Goosefoot, aka Fat Hen, Lamb's Quarters (Eat your weeds)

Goosefoot: A Nutritious and Abundant Wild Edible Weed

You are wasting free food. Spinach is a cool season crop, so it grows best in the cooler months rather than in summer, but you could be eating this instead. 

Lamb's quarters, also known as Wild Spinach, Goosefoot, and several other names, thrives in the sun. The beauty of it is that you don't have to plant it. It just shows up everywhere. And it is way more nutritious than store-bought spinach, or even home-grown. 

It has twice the vitamins B1 and B2, three times the vitamin C, three times more calcium, five times more magnesium, and more protein and iron than spinach or cabbage. 

Oh, and it's a close relative to quinoa. Indigenous communities used to gather the seeds and use them as grains. You can too. Quick identifier, it's also called goose foot because the leaves look like the foot of a goose. It is part of the Amaranth family of plants, just like quinoa. In fact, Amaranth, even the colored variety grown as a decorative bedding plant, can be eaten in the same way. Beware though when growing Amaranth, as it spreads like the proverbial wild fire. 

So stop spraying it, stop mowing it, and start harvesting. It is right now probably, if it is summer where you are, growing everywhere in your garden and you regard it as a weed and pull it up, mow it down or spray it to death. 

Did you know that Goosefoot was a staple “crop” of the Punjab, allowed to grow with the then long stalk wheat and got people over the hungry gap before the wheat was available, and it was also generally used as a vegetable. The so-called “green revolution” did away with this as the Goosefoot would outpace the short stalk wheat in growth and hence the Goosefoot had to be eliminated, leading to malnutrition. So much for the “green revolution” in farming. 

More about Goosefoot below.

Goosefoot, a common "weed" found across much of the world, is more than just an unwanted garden intruder. Belonging to the Chenopodium genus, several species – most notably Chenopodium album (commonly known as lamb’s quarters or white goosefoot) – are valued for their nutritional content and versatility as a wild edible. 

Goosefoot has been consumed by indigenous cultures and traditional societies for centuries, and it's gaining renewed interest among foragers, herbalists, and homesteaders.

Identification

Goosefoot plants are typically:

Annual herbs growing 1–6 feet tall.

Recognizable by their triangular to diamond-shaped leaves that resemble the foot of a goose (hence the name).

The leaves are often coated in a whitish, mealy powder, especially on younger growth.

Tiny, green, inconspicuous flowers cluster on the tops of stems and leaf axils.

Seeds are small, black, and encased in papery husks.

Note: It’s important not to confuse goosefoot with similar-looking toxic plants. Always positively identify any wild plant before consuming.

Edibility

Nearly the entire plant is edible at various stages of growth:

Leaves & Stems

Tender young leaves and stems can be eaten raw in salads or cooked like spinach.

Cooking reduces naturally occurring oxalates and saponins, which in high quantities can be mildly toxic.

Leaves are rich in vitamins A, C, and K, as well as calcium, iron, and protein.

Seeds

Resembling a wild cousin to quinoa (which is also in the Chenopodium genus), goosefoot seeds can be:

Collected, dried, and cooked like a grain.

Used in porridge, ground into flour, or added to soups.

Seeds contain protein, fiber, and essential amino acids but should be rinsed or soaked to remove saponins.

Foraging Tips

Season: Goosefoot thrives from late spring through fall, depending on climate.

Habitat: Found in gardens, roadsides, fields, disturbed soils, and abandoned lots.

Harvesting: Clip young tops and leaves regularly for the best texture and flavor. Mature seeds can be harvested in late summer or early fall.

Preparation Ideas

Sauté leaves with garlic and olive oil for a wild-style spinach dish.

Add to soups, stews, stir-fries, or omelets.

Blend into smoothies for a nutritional boost (in moderation, due to oxalates).

Roast or grind seeds as a grain alternative.

Dehydrate and store leaves for use in winter.

Cautions

Goosefoot contains oxalic acid and saponins, especially in mature leaves and seeds. Occasional consumption is safe for most people, but those with kidney issues or prone to kidney stones should limit intake.

Always harvest from clean, pesticide-free areas. Avoid roadsides or contaminated urban soils. 

Cultural and Historical Notes

Historically, species of goosefoot have been used as food across Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa. In North America, archaeological evidence shows that Chenopodium species were part of the Eastern Agricultural Complex, a group of plants cultivated by indigenous peoples before maize arrived. In India and Nepal, the plant (known locally as bathua) is still widely eaten and featured in traditional dishes.

Conclusion

Often overlooked and undervalued, goosefoot is a nutrient-rich, versatile wild edible that deserves a place in the modern forager's toolkit. With proper identification and preparation, this humble weed can provide free, sustainable, and healthy food straight from your backyard or nearby field.

While it will establish itself without help, and this is just a suggestion, you could always harvest some of the seeds and put them into a raised bed or some containers for you to ensure you have some and know that it is safe from pesticides and what-have-you, and actually turn it into a garden crop. Why not? 

2025 © Michael Smith 

Glass Recycling – A Scam

You will have noticed that I did not put a question mark after the word scam and that is because it is.

Around 90%, if not more, of all glass collected for recycling, in our region at least, is not recycled at all but downcycled in that it is not being turned into new glass but is ground down for road aggregate. 

When glass bottles, and glass jars, are not separated by color and all end up broken, while being tipped into the collection vehicles, into the same container no one can tell me that that stuff is made to make new glass. It does not work. 

A huge waste of a valuable resource. 

We once had it right, years ago, when all glass bottles came with a deposit and went back to be cleaned, sterilized and then refilled, until such a time that they were actually broken. As far as milk bottles are concerned that was not until that long ago. The milkman brought the full ones and collected the empties. 

During the Second World War in Britain even glass jars were collected to be reused by the factories and this could still be done today as there is just a number of size openings of such jars and thus required lids. But no, it seems to be too labor intensive not considering the cost to the environment. 

Even when that was no longer the case, as in the case of glass jars, not all that many were ever tossed out because they were being reused in the home for all manner of things (and I still do this today). 

They, depending on the size, where used to store dry goods, from beans, peas, lentils, to pasta, oats, and even flour, in case of the large ones. Smaller ones were employed for storage of the likes of nails and screws, buttons, and whatever else. Some were also used as drinking vessels and this was the case when I was a child and is still the case in my home to this very day. 

Broken, the shards of bottles and jar became a woodworking tool, namely that of a scraper for so-called glass shave. It works by far better than a steel card scraper. The only disadvantage to a steel card scraper is that the glass shard cannot be resharpened but then again that matters little as there is always ample material available. 

When it came to glass bottles in the days when there was a deposit on them even if they were tossed out by people into the ditches and whatever they did not stay there long. Kids would soon pick them up and take them back to the shops to get the deposit for pocket money. Almost every child did so when I was a kid. 

But, apparently, reintroducing a deposit scheme for glass bottles would be too difficult, according to government because one would not know whether it would ever work in this country. That is entirely disregarding the fact that we once had it and it worked well. You just could not make it up. There is no political will to do it and that is all. 

Therefore glass recycling is and will remain a scam. 

2025 © Michael Smith