Todays health spotlight is on the humble dandelion. Though dandelions are a weed that usually end up being mown over or pulled out and thrown away, they are in fact edible and a wonderful source of nutrition. I find the bunches of dandelion greens to be fairly cheap at my local health food store, but you can also go foraging for them instead.

I started incorporating dandelion greens into my diet when I was researching prebiotic foods. That's PREbiotic, not its wonderful cousin the PRObiotic. Dandelion greens are a wonderful prebiotic- aka a source of specific fiber that fuels the good bacteria in your gut, promoting gut health. As well as being a marvelous prebiotic, dandelion greens hold many other health benefits:

- Very high levels of vitamin K (important vitamin for bone strength, heart health, oral health and regulating normal blood clotting).

- High in calcium, riboflavin and Vitamin A

-Contains almost twice the amount of iron as spinach

- A serving of dandelion greens provides about 15-17% of the daily dosage of Vitamin E

-Believed to help play a role in regulating inulin levels and regulating blood sugar.

-Also believed to be anti-inflammatory due to being a source of antioxidants and essential fatty acids.

I mostly use them in my green smoothies or salads, but you can add them to meals in the same way you would spinach or kale. They tend to have a bitterness to them, especially the larger leaves. I don't mind this when its mixed into a smoothie or salad, but if the bitterness bothers you you can do a quick 20-30 second blanch that helps reduce this.

Give these too often discarded weeds a go!