Creative Recipes for the Mighty Spinach

Spinach. It’s not only for Popeye. How many servings a day do you actually get? Of any vegetable? It’s time to remeasure and reuse. Spinach is actually a very multifaceted leafy green. It packs a powerful punch as a well-known super food, meaning for every bite you’re getting more nutrients than most vegetables.

Spinach is rich in fiber, protein, Vitamins A, C, E and K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, and Potassium. We don’t recommend skipping daily vitamin doses, but a diet high in spinach most likely will boost that vitamin pack you’re taking.

It’s easy to cut, chop, drop, tear, add, or leave as leafy.

Using spinach in your daily meals is literally as easy as pulling it out and dropping it in.

Pick up spinach at your local Poway Farmers Market and enjoy in the following ways:

• Drop into you eggs in the morning for breakfast. Drop in whole or chop up. Add salsa for extra flavor.
• Sprinkle chopped spinach into your next quiche.
• Add spinach whole leafs to a serving platter with sliced almonds and fresh strawberries. Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette for an amazingly fresh salad.
• Cook down pounds of spinach with one diced onion and a couple cloves of diced garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste and use chicken stock to wilt down in your saute pan. Serve with grilled chicken for the optimal match.
• Next time you’re doing the usual pasta and marinara sauce, add a little spinach. Wilt spinach into your red sauce and toss with pasta. You’re enjoying your carbs and veggies together.
• Mix spinach in with your next batch of mashed potatoes.
• Add it to your next hot or cold pasta salad.
• Use fresh or frozen spinach in any soup, homemade or bought. You’ll be surprised how yummy the taste is and what energy you have the next day.

Check the Center for Disease Control’s website fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov to see what your specific and recommended daily serving of vegetables is.

Some say spinach can help with digestion, energy levels, and the immune system. Overall, it's a pretty powerful veggie.

Daily fruit and veggie servings are easier to attain with a fresh vegetable like spinach that can be used so diversely.