Feast from the Living Earth: 4 Life-Force Recipes with Wild Edible Plants
Shantree Kacera, RH, DN.., Ph.D.
Celebrate the radiant abundance of summer with raw, plant-based, wildcrafted creations that nourish the body, awaken the senses, and deepen your connection with the vibrant pulse of the Earth.
Summer is a season of full expression. The sun is high, the earth is warm, and wild plants rise to meet the light with unrestrained beauty and vitality. This is the time when the land offers itself generously, and in return, we are invited to slow down, listen, and receive.
When we harvest and prepare wild plants in their natural, fresh state, untouched by fire, close to the moment of picking, we are communing with the living intelligence of the Earth. These plants are carriers of prana, of life-force, of the elemental energies that sustain all of creation. They hold within them the sunlight, the soil, the water, and the winds that shaped them, and they share this medicine with us freely.
This is the sacred ground of Incredible Edibles, a living transmission of Earth’s generosity and vitality. It is a reminder that nourishment can be both wildly simple and deeply transformational. When we gather, prepare, and eat these gifts consciously, we are not only feeding our bodies but attuning ourselves to the pulse of the living world.
These recipes are not just meals; they are expressions of Sacred Body, Sacred Earth: Living on Life-Force. They come from a lineage of nourishment that recognizes the body as a sacred vessel of Earth’s intelligence. When we take in wild foods in their whole, fresh, life-force-rich state, we are honouring the elemental memory woven into our cells. We are feeding the subtle layers of our being, energetic, emotional, spiritual, as well as the physical.
The following recipes are rooted in this understanding. They are crafted to be enjoyed as high-vibrational nourishment, filled with minerals, enzymes, antioxidants, and the subtle energetic gifts of the plants themselves. These meals are fresh and lovingly simple, designed to be made with your hands, shared with loved ones, and eaten in the presence of nature.
Each recipe invites you to remember that food is not separate from spirit. It is communion. It is ceremony. It is a way to return home to yourself and the Earth in every bite. Through this sacred act of eating, we reawaken a wisdom that lives in the body and remembers its place within the larger ecology of life.
In our Incredible Edibles workshop, we dive deeply into this living relationship with wild plants, learning how to identify, harvest, and prepare these gifts with reverence and care. The workshop is an invitation to reconnect with the wild intelligence that sustains us and to cultivate a deeper sense of belonging within the natural world. It is a hands-on journey of discovery, nourishment, and celebration of the Earth’s bounty.
Similarly, the Sacred Body, Sacred Earth: Living on Life-Force Retreat offers a container to embody this connection fully. Through practices that align the body, mind, and spirit with the rhythms of the Earth and the vitality of wild foods, participants awaken to a profound sense of aliveness and harmony. This retreat nurtures not only the physical body but also the subtle energies that support our wellbeing and creative expression. Together, these experiences invite us to live in greater harmony with the Earth and ourselves, nourishing the sacred cycles of life with every breath and bite.
As we come together in retreat this summer, these Incredible Edibles will serve as guides and companions on the path of re-enchantment with the Earth. May the food we share realign us with the rhythm of the seasons, the joy of being alive, and the profound pleasure of remembering who we truly are.
Mineral-Rich Nettle & Wild Green Pâté
This vibrant green pâté is a living tonic for the blood and nervous system. Nettle, chickweed, and dandelion greens offer deep mineralization and gentle cleansing. Combined with soaked seeds and fresh lemon, the result is creamy, nourishing, and full of wild vitality.
Energetic Qualities
Strengthening the kidneys and adrenals. Deeply grounding. Cleansing without depletion. Alkalizing to the system and balancing for excess mental activity and exhaustion.
Ingredients
One cup finely chopped young nettle tops
One half cup wild greens such as chickweed, violet leaves, or dandelion
One quarter cup soaked pumpkin seeds or hemp seeds
Two tablespoons cold-pressed olive oil or flaxseed oil
Juice of one-half organic lemon
One small garlic clove
Pinch of sea salt or kelp flakes for additional minerals
Instructions
If you are sensitive to nettles in their raw form, you can neutralize the sting by massaging the leaves with lemon juice and a touch of sea salt until they soften. Otherwise, finely chop and use raw.
Place all ingredients into a food processor or high-speed blender. Pulse until smooth, adjusting oil or lemon to reach your desired consistency.
Serve as a spread on cucumber rounds, raw crackers, or inside romaine or collard leaf wraps. Best enjoyed immediately in the garden, barefoot.
Wild Berry & Blossom Elixir
This sun-infusion captures the living essence of summer, bright berries, fragrant blossoms, and healing herbs bathed in sunlight. It is more than a beverage. It is a solar tonic, a floral blessing, and a moment of communion with the heart of the season.
Energetic Qualities
Cooling to the system. Opens the heart field. Uplifting to the emotional body. Regulates heat and supports clarity of mind. Strengthens the circulatory system and tones the skin.
Ingredients
Two tablespoons of fresh red clover, linden, or elderflowers
One handful of fresh wild berries such as mulberry, raspberry, or serviceberry
One sprig of fresh lemon balm, anise hyssop, or wild mint
One quart of spring or restructured water
Optional addition: rose petals or a splash of raw local honey
Instructions
Place all ingredients in a clear glass jar and fill with pure water. Place the jar in direct sunlight for four to six hours, allowing the solar energy to activate and infuse the plants. Once ready, strain gently and serve cool or at room temperature.
Drink slowly and reverently. This is a heart-opening elixir meant to be sipped with presence. Offer a few drops back to the Earth in gratitude before your first taste.
Wild Green Summer Wraps with Creamy Herb Sauce
These summer wraps are hydrating, mineral-rich, and filled with the diverse textures and colours of summer’s bounty. Wild greens pair beautifully with fresh garden vegetables and are balanced by a cooling avocado-herb sauce that brings it all together.
Energetic Qualities
Cleansing and refreshing. Supports liver detoxification. Grounding through bitter greens. Nourishes the emotional and digestive systems. Brings clarity and lightness.
Ingredients
Large leaves of collard, burdock, or romaine to serve as the wrap
A variety of wild greens such as purslane, plantain, or lamb’s quarters
Julienned vegetables such as zucchini, carrot, cucumber, and beet
Fresh sprouts such as pea shoots, alfalfa, or sunflower
A handful of edible flowers such as calendula, daylily, or nasturtium
For the Creamy Wild Herb Sauce
One half ripe avocado
Juice of one half lemon
One handful of fresh wild herbs such as sorrel, wild chives, or chickweed
One tablespoon tahini
Spring water to blend
Pinch of sea salt or seaweed flakes
Instructions
Layer your fresh vegetables, sprouts, wild greens, and edible flowers inside the base leaf. Blend the sauce ingredients until smooth and creamy. Spoon generously over the wrap fillings, then gently roll or fold to serve.
This is a meal best eaten outside under the sun or in the shade of a tree, in rhythm with the breath of summer.
Wild Berry & Rose Hip Chia Parfait
This simple in-season parfait is cooling, antioxidant-rich, and gently energizing. Chia seeds offer grounding omega fats and sustained energy, while the berries and rose hips soothe inflammation and nourish the tissues from within.
Energetic Qualities
Rejuvenating. Moistening dry tissues. Nourishes reproductive vitality. Cools internal heat. Rebuilds and strengthens after depletion or exposure to sun and wind.
Ingredients
One cup fresh wild berries, such as blackcap raspberry or wild strawberry
One cup fresh almond, hemp, or sesame seed milk
Two tablespoons chia seeds
One teaspoon dried rose hip powder or strained rose petal infusion
One half ripe banana or one medjool date (optional for added sweetness)
Pinch of cinnamon or cardamom
Fresh mint or edible flowers for garnish
Instructions
In a glass jar or bowl, mix the nut milk and chia seeds. Stir well to avoid clumping. Allow the mixture to sit for ten minutes, then stir again. Let it set in the refrigerator or a cool space for at least one hour, or ideally overnight.
When ready to serve, layer with wild berries and garnish with mint or fresh blossoms. This parfait is best enjoyed slowly, with your bare feet in the grass and your face turned toward the morning sun.
Closing Reflection
These recipes are not only nourishing to the body. They are an invitation to reweave your relationship with the land, with seasonality, and with the ancestral knowing that lives in your bones. Wild plants are generous teachers. They remind us how to live in reciprocity, how to simplify, how to receive without taking too much.
When we choose raw, wild, plant-based foods, we are not just choosing health. We are choosing aliveness. We are choosing intimacy with the Earth. We are choosing to feed ourselves in a deeply sacred way.
May these recipes bring you joy, clarity, and rooted vitality this summer. And may each bite be a prayer of connection and gratitude to the living Earth.
"Vitality is not something we get from a package, but from a relationship with living food that pulses with the rhythm of nature."