Considering the rural poor in developing countries like Nigeria, diets that are deficient in dietary fibre and micronutrients are common. Food diversification or dietary modifications such as increased consumption of vegetables may solve the problem. This study assessed the dietary fibre and micronutrient levels of selected starchy foods (jollof rice and yam porridge) using three underutilized green leafy vegetables, namely,
Ebolo (
Crassocephalum crepidiodes),
Odu (
Solanum nigrum
L), and
Yanrin (
Launaea teracifolia L) as sprinkles. Fresh samples of
Crassocephalum crepidioides,
Solanum nigrum L, and
Launaea teracifolia were purchased from Ota market. The leafy parts of the vegetables were washed, cut, oven-dried at 90°C for 6 h and pulverized. Jollof rice and porridge were cooked and 2g each of dried ebolo, odu and yanrin were sprinkled on 100g of each food and stirred thoroughly. Total dietary fibre, as well as iron (Fe) and Zinc (Zn) content of the resultant diets, were determined using standard methods. The highest total dietary fibre of 8.45% was obtained in jollof rice sprinkled with
Yanrin. Zn (31.75mg/kg) was highest in jollof rice sprinkled with
Yanrin, and Fe (87.75mg/kg) in porridge sprinkled with
Ebolo. The underutilized vegetables added more nutritional values to jollof rice and yam porridge as
Ebolo,
Yanrin and
Odu were sprinkled on them.