2. Star Chickweed & Common Chickweed
Common chickweed makes a delicious vinaigrette, and can be eaten raw in salads or cooked like spinach.
The whole part of this plant is edible and nutritious – including the stems, leaves and flowers – and they all taste good too.
3. Houttuynia AKA ‘Fish Wort’
Houttuynia started out as a popular herb in the East, to treat conditions such as reducing bacteria, removing toxins, and fighting allergies and asthma.
This leafy green has a very distinct fishy taste to it, which makes it perfect for Vietnamese dishes like lemon vermicelli as this leafy green genuinely does have a fishy taste to it – which will not suit everyone’s tastes buds.
4. Jute Lead
Another leafy green with a similar taste to that of spinach.
This leafy green, that is also used as a herbal medicine in some parts of the world for conditions like constipation, worms, arthritis and hardening of the arteries, goes perfectly in soups. Jute leaves are rich in antioxidants, calcium, potassium and dietary fibre.
5. Komatsuna / Japanese Mustard Spinach
Komatsuna leaves are rich in vitamins A, and B as well as being rich in both soluble and insoluble fibre.
Fibre is needed in a person’s diet to help promote a healthy digestive tract, and to help prevent colon cancer. This leafy green works well in a miso broth.
The true health benefits of all leafy greens can be delivered only when they are eaten raw.
So when cooking the greens and trying to get more nutrition in, try not to overcook them, but either way do enjoy experimenting with the new leafy greens in your diet!