Yep, that's right. I just harvested a bucket full of a common weed. While we are waiting on some lettuces, spinach, kale, and chard to become mature enough to start picking leaves from, I got impatient and wanted to join with everyone else already harvesting from their spring gardens and begin harvesting something.
Dandelions are running rampant in our yard, and instead of putting them to good use in the compost bin, I decided they could be put to even better use in the kitchen. Dandelions greens are surprisingly rich in all kinds of nutrients and other health benefits. They offer calcium, iron, protein, vitamin A, & vitamin C just to name a few. Some of the benefits: help prevent and fight different cancers and help maintain a healthy liver and eyes. And that's only the tip of an iceberg in their health value.
This bucket full should provide a nice base to some daily smoothies for the next few days. We try to have a smoothie everyday that consists of a green (i.e. spinach, kale, chard, collard, ... and now dandelion), a fruit or two (i.e. banana, apple, orange, blueberries, strawberries, etc) and a small handful of grain/seed/nut (i.e. flax seeds, raw sunflower seeds, almonds, etc).
We'll probably be fortunate enough to harvest a bucket full of dandelion greens every week or two through at least early summer.
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