Broad-leafed green vegetable with mild flavor — like a more nutritious spinach. One cup cooked provides 4g protein, 3g fiber, 73% DV vitamin A, 37% DV vitamin C, significant calcium, iron, and magnesium. More calcium per calorie than dairy. Available in many grocery stores as 'callaloo leaves' or in Asian markets as Chinese spinach.
Sold as callaloo leaves or callaloo bush at Caribbean and West African groceries. Sold as Chinese spinach or yin choy at Asian markets. Increasingly at health food stores. Seeds (for grain use) at health stores.
The iron and vitamin C co-occurrence in amaranth greens makes them one of the most effective anemia-fighting foods in the database — the vitamin C triples non-heme iron absorption. For Black women with iron deficiency anemia at 3x the white female rate, a cup of cooked amaranth greens delivers 17% DV iron plus the absorption booster in the same mouthful. The protein content — 4g per cooked cup — is exceptional for a leafy green. Calcium at 27% DV per cup, with no dairy, makes this a critical bone-building food for Black women post-menopause facing inflammatory bone loss. The folate content supports methylation — the B9 pathway that regulates homocysteine, which is elevated at 2x the rate in Black Americans vs white and is directly linked to cardiovascular disease and stroke.
Sauté with garlic and olive oil like spinach — 3-4 minutes. Blanch and add to soups (Caribbean callaloo soup with coconut milk + dasheen + crab). Steam lightly. Add to grain bowls and stews. The leaves wilt down significantly — 4 cups raw = 1 cup cooked.
Free, no account needed to ask.