Dandelions: No Longer Only A Weed

     Every summer in the midwest, the weed everyone loves to hate appears. Many fight a constant battle to prevent these little yellow flowers from entering their pristine lawns. However, I never really understood why people hated them so much. I always thought the lawns that had more yellow than green were so much prettier. I guess that just wasn't the look a lot of people wanted. Since these plants grow in temperate climates around the world, it can almost be considered by some as a weedy epidemic! 

    As an adult, I wondered if these plants served any kind of purpose. That's when I found out that dandelions aren't only edible but good for you! You can eat the flower, stem, leaves, and roots!Dandelions are filled with vitamin C, K, A, E, folate, and some B. They also have a few minerals like iron, magnesium, and calcium. To add in the benefits it has a highly soluble form of fiber, high levels of benefcial antioxidants, can help fight inflammation, and help lower cholesterol. 

    With all of these amazing health benefits, these pesky little plants are hard to ignore! Traditionally, dandelions are any apothecary's staple plant. For example, Native Americans used the leaves and roots as a diuretic to treat liver and kidney problems. Fresh or dried dandelion leaves and petals have also been used to help stimulate appetite and settle upset stomachs. 

    Dandelions have a bit of a bitter flavor, especially if they are in the middle of your yard. If you are looking to get them a little sweeter, you can try picking the ones closer to the shade. The smaller and younger ones also tend to be less bitter than the bigger and older leaves. Like I mentioned before, you can eat every part of this plant but you do have to be careful. Because many people try their hardest to get rid of this plant, they can have pesticides, herbicides, or other chemicals on them. I recommend only picking them where you know nothing has been sprayed.

    After all of this you may be wondering how all of this is eaten? Am I just supposed to eat it raw? No! That would be no fun and I wouldn't be writing this post if that was the only option! The most potent ways to reap the benefits of these plants is to either use the the leaves and flowers in a salad or make tea out of any one of the parts. However, there are countless ways to work them into your diet! The only thing is, the more you cook it, the less benefits you can get. That being said, you can't cook it all out! So, if you need a little dandelion pick-me-up but don't want a salad or tea, you'll still get the benefits from putting it in something else. 

    Some things you can make with dandelion are sautéed crowns and leaves, flower fritters, roasted root "coffee", drink syrup, jelly, or even just throwing some petals into just about any baked good! Some of these I have tried personally and some I haven't. I will say that everything I have tried with dandelions has been super tasty so far! My favorite is definitely dandelion drink syrup but I am excited to put dandelions in everything!

    What should I cook with dandelions? Questions? Comments? Concerns? Use the comment section below!