Chickweed for Eating

Author Diana Herrington

More Real Food From My Garden Weeds are food too. Green leafy things we call weeds like pig weed, dandelion leaves, chick weed, nettles, lambs quarters and so many more. Click on any of these weed links to read our adventures.

Chickens like this weed so much which is why it is called chickweed!

Chickweed is Edible:

Chickweed is great in salads especially at this time of year when my lettuce is not ready to eat. My garden grows it profusely so I take scissors out and cut it before I did it up to let the rest of my vegetables grow. No worries about there being a shortage as I said it grows profusely.

I hear it makes a great pesto which means I am will be trying that soon.

Chickweed is Very Nutritious:

It is particularly high in vitamin C and mucilage, and also provides rutin, PABA, GLA, an omega-6 fatty acid derivative, niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, beta carotene, magnesium, iron, calcium, potassium, zinc, phosphorus, manganese, sodium, selenium, and silicon.

Chickweed for Health:

Chickweed has been used for indigestion and for coughs, rhematoid arthritis, psoriasis, stomach ulcers and as a “blood cleanser”.
Is a tonic, diuretic, demulcent, expectorant, and mildly laxative.
Is often an ingredient in herbal weight loss preparations.
Relieves itching and inflammation.
As it is soothing and moisturizing for the skin, it is an ingredient in some skin care products.

Here is the salad I made with the chickweed I harvested. I used half of the above for this salad.

About Diana Herrington

I am the head chef at Real Food for Life and author of the GREEN means LEAN and Balance Your Body e-books. I turned a debilitating health crisis into a passion for helping others with healthy, sugar free, gluten free eating and cooking.

Real Food For Life