Chickweed the get skinny weed - recipes.

So what can you do with chickweed - besides cursing it for trying to take over your garden every year? 
Native Americans traditionally have used Chickweed for respiratory problems. Chickweed is also used for skin conditions, indigestion, insect bites, stings, psoriasis, stomach ulcers, hemorrhoids, gout...  It is prepared as a ointment for some skin problems and taken internally for ulcers,  indigestion and bladder problems. Chickweed can be used as a laxative - Don't over do it if you are going to add chickweed to salads or cook it like spinach it can cause nausea and diarrhea (don't use it if you are pregnant or breastfeeding). Chickweed is high in vitamin C, GLA, Omega-6, saponins, niacin, B2, B1, Beta Carotene, Magnesium Iron, Calcium, Potassium, Zinc, Phosphorus, Maganese, Sodium, Selenium and silica. One of the most famous folk uses of chickweed is as a cure for obesity. Chickweed can help with weight loss because it acts as a diuretic and helps to keep people from feeling hungry and because it contains saponin which  thins cell membranes, increasing the body's ability to absorb nutrients.

To Use:
Tea: Take 1 tsp of the fresh herb to 1c boiling water 10-15 mins 3 times a day taken internally
* When cooled Chickweed in tea form is excellent for use as an acne wash
Juice: Juice fresh weed and take by tablespoon twice daily
Bath: An infusion of fresh or dried leaves added to bath water is thought to reduce inflammation caused by rheumatic pain.

Poultice: One way is to boil the plant, allow it to cool, and then cover the herb with a thin cloth or muslin, and apply directly to the skin. With chickweed, the fresh herb itself can also be used, again with a thin cloth. Apply the poultice for several minutes, or up to three hours. Chickweed itself is a cooling plant; it will become warm after it has completed its task. Remove once the poultice becomes warm and discard. Allow it to draw out any infection, dissolving and consuming bacteria and toxins. It soothes irritation and inflammation. Use a chickweed herbal poultice for bug bites, minor wounds, pimples, rashes, and eczema. Externally, it can also be effective in treating any eye inflammation or infection. Chickweed helps to heal pinkeye, conjunctivitis, sties, or even sore eyes from wearing contact lenses. Another way to make a poultice is to simply crush the fresh plant using a mortar and pestle and apply directly to the affected area.
Tincture: Clean and dry chickweed pack in glass bottle and cover with vodka turn weekly for one full moon cycle - strain out plant from vodka and put vodka in bottle, take twenty to thirty drops up to two times a day.

Warning

* Chickweed may cause contact dermatitis and people with allergies to the daisy plant family could also react to chickweed.

Note: It doesn't dry well, and will lose a lot of its therapeutic value when dried. Best taken/used fresh or made into a decoction.

Recipes...

 
Chickweed Besto Pesto

1/2C Fresh Chickweed

1/2C Fresh Basil

1/4C Pine Nuts

2 Medium Clove Garlic

2/3C Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2C Nutritional Yeast

Combine basil, garlic and pine nuts in a food processor and puls until coarsely chopped. Add 1/2 cup of oil and process until smooth. Gently stir in remaining oil and nutritional yeast before using.

Chickweed Ointment (crock pot)

1 small jar of coconut oil

warm over low heat

pack in as much clean dry chickweed possible 

let simmer over night

in the am strain out chickweed - repack pot with fresh chickweed let it simmer all day restrain making sure all traces of the weed are removed from the oil - pack into small jars and keep in the fridge (excellent for diaper rash, as a lip balm or for bug bites).

* taken from tribe net how to make chickweed ointment

Chickweed Dressing

3/4 C Chickweed 

5T Fresh Lime Juice

2T Basalmic Vinegar

1/2 C Cashews

6T Nutritional Yeast

1/4C Olive

1T Maple Syrup

1 Garlic Clove
blend all together until smooth - great on a spinach salad with berries.