Purslane Super Green Smoothie

A Purslane Super Green Smoothie packed full of delicious super foods.

Purslane Super Green Smoothie • Make Ad Lib

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a little granola. This partly stems from me being naturally an introvert. But even if I wasn’t, I’d still prefer to do most things myself: cooking, growing food, making clothes, repairing everything, building anything.

Once we removed all the concrete from our concrete backyard (we really did that ourselves), and after I planted a forest of sunflowers and a three sisters garden, I suddenly discovered a whole crop of volunteer purslane! I was ecstatic!

For those who have never heard of this delicious, wild and edible succulent:

Purslane, a quick primer

Purslane, or Portulaca oleracea, originated in the middle east, North Africa and the Indian subcontinent, and it’s been in Europe since the 16th century. Used medicinally and culinarily for 4000 years, Purslane is a nutritional powerhouse: full of Omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, and vitamins A and C.

Purslane is a great ground cover in the garden, especially for harder, clay-heavy soils. It creates a humid microclimate for young roots and stems.

Proper identification of wild purslane is very important as it can resemble spurge, which is toxic. So look for purslane’s supple leaves, smooth red stems and yellow flowers.

Purslane grows easily, so it is often found wild and rampant all parts of the country. In the garden, however, it can also be easily grown from seed or cuttings.

Purslane stems and leaves can be eaten cooked or raw. Toss a little in place of spinach in a salad, or tuck it into a quesadilla. If the idea of eating weeds is a little hard to swallow, blend it into a delicious pesto or chimichurri.

Better yet, go for superfood gold with my delicious Purslane Super Green Smoothie!

Though the recipe calls for the ambiguous large bunch, I recommend packing as much purslane as you can into your blender to get maximum benefits.

Loaded with additional nutritional boosts from omega-3 rich hemp seeds, and gorgeous green spirulina, this smoothie is as pretty to look at as it is healthy to drink!