Steamed Lambsquarters (Martin P.)

Chenopodium album, or Lambsquarters greens are better than spinach, and are usually available from February until the first hard freeze.  The plants don’t bolt or get bitter.  This species is related to the “modern” quinoa.

So, making sure you know how to identify the plant, snip off the plant stem, say midway up (sometimes they will continue to grow).  Gather enough plants.  Snip the leaves off, over a collander.  Wash the leaves.  Put them in a steamer.  Steam for a few minutes, until the desired consistency and dark color is achieved.  Enjoy them with “sport pepper” sauce (peppers in vinegar).  A wonderful quiche can also be made with lambsquarters.

Shown below are the reported nutritional aspects of Chenopodium album, versus Amarnthus and spinach:

Substance Amaranth Spinach Lambsquarters
100 g each
From Vol 1, UWP from nutriondata.self.com
Calories 36 26 43
Protein 3.5 g 3.2 g 3.6 g
Fat 0.5 g 0.3 g 0.7 g
Fiber 1.3 g 0.6 g 3.6 g
Carbohydrate 6.5 g 4.3 g 7.1 g
Calcium 267 mg 93 mg 309 mg
Phosphorus 67 mg 51 mg 72 mg
Iron 3.9 mg 3.1 mg 1.1 mg
Potassium 411 mg 470 mg 454 mg
Vitamin A 6100 IU 8100 IU 11,600 IU
Thiamine 0.08 mg 0.1 mg 0.0 mg
Riboflavin 0.16 mg 0.2 mg 0.4 mg
Niacin 1.4 mg 0.6 mg 1.1 mg
Ascorbic Acid 80 mg 51 mg 80 mg
Zinc 0.4 mg
Copper 0.4 mg
Magnesium 33.9 mg
Selenium 1.1 mcg

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