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Spinach: Nutrition Information and a Super Easy Recipe! Plus a Bonus Sweet Potato Recipe Too!

April 13, 2011 By Julie Lanford MPH, RD, CSO, LDN

Yep – you guessed it. We got spinach in our CSA produce box this week! We also had it last week. So I cooked both batches together last night, and it was GREAT!

Here’s how I cooked it:

The Easiest Spinach Recipe Ever!

Here is my foolproof recipe for sauteing spinach!

Ingredients:

  • Minced Garlic
    Cantonese stir fry vegetable

    Image via Wikipedia

  • Canola Oil
  • Spinach
  • Salt

Instructions:

  1. Heat your pan.
  2. While pan is heating, rinse the fresh spinach leaves
  3. When the pan is hot, add just enough canola oil to lightly coat the pan.
  4. Once the oil is hot,  add minced garlic (to your taste!)
  5. Stir the garlic around in the pan and then add the rinsed spinach. The water from the rinsing will help steam it. No extra water is needed! Once it wilts, it’s done. Remove from heat and season with salt or other spices.

Note: The cooking the spinach part of the process only takes a 2-3 minutes. Stir it around, it wilts quickly and its’ ready to eat! Overcooking it is when it starts to get really bitter, mushy and yucky! I also find the mature leaves to be better in a saute than the baby spinach. I think the baby spinach gets really mushy. But not so mushy that I don’t enjoy eating it!

What Makes Spinach So Good For You?

According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, green leafy vegetables are one of the most researched foods when it comes to nutrition and cancer prevention.

Why? For many reasons! First, they are excellent sources of the following nutrients:

  • fiber
  • Folate
  • range of carotenoids such as lutein and zeaxanthin
  • Saponins
  • flavonoids

When it comes to the carotenoids, it has been shown that foods containing carotenoids probably protect against cancers of the mouth, pharynx and larynx.

We know that fiber reduces your risk for colon cancer and the various other phytochemicals can help keep your body strong, healthy and fighting diseases like cancer and others!

Popeye had it right! Eat your greens!

Bonus Recipe:
Simple Sweet Potatoes

Ok – sweet potatoes came in our box too. Here’s a trick I learned from my mother in law. When you’re in a hurrry and don’t have much time, this makes it really easy!

Scrub sweet potato and cut off any rough spots. Slice it into thin slices (including the skin). They look like large coins. Place in a microwave safe dish, put water in the bottom 1/4 of the dish and set the microwave for the potato setting. Cook until they are soft! I used my Pampered Chef vegetable steamer that goes in the microwave and it worked perfect.

These slices are great to eat with a fork. If the sweet potato is fresh, you don’t need to add anything. If it tastes a little bland, you can add some brown sugar and cinnamon. Yum!

– Julie

 

Healthy Cooking on a Budget: Week 2 Recipes!
Recipes Recipes Recipes! Kale, Fish, Banana Parfait & Broccoli Salad!

Filed Under: Cancer Diets, Cancer Prevention, Education, Recipes Tagged With: nutrition, nutritional, recipe, spinach

This post may contain affiliate links for products I recommend. This means if you click on a link and purchase a product, Cancer Services, Inc. will receive a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you. We use these proceeds to support cancer patient direct services and community education in the Triad area of North Carolina. For more information, view our disclosure policy.

Comments

  1. Julie Lanford MPH, RD, CSO, LDN says

    April 13, 2011 at 3:03 pm

    Here’s another great idea from my friend, Joanne! “I slice sweet potatoes that way, put them on a baking sheet with some olive oil and sprinkle with pepper and a little lime juice. Tasty snack, hot or cold. :-)”

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