We've all heard that we need to eat more vegetables, especially leafy green vegetables. One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is by using the ultra-convenient bags of prewashed baby spinach in a variety of ways. What could be easier than opening a plastic bag, grabbing a handful of this incredibly nutritious vegetable, and making a delicious meal?

Why eat spinach? The nutritional benefits are enormous! Just a cup of spinach contains a little under 7 calories, almost a gram of fiber, and high levels of vitamins A and C. Spinach is an excellent source of antioxidants, which produce wonderful anti-cancer benefits. It has four times the beta carotene of broccoli. Spinach is also an excellent source of folate - an ounce contains nearly 25% of our daily requirement. And, it protects against age-related macular degeneration, a serious eye disease affecting older people.

The most basic way to use bagged spinach is for a delicious spinach salad. I like to make mine with toasted walnuts or almonds, fresh raspberries or strawberries, a bit of crumbled blue or feta cheese and a basic olive oil and balsamic (or raspberry) vinegar dressing.

It's also very handy to add a generous portion of fresh baby spinach leaves to a sandwich or wrap, instead of lettuce. Spinach is great with turkey, chicken breast, roast beef, or tuna. Also try an all-veggie concoction - start by spreading your bread or tortilla with light cream cheese, some seasonings and top with mushrooms, tomato, sprouts, shredded carrot, and roasted red peppers.

Spinach makes a terrific side dish as well. Simply heat a small amount of olive oil and minced garlic in a nonstick pan, and add fresh spinach. Remember that spinach cooks down significantly, so always use a LOT more than you think you'll need (about 2 cups uncooked for each individual serving). Simply sauté until spinach wilts and cooks through and serve with fresh ground pepper. This goes so well with any grilled meat, but my favorite is to serve it with grilled salmon!

Many Italian foods are also enhanced by the addition of fresh spinach. Add torn spinach leaves to spaghetti sauce for some extra nutrition. Or, place a layer of fresh spinach over pizza sauce and top with your favorite toppings for a tasty pizza. And, don't forget spinach when you're building a lasagna or stuffing manicotti or cannelloni!

Spinach is delicious with eggs to create hearty and healthy anytime meals. For a super start to the day, quickly sauté spinach and add to an omelette with mushrooms, basil and reduced fat mozzarella. Or add raw spinach leaves and chopped tomato to scrambled eggs as they're cooking - the spinach will cook down with the eggs for a super-fast meal. To make these meals even healthier, use egg whites or a plain or flavored egg substitute.

With these ideas, or your own favorite recipes, you can easily use fresh spinach more often and in more ways. Once you start adding spinach to your diet, you'll discover even more creative ways to use this nutritional wonder in delicious meals any time of the day. Find out for yourself why prewashed bags of baby spinach are one of the greatest 'convenience' foods in the supermarket!

© Health-E-Meals.com, 2004

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