'I feed my family on dandelions, tree leaves and nettles - but I've got to watch out for dog wee'
07.05.2023 - 15:25
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A thrifty mum says she 'dines like royalty' while saving a fortune by eating dandelions, tree leaves and nettles - though admits she has to look out for dog urine.
Kaye Wilkinson first began learning about foraging around five years ago after chronic arthritis and ulcerative colitis left her unable to work.
The mum-of-two soon started scouring nearby open fields for plants and vegetation that she could use in her cooking, avoiding expensive supermarket veg and limiting money spent on petrol to drive to the shops.
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A few of the 48-year-old's ingredients of choice include nettles, dandelions, beech tree leaves, wild mushrooms and rose petals.
Kaye shared photos of some of her recipes on Facebook this week, claiming to have substituted spinach for nettles in her beans and fish pie.
The green-fingered stay-at-home mum has also made spaghetti using foraged fungi, stir-fried rice using dandelions and dock leaves and even added nettles to a birthday cake.
Kaye also uses young beech leaves as a substitute for lettuce, and even makes her own herbal tea using rose petals and nettles rather than buying it from the shops.
The nature enthusiast claims that hand-picking food is a 'cost-effective' way to live, and would recommend foraging to any purse-string-savvy shoppers.
However she urges anyone hoping to take up the cost-cutting hobby to not pick them in areas where dogs may have urinated or weedkiller may have been used, Hull Live reports.
Kaye said: "It's a cost-effective thing to do, going out into the wild and picking things rather than buying expensive vegetables from the supermarket all the time, 100%.
"At this time of year, there is so much salad