Sweet Potato .... Greens??

Earth 100, Wikipedia

Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas)- it's got great roots and leaves!  Who knew this flavorful root veggie, famous for sharing casserole space with marshmallows and walnuts, also has incredibly vitamin rich leaves?  Who knew you could even eat the greens? 

Greens are fabulous for our bodies.  Nutritionists encourage us to eat greens each day.  One of the most popular greens I eat is spinach.  I do like spinach if I eat it hot, quickly, and with a lot of butter.  Or buried with other greens in my salad so I don't notice it.  Even better, in soups where it totally disintegrates.  Okay, okay: I don't really like spinach, I just eat it because it's good for me.  I'm hitting, well, have HIT the half century mark and have been told I need foods high in iron and calcium for bone and overall health.  Is there something else I can eat that I may actually *like* to eat?

Enter sweet potato greens.  Below is a nutritional comparison of spinach verses sweet potato leaves.  There is three times the iron (21% verses 7%) and slightly more calcium (10% verses 8%) in spinach greens verse sweet potato greens.  However, there's twice as much fiber in sweet potato greens and frankly, they don't taste as bitter to me.  As an added benefit (and those who have had issues with kidney stones should take note) sweet potato greens lack oxalic acid.  Spinach has a lot of it and oxalic acid leaves a weird taste in my mouth.  Okay, I'm sold!

How to cook them, you ask?  Just like any green: sauté with garlic and olive oil; steam and dress with butter, salt and pepper; sauté with soy and vinegar.  Anywhere you can cook spinach you can try to substitute sweet potato greens.  Mix them half and half ~ why not??!!

Give sweet potato greens a try and let me know what you think.  I have four slips planted in a pot on my deck which should keep supplied in greens this summer.  My plan is to grow these on the window sill in the kitchen during the winter as well.  Pretty and good for me - now that's a SWEET deal!

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)	Spinach Greens	Sweet Potato Greens
Energy	97 kJ (23 kcal)	175 (42kcal)
Carbohydrates	3.6 g	8.82g
- Sugars	0.4 g
- Dietary fiber	2.2 g	5.3g
Fat	0.4 g	0.51 g
Protein	2.9 g	2.49 g
Water	91.4 g	86.81 g
Vitamin A equiv.	469 μg (59%)	189 μg (24%)
Vitamin A	9377 IU
- beta-carotene	5626 μg (52%)	2217 μg (21%)
- lutein and zeaxanthin	12198 μg	14720 μg
Thiamine (vit. B1)	0.078 mg (7%)	0.156 mg (14%)
Riboflavin (vit. B2)	0.189 mg (16%)	0.345 mg (29%)
Niacin (vit. B3)	0.724 mg (5%)	1.13 mg (8%)
Vitamin B6	0.195 mg (15%)	0.19 mg (15%)
Folate (vit. B9)	194 μg (49%)	1 μg
Vitamin C	28 mg (34%)	11 mg (13%)
Vitamin E	2 mg (13%)
Vitamin K	483 μg (460%)	302.2 μg (288%)
Calcium	99 mg (10%)	78 mg (8%)
Iron	2.7 mg (21%)	0.97 mg (7%)
Magnesium	79 mg (22%)	70 mg (20%)
Manganese	0.897 mg (43%)
Phosphorus	49 mg (7%)	81 mg (12%)
Potassium	558 mg (12%)	508 mg (11%)
Sodium	79 mg (5%)	6 mg
Zinc	0.53 mg (6%)
Link to USDA Database entry Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient Database