Chaya

You can really eat this?  

 

This leafy shrub grows to about 7 feet tall and is easy to propagate.  One of our church members, Reinalda, has many of these bushes growing in her yard.  I cut off a chunk of the stem and put it in the ground.  Now I have a bush growing. 

Chaya is richer in iron than Spinach and is a good source of potassium and calcium.  People here in Belize say that it prevents diabetes and helps to lower blood sugar.

Unfortunately it has a toxin running through it's veins.  It's a white substance called hydrogen cyanide.  I have never heard of anyone dying from eating chaya, because most people know that you have to boil it for 15 minutes before eating it.   You cant just chop up chaya and toss it on your salad (bummer).

So I chop it up, boil it in water, drain the liquid and use it like spinach in an egg strata.  It's yummy!

Belizeans say,  don't throw out the water!  Drink it!  It's full of anti-diabetic properties. Hmmm.  I tried to drink it, once.  It's a little green and bitter.  I suppose adding sugar would counteract the benefits.  But in the strata or with tortilla chaya is yummy!