5 Reasons to eat Spruce Tips & Ways To Use Them

5 Reasons To Eat Spruce Tips & 8 Ways To Use Them

Written by Nele Liivlaid on May 28, 2014 in Natural Cure, Nutrition

.entry-header

I went for a walk in the park yesterday and picked a pocketful (I did not have anything else to put them into) of spruce tips. “Why on earth?” some might ask. They taste so good and are packed with vitamin C!

When I finished picking the tips I felt I had to thank the tree, and I did. This was the best walk I’ve had in months!

close group

close group

close row

I surprised my 4-year-old spruce-tip-lover with a plate full of these beautifully green tips on the table when he got home from kindergarten. Needless to say, he was at the table right away munching the tips and making a wry face when the taste got too sour.

What are spruce tips? 

The spruce buds are those tips of the spruce branches that emerge in spring. They have the prettiest green colour I have ever seen.

Why should you eat spruce tips?

1. Spruce needles are exceptionally high in Vitamin C – frozen or dried spruce tips are good source of vitamin C during wintertime.
2. Spruce tips also contain carotenoids.
3. Spruce tips are rich in minerals such as potassium and magnesium.
4. Spruce tips have long been used by indigenous tribes for relieving coughs and sour throats.
5. Spruce tips contain plenty of chlorophyll, which helps growing and healing tissues, controlling cravings, as well as transporting oxygen to cells. It also neutralizes free radicals, keeps blood sugar balanced, accelerates wound healing and bonds poisonous metals present in your body.

What to do with spruce tips and needles?

1. I like to keep it simple and just eat them as they are or
2. Add to smoothies and salads. For example add them to Kiwi-Avocado Smoothie
3. Use dried tips for tea, which soothes throat and upper respiratory ailments.
4. Use spruce needles as rosemary.
5. Add chopped spruce tips to drinking water and let it sit for an hour or so – water absorbs all the goodies from the tips.
6. Season your soups, pastas, stews, curries etc. with chopped spruce tips. It is also a great way to enhance mineral absorption from grains and legumes. Recipe ideas: artichoke-bean stew, tortilla bowls.
7. Prepare a pesto with spruce tips, pine nuts, nutritional yeast, and oil.
8. Should you require something fancier, try out sautéed mushrooms with spruce tips and chives.

Some people like to prepare spruce tip syrup. However, I would not recommend it as syrup calls for tons of sugar, which just kills the benefits of those great vitamin-rich tips.

Where to pick? 

Choose a spot at least 100 metres from any roadway.

It is also advised not to pick too many from one tree.

Sources: A. Kizhedath, Suneetha V, Journal of Pharmacy Research; W. Bowles, Total Health; Nutrimed

Nele Liivlaid: founder of Nutriplanet.org

She has been into healthy eating for many years, but developed a more profound interest in nutrition and related diseases when she started reading The China Study and other special books on nutrition. After being in real estate and hospitality business for more than 10 years she decided to totally change her path to spread the word about healthy and sustainable nutrition and lifestyle.