Spinach and other veggies.

lookitsbecc

As a lover of junk food and anything out of a packet, my biggest struggle is trying to eat clean.
I've bought a massive bag of spinach (after trying spinach lasagne in a restaurant last week) in order to try and cook cleaner meals. I've never bought spinach before, or cooked it. Do any of you lovely people have suggestions of how to cook spinach or what it goes well with? I was thinking of throwing it together with courgette, mushrooms, onions etc to make a veggie stirfry but I'm not even sure if you CAN stir fry spinach

TL;DR Meal tips for Spinach please?

ThatOperaGirl

Sure you can stir-fry spinach! Just be aware that it wilts very quickly and will decrease in size a LOT when you cook it.

I like to wilt spinach in a frying pan with a little bit of oil and garlic and then mix it in with scrambled eggs. I usually throw in other vegetables I have in the fridge -- most go pretty well with the spinach, tomatoes and broccoli are two of my favourites.

I also use fresh spinach leaves as a base for salads instead of lettuce, or at least do a half-and-half mix.

Never actually made one, but I've had a spinach, pumpkin and ricotta frittata before and it was YUM. I imagine it would also taste good with sweet potato. (Spinach and ricotta is one of my all-time favourite flavour combinations )

Have fun experimenting!

officialcharlottecummings

I like to just eat it as is sometimes, but I got bored one day and had a bunch of stuff so I put a weird salad thing together and it was awesome: spinach, sliced bell peppers, sliced hard boiled egg, chunks of carrots, and a handful of crushed doritos, I think I had something else in there, OH lettuce! It was glorious. I called it a Salad of Epicness.

lookitsbecc

Thank you ThatOperaGirl will definitely be experimenting over the next few days!

lookitsbecc

That salad does sound pretty epic to be fair. I think I'll write all these ideas on some paper and stick it to the fridge.

ldrosophila

Steamed with butter and vinegar and I'm a happy girl

dafydd_brown

I'm not super keen on the taste of cooked spinach although I'm getting used to. The main way I like to eat it is fresh and in a salad like the one mentioned above (minus the doritos though maybe!). I always make sure that whenever we cook stews that I throw a load of green stuff in because it's a good way to hide green veg I might not eat in with other tastier things. Something else I've noticed, and this might be interesting for other people who aren't naturally inclined towards eating green veg, I've found that eating broccoli char-grilled or stir-fried on a high heat but only for a few minutes to be a lot more palatable than when it's boiled. I still wouldn't neccesarily describe myself as a fan of broccoli but it's so much nicer this way and it retains more of the nutritional goodness too!

JessiBelleW

I really like spinach! I like fresh spinach as the base for my salad's (when in summer!) and in my wraps. I also throw a handful in when I make smoothies - can't taste it and I feel like I am adding to my 5+ a day!

CharChary

I love a good omelette with spinach. I just cook an omelette like you normally would and throw fresh baby spinach right on top and fold it over inside (with some fat free cheddar cheese!) so yummy.

lookitsbecc

Great idea Dafydd_brown. I choke down brocolli because I know it's good for me but I will definitely try chargrilling it for a happier experience of it. Writing all these tips down guys, have so many ideas for dinner today now haha

dafydd_brown

Also, if you've got the time for it - spinach and ricotta cannelloni is soooo good. We cook it every month or so using Jamie Oliver's recipe and it's very tasty. It's not exactly low calorie I guess... but you can make changes to the recipe to lower the fat content as we do. Worth a look on a cheat day or when you're feeling indulgent perhaps.

lookitsbecc

I just had no idea spinach went with so many things. I've always been brought up on basic veggies like carrots and peas so spinach is exotic to me haha. I just tried some fresh out of the bag and I do like it uncooked so I'll definitely be using it in salads!

dafydd_brown

If you like curry, then this recipe is good too - http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/paneerwithspinach_86756 (Saag Paneer)
I'm vegetarian so paneer is a good way to get low fat protein - it's basically cottage cheese but pressed into blocks that you can chop up and fry or grill.

Myhaloslipped

I always use my spinach to make salads. Then I am enjoying a salad but also eating a green vegetable. Spinach is also good in omelets.

dafydd_brown

Vinegar eh? Sounds interesting... I might combine that idea with an omelette as other people have suggested.

Fivepts

Broccoli and spinach are both good in quiche. Most anything you would put on a sandwich but just substitute the spinach for the bread (even my kids eat this). Mix spinach with ground seeds, season, add egg and make a spinach "sorta" burger.

padams2359

It is great on a turkey breast sandwich with mustard on whole wheat toast. I also sauté it with a little seasoned olive oil,and garlic that I keep in the fridge.

Saute spinach, grilled chicken and greeked yogurt with Mediterranean spices and a little dill inside a pita or spinach wrap is the bomb.

If you are on a high protein diet, I add sauté on top of a grilled steak. Much better for you than creamed spinach.

tpmaxwell2

I used this recipe and substituted spinach for the broccoli, and it turned out fantastic! I've also tried it with broccoli and it tastes good that way, as well. http://www.deliciously-thin.com/easy-chicken-casserole-recipe.html

lookitsbecc

Just tried scrambled egg with spinach and LOVED it. My 2 year old finished her plate aswell so I'll definitely be doing that again, anything to get veggies down the kid's neck is a plus.

Probably going to try a stir fry tonight going shopping for extra veggies this afternoon.

Diet_Soda

I cook it in a pan with garlic, tomatoes, mushrooms, green onions, and chili paste. Finish it off with some rice wine vinegar and then serve it with a piece of salmon on top.

kellybellyjellyn

I try to eat a lot of Spinach! I prefer Baby Leaf Spinach, it's a bit milder especially if you're not used to the taste and I eat it just as you would eat lettuce !!!

PrincetteNerdlord

I dont know if anyone mentioned this, but you can add like half a serving, or a full serving to a smoothie with fruit and you get all the nice little nutrients of spinach and you can't even taste it. I like it with eggs and olives and feta best though.

dukesangel

Love it as a salad, in omelets, in cheesey shells, and most recently started putting it in my smoothies! I can get 2 cups of spinach in there!!!!

bluesunset2015

I use spinach as a salad and it tastes so good if you make an omelet with spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, coconut oil and spices (or just salt and pepper).

lilred806

Quiche
Scrambled eggs with spinach, tomatoes, and onion
Salad any kind
With taco meat and salsa
In an Italian sausage soup
Just snack on it with dinner occasionally
Have fun and enjoy

Katmary71

As you're learning, it's great with many things! Two easy sites to check out Spinach recipes are Eating Well and Cooking Light. The blog A Veggie Venture lists recipes by veggies so it makes it very easy.

Like many, loved spinach in eggs. I love tossing in some carrot slices, bell pepper, asparagus (or summer squash or zucchini), mushrooms, onions, basically whatever is on hand, then add the eggs and cook, spinach, and then some feta. This is one of the times you can use low fat feta and it doesn't taste yucky! The low fat or fat free Mexican cheese blend is awesome too. I usually will add some Cholula sauce.

If you're having salad, toss in some spinach. It works really well alone or with other baby greens or loose leaf greens. One of my favorite salads is with spinach or a mix, with apple, sunflower seeds or almond slivers, grapes, celery if you like it, dried cranberries, slices of carrot and fennel, feta or goat cheese, and sliced up chicken breast with either a vinaigrette or poppy seed dressing.

You can toss it in with any stir fry or saute, and can use it soups, pasta, great on pizza, and many more ideas I'm not thinking of now,

As for broccoli, you have to have it roasted in the oven! I'm not a big cauliflower fan but I even like that roasted too. You can just toss with olive oil and roast it (add parmesan cheese and your daughter may like it as well), or add garlic, seasonings, and perhaps other vegetables that cook around the same amount of time (I add onions and red peppers often) and roast, then toss with basil, yum! Roasting it gives it a carmelized taste that really enhances the flavor. I've actually had just a head of roasted broccoli for dinner more than once! Of course you can toss spinach in when it comes out too, LOL! Root vegetables are awesome roasted as well, just wanted to focus on spinach and comment on broccoli.

dumb_blondes_rock

not sure if you are much of a cooker, but if you butterfly the breast of a chicken, and stuff it with spinach and cheese(i love mozzarella, but you can be adventurous if you want) you can season the outside of the chicken and bake it for like 25 mins at 350, or until the chicken is cooked (time will vary depending on size of chicken boobs you use). i will also stuff the chicken with other stuff like sometimes i sauté shredded carrots and shredded broccoli with a little butter and stuff that in the chicken breast and coat the outside with oil & top with breadcrumbs...num num.

spinach is also good in a salad with cranberries and blue cheese crumbles with a berry vinaigrette you can even put like almonds or whatever nut you like in there too

Confuzzled4ever

You can do so much with spinach. I use it in place of lettuce, throw it in stir fry it,, toss it in omelets, use it to make stuffed anything. I make spinach wrapped chicken. Spinach, watermelon and feta salad is awesome! Put it on pizza, use it in soups. I like spinach sauteed with garlic and bacon! :~)

chezjuan

I like spinach lots of ways:

steamed
sautéed in a little olive oil with garlic
raw, in a salad
added to sandwiches in place of lettuce
in Indian food (spinach curry, palak paneer, saag gosht (spinach and lamb curry)
as a pizza topping
as part of a dip (spinach artichoke dip)
on a piece of toast (cooked) with a fried egg on top

AmykinsCatfood

Light Italian wedding soup, which cooks up really well in a crock pot!

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth (low sodium)
2 cups water
2-3 Carrots thinly sliced
2-3 cups Spinach
2/3 cup small pasta, acini di pepe pasta works best but orzo or even alphabets works well. I like to pre-cook my pasta to preserve the liquid in the pot for the soup but you can throw it in there raw and just cook it longer. In a crock pot not much liquid will be lost.

And for the meatballs you can use pre-made ones or make small ones using chicken, turkey, pork or beef. I like pork with very fine minced onion, garlic and parsley. Roll together your mix into 0.5" rounds and you can either brown them first to get rid of the grease or throw them in the pot to cook.

GingerLolita

I love spinach in lasagna made with whole grain noodles of course.