Spinach is being featured for this week’s plant-based Monday for its amazing versatility and even more amazing nutritional content.
Spinach is a good source of folate, which plays major a role in brain function, mental and emotional health. Making sure you’re getting enough folate in your diet through foods can help to make sure that our brains are working as efficiently as possible. One cup of raw spinach has about 15% of your daily value of folate. It is also a phenomenal source of vitamin K and vitamin A.
Most leafy greens fall into the plant category of cruciferous vegetables. However, this one is unique in that it falls into the chenopod or amaranth family. Other veggies in this fam are beets and swiss chard, as well as quinoa and amaranth.
Depending on the recipe, spinach works great fresh or frozen. When I have tons of spinach in the fridge, I like to rinse it, throw it in a ziplock, and right into the freezer it goes. It adds a really nice texture to smoothies! Keep fresh spinach dry and in an air-tight container. Pro tip: throw a small piece of dry paper towel into the container with your spinach to absorb excess moisture.
Fun fact: Spinach has such a gorgeous color that Medieval artists used to use it for paint colors!
We love including spinach in recipes like smoothies, salads, and savory bakes. A few of our favorites are:
What are your favorite ways to enjoy this wonderful leafy green? Hands up if you love this green as much as we do!
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