Winter Survival Series Part 4: Seasonal Saviours, Alfalfa
~ Submitted by: Cheyenne Caza, AHA Student Member
• Alfalfa -- Medicago sativa: If protected from the elements, this plant can overwinter really well. Alfalfa's long and tangled limbs often provide its own shelter, securing greenery well into winter. The father of all food, is what the word alfalfa means, and it lives up to it by being a mineral, protein, and vitamin rich plant-based source of food that can be found all year round. The B vitamins that it houses are a good contributing factor in keeping morale and energy up as well. The seeds from alfalfa's tell-tale curly little seed pods and its leaves are the edible parts, with the roots making a great toothbrush substitute (you can use regular charcoal for the toothpaste) and the young spring shoots being a choice edible. When protected from ice and snow, you can often find greenery even mid-January, though you might have to dig around a bit. Ideally, you will have harvested this plant throughout the warmer months, as the leaves are best dried and ground to obtain most of the flavour and nutrients (TIP: the entire plant can be completely cut back, and will fully re-grow 6 or 7 times in a single season). The ground leaf powder can be utilized any time of the year by adding it to teas, soups, stews, and even your supply of flour. It will not only diversify and broaden the nutritional profile of a soup or a stew, but it will also help thicken the liquid, helping to make you feel full, longer than a thin broth would. Alfalfa is also known to increase appetite, which is a great side-effect for people in survival situations, as the body tends to shut down non-essential services while in fight-or-flight mode; you may unknowingly skip over hours of hunger or thirst warnings before you find yourself in a danger zone, such as low blood sugar or dehydration. This is a great plant to help keep your body functioning steadily and to maintain balanced health. Any alfalfa seeds you find can also be used for sprouting, to get a great tasting source of fresh vegetation during the winter; Though, to properly sprout, you need consistent warmth which may be hard to come by in such a situation. Alfalfa is also considered an insectary, meaning it is a beneficial insect breeding ground. You can find all manners of bug life within the tangled mass of alfalfa, so you may find bait or edibles within those populations.
CAUTIONS: Alfalfa should not be combined with drugs like Warfarin, as it is essentially the antidote, due to its high vitamin K content. Immune compromised, elderly, and pregnant/breastfeeding women should avoid sprouted seeds of any kind, due to the possible bacterial contamination from aggressive bugs (due to the prime breeding ground and possibility of unsanitary conditions) like Clostridium botulinum a.k.a. botulism. Also, alfalfa sprouts may cause the recurrence of systemic lupus erythematosus in people where the disease was dormant.
