Grape Leaf Smoothie!

Hey My friends!  We just recently discovered a massive tangle of grapevines stretching hundreds of feet nearby our new place in Portland!  These beautiful vines are loaded with lil’ clusters of tiny green grapes, no-where near ready to pick, but still an awesome find because grape vines have something else to offer… Leaves!  Grape leaves aren’t just for rollin’ up dolmas, they also make a mean green smoothie!  The leaves of the cultivar near us actually taste of tart concord grapes and made for an amazing drink!  

The coolest thing about wild grape leaves, is that they’re free!  Wild foods are also more nutrient dense than typical plants, as they have to work hide to find their nutrition and only the ones most adept at this, make it!  When harvesting your own, be sure to do your homework.  You want to be sure that what you’re harvesting is in fact grape leaves as there is a poisonous plant that resembles them.  The best ways to validate your find is through using reference guides, resources online and even better talking to someone who has experience with wild foraging and/or grape growing!  You may luck out and find someone who’s growing grapes and could offer you their pruning remnants! 

Grape leaves are also loaded with nutrition!  One cup (14g) of raw grape leaves contains 77% of your Daily Value of vitamin A, 19% of your vitamin K, 20% of your DV of Manganese and an awesome balance of fatty acids!  120mg’s of omega 3 fatty acids to 20.7mg’s of omega 6!!  Check it out at Nutrition Data!  Now for that smoothie recipe! 

Grape Leaf Smoothie ~ 

7 large grape leaves, cut into salad mix sized pieces, for your blender’s sake!

2 medium sized red apples, rough chopped

2 cups frozen strawberries

2 bananas

1 cup of water

Blend everything until smooth and enjoy! 

                                                                                                                                          Happy foraging!! ~ Rory :0)