Tip of the Day 2

Agriculture's arrival some 10000+ years ago brought many benefits to the diets of humans, most notably the ready and constant supply of calorie dense foods. With this macronutrient (fats, proteins, carbohydrates) increase though has come some micronutrient (vitamins, minerals) loss, with plants loosing interesting and important flavour and nutrition compounds through the gradual process of domestication. Fortunately though many wild/semi wild foods are still available, either to be bought, or harvested, if you have the time or the inclination.

Some common and readily available choices for rounding out and boosting micronutrient levels in your diet are : brazil nuts, dandelion, rocket, amaranth, asparagus, quinoa, wild rice, kale, seaweed, herbs and berries. No need to go off the deep end and live in the wild eating only rabbit poo like Ray Mears, a few simple tweaks to what you are already doing can make all the difference.

Have fun and experiment.

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"Virtually all Brazil nut production comes from wild forest trees and wild-harvesting. The trees grow very slowly, taking as long as 10 to 30 years before producing nuts, and they require a specific species of bee to pollinate the flowers. Both of these factors make the trees unsuitable and unprofitable for plantation cultivation.

The Brazil nut tree is a good example of the intricate ecosystem of the Amazon, where plants and animals are inexplicably intertwined. Not only is the pollination of this tree so specialized, requiring one particular insect species to produce the fruit, but only one species of animal is capable of chewing through the extremely tough fruit pod to disburse the seeds for new tree growth. The agouti, a rather large rat (up to 10 pounds!) with extremely sharp front teeth, is solely responsible for reseeding the forest with Brazil nuts and ensuring the next generation of trees. In the Amazon rainforest, the tree, bee, and agouti are all dependent on one another for survival."

- Lesley Taylor, The Healing Power Of Rainforest Herbs