
Life’s a risk ;) But that’s my approach. Of course, you got to be careful what you pick and consume. Start with a tiny quantity, test on your skin, and when you’re not sure, just don’t consume it. I once got so excited about having discovered seamoss that I ended up making an enthusiastic smoothy with it and then happened to overdose myself with Iodine.
Check reference Apps
This feels a little bit like cheating. But these days there are some smart Apps out there with which you can scan plants, flowers and learn about it. I like ‘Picture this’ & ‘Obsidentify’ to double check if I identify the plant correctly. After I check in my Plant Medicine encyclopaedia the properties and usage. Or I google it to ensure I never eat anything poisonous.
Which wild edibles I'm finding now in northern Spain?
Wild edibles plants I’m currently finding near me in the summer in Spain: Berries, watercress, seaweed, edible flowers like Elderflower and Nasturtium, wild garlic, sage, mint, pine. And I’m sure there are many more superpowers around that I still have to find out about. That’s why I find foraging for food so exciting! It's like treasure hunting for the most nutritious wild plants. With changing seasons and changing scenery as a nomad. There is always something new to learn, explore, and discover.
Embrace the wild! Wherever you’re exploring.
Do you forage? Share your experiences and tips on how to forage safely. What wild plants are you finding near you?
Remember to only take little so the plant can keep on thriving, thank the plant, what’s in abundance allowed by local laws.
What are you excited to learn about foraging? I’m super excited about this topic and would love to create some more content on this. Drop a comment below if you have any foraging tips or favorite spots & Follow me on Insta for more foraging discoveries in different places in my nomadlife.
Related Posts
