Can I eat Chia leaves?

Can I eat Chia leaves? - Crop woman with organic banana in hands standing in kitchen

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Just out of curiousity I planted some Chia seeds in a pot. Turned out they grow like crazy and seem pretty undemanding.

Now I also noticed that they smell quite nicely, a bit like basil and wondered if the leaves can be eaten. Like for a salad or as a herb, because it seems super easy to grow them. I acutally wondered why we can’t eat the leaves of way more plants (I know you can eat nettles when boiled).

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Best Answer

Wikipedia says chia is a plant that belongs to the mint family. According to the wiki article the FDA generally recognizes mint as safe

§182.10 Spices and other natural seasonings and flavorings, including mint, are generally regarded as safe (GRAS) for food uses in the United States.

but

  1. the wiki article also enumerates two mint species in particular and I don't know why (Peppermint Mentha piperita L. and Spearmint Mentha spicata L.).
  2. I just can't access the original website to check the original terms due to a server error.

Edit: The server works now. Only Peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) and Spearmint (Mentha spicata L.) are generally recognized as safe by the FDA (§182.10). The word "mint" in the cited paragraph from the wiki article doesn't mean the Mentha family but only the plants that are commonly called "mint". I have the impression that in the chia article this mint (Lamiaceae, a family) was mixed up with this mint (Mentha, a genus). As @rackandboneman pointed out, chia (Salvia hispanica) belongs to the family Lamiaceae (common name: mint) and belongs to the genus Salvia (common name: sage).

Edit 2: Sprouts are probably edible. The link directs to an online shop which sells chia seeds with growing instructions.

I leave this answer for the sake of completeness even it doesn't really answers the question.



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Quick Answer about "Can I eat Chia leaves?"

Eat chia leaves in salad or use as spinach alternative The leaves are also high in protein and nutrients, and are therefore a valuable addition to your salad or stir fry. Simply sprinkle some of your organic chia seeds in a pot and water well. After a day or two, they start to sprout – so quick.

Are chia leaves good for you?

Not to be outdone, chia leaves contain powerful antioxidants that improve overall health as well as increasing energy. Fresh or dried, the leaves make a therapeutic tea that banishes lethargy and purifies the body.

What part of the chia plant can you eat?

Raw edible parts include the seeds which are mucilaginous and can be soaked to make a make a drink called 'fresca' or a dessert/porridge. They absorb many times their weight in water and soaked seeds can be very refreshing during hot weather. Seeds can also be eaten raw (like hemp seed) or sprouted.

Can you eat the greens from a Chia Pet?

But the chia seeds used in the -terra-cotta pets, which made their debut in 1977, shouldn't be eaten\u2014they aren't -approved for consumption. Instead, head to a grocery or drugstore to reap the health benefits.

Can you make tea from chia leaves?

Chia leaves (fresh or dried) steeped in boiling water, make a therapeutic tea.


Chia leaves benefits



More answers regarding can I eat Chia leaves?

Answer 2

I would just like to say that you can't decide on edibility based on the plant family. For example, both potatoes, tomatoes and deadly nightshade belong to the same family.

However, chia leaves can be used for herbal tea, which means they could probably also be eaten safely.

Answer 3

I snip my chia greens and top them on my salads. They are so easy to grow and I've had zero digestive or health issues and have been eating the leaves all Summer! They are one of the few plants that grow in this SW Florida Summer heat.

Answer 4

Since I wasn't crazy about the chia seeds, even though they were considered very nutritious, I found that they grew very easily in my garden. I sprinkled them on the soil and they sprouted and filled the area with a lot of soft, rather tasteless little plants. I clipped them off at the base by the handful and put them in my green smoothie or sprinkled them in my salad. I couldn't taste any particular flavor and never had any digestive problems.

Answer 5

Chia Leaves are edible and can be used like spinach, says permaculture advocate Morag Gamble in this blog post on chia.

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: SHVETS production, Pixabay, Lukas, Pixabay

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