One of my favorite things is getting out into nature and foraging for food so often there will be one of nature's fresh edibles added to dinner if I am 100% certain what it is and that it's safe to feed my family with.
Tonight's encore goes to the humble stinging nettle.The little beasties popped up in my garden so they got added to the curry I made tonight. They are delicious by the way and taste very much like spinach.
But after a conversation with @samueltyler2 the other day about oxalates in spinach and the risk of kidney stones. (Google it, it's really interesting) I did a bit of research. I discovered that stinging nettles have significantly lower oxalate levels than spinach.
Google says this:
Spinach is notorious for high oxalate content (often ranging from 364 mg to over 1,100 mg per 100 g), stinging nettles contain comparatively low levels, typically measuring under 50 mg per 100 g.
Oxalates in spinach bind to its abundant calcium and iron, making these minerals harder for the body to absorb.
Stinging Nettles: Nettles are a low-oxalate alternative. Because they contain far fewer oxalates, the body can more easily access the high levels of calcium and iron they provide.
So excellent news for me, very bad news for stinging nettles. Because now I want to eat them even more. 🌿😋
@PatientlyWaiting25 I use all sorts also. Great because of all the extra vitals etc they add to them 👍 Also use them to make my own cereal bars bars, I mix them with dried fruits, nuts and seeds 😋 Peanut butter, melted dark chocolate and honey is my go to paste for them 🙌
I often make a tortilla with nettles but I find them a bit too tough and dusty at this time of year. But they bring early spring vitality. They also have other uses which I have utilised!
@SunshineGirl yep, young small leaves at the top of the plant. I just chuck them in and cook them for about 10 minutes. They need cooking a bit longer than spinach to completely get rid of the hairs that are responsible for stinging. Cooking also lowers the oxalates more.
@SunshineGirl Neither had I. Oxalic acid rich foods such as almonds, beets, soy milk, raspberries and rhubarb bind to calcium producing calcium oxalate which is a salt that your body cannot easily eliminate and is what causes kidney stones. Apparently it is safer to eat foods higher in oxalates with calcium rich foods because they bind together in the gut and then are eliminated through the bowel, reducing blood stream absorption.
I don’t know anywhere around here where stinging nettles are. I did find some as a child when we lived in northeastern Missouri. Sometimes I drink nettle tea and they use it to make a chlorophyll supplement that I have used. Nettles help build red blood cells.
Do you eat spinish for every meal? Cuz if not that amount of oxilates is pointless its not worth eating nettles health food influencers have scared people for years with that stuff
