In my regular diet, here is a highlight of some of the veggie ingredients in my meals
breakfast smoothie: 1 handful of coriander ~ 10g
charcuterie lunch: 2 carrots, 1 bell pepper ~300g
green smoothie: 3 cups spinach, 1 cup arugula, 1 cup tomatoes, 1 cup chopped asparagus, half a cucumber, handful of coriander and parsley ~600g
pesto pasta: fresh basil leaves, spinach ~100g
grilled halloumi and veggies: 1 zucchini, onions, garlic ~ 365g
In a week if I were to eat a breakfast smoothie ever day, charcuterie lunch 3x a week, green smoothie 2x a week, grilled veggies 1 x a week and pesto pasta 1x a week, that puts me at around 380g of veggies per day.
I don’t think it would be feasible to replace my full veggie intake with foraged alternatives, but I do think supplementing my regular store bought veggies with foraged alternatives is reasonable. For example nettles, dandelion leaves, or wild garlic leaves could fit in some of my leafy green intake, but other than that it would be challenging to find forageable alternatives in the area for the other veggies in my diet (e.g. bell peppers, carrots, zucchini, tomatoes).
I’m finding myself thinking of them as a one to one swap – like how could I possibly replace a carrot? But to Lynn’s point, its interesting to think about the nutrient contents in wild vs supermarket foods and that I might need different amounts of wild food to give my body the same nutrients I was getting from that carrot.
One way I have already cut back on grocer vegetable consumption is using pickled garlic roots which I acquired from some path clearing work in the orchards this spring (score!) and I’ve been using them to replace my use of regular garlic. When purchased I’d rarely go through a whole bulb of garlic before its starts going off and I’d have to throw it out so that’s already felt like a sustainable step forward.
Another thing I’ve considered is growing my own coriander and parsley and basil, which are herbs I purchase and use regularly in my diet. It would take a lot to fully sustain my needs and lightly harvest but it could be used as a supplement to cut back on my grocery needs for these herbs.
I agree with Lotte and Sadhbh – foraging to me feels like a special treat and I like being able to pop into a supermarket for essentials, but then topping off a salad with some freshly foraged herbs, or finishing a meal with a fresh herbal tea seems like a good balance 🙂