For a balanced diet, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends between 10% and 20% protein per day. Proteins are essential for the muscles, the organs, the skin, the hair: we find inside about twenty different amino acids which are really the “building bricks” of our organism. If you’re vegetarian and you’ve had enough of soy, or if you simply want to eat a little less meat, know that 1,200 edible plants have been identified on the European continent, and that barely 20 are consumed. However, the sides of the paths and the gardens are filled with veritable nutritional bombs.
The absolute star is nettle: 9 g of protein for 100 g of fresh plants. If you count by dry weight, which compares it to other foods, that’s 40% protein – in other words, more than soy and more than meat. Ideally, you pick it young – the taste will be less strong and the proteins will be better assimilated. You catch the leaves from behind so as not to prick yourself. It is a marvel in soup or even raw. Absolutely keep in mind this advice given by this naturopath from Tarn-et-Garonne, Alain Ducos: chop the really small ones to avoid the stinging side in the throat.
Other wild plants full of protein: mallow (with round leaves, etc.) and small white flowers. In salad or soup. Protein content: 7.2 g/100 g. We could cite amaranth, the seeds of which are even eaten like quinoa (guaranteed gluten-free). Or the shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) whose roots are eaten like radishes. To recognize them, you can download applications like Pl@ntNet, which is a bit like Shazam for plants.
These “bombs” nutritional products don’t just provide protein. They are full of mineral salts, enzymes, vitamins (the nettle has six times more vitamin C than the orange). Lamb’s-quarters is full of iron, magnesium, phosphorus, fiber too. This plant has small green shoots sometimes a little tinged with purple, with a kind of grainy dust on the back of the leaves. It reminds me of spinach.
It should be noted that animal feed manufacturers have identified this protein density. They’ve been interested in it for about thirty years: it’s much cheaper than soybean meal. In any case, in the wild, obviously it’s free, and perennial – no need to replant them. And we find them all year round. If you are still on vacation, you will inevitably find naturalists or naturopaths who organize walks to show you this wild flora.