The Top 10 Reasons To Eat Amaranth Leaves
Three weeks ago I tried amaranth leaves for the first time. And since then every Saturday I’ve been leaving the farmers market with a big bunch of amaranth leaves. What I do with them is make a soup. While listening to some groovy sounds on my old 70s record player, I clean and cut up the greens then I go on to make a delicious amaranth leaf soup which lasts me almost the whole week. This is now my routine just about every Saturday. This should tell you without me even saying anything what I thought about amaranth greens after I tasted them for the first time. I like them so much they have now become a part of my Saturday morning.
Before I get into how I prepare the amaranth leaves and the recipe to my delicious, filling soup. I’m going to first talk about amaranth and the top ten reasons why you might want to start incorporating this green into your meals.
Amaranth Greens
What are amaranth greens? Well that question is pretty simple. Amaranth greens are leaves of the amaranth plant. There are over 60 species. The plant is native to North and South America and several of the plant species were used as food by the indigenous people of North America and South America. I previously talked about amaranth seeds in this post right here and went more into detail about the origin of the plant and usage of the seeds. But in this post it’s all about the greens.
The Top 10 Reasons To Eat Amaranth Leaves
- Amaranth leaves are high in iron. A comparative study between spinach and amaranth leaves shows per serving spinach has 9% of the daily recommended iron intake and amaranth has 13% percent. (1) Iron helps with anemia and increases brain function.
- Again with the same study between spinach and amaranth the amount of calcium is higher in amaranth by 8% than spinach. Calcium helps with degenerative diseases, protects cardiac muscles and helps to strengthen bones.
- Amaranth is loaded with vitamin K. Vitamin K is known to assist with bone, blood and skin health. Vitamin K also helps with circles under the eyes, scars and dark spots.
- Lysine is an amino acid that is amazing for calcium absorption, helps to treat herpes by blocking arginine (an amino acid talked about previously on this post.) and helps with hair and skin. Amaranth leaves contains higher amounts of lysine than arginine. (4)
- Amaranth has high antioxidants. High antioxidants help increase energy and they assist with building up the immune system. (5)
- Amaranth has an extremely high amount of vitamin A. Vitamin A is important for vision, healthy immune system and cell health. (6)
- Helps with digestion and overall health in the human body. This is due to the levels of zinc in the leaves.
- Amaranth leaves are very rich in vitamin C. A serving of about a cup of cooked amaranth greens offers around 70% of the daily requirement of vitamin C. As we all know vitamin C is useful for our immune system. Vitamin C also assists with the absorption of iron into our bodies. And it has anti-aging and anticancer properties.
- The complex vitamin B group are more vitamins found in the amaranth leaves. Vitamin B1, vitamin B2, B3, B6 and folates. This complete group of complex B helps with our entire DNA, mental and physical health.
- Last but not least they’re just simply delicious!!! Amaranth leaves are savory but mild in flavor and where spinach has a sharper taste, amaranth greens are smoother. I’ve heard some people say it taste like a cross between cabbage and spinach.
Preparing Amaranth Greens
If you’ve ever been to the Caribbean or have gone to a Caribbean restaurant and you saw callaloo on the menu, callaloo is made with amaranth leaves. Callaloo is a traditional vegetable dish. However I do my own version of callaloo but in a soup form. But first you have to wash the leaves and cut them up which can be a little tedious but it’s well worth it. Below you’ll see how I clean the greens and get them ready to be prepared, plus my recipe for amaranth leaf soup.
Cleaning the Amaranth Leaves
When cleaning greens or any vegetables I like to use baking soda and water to thoroughly clean the veggies. First I remove the stems from the leaves and place the leaves in a pot of cold water with baking soda (baking soda helps to clean the residual pesticides).
After soaking for a little while and rinsing. It’s time to cut the leaves into smaller pieces. I normally like to put the leaves together and cut ribbons.
When I buy amaranth leaves at the farmers market they come in huge bundles so it takes a little time to cut up the leaves which I do in small batches because of the size of my cutting board.
On To the Soup Recipe
AuthorDesireeCategoryEasy Recipes, Main Meals, SoupsDifficultyBeginnerThis soup is filled with nutritious veggies, will fill you up and leave you wanting more! Amaranth greens is the starring vegetable here and you can normally find this green at a farmers market or Asian food market.
In a big pot on medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the cumin seed to the warm olive oil. Sauté the cumin for a minute to release the flavors.
Add to the cumin, the chopped red onion, garlic, jalapeno pepper and nettle leaf. Sauté until the onion and pepper are soft.
Add the chopped sweet potato, chopped red potato and tomatoes to the onion mixture.
Then add the paprika, ginger powder, sea salt, amaranth greens and water. Let simmer for about 15 minutes till the potatoes are soft.
Stir in the almond butter or sunflower butter to incorporate it into the soup. Simmer a few more minutes and taste to see if more sea salt or pepper is needed. (I added a tiny bit of cayenne pepper).
The last touch is to squeeze some lemon and stir it into the soup. It adds a nice brightness to the soup but feel free to leave it out if you want.
Ingredients
Directions
In a big pot on medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the cumin seed to the warm olive oil. Sauté the cumin for a minute to release the flavors.
Add to the cumin, the chopped red onion, garlic, jalapeno pepper and nettle leaf. Sauté until the onion and pepper are soft.
Add the chopped sweet potato, chopped red potato and tomatoes to the onion mixture.
Then add the paprika, ginger powder, sea salt, amaranth greens and water. Let simmer for about 15 minutes till the potatoes are soft.
Stir in the almond butter or sunflower butter to incorporate it into the soup. Simmer a few more minutes and taste to see if more sea salt or pepper is needed. (I added a tiny bit of cayenne pepper).
The last touch is to squeeze some lemon and stir it into the soup. It adds a nice brightness to the soup but feel free to leave it out if you want.
