Flowers? Good idea, Bad idea? We hear the benefits of eating real foods. Foods mother nature has prepared for us free of charge such as Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts, Seeds, Berries, Roots, Leaves and Herbs. Do Flowers have the power to be worthy of inclusion in your dietary choices?

Flower power… Mother natures beautiful creations, are they more than what you have been lead to believe!?

Flower power, I’m not talking about computer gaming gimmicks here, more the real powerful benefits of colourful living conscious beings called flowers.

In the book the secret life of plants you can learn about the intimate relationship of plants, on a Physical, Emotional and Spiritual level. Learn how plants and the micro organisms in the soil have a symbiotic relationship. I find there is a common lack of understanding around the subject of the closed organic cycle aka the circle of life. This dis connection, I believe leads to dysfunctions with the body and ultimately dis ease within us. Plants are an integral part of this closed cycle and flowers are a large part of the plant species! They provide food for billions of insects, millions of animals and surprise Humans too. They look good, smell great and are almost good enough to eat right?

Traditionally today flowers are seen as only ornamental objects. Pretty poetic peices of colour used to decorate. The garden, the house, the bed side of a loved one who is unwell. Flowers are cut, wrapped and given as a positive loving gift. But imagine if these amazingly beautiful beings were more than just a nice to view, or a nice to smell object. What if this positive pull towards them was a sign of potential health benefits from our mother nature? A free bright gift towards being at ease and assisting balance within us both mentally and physically. That pull of beauty could be more amazing than you might initially think!

We hear that eating colourful vegetables and fruits for a varied amount of nutrition in our diets is a positive thing all the time. Flowers have some amazing colours, I’m sure you may have noticed this already. So do they also have nutrition that is of benefit, the answer, Yes!

Flowers are natural and organic. mother nature prepares them in the Rhythm and Flow of the closed organic cycle! Our mother has ensured they contain valuable nutrients for health. Dandelions for example contain a various amount of antioxidants and flavonoids, including four times the beta carotene of broccoli! Yep four times the amount of beta carotene!! #Wow #FlowerPower. They’re a great source of valuable vitamins, folic acid, riboflavin, pyroxidine, niacin, and vitamins C and E.

Violets are good for heart health and inflammation conditions, they contain rutin, a phytochemical with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that can help strengthen capillary walls

Rose petals contain bioflavonoids and antioxidants, as well as vitamins A, B3, C and E beneficial for many conditions!

Nasturtiums contain cancer-fighting lycopene and lutein, a carotenoid found in vegetables and fruits that is important for vision health.

Lavender contains vitamin A, calcium and iron, and is said to benefit your central nervous system.

Chive blossoms (the purple flower of the chive herb) contain vitamin C, iron and sulfur, and have traditionally been used to help support healthy blood pressure levels

Not only do Flowers have nutritional benefits they also have Healing properties too! Some are Antifungal some are Anti-inflammatory, some help with common dis ease symptoms such as headache, some even help prevent cancer, dandelions for example inhibit the growth of many cancers!

So with this knowledge of “flower power” is it safe to assume you should include flowers into your dietary choices? Yes. The natives thought so, the Italians, Asians and Romans just to name a few, they all ate flowers! Maybe we should listen to the elders of past times? Did they know something you don’t?

Today, as I iluded to earlier, the norm is to be disconnected from the closed organic cycle, to not be aware of the circle of life, or not to have an organic awareness. A real simple way to have you understand this would be to try this exercise.

# Name 10 top foods restaurant stores?

# Name 10 different types of leaves?

I’m sure you’d have an easy time naming the top branded food stores such as McDonald’s, Burger king, KFC, Gregs, Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Prezzo, Costa, Starbucks, Waga Mamma, but a tougher time naming the long established leaf varieties!

The reality is that knowing what plants can nourish you, what plants can heal you, and what plants can kill you is a serious servival necessity… (the pharmaceutical companies sure think so evidenced through bioprospecting practises) Yet we are conditioned to not pay attention to our mother and our surrounding family of beings. Leaves are part of our real life environment, yet we are more aware of material fake food companies than we are the reality of organic life that is integral to life on this planet. #FoodForThought?

Flower taste can vary dramatically in my experience so it’s a great practise to enjoy a wide variety and find out what flowers you like and dislike.

How to eat Flowers

Include flowers in salads
Top your Starters with flowers.
Eat flowers on their own raw.
Added flowers into water.
Add flowers into sauces.

Each flower will have a real unique taste so enjoy the experience.

Many flowers are harmful to health so being aware of this is vitally important. Every rose has its thorn!

We know that Synthetic non foods such as sugar, cakes etc can kill us and the same is for the real environment of nature. Mother nature knows how to make us pay attention to what we eat!

How to stay safe when eating Flowers.

Research! Use books and trusted sources to know what flowers are edible, How they are eaten and Why. Do not eat just any flower type.
Eat only certified organic flowers, this is to avoid the numerous pesticides and minimise your chemical exposure. http://www.gazegillorganics.co.uk is one such source.
Start with small quantities, flowers can be rather potent and may cause an allergic reaction (those with pollen allergies be careful) so start small and gradually increase the amounts consumed.
Always rinse the flower carefully and dry on paper towel.
Consume as soon as possible to avoid loss of nutrients.
In general it’s the petals that are consumed only but check this throughly in your research.

Go ahead pick some quality flowers, add them to your food choices not just the window sill and enjoy the floral taste of mother nature. #Yum