Lambsquarter and sunflower greens: Farmer's Market discoveries

I love farmer's markets almost as much as I love Whole foods (and for those of you who know me that's saying a lot). Something about all the fresh vegetables, fruits and beautiful flowers makes me happy. Plus I like meeting some of the farmers and workers who had a hand in producing my future nourishment.

I have been on the lookout for another super vegetable that tastes good enough so I could lessen my kale addiction. This Saturday I found it :)
Introducing Lamb's quarter (wild spinach).

"Lambsquarters is a close cousin to spinach, but far, far more nutritious. It ranks right up there with Dandelion, Watercress and Nettles as one of nature’s nutritional powerhouses. It has a mild, green flavor like our domestic greens. In fact it is a relative of Swiss chard, beets and a few exotic garden greens like orach, all in the Chenopodium family." 281% of your daily Vitamin A requirement, 111% Vitamin C, 1112% Vitamin K, 46% Calcium and 47% Manganese the list goes on.


The taste is similar to spinach, really close to "mchicha" a wild spinach I used to eat in Tanzania. I sauteed the lamb's quarter with some garlic and olive oil -> mmm. I highly recommend you try it. I will be revisiting Union Square's Farmer's Market to restock on some (plus their Kale is $0.50 cheaper ;)


Unfortunately, another purchase of mine caused some major buyer's remorse.... Dear, Sunflower greens: You taste mediocre and cost $6 for a 1/4 lb. I overlooked your high price because you are 25% protein. Just 3.5 ounces of your sprouted seeds contain 22.78 grams of protein. However, I had to force myself to eat a handful even after adding salad dressing.

Jokingly my fiance adds "When I eat them I can sense big sunflowers standing behind me and weeping because I am eating their children."

If you don't care about the price, it's still worth a try though. Because if you like the taste they still are an amazing source of plant based protein.