Safe foraging while Pregnant

Hey, y’all
I’m in my second trimester with my baby and finding there is not as much info as I would like out there about safe foraging for pregnant women. I found a massive spiny sow thistle (Sonchus Asper) in my backyard and I was planning to sauté the stems like asparagus with a touch of vinegar, salt, and olive oil. But I’ve found next to nothing about the safety of the plant, except for one note about how it is sometimes used to hasten labor- which I certainly don’t want right now!
Does anyone have a trusted resource(s) that can help me navigate wild eating without causing fetal issues or early labor? Maybe a book focused on foraging for pregnant women?

I certainly would avoid anything that suggested that it would hasten labor.

If I were in your position, I might forgo foraging until after the birth of my child.

The only way I know is to search each individual plant.

I am not good at plant ID until after a plant has flowered.

I would personally worry about the effect of medicinal herbs, but not so much foods.  If it is a vegetable that people traditionally would sit down and eat a bowlful of as part of a meal, its probably not going to have any severe affect on your physiology because people don’t traditionally serve/consume meals out of plants that have such strong effects.

Of course anytime you try a new food, (wild or not) there’s a chance you could be allergic or intolerant to it.

I don't know if any specific sources but here's what I personally do... I avoid eating anything new that I have never tried before (talking foraged wild plants; I'd totally eat a new variety of lettuce or apple or grain, etc). If I eat it before I was pregnant, then I'll eat it while pregnant as well  Also I don't eat anything unless I know it hasn't been sprayed. And I check online for contraindications for herbs. Herbs are the things you have to be careful with but vegetables and fruit are fine.

So many veggies and fruit are supposedly recommended to induce labor depending on what country and culture you are talking with and so many are contradictory and old wive's tales. I was on a pregnancy forum during my last pregnancy and there were many women from around the world on there and some would say they weren't allowed to eat things like mango or pineapple or onion or just the most benign things. I think those taboos probably start because "insert commonly eaten local fruit/veggie" is eaten so frequently that women will be like "I ate this before going into labor" and their friends would be like "Me too!", ignoring that correlation dioes not equal causation.

I think eating fruits and veggies are good for the health of your baby. And if you have a normal pregnancy, eating a dish you enjoy isn't going to start labor unless your baby is already ready to be born. The only fruits and veggies I would avoid are anything that would cause an allergic reaction or violent diarrhea (which can start labor and is dangerous to the baby), which are personal to every person.

So... is thistle good when it is cooked that way? I tried it peeled and raw and thought it was very unpleasant and grassy. You obviously find it palatable, so I guess I mean to ask, does the flavor improve greatly with cooking or is there a time that it tastes better than others? Stinging nettle for example is wonderful before flowering but horrid after it flowers because of higher content of oxaloc acid.

I actually don’t know if I like sow thistle this way. I’ve never had it before, but it sounded like a good idea. Ended up not eating it since it was entirely new and I didn’t want to risk it.
I’ll try it after birth and let you know.

Melody Goretti wrote:I actually don’t know if I like sow thistle this way. I’ve never had it before, but it sounded like a good idea. Ended up not eating it since it was entirely new and I didn’t want to risk it.
I’ll try it after birth and let you know.

I would like to hear about it when you do 😊 probably sometime next year I'm guessing if you're in the 2nd trimester. Maybe in the meantime you can find some yummy asparagus to eat instead. I find my body is pretty good at telling me what to eat and what to avoid when I'm pregnant so if I'm craving a specific fruit or vegetable, I go for it.

Last year while I was pregnant I was craving mushrooms all the time and ended up eating so many (and I have always HATED mushrooms). I still like them now that I'm no longer pregnant so I find myself interested in learning to forage for them though I haven't gone yet. I wonder what it was in the mushrooms that my body and baby needed.

Last year while pregnant, I’d text my midwife constantly with “is this plant safe?!” questions & pictures. One thing she encouraged me to consume was nettles (any and all) and DANDELION! She said “any chance you get, eat dandelion.” There are no contraindications, it’s loaded with good nutrients for mom&baby, and it can be added to smoothies or salads or stirfry or tea… so many possibilities. I also like dandelion “coffee” when pregnant since I try to limit my caffeine intake to one cup a day; caffeine free herbs fit the bill.

Summer purslane is another great pregnancy forage for all that omega-3, but I tried not to go too wild on any tart herb assuming it has a higher oxalic acid content. Wasn’t worried about smaller amounts tho.

All good information.  Lots of things are warned against during pregnancy with no reason.

In the 80s, we were told pregnant women should not eat Mexican food…. That was easy to ignore, because what do the Mexican women eat….

Asparagus can be foraged and eaten because it’s a commonly accepted food item, but when foraging, it’s not usually for a commonly accepted food item.

So it comes down to using your judgement and asking all us permie friends.  It’s probably better to err on the side of caution, and eat a tiny piece first….  

I think greens from the mustard family are safe, I can’t think of any danger from the sunflower family but it is so big, every thing from sunflowers to lettuce, (and yarrow I think).  But the potato and tomato family has lots of problematic substances, as does the carrot, parsley and hemlock family.  Yikes

So I second the advice to research any plant you don’t already know.

And I think there’s a place on permies to ask for help identifying plants.

Have fun!  You’re standing in a miracle!  I didn’t get to have as many children as I would have liked.  Every second is magic,  even when you’re boiling mad or exhausted and sick and want to sleep, and the baby cries and wakes you up.

It’s all good 😊

Pregnant women can eat most species of edible mushrooms if they are cleaned first, and cooked thoroughly. This is because the soil on unwashed mushrooms can contain toxoplasma gondii, and raw mushrooms may cause stomach discomfort, too.It's best to avoid activities with a high risk of falling – especially in the last trimester. Shoveling. Call this a pregnancy perk. We generally recommend that pregnant women avoid heavy lifting, and shoveling snow also can exacerbate lower back pain, which is a common complaint in the last half of pregnancyFor pregnant women, gardening increases the risk of exposure to toxoplasmosis, a serious disease organism that causes flu-like symptoms in mothers and can cause mental disabilities and blindness in their unborn children.

jerry lem wrote:Pregnant women can eat most species of edible mushrooms if they are cleaned first, and cooked thoroughly. This is because the soil on unwashed mushrooms can contain toxoplasma gondii, and raw mushrooms may cause stomach discomfort, too.It's best to avoid activities with a high risk of falling – especially in the last trimester. Shoveling. Call this a pregnancy perk. We generally recommend that pregnant women avoid heavy lifting, and shoveling snow also can exacerbate lower back pain, which is a common complaint in the last half of pregnancyFor pregnant women, gardening increases the risk of exposure to toxoplasmosis, a serious disease organism that causes flu-like symptoms in mothers and can cause mental disabilities and blindness in their unborn children.

Toxoplasmosis is very serious but I've only ever been warned about scooping kitty litter, not anything about not gardening, though I guess if you have cats using your garden as a litter box the risk would be the same. BUT if you have ever in your life had a cat and scooped kitty litter, you were very likely already exposed to it and have immunity and don't have to worry about it.

jerry lem wrote:It's best to avoid activities with a high risk of falling – especially in the last trimester. Shoveling. Call this a pregnancy perk. We generally recommend that pregnant women avoid heavy lifting, and shoveling snow also can exacerbate lower back pain, which is a common complaint in the last half of pregnancyFor pregnant women, gardening increases the risk of exposure to toxoplasmosis, a serious disease organism that causes flu-like symptoms in mothers and can cause mental disabilities and blindness in their unborn children.

My neighbors have a cat that LOVES using our front garden (where I grow some of my herbs). With my previous pregnancy, my midwife determined I wasn’t at risk for toxoplasmosis because I had been around cats off and on my whole life. I want to have a good relationship with my neighbors, and their cat really is a darling, I just don’t like find its leavings by my tarragon and mint. I doubt it’s a danger to me, as I’m probably immune, just unpleasant. Another struggle of being a permie in the suburbs I guess.
But for shoveling snow, not even an issue. Southern Texas hasn’t seen a flake this year.

Jessica Jordan wrote:Last year while pregnant, … She said “any chance you get, eat dandelion.” …

Summer purslane is another great pregnancy forage for all that omega-3, but I tried not to go too wild on any tart herb assuming it has a higher oxalic acid content. Wasn’t worried about smaller amounts tho.

I love Dandelion and purslane! Sorrel too, to add to a salad or with other things on a sandwich- especially with radish. Good to know some of my favorites are still safe.