I imagine some of you clicked on this wondering what I was going to try to sell you. Well, sorry to disappoint, but I’m all about doing stuff yourself and not having to spend money to live well.

The thing I want to sell you is a simple idea that I know will make you feel healthier right away. Really!!

And if you do it regularly, it could totally change your life! I mean totally change your life for real!!

Ready for it?

Harvest fresh vegetables or Herbs and eat them right away.

Shocking! Revolutionary! Mind-blowing!

Okay, I’m totally kidding. There’s nothing shocking about this idea. Well, perhaps it is a little shocking that it’s not already a standard practice in everyone’s lives.

Really though, I’m upselling this simple idea because I’m in a good mood and having a little fun! And that’s probably because I harvested some fresh spinach and wilted it in my omelet for breakfast this morning.

What a pleasure it was to walk out to the garden with a pair of scissors and cut off a hand full of crisp, dew-moistened leaves. As I walked back to the house, I couldn’t help but admire the crinkly parts and complex veining of the spinach leaves. I was also acutely aware of how earthy and green they smelled.

I also realized I was going to fall if I kept staring at my leaves while walking. So, I stood still for a moment to look at them more closely.

Suddenly, a loud buzzing sound attracted my attention. I turned to see our blackberry bramble hedge practically pulsating with an impossible number of bees. Their tiny wings wafted the subtle, rose-like scent up and away from the flowers where it hung like a perfume cloud around the plant leaves.

I closed my eyes and listened to the bees and let the delicious, decadent fragrance of those profuse flowers permeate through me.

Then Luna barked. And I remembered I was on my way to cook breakfast.

I walked swiftly to the house. Once I got my eggs mixed and poured into the hot pan, I cut the spinach leaves into small pieces. I tossed them into my omelet a few moments before it was fully cooked, along with some goat cheese and smoked salmon. Then I folded the omelet and let the residual heat in the pan wilt the spinach.

This morning it was spinach. Later today it might be some mint to crush and infuse in water to keep me cooler as temperatures rise. Earlier this week it was asparagus, bok choy, and mustard. Another time baby turnips…

Frankly, it can be any kind of fresh vegetable, fruit, or herb. It can even be foraged “weeds”.

Purslane, lambsquarters, cresses, corn salad, dandelions, sorrels, and violets are easy to identify and nearly ubiquitous in human landscapes. They’ve been wild foraged for fresh use by humans for so long they’re really almost cultivated!

The main point isn’t what you harvest. It’s to go out side, be with nature, and eat a little bit of something so fresh it’s going to give you a nutrient boost.

The benefits of this simple act are as follows.

Benefits of Eating Fresh

Going out to the garden (or even your disaster of a yard that’s probably full of edible weeds) is good for blood flow.

Harvesting fresh engages your visual and aromatic senses and brings you into the present moment.

Once in the present, nature’s magical powers of attraction – fragrant pollen and nectar, abundant insect activity, a gentle breeze, subtle or bright beauty – can lure you to stop and smell the roses… even if they’re only distant relatives of roses like blackberries!

With the calming influence of a natural encounter winding its way into your next activities, you are more alert, engaged, and mindful.

Plus, those delicious greens, or whatever you harvested and added to your meal, feed your gut bacteria, your blood, and your body an intense vitamin burst and phytonutrients that make you feel more vital.

If you do this once in a while, it’s a bit of relaxing fun. If you do this often, it’s life changing.

Now, in case you still feel cheated that I wasn’t trying to sell you something with that click bait title… I’d love for you to buy either or both of the books I’ve written. They can certainly help you improve your garden and harvest even the most exotic spices at home.

Of course, I am also a huge advocate for free and gift economies. So, feel free to harvest and glean all the other no cost resources on my books and media page, as well as the other pages in my site menu that are full of inspiration on sustainable and beautiful Epicurean homestead living.

Wishing you good health and a wealth of natural encounters to make life beautiful!