Spinach....

OK this week I am on a mission to discover Spinach.  Previously, I only had it when a resturant would put a few leafs in my salad.

I have read some about it and I think it would be a great addition to healthy eating if I can get use to it. I found a great web page that helps me get started:

http://www.tonytantillo.com/vegetables/spinac h.html

Does anyone have recipes or ways that they really enjoy spinach? I would love the ideas - hopefully this is a vegetable that I can incorporate into my diet.

I did put a couple leaves on my sandwich this morning just for fun but haven't dared to try it yet - I usually put iceberg lettuce.

Thanks.

I eat a spinach salad with dried apples, almonds, cherry tomatos and a bit of oil and vinegar dressing. Yummy. Also - I steam the spinach and eat it with just a dash of salt. Sometimes is sticks to the steamer basket so I have to scrape it onto my plate but I still love it :)

yeah!!!!!!  I cant stop talking about spinach!!!!!  I buy 4 bags of frozen spinach a week and thats what I eat for lunch everyday!  I love spinach salads (fresh not frozen)  some spinach, artichokes (good for you too)  some feta cheese, little balsamic vinegar and some slivered almonds if you want.  OR spinach with cranberries, balsamic vinegar and almonds.  Balsamic vinegar is good because you dont need the dressings, saves calories and lots of flavor! 

For cooked spinach, I microwave it, throw in some fresh garlic, some parm. or feta cheese on top and some redwine vinegar or balsamic.  Thats my usual lunch and its less that 200 cals ( i eat 3 cups of spinach, which is 90 cals, the rest is for the cheese.)

Hope some of these help

I haven't worked up to the feta cheese put the artichokes sound good too.  I only had artichokes once in a resturant steamed and served with butter.  Needless to say - it was delicious.  But I don't image them in a salad, etc.

How do you buy them? Canned?

you can buy them canned, fresh or jarred.  the jarred ones are marinated and really good but read the label and check the contents....olive oil.  but if you slice them up without adding the marinade its really good in the salad.  canned ones are good too.

Artichokes are good for you too. 

Okay - you've convinced me - I'm going to have to give spinach another try....for the life of me I can't get past that it looks like cooked weeds to me.......

A while back a co-worker brought a spinach salad to work for a pot luck and it was really good.  It had strawberries in it.  Would anyone have a recipe?  It was really good - might be high calorie?

I love fresh spinach! Here's the way I prefer to make it:

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil (extra virgin preferred.)
(you can sub Pam olive oil spray to save the cals)
2 Cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
1 Pkg. Fresh spinach washed.
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground Pepper.
1 Tpsp. Grated Permesan cheese

add the oil to a sautee pan on med high heat. Allow to heat up then add the garlic and simmer for 1 minute. Start adding the spinach a handful at a time and allow to cook down a bit before adding more. Once all the spinach is in, add the salt and pepper to tase. Once the spinach is cooked, shut off the heat and sprinkle the cheese on top and cover for 5 minutes.

Makes 3 servings per bag.

I love it this way and it works out to about 50 cals a serving or so.

Eric...

my mom n law sent me one the other day for spinach and strawberries!!! I will get it from the other computer and post it.

I use it to make "wraps" - buy the low-cal tortilla wraps, put in some mustard, some veggies, maybe some chicken, tastes great!

If you like eggwhite omelets, try adding some to that with other veggies.  I add to omelet with onion and red fat feta. Awesome, if you don't like feta try another red fat cheese.

Homemade pizza with chopped spinach, green peppers, mushrooms, etc. and lowfat mozz. cheese!

ericwiz, how big is that bag of spinach?  i get the 2.5 lb bag from costco every week, and usually steam it or use in on salads.  i'd like to try your way, though, sounds delish!

It is Elin! I love it! It's the way my Italian grandmother has always made it :-)
Anyway, the bag size is the standard grocery store size. The bag contains I believe it is 3 servings of spinach. I'm going to the store later today so I'll check the ozs. and report back.
Eric...

It's the 16 oz. size

lately I have been on a spinach kick.  On the weekends we go to Subway sometimes and I noticed they had fresh spinach so I started adding it to my sandwiches when I go there.. and now buy a fresh bag every week and add it to my wraps and mixed salads... it seems too help to keep me full.  Personally I don't care for the canned stuff... its a texture thing...

 Here is the  recipe my mom in law passed to me.  I havent tried it but it sounds good

Spinach and Strawberry Salad




2 bunches of spinach

4 cups strawberries




Dressing


½ cup white sugar

2 teaspoons sesame seeds

1 teaspoon poppy seeds (optional)

1 ½ teaspoons minced onion

¼ teaspoon worcestershire sauce

¼ teaspoon paprika

¼ cup cider vinegar

½ cup vegetable oil




Whisk all together and pour over spinach and strawberries.

Spinach is soooo good--and fills you up. I am a big salad person and there aren't any really good places to get a salad near my job now. Sincce I have started this site and watching calories, I have been buying spainach every week and making salads with it as the main ingredient. I personally like it better than using lettuce--more taste and it is filling! And inexpensive near me anyways. I also steam it by itself and also add other veggies as well. I like it with feta too or just carrots, tomatos, mushrooms, whichever. Spinach is an easy thing to incorporate because you can eat it with any meal. Now I have a question--I love creamed spinach==anyone have a good lowfat recipe for that? JUst curious? Thanks everyone!

Thanks for the recipes and all the ideas. I am going to try and eat up that bag of spinach over the weekend.  There are a lot of very healthy foods that I have never given a chance before. Spinach is the first of many new ventures for me. 

I tried the Strawberry & Spinach salad this weekend and I thought is was VERY GOOD.

Next time I am going to try to cut down on the oil and use sugar substitute to  reduces the calories/fat/etc.

This recipe is worth trying.

My very favorite spinach recipe is also high in protein!

My mom used to make this for me all the time as a kid.

First you take a chicken breast and pound it down so it is even thickness. Then marinate it in a citrus marinade (I use one called Mojo Criollo - you can find it in the Spanish food aisle at the grocery store), for 30 minutes or an hour in the refrigerator. While that's marinating, cook up either fresh or frozen spinach and put in tons of lemon juice and garlic.

Then, preheat the oven to 350. Take out your chicken, pound it out again to make it extra thin and put in in a skillet on medium heat to brown the outside. Then put it on a baking sheet, top it with the spinach, and bake at 350 degrees until the chicken is done in the middle.

Sometimes my mom even melts cheese on top under the broiler (usually havarti, but anything would work - swiss, cheddar, mozzerella). It is so juicy and delicious even without the cheese!

Also, as a snack sometimes we used to do the same thing but instead of chicken we would just put the cooked spinach on toast and put it under the toaster oven or broiler to heat it up.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!