Popeye was right; eating spinach improves your health. Now, it may not give you instant muscles, but it will give you a boost in vitamins and nutrients. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends consuming at least 1 1/2 cups of dark green vegetables per week.  One cup of raw spinach provides the recommended daily allowance of Vitamin K and Vitamin A and is only 40 calories.  Spinach is also full of cancer fighting antioxidants and helps improve brain function and cardiovascular health.

Spinach is available all year round but spring is peak season. You can eat spinach raw or cooked, but due to spinach’s high water content cooked spinach has a higher nutritional value than raw.  In addition, cooked spinach makes it easier for your body to absorb the calcium it contains.  Calcium is essential for bone strength.  You can store fresh spinach in your fridge for up to 5-7 days.  You might see different types of spinach to include regular and baby.  It is recommended to use regular spinach in cooked dishes and baby spinach for raw salads.  The only difference in the two types is the texture.  Both provide the same nutritional value.

Spinach is a great leafy green to incorporate into your diet, but you do need to be careful if you are taking a blood thinning medication like Warfarin or Coumodin. Dark leafy greens have high Vitamin K content and may interfere with these medications. So talk to your doctor or registered dietitian nutritionist for more information.

Try this simple spinach side dish:

Simple Spinach Sauté

Ingredients:

20 oz. fresh spinach

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

3 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

½ tsp. salt and pepper

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese, shredded

2 Tbsp. almonds, sliced

 

Instructions:

 

Heat skillet on medium high heat.  Add oil and garlic.  Sauté garlic for 1 minute.  Add spinach and cook covered for 3-5 minutes or until wilted.  Add lemon juice, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.  Remove from heat and top with parmesan cheese and almonds.

 

For more information about spinach or other health & nutrition information, please contact Kim Miles, County Extension Agent – Family & Consumer Sciences at 325-646-0386 or kamiles@ag.tamu.edu.