Lean and Fit or Flabby and Pale - what a choice!
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Eleanor explaining the beauty of the birch
Flabby and pale or lean and fit? Which one do I want or want to be? Not a hard choice, but it's a dichotomy that pursues you, as you embrace Eleanor’s River Cottage Herbal Course. Eleanor Gallia is definitely lean and fit. She embodies what she is teaching. Toned, bronzed and top to toe in natural fibres and soul nurturing goodness…you are in awe of our host, from the start.
Steven and Eleanor gathering nettles for lunch
Sat in our Mongolian Yurt munching on flapjacks made with honey and sunflower seeds and warming herbal tea, I tentatively asked my fellow guests whether they knew any more about Herbalism, than the meagre knowledge that I have. No such worries, we were all relieved to admit we knew very little about what we are about to be taught.
After a brief introduction from Eleanor, we head up the track, to forage in our wild meadow. Armed with mantras, baskets and secateurs we happen upon, in the blazing sunshine, the majestic oak tree. Eleanor, one hand on the tree, tells us that the oak is the King of Trees, because for centuries, monarchs would ask the oak for guidance, as it was seen as gods earthly presence. Intrigued we strike off to ‘meet the plants’.
The first herb we pick is wild sorrel. We are reminded by Eleanor that we must pick everything delicately and with care, from the wild food larder. We are a small spec in a very large eco system and if we cause damage to a tree or plant we aren’t continuing the environmental enrichment, which we are supposed to be preserving. Right ok, must remember that. Phew what a responsibility..
Claudine armed with sorrel
The wild sorrel is definitely lean and fit. Dark green like a bay leaf, it just looks loaded with chlora – filled goodness. The taste is tangy and citrus. Oranges or lemons? Nope Salt & Vinegar crisps. Walkers or Kettle crisps I wonder? Back in the barn later, I'm amazed at the difference between wild and cultivated sorrel (the cultivated sorrel is from our own kitchen garden, Gill, our head chef shyly admits). The cultivated is definitely flabby and pale – and I can’t help making the comparison between myself and Eleanor whilst looking at this sorry sorrel. Eleanor is lean and fit and lives her life in the wild whilst I sit in an office all day at a computer, shaded from the sun. Eleanor is definitely the wild sorrel and i am its distant relation, the cultivated. At least I am not lime green like the cultivated sorrel, which relieves my body envy just slightly.
We fill the baskets with chickweed, dandelion, birch and nettles. The dandelion will be picked, dried and added to the base of a tincture later on. Feeling flabby and pale still, I hungrily pick as much chickweed as I can get my mits on, as one our guests tells us it’s really good for getting rid of water retention. Chickweed is the sticky weed which the uniformed, usually dig up and chuck on the compost.
Our delicious Herbal lunch
Back from the forage, we are relieved to find the lunch is a deliciously light cleansing experience. With a quick glass of Eleanors St Johns Wort and organic tonic, we are feeling zingy and ravenous. The nettle soup with wild garlic soda bread is light and delicious. The mackerel, with our friend, the sorrel, is impossibly fresh with roasted beetroot, new potatoes and wild mint. I am disappointed to hear that the dessert has changed from raw chocolate to orange and rhubarb salad. Flabby and Pale or Lean and Fit? I end up glad it has changed and it's absolutely delicious. It’s been five hours since we started the course and I am convinced I can feel a mental if not a physical transformation.
The day ends with a tincture and juicing session. Wheatgrass is on the menu and I’m worried. Wheatgrass in whatever form, has this vile cloying taste - this is going a bit far on the lean and fit campaign. Eleanor adds local apple juice and ginger to the newly milled wheatgrass served up in champagne flutes. Cheers everybody and down in one, the juice is sharp but satisfying. As we pack up our bags of herbs and tinctures, feeling lighter already and a little less pale from being in the sun most of the day, we rumble back up the track, away from the cosy idyll of River Cottage HQ, with the best of intentions. Flabby and Pale no more….
If you are looking for some inspiration to get lean and fit, join Eleanor on our next Herbal Day by registering your interest here