Botanical name: Portulaca oleracea

Assuming my mom had me weeding in the garden by age 5, I have spent 58 of my 63 years pulling up purslane. Every single leaf is able to grow a new plant, so we couldn't just drop it on the ground to wither up, but had to remove them from the garden (without dropping any leaves). From year to year, the numbers of them stayed pretty constant so even that wasn't very effective. Just sayin'.

Imagine my surprise a few years ago, finding out purslane is quite edible and even contains alpha-linolenic, an omega-3 fatty acid that is essential for human growth and development as well as maintenance of a healthy immune system.

Alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid which plays an important role in human growth and development and in preventing diseases. Purslane contains five times more omega-3 fatty acids than spinach! (If Popeye had only known about purslane...). Our bodies do not synthesize omega-3 fatty acids, so they must be consumed from a dietary source. So why not up your intake of omega-3s while weeding your lawn or garden?!

Check out the info on Organic Authority's website for some excellent information and recipes. And please post recipes that you find, too. We all need to learn how to use this very nutritional free food!