Being Mindfully in the Moment with Nettle

by Elise Krohn, Native Plants and Foods Institute Co-Director

Nettle is a powerful teacher for me in mindfulness. The woods of my childhood were covered in nettle patches and I remember running from my brother full-bore right into a patch of them. Eeeek! It was summertime and I can still feel the shock of those stings on my bare legs. That experience taught me to pay attention to my surroundings and I became more acquainted with plants. 

As an adult, especially during these difficult times, I find myself lamenting the past and fearing for the future. The sting of the daily news can send me into a tailspin of despair. Walking in the woods helps me to find my inner calm. I was elated this week to see the first nettles emerging from the muddy soil. They are like a beacon of hope, lighting up the darkness and signaling that spring is upon us. In addition to being a restorative food and a purifying medicine, nettles have long been a teacher and a friend, encouraging me to be mindful.

Mindfulness is a practice that spans across cultures and religions. It means being present in the moment and noticing what is happening inside of us and around us. There are so many ways to practice mindfulness including activating our senses, intentional breathing, walking, eating, dancing, playing sports, crafting, and listening to music. 

When I am anxious, distracted, overwhelmed, or frustrated, I take some deep breaths, notice what is happening inside of me and around me, release judgement (including thinking about the past or the future), and focus on being right here in the moment. What sensations am I noticing? Can I be fully present like a curious child? This pause is powerful. It helps me to remember and access my inner wisdom rather than reacting from an emotional place. I can more easily see my biases and judgments without needing to act on them. And I can also more easily release my fear and control where I am putting my attention. Do I want to focus on drama or negativity? I can acknowledge difficult things AND move my attention toward things that will help create a better world. Being mindful also helps me notice the little gifts in my day—the things I am grateful for. And there are so many. 

I am drinking a lot of nettle mint tea these days because nettle feels restorative and grounding, and mint gives me some clarity and focus. The tea can be both invigorating when I am tired and calming when I need to land more fully in my body. As I am mindfully sipping tea, I slow down, listen to my body, notice my options, and act with more intention. I feel less powerless. 

Sometimes I intentionally sting myself with nettle. In addition to keeping me fully present in my body, it also helps to relieve sore muscles and painful joints through increasing blood flow, removing waste products, and stimulating anti-inflammatory processes. 

Harvesting nettles is bringing me solace right now. There is comfort in this seasonal practice that connects me to my own life history, the land, and cultural traditions here among Native Peoples in the Pacific Northwest and the lands of my ancestors, including Ireland and Scotland. I feel elation, tenderness, and gratitude as I meet the nettle patches that I have visited year after year. In these difficult times, the simplest of things become so precious. 

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Getting to Know Nettles

If you have never had the pleasure of meeting nettles, look for them in fields, stream beds, and disturbed areas with rich wet soil from the coast into the mountains. They grow three to nine feet tall and have opposite deep-green leaves with serrated edges, tiny greenish flowers, and square stems. The stalk and underside of the leaves are covered with stinging hairs that rise from a gland containing formic acid and other compounds. 

Nettles are often called a “superfood.” Spinach is considered the most nutritious green in grocery stores, but it pales in comparison to nettles, which are 29 times higher in calcium, eight times higher in magnesium, three times higher in potassium, and almost double in their Vitamin A content! Nettles are also exceptionally high in the trace minerals chromium, cobalt, zinc, and manganese. They have a delicious flavor and can be used in cooked dishes in a similar way to spinach and kale. 

Nettles are a medicine that can help bring the body back to a state of balance. If someone is feeling debilitated or generally worn down, nettles are a good remedy. They are tonic to the liver, blood, and kidneys. Nettles balance blood pH and assist our kidneys in filtering waste from the body and removing excess fluid retention. They can be especially useful for arthritis, gout, eczema, and skin rashes. Nettles reduce inflammation, helping to alleviate the symptoms of allergies including hay fever. Drink two cups of nettle tea a day starting early in the spring and continuing into the allergy season. Nettles are also used to stop bleeding. A strong decoction is traditionally used to treat wounds and hemorrhage. They can also help rebuild blood after menstruation, birth, or other blood loss. Nettle roots are anti-inflammatory— especially for the prostate.

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Harvesting and Preparation

Gather nettles to eat fresh before they flower in April to May. Do not gather nettles in agricultural or industrial areas because they may absorb inorganic nitrites and heavy metals. Make sure you have permission to harvest on the land you are on and leave enough for the plant community to continue to thrive. You may want to offer a gift in exchange for what you are receiving. For some people, this means saying a prayer, picking up garbage, or removing invasive species from the area. 

Use gloves or scissors and a basket or a bag to harvest.  Cut or pinch the nettles just above the bottom two leaves. This will allow the remaining plant to photosynthesize and grow back. Rinse the nettles in a colander to remove dirt. 

Ways to prepare nettles for food include boiling, steaming, and sautéing them. They only need to be boiled for a few minutes, as the “sting” will quickly evaporate with heat. Nettles will cook down like spinach and can be used in soups, dips, quiches, casseroles, egg scrambles, etc.

Nettles can be dried, canned, or blanched and frozen. To freeze them, submerge in boiling water for a minute. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to remove them and dunk them in cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain, place in freezer bags, and label. The water used for cooking nettles makes delicious tea or broth.   

To dry nettle leaves for tea, harvest before they flower in late spring to early summer when they are about 8–14 inches tall. Bundle stems and hang them upside down in a dark, dry place, or put them in a paper bag and rotate them every day. Once they are dried, use gloves to strip the leaves from stems. Use 1 tablespoon of leaves per cup of boiled water. Steep 15 minutes to several hours. Drink 1–3 cups a day. 

Nettle Pesto

Toss this flavorful sauce with pasta, potatoes, or cooked vegetables, or spread on crackers, toast, or fresh vegetables. It will delight your senses and help you build inner strength. 

• 1 small bag (about 6 cups) of young fresh nettles, rinsed
• 1 bunch basil, stems removed, washed, and drained 
• ½ cup Parmesan or Romano cheese, grated
• ⅓ cup walnuts or pine nuts
• ⅓ cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 1–3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste

Rinse nettles in a strainer, then boil them in water (blanch) for one minute to remove the sting. Drain well, let cool, and roughly chop. Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place the pesto in a clean jar and pour a little extra olive oil over the top. Cover with a lid. This will keep for 2–3 weeks in the refrigerator.

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Nurturing Nettle Soup

This golden soup is my favorite medicine for boosting immunity, fighting colds and coughs, and reducing inflammation. I make it when people need a little extra nourishment and love. It is also delicious without the chicken. 

• 3 tablespoons coconut oil or olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 yam, cubed or 4 medium potatoes
• 4 celery sticks, sliced
• 1 pound boneless chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh turmeric, minced or 1 tablespoon turmeric powder
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
• 6 cups vegetable broth, chicken broth, or water
• 1 small bag of nettles, cleaned and chopped with scissors
• 1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained 
• 1 10 oz. can coconut milk
• ½ cup chopped cilantro for garnish
• Salt and pepper to taste

In a large soup pot, heat oil on medium heat. Add onions and yams and sauté until onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Add celery and chicken and cook for another 5 minutes. Add stock, garlic, turmeric, and ginger and bring to a boil. Add nettles and cook for an additional 5 minutes, then add garbanzo beans and coconut milk. Keep on low to let flavors settle, but do not return to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with cilantro and enjoy!

Learn More About Nettle!

Access educational resources about nettle in our teaching toolkits including Tend, Gather and Grow, Plant Teachings for Growing Social-Emotional Skills, and Native Infusion: Rethink Your Drink at nativeplantsandfoodsportal.org

Learn about nettles on the Cedar Box Experience website and play the useful weeds game. Watch a video about Moon When the Frogs Talk from the Swinomish Tribe, including a story about how nettles saved the people during a difficult time.