I have several Malabar plants growing, all the red/purple stem variety. Plants look great and healthy. In south Texas, so very hot in June. Plants are in containers so I water twice a day on average. They are only about 2 months old, but are already producing the little (flower?) pods that will become seeds. I fear the leaves may become bitter, like lettuce and regular spinach that has gone to bolt. Is this normal for Malabar?

Since it's not really a spinach, the "rules" are different. I never found the leaves to go off in flavor or texture when it bolted. Bolting wasn't an end of season thing it typically is with lettuce and such. I fact, I think you can think of it as a vine that produces culinarily useless seeds whose leaves happen to be good to eat. I liked them because the leaves didn't collapse so much as real spinach when cooked. I think you're fine. You may actually find they are less bitter than spinach.

They're great climbers that reseed themselves and like to spread. I really shouldn't say the seeds are useless. The seeds, with the supporting small stems, are used in the far east in a curry vegetable fry with potatoes, chili, onions, etc. And I see one guy using the juice of the ripe seeds as coloring to liven up green juices.

Very thoughtful reply, thanks!

Couple of the malabar are setting seeds; which I thought is early. Didn't harvest many leaves from them.
But some are now just getting started; these self-sowed from last year. So hopefully I'll get a good harvest.