Foraging Wild Food in Germany: Why should we walk around gathering what are essentially weeds?

Epic interior adventures with alt-meditation

6 min readMar 3, 2019

I’m finding it harder than ever to connect with my prepubescent daughter.

It doesn’t matter how much I preach about getting exercise, sleeping well or meditating. She still is a little sad and mopey about…everything. I know what self care looks like and what she needs, I’ve got a doctorate in physical therapy. And I’m obsessed with longevity research (go Rhonda Patrick)! But my advice falls on deaf ears.

It finally hit me when I noticed my daughter finally happy after literally rescuing someone who broke their neck on the slopes of the Matterhorn.

Her attitude changed and my sweet, active, happy daughter returned! All my efforts “talking” about self care were nothing compared to her accomplishing something and seeing the results.

I’m sure all parents figure this out, but it’s clear now that meaningful activity and human connection trumps science, knowledge, and “exercise” when it comes to wellbeing.

But that kind of peak experience can’t happen all of the time, so I’m on the hunt for daily, weekly, or monthly kind of activities that have results but are mindful/self care oriented. Something to gain confidence from and get “out of our heads”.

Our family likes to eat, I mean going out to dinner is never chicken nuggets. It’s good and bad, when your 8 year old wants a steak and she eats it all including veggies, you are proud she doesn’t eat crap, but it gets expensive.

Feasting on the Italian side- yes they definitely eat better in Italy than Switzerland.

We also like to cook at home and experiment. So the idea of foraging wild foods and creating new recipes seems like a fantastic meaningful activity with results but also some “healing”.

But how to do it? I really have no idea.

So this will be the year of foraging and I’ll share my successes and failures learning this ancient art of nutrition and self healing. Hopefully it will be useful with practical tips on finding food, recipes, and inspiring stories of human connection.

I’ve got a book coming to help me too. Ironic it’s by the US army. The institution that usually causes so much stress for me is a resource for my stress relieving meaningful activity. But I love disparate things crashing into each other so it’s kinda cute.

A blog called www.eatweeds.co.uk recommended it and his YouTube is amazing! Like the Bob Ross of wild food foraging. You’re welcome. Enjoy.

I’m not here to convince you of the benefits of wild foods. That’s been done very well…micro nutrients, budget, environmental etc etc.

Rather, I’m here to share the stories of connection:

with the land
the people you forage for and with
the old school experts who share their knowledge and pass it down
With yourself and connecting to the present. Forging requires focus and observation and being in nature. All proven strategies to connect to the practice of mindfulness and learn about the nature of our own mind.

Let’s call it “Alt-Meditation”.

My type A mind can get behind foraging as “alt-meditation” because it’s:

Not a sitting activity. Why does everyone tell you to sit and meditate? There are two types of people in this world, sitters and fidgeters. We can’t help it it’s in our DNA! Telling people like me to sit is like telling someone with anxiety to relax. Thanks for the advice boss, if I could have, I would have.
It hits a few birds with the same stone, so it’s kind of productive in a weird way and easier to Form a Habit Around in my mind. Hey, we are not looking for perfection, it’s a good start. I know so many things are healthful, but never do it. For example: 20 min of sitting meditation a day. And good luck trying to get your spawn to do that in their teen years.
Physical movement, nature exposure, hyper nutritious ingredients for home cooked recipes, reduced “screen time”, and a sense of accomplishment of something tangible at the end. A bag full of edibles and an interesting meal is easier to see the benefit than the modest (although very important) theoretical brain rewiring with sitting meditation.

Maybe it’s a gateway endogenous drug for all things mindful? The brain is like a drug cabinet, if we can just find the right keys to open the right medication at the appropriate moments, how wonderfully gritty and grounded we would be.

Germany has a climate much like Washington state with its lushness but also like the east coast with four seasons. Many of the same trees and weeds grow here. so it should be helpful for anyone looking to begin a foraging practice even in the States.

On the side of a road behind a development

I’ve observed already that you don’t need to be in the complete forest to find delicious wild food. Much of it grows on the sides of streets or empty hillsides so suburbs and cities aren’t a bad place to forage either!

Luckily the German pastime is walking and most patches of forest are open for hiking and foraging. I’ve almost forgotten what a no trespassing sign looks like and wonder why people are so adverse to walkers crossing open lands??

Allowing people to surprise you with their generosity and abundance can be empowering. I haven’t noticed hikers, foragers, or hunters to be litter bugs or vandals in this place where you can walk everywhere on private land.

But maybe it’s also cultural, Germans are so …Neat. And if you are in the States, please be mindful of private land and get permission. What’s the worst thing that can happen if you ask? Maybe make a new friend? As a previous Idahoan, I’d be careful to ask because sometimes people keep hunting dogs on weak chains, or there are infestations of poison ivy that the owner can protect you against.