Veganism and eating organic food is pretty big in MMA at the moment.

Sports Nutrition is no longer about the window, before, during and after exercise. You need a foundation of healthy, whole foods, preferably organic to maintain your health, immunity, training intensity and recovery.

But if you are skint, this is difficult. Well don’t worry too much, because you can get a few great organic vegetables from your garden.

*Always check an online resource like a blog, against at least 1 book and preferably 1 knowledgeable forager before eating anything.

Stinging Nettles & Their Health Benefits

Nettles should ideally, be wilted before you eat them – heat them up until they wilt and you will destroy the ‘functionality’ of the tiny barbs that deliver the acidic sting.

Nettles health benefits include:

• Anti-inflammatory benefits, great for joint pain
• Help fight off hayfever
• They contain iron & vitamin C
• They reduce oxidative stress (study here)

Nettles are actually one of the healthiest plants you can eat and are very dense in terms of their nutritional content.

Steaming them is probably the best way to prepare them.

Dandelion & Their Health Benefits

Dandelions can also be found in most UK gardens (not sure about the US sorry).

You can eat the whole plant, the root is a pain to prepare and change into a coffee however.

They contain vitamins A, C and K and can be eaten raw.

They also contain minerals such as iron and magnesium.

There is even some research to suggest that dandelions may help prevent cancer (study here and here).

Foraging Mushrooms

*Always check an online resource like a blog, against at least 1 book and preferably 1 knowledgeable forager before eating anything. Especially true when foraging mushrooms as loads of them are deadly!

One of the easiest mushrooms to identify is Chicken of the Woods. Also known as Laetiporus sulphureus it generally grows on oak trees and stumps.

More detailed information on Chicken of the Woods can be found here

Found August – October, they are a good source of protein, potassium and vitamin C.

If you want to learn more and you live in the UK, then I’d highly recommend attending a course with Original Outdoors.

I’ll upload some more pictures and videos soon of our foraging course in Ruthin, North Wales, but for now here’s one of Richard looking at one with the woods:

You can see a list of their courses here.

For anyone familiar with the Happiness Quadrant – courses like this are great in that they have both present benefit (the courses are enjoyable) and future benefit (as you learn a new skill and increase knowledge). More info on the Happiness Quadrant here.

Grass with grainy bits:

Foraging in a hedge:

Foraging in a hedge 2.0