Friday Food Facts: Spinach

Green Girl Goodies, August 2012

Featuring information from:

“12 Best Foods Cookbook” by Dana Jacobi

SuperFoods:  Fourteen Foods that will Change Your Life by Steven G. Pratt, M.D., and Kathy Matthews

Spinach has more demonstrated health benefits than almost any other food.  Packed with an abundance of antioxidants including carotenoids beta-carotene and lutein (good for the eyes), Spinach is also a high in iron and a good source of vitamins C and K.  Loaded also with folates important for pregnant women, reducing heart disease and even helping to protect against colon breast and other cancers, Spinach is a quick way to get powerful dose of daily vitamins as well as fiber.   Consuming at least 400 micrograms of folates may even reduce the risk of stroke in adults over the age of 30.

Spinach can be eaten in a number of ways and is easily incorporated into most meals and dishes.  Eating spinach cooked liberates the carotenoids, especially beta-carotene making them more easily available for your body.  However, the cooking degrades both the vitamin C and folate so enjoy some of your spinach raw and some cooked!  In raw form spinach incorporates easily into salads, smoothies and is great on sandwiches.   Cooked try your spinach in lasagna, stir fry, in soup or all alone steamed or sautéed with garlic and onion.  Try eating your spinach with lemon juice or other citrus to make the iron easier for your body to use.  

One should eat at least one cup cooked or 2 cups raw of spinach or other dark leafy greens daily as part of a balanced diet.  Variety is key for your balanced diet so try some of the spinach “Sidekicks” recommended by Dr. Pratt:  kale, collard greens, Swiss chard, mustard greens, turnip greens, boy choy, romaine lettuce and orange bell peppers.  Search Green Girl Goodies for more recipes with spinach and its sidekicks and look for many more to come!

Next Friday Food Facts: 

Onions