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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2004 |
Location: Palm Springs Area |
Posts: 1,015 |
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Eat Your Spinach
Known in the nutrition world as a “power” food, spinach is packed to the brim with essential nutrients. Unfortunately, it’s also known in the “real” world as a slimy, smelly vegetable that kids refuse to eat, even when you threaten to ground them for not being open-minded about it. Is it worth the effort to try to get your kids, or yourself for that matter, to eat spinach? Absolutely. Eating spinach will help you meet your daily need for a number of nutrients, including calcium, iron, folate and vitamin A...
Spinach 101
Botanically speaking, spinach is part of the Chenopodiaceae family. A dark green leafy vegetable, spinach is packed with nutrition and a distinct flavor. When shopping for spinach, you’ll find two main varieties available to you, known as flat (smooth leaf) or curly (savoy). Flat leaf spinach is usually the preferred choice for raw dishes, as it has a much milder flavor. There is also a lesser known third variety, called semi-savoy, which is basically a less-curly, less-pungent version of the savoy, or curly, spinach, and is much easier to clean.
Selection, Storage & Cooking
The crucial choice you’ll have to make at the grocery store is whether or not to buy the more expensive pre-washed, prepackaged spinach. If you do, you’re saving yourself a bundle of time and effort since you won’t have to wash and rewash the leaves to remove the piles of sand that are inevitably hiding within the bundle of leaves. If you’re the patient type, by the less expensive bundles and wash them at home. But if you’re like most people – rushed for time and looking for quick-fix meals – you’ll find the more expensive version appealing.
Whether you’re choosing a prepackaged bag of spinach or a fresh bundle of leaves, look for spinach that is bright green in color with thin stems and leaves that are not wilted or spotted with yellow. If you prefer tender spinach, choose baby spinach, which is smaller and much more tender. The larger the leaves, the more mature they are and more likely to be tough or stringy. Once you’ve chosen your spinach and brought it home, either cook with it right away, or store in an airtight plastic bag for up to three days.
Spinach is great in any number of meals, including as an addition to soups, salads, sandwiches, casseroles and even sautéed with fresh garlic. Spinach cooks down to about one-third its uncooked size, so don’t be afraid to pile your pan full of raw leaves until you get your desired cooked amount. For a great party appetizer, or fancy snack for yourself that you can make at home, try our recipe for Spinach and Goat Cheese Bruschetta.
Nutritional Benefits
Spinach is rich in a number of essential nutrients, including calcium, folate, iron, magnesium, vitamin C and vitamin A. Each of these nutrients plays a crucial role in our bodies health, from maintaining bone structure, preventing neural tube defects, assisting in red blood cell production, regulating our heartbeat, fighting free radicals and nourishing good eyesight. Eating spinach is an effective way to feed a healthy body. Spinach is also a great source of Lutein and Zeaxanthin, two carotenoid phytonutrients that are important for healthy eyes.
Eating about one cup of raw spinach offers roughly one-third of the nutrition as half a cup of cooked spinach (which is actually equal to about three cups raw). So, while spinach makes a great addition to cold salads and sandwiches, enjoying your spinach hot packs a better nutritional punch.
Nutritional Benefits
- ½ cup cooked Spinach -
Calories 21
Fat 0 g
Carbohydrates 3 g (2 g dietary fiber)
Protein 3 g
Nutrient RDAs
122 mg calcium 12%
131 mcg folate 33%
3 mg iron 30%
78 mg magnesium 22-28%
60 mg phosphorus 8.5%
419 mg potassium 14-21%*
7,371 IU vitamin A 147-184%
9 mg vitamin C 15%
*There is no RDA for potassium, but you need about 2,000-3,000mg/day
Although spinach is in fact a good source of both calcium and iron, it’s important to note that certain compounds found within spinach, called oxalic acids, block the absorption of these two minerals. If you’re a vegetarian and are looking to get both of these minerals from non-animal sources, this could potentially pose a problem. However, this is easily remedied by pairing spinach with a food high in vitamin C to aid the absorption of the calcium and iron.
We're Here to Help!
Eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day supplies your body with essential nutrition, and also helps keep calories in check. Just half a cup of spinach counts as one serving, and adding spinach to your arsenal of healthy foods is a great way to aim for "5-A-Day" while also adding variety to your meals. If your lifestyle is more hectic than peaceful and you’re not getting the proper nutrition your body needs, get your own Free Personalized Vitamin Profile today to find out which vitamins are right for your lifestyle, risk factors and nutrient needs. A healthy lifestyle begins with a healthy body, so don't leave your health to chance.
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06-17-05 Lap-ROUX-EN-Y
BMI 41.1 / 21.9 /24
224/219/120 /131 -104 lbs ...... 11 lb Below Goal.... Made Goal on April 21. 10 Months and 4 Days post-op!
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