Nettles and the Hope of Spring

Green vitality and an Everyday Mineralizing Tea Recipe with Nettles

Dear friends,

Hope is the sting of a nettle in spring bringing you back to life.

If I were pressed to say my favorite plant, on most days I might say nettles. I love them dearly. The first nutritious green to emerge in spring with a powerful bite (until you dry or cook them). If you are stung by an emerald green nettle you are momentarily electrified and it truly makes you present. It feels especially hard to be present these days for endless reasons I don’t need to mention so I instead suggest a ritual to you, one of my favorites.

Find your closest nettle patch this spring. Watch the nettles grow from a cluster of sharp-toothed tiny green leaves throughout the season into stalks waist high. Harvest the nettles, sing to them, thank them in the ways that you do, maybe get stung a few times and let their green vitality breath hope back into your body. Nettles are good teachers and ones that nourish our bodies, minds and spirits.

My local nettle patch

My mother tells the story of how the grandmother’s in the village her father’s family is from in Serbia would hit children’s knees in the spring with nettle stalks to give them health or zdrav in Serbo-Croatian. One of my earliest memories is of my grandmother Milka at my aunt Andjela’s farm harvesting stinging nettles (Urtica dioica). Milka always used to tell me how nutritious nettles (in Serbo-Croatian kopriva) were for you and would process them into tea and soup like her mother had taught her. I always was afraid of the fact that they stung, but soon learned from her that when you cook them they lose their characteristic sting. When I harvest them in the spring myself now I feel connected to Milka and my ancestors who revered and respected nettles. If you harvest them yourself, be careful to always wear gloves unless you want to get stung!

This is recipe for a highly nutritive tea that is great to drink during pregnancy, postpartum and a perfect everyday tea for everyone (my kids like it too!). The taste is green, slightly fruity and a little sweet. I started drinking this tea when I was pregnant with my daughter almost ten years ago and it continues to be a daily staple for me. Emerald green nettles are high in many vitamins and minerals including iron, zinc, magnesium, vitamin C, D and K. Red raspberry leaf (Rubus idaeus) is high in B vitamins, vitamin C and minerals including potassium, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus and iron.

It is also known as a tonic to help tone the uterus in preparation for childbirth. Oat straw (Avena sativa) is the green stem and leaf of the oat plant who milky tops are harvested to give us oats. Oat straw is naturally high in silicon and calcium, which makes it very beneficial for bones, nails, skin and hair. It is also high in zinc, B vitamins, magnesium, iron, vitamin A, protein, and adds sweetness to the blend. Add this super powered tea to your daily routine for a delicious infusion of vitamins and minerals all year round.

Nettle, Raspberry Leaf & Oatstraw Daily Vitamin Tea

Instructions

Yield: Varied

INGREDIENTS

-2 parts dried nettle leaf

-2 parts dried raspberry leaf

-1 part oatstraw

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix herbs together and store in glass jar with lid. I like to make this in large batches to last me for several months. If kept out of direct sunlight, will stay fresh for up to one year.

TO USE

Add 1 heaping tbsp to 16oz of boiling water and let steep for 10 minutes or longer. Strain and drink. Add sweetener if desired. Drink as often as desired, I highly recommend it as a daily tea.

Sending love and hope as the green world sings itself back to life!

xoxo Jana