We all could be a lot healthier if we hung up our weed whackers and became weed snackers instead.

This was the idea planted by Patrick Plantenberg, during his presentation last week on edible wild plants at the Montana Historical Society.

Plantenberg, co-author of "Edible Wild Plants Used in Montana Yesterday and Today," has been teaching edible-wild-plant classes and collecting and cooking wild plant recipes for the past 30 years.

Although most gardens still await digging, the wild-plant-harvesting season is already upon us, he said.

In fact, some folks already have their freezers full of nature's bounty before they've planted a seed in the ground.

So, instead of pulling and chucking those lowly weeds from the garden plot, Plantenberg suggests you throw them in a pot instead.

In fact, some backyard "weeds" pack more nutritional punch than the lettuce, spinach and Swiss chard we're busy replacing them with.

Pigweed, for instance, beats out spinach and Swiss chard, when it comes to both protein and vitamin C.

Much as Plantenberg enthusiastically encourages folks to try edible wild plants, there are a few important rules -- such as make sure you correctly identify the plant before you eat it.

For instance, you don't want to grab a plant that looks like a wild carrot. It's likely to be poison hemlock and it would be your last supper.

He also asked that people curb their appetites when harvesting native plants, so as not to decimate plant populations.

The day of Plantenberg's presentation, he prepared a buffet including prairie smoke tea, wild salad greens, dandelion fritters, pollen biscuits, Indian ricegrass banana bread and Indian ricegrass brownies.

Within a few minutes, most of the food, except for a few crumbs, was scarfed up by the appreciative audience.

"I liked the brownies. I liked the salad too," commented Inge Jacobson. "There wasn't anything bad."

For Ken Haab, dandelion fritters were the winners.

Although there are many edible wild plants to taste through the Montana seasons, Plantenberg's main focus was plants that are out of the ground in early spring.

The much-maligned dandelion particularly garnered praise, for its taste, versatility and nutritional value.

While many have heard of dandelion wine, few realize it can be cooked in a variety of ways.

The young leaves, crowns, buds, flowers and roots are all edible.

Plantenberg doesn't recommend dandelion stems because the white liquid in them can be bitter, nor the fluffy seed heads.

The roots of its relative, salsify, can be cut up and mixed in with greens. Salsify flowers can be eaten raw, he said, and the greens are good in salads.

Another garden interloper, lambsquarters, have very good flavor, he said. And the seeds can be used in many recipes.

A relative, also in the goosefoot family, orach, makes a great base for salads.

And when steamed, orach tastes better than spinach, Plantenberg said. "It's less bitter."

Pigweed, another early plant, tastes best when eaten young.

It can also be blanched and frozen. And Plantenberg collects the seeds and uses them in many recipes. Southwest Indians grew pigsweed as a crop, he said.

Nature provides many choices for adding zip to salads, such as spicy watercress, the nutty-flavored buds from common milkweed or the young greens from tumblemustard.

Another member of the mustard family, fanweed, adds a garlic flavor to salads. It's also good in sweet and sour dressings, Plantenberg said.

Looking for both beauty and nutrition? Throw in a few violets. "They're all edible. They're loaded with vitamin C and make excellent greens," he said.

"If you're ever starving, head for the swamp," he advised. Research done by Germany in World War II found that carbohydrates from 1 acre of cattails could feed 10,000 people.

The part of the cattail he recommends trying is the male and female green flowers, which are the tips of new growth above the water.

Don't eat the brown cattail heads unless you want a mouthful of dry fluff.

Plantenberg blanches the male and female flowers, or green spikes, butters them and eats them like corn on the cob.

While in the swamp, you might want to check out the stinging nettles -- very carefully.

In fact, you'll need gloves to handle them. However, after they're thrown in boiling water, the glandular hairs that cause the painful sting disappear.

Nettles provide double the plant protein of spinach and triple that of Swiss chard, he said.

Wilted greens

2 quarts torn greens (lambsquarters, chickweed, dandelion, pigweed, sheep sorrel, purslane)

2 Tbsp chopped chives or green onion tops

3 Tbsp bacon fat

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 cup vinegar

salt and pepper

Sprinkle greens with chives. Heat fat; add vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper to taste; heat. Pour over greens; toss and serve at once. May add bits of pimento or tomato or sweet red pepper for color.

Charbroiled fish dressed in greens

1 10-20 inch trout or other fish

2 cups sheep or red sorrel, curly dock, purslane, lambsquarters, watercress, chickweed, pigweed, dandelions, wild onions or nettles; rhubarb stems also work.

Clean fish; add salt, pepper and garlic to stomach cavity.

Wrap with greens on all sides (including inside)

Wrap with aluminum foil to prevent leakage.

Bake or broil over fire, charcoal or in oven at 400 degrees to 1/2 hour for 10 inch fish; 45 minutes for 20 inch fish. Eat greens and fish while still hot.

Plant-picking policy for wild plants

1. Get permission to pick plants -- whether private property, national forest, city park or state lands. Some areas such as state parks and national parks allow no picking.

2. Pick only a small amount, leaving the majority of the plant population for next year.

Advice about picking berries...

Blue, black or purple berries in this area of the country are edible or taste so bad you won't want to eat them, said Pat Plantenberg.

If you eat red or orange berries, you have a 50-50 chance of surviving or getting an upset stomach.

White berries -- stay away. They are deadly.

Want the CD?

To buy a copy of "Edible Wild Plants Used in Montana Yesterday and Today," on disk call Patrick Plantenberg at 266-5265.