The Health Benefits of Nettles + ‘Very Nettle’ Wild Soup Recipe!

By  Trinity Bourne

Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

I must admit that I get really excited about adding wild nettles into my springtime cuisine.

Mother Earth is an amazing friend. If we respect her and take the time to connect, she unveils a carpet of super foods without the need for us to rush off and fill our shopping baskets or spend a small fortune on supplements in supermarkets or health food stores.

Nettles are jam packed with high vibrational goodness and have been well documented throughout the aeons for a myriad of health benefits. They are said to help urinary tract infections, act as a diuretic, help break down kidney stones, destroy internal parasites, to relieve gas/colitis/coeliac disease, alleviate asthma, hay fever, hives, dermatitis, arthritis and even help prevent hair loss. As if all that isn’t enough, nettles are also high in chlorophyll, iron, potassium, silica, sulphur and vitamins C, A & B, offering a rich infusion of nutrients.

There seems to be an endless list of benefits, making this a must-have addition to our diet.  The fact that they provide a dose of serotonin and acetylcholine (neurotransmitters that help us find a sense of calm and fulfillment) really does it for me. When I eat them, my body just says ‘yes!’.

The best time to pick nettles is before they start developing seeds. The seed produces an irritant that may bother some folk. Spring is normally the best time to gather them, although if you cut them right back after the first seeding, you will get new growth later in the season too. The youngest, freshest leaves, without the stalks, are optimal. Unless you are feeling brave, I recommend gathering stinging nettles with rubber gloves. Drying or soaking in water, sauce or oil will instantly remove the sting, making them edible both raw and cooked.

So… nettle soup! You can toss nettles in to lots of different dishes, although if you want a super infusion of this nutritious gem then you might enjoy my thick, green ‘Very Nettle’ soup.

‘Very Nettle’ Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

200g fresh nettles  (this is about one large salad serving bowl full)

1 large onion

1 large stalk of celery

1 large potato (approx 300g)

500ml   (about a pint) fresh water

1 teaspoon sea salt

Pinch of black pepper (optional)

75ml coconut cream (optional)

Dash of olive oil (to saute onion)

Chive flowers to garnish (optional)

Instructions:

1. Chop onion and saute for a couple of minutes using the olive oil in a medium sized pan.

2. Chop potato and celery roughly in to small chunks.

3. After a couple of minutes add the water, along with the potatoes, celery, salt and pepper and bring pan back to the boil. Once it is boiling turn down to a simmer and prepare the nettles.

4. Preparing nettles is a simple art once you know how. Use rubber gloves and place them in a large colander to rinse if necessary. Shake off any excess water and pick the leaves off the stems. Once you have done this (still with gloves on) use a large sharp knife to roughly chop them up. Be really careful at this stage to avoid cutting through your rubber gloves (I’ve seen this happen so many times, so stay aware).

5. After about 15 minutes of cooking the contents of the pan, add in the nettles. Stir in if needed and allow to cook for a few more minutes. If you love coconut and have coconut cream available you might like to add some at this stage for a creamier effect (although this is optional).

6. Blend the soup and then serve along with some delicious spelt bread or home made oatcakes.

Want more ideas?

Given my passion for recipes, my cookbook also has a few other really delicious nettle recipes such as ‘Hempy Nettled Potatoes’, ‘Nettle & Mushroom Stir-fry’, ‘Trin’s Soul Food Special’ (nettles in a sweet potato, coconut & shiitake mushroom soup) and ‘Sun-dried Tomato & Nettle Pate’.

Love, Trinity

Trinity’s Conscious Kitchen

Trinity is delighted to bring you this unique and delicious collection of compassionate, healthy and thought provoking recipes, inspired by years of catering for spiritual retreats and events.

Good for the body and great for the soul, Trinity’s Conscious Kitchen is a divinely inspired invitation into a world of transformational eating, introducing original vegan, wheat-free, sugar-free recipes designed to create optimal health, and greater spiritual, mental and emotional clarity.

You can find out more at  Trinity’s Conscious Kitchen  or order now on Amazon.

Updated August 2014

Further articles by Trinity:

• All About Dandelions and Their Health Benefits (with Recipes)
• Foraging Guide – with 12 Nutritious Wild Plants That Anyone Can Find
• Keeping Slugs & Snails Off Your Veggies – Compassionately
• The Benefits of Lemon Balm – a Must in Any Garden
• You Are Enough, Exactly As You Are
• The Spirit of the Dolphin
• The Spirituality of Space Clearing: 5 Effective Ways to Clear Stagnant Energy
• Being an Empath
• The Wisdom of the Empty Mind
• What is Success? A Spiritual Perspective
• Make Your Own ‘Loved Up’ Raw Chocolate Brownies (Vegan & Gluten Free!)
• Top Twenty Tips for Conscious Eating
• Embracing Spiritual Abundance
• Ethical Conscious Clothing – Ending Modern Day Slavery
• Chocolate Paradise Coconut Bar Recipe – Vegan, Raw, Absolutely Delicious!
• 4th Dimensional Entities & What You Can Do About Them (inc. Audio Meditation)

About the author:

Trinity is an experienced, empathic energy worker and the author of ‘Trinity’s Conscious Kitchen’, a recipe book designed to inspire the soul through conscious vegan, wheat-free cuisine.

Around 18 years ago, during a profound spiritual awakening, the world around her shattered. She became engulfed in a white, universal, timeless, formless light until nothing else existed – other than the nameless truth at the core of all sentient beings. During this life-changing experience Trinity experienced the soul of all other sentient beings, trees, creatures, people as one pulsating energy. Transcending her into a higher realm of unity and oneness, this experience imparted a divine energy that she has been sharing through spiritual work ever since.  She has integrated a wide variety of multidimensional gifts, and works hand in hand with the Angelic Realms, guided by a deep compassion for the Earth and environment.

Understanding that the energy of our food directly impacts sentient life on all levels, Trinity founded  Trinity’s Conscious Kitchen, a website devoted to inspiring the soul through conscious vegan cuisine.  She is the co-founder of the  Openhand Foundation, an organisation dedicated to the evolution of humankind. She works as the divine complement to her soul mate  Open (Chris)  to help facilitate the global Ascension process and feels incredibly blessed to be of divine service.

For more information, check out Trinity’s new book  Trinity’s Conscious Kitchen on Amazon  or visit  Openhandweb.org  for a huge archive of deep insights for the spiritual journey.