A “GOOD” STING, STINGING NETTLE
by Bella Donna
Me, “Oh wow. That looks like stinging nettle!”
Me, “OUCH!!”
I learned about wild stinging nettle a few years ago while visiting my Great Grandfather’s home of origin, Pitomaca, Croatia. After noticing a lot of “green” meals, I asked about the proliferation of greenness. Our meals there became quite entertaining. My first morning, I was up early and meet the owner’s son sitting outside under an umbrella of trees. He introduced himself and then said, “Let me get you a cup of coffee. Would you like American coffee? Or a good cup of coffee?”
At dinner, on our first night, we were handed a menu. With no one in a hurry, we read the whole menu and decided on some special dishes of local cuisine. The waiter came to take our order. Then he said to us in his broken English, “We don’t have ‘that’ but we do have Kopriva, a delicious soup of the day.”
Same with the main dish, “We don’t have this, but we have that.” And yes, same with my friend’s wine choice. For each meal thereafter we didn’t even look at the menu, just asked, “What do you recommend?” We ate delicious meals, mostly green, my favorite food color. It was heavenly.
One morning when things seemed to have slowed down, I asked about the “green” of so many foods. Bernard, the owner’s son, told us the story of their whole family collecting stinging nettle annually in a back area. He said they spend days collecting bags full, drying them, and storing them for the upcoming year. He went on to tell us that nettle is their most useful and healthy food that they try to include in as many dishes as possible.
This explained the green pasta, the seasoning in the potato dishes, and the green bread.
In my studying and use of stinging nettle, I’ve come to understand the enthusiasm of having access to a wild herb with a reputation as a superfood. I plan to encourage the spread of what I’ve found on my property so that I can also “collect stinging nettle annually in my back area” as Bernard and his family does.
As a natural, healthy, easy-to-grow superfood, stinging nettle offers the following benefits.
Antimicrobial
Antioxidant
Pain-reliever due to its anti-inflammatory abilities
Nutritionally dense, providing many vitamins and minerals
Helps with detoxification
Can provide relief to respiratory issues
May help lower blood pressure
Some nettle recipes that I’ve since discovered and continue to enjoy are:
Omelet- Green eggs and no ham 😊
Onion Phyllo Pastry with Nettle
To explore more science-backed benefits: https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/herbs-and-spices/stinging-nettle.html
BELLA DONNA | BEE HEALTHY
Wholistic Healthcare Facilitator —Beekeeper, Aromatherapist, Apitherapist, Herbalist, Life and Health Coach
My personal, business, and life-long mission continues to be teaching and inspiring others to better health. Throughout my life I’ve found many avenues to this with the most profound having faith in the natural health and healing abilities of honey and herbs. Synergistically the empowerment of the two is phenomenal.
I have studied for decades with such greats as my Great Grandfather as a child, to Rosemary Gladstar in my early adult years, and in later years with Peter Bigfoot at Reevis Mountain, in the desert of north Phoenix, living off-grid and on the land for two years. And my favorite influencer of all, Dr. Bruce Lipton.