Ideas for Spinach?

ckmurph
ckmurph Posts: 19 Member
in Recipes
Hi Everyone,
I'm new here and am working my way towards not cooking separate meals for my son and I every night. My change in diet has had my iron intake pretty low. I intend on adding a bit of red meat back in, but I wanted to explore other options for iron. Anyway, I have a bag of fresh spinach and have no idea what to do with it! My teenage son is very picky and was hoping there was a way I could sneak it in some foods, but I'm not sure what. Any ideas? Thanks!
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Replies

  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
    Fresh Spinach? I usually mix it with salad and eat it raw lol. You can do a quick blanch of it and mix with ricotta and make lasagna or stuffed shells, etc... (ETA) Just make sure you ring it out and stuff...or it will make the pasta liquidy :sick:

    As for the iron, you can buy a cast iron pan to cook in and that will help out with the iron levels as well.
  • mrsamanda86
    mrsamanda86 Posts: 869 Member
    My kids don't love spinach either, but too bad for them! I put it in EVERYTHING. My sandwiches, pasta(shrimp pasta is a hit in our house, they usually pick around the spinach though), stuffed chicken or steak with spinach and feta cheese. I love me some spinach!
  • Denjo060
    Denjo060 Posts: 1,008
    I make home made soup and add it to the soup at the end of the cooking time just until its wilted
  • estey89
    estey89 Posts: 104 Member
    I blend a handful up with some eggs ( dont add water/milk) Then you have 'green eggs & turkey bacon' ( healthier than ham hehe)

    Spoonful of salsa. YUM.
  • Naomi0504
    Naomi0504 Posts: 964 Member
    Fruit smoothies, spaghetti/pizza sauce (I put it in the food processor then mix into the sauce), or just as a salad
  • kkerri
    kkerri Posts: 276 Member
    I add it to salads, fritatas, eggs, smoothies - pretty much anything.
  • MysteriousMerlin
    MysteriousMerlin Posts: 2,270 Member
    Pesto! Use it instead of basil leaves.

    Grind it up and add it to a smoothie, or to spaghetti sauce.

    I will often use it to replace lettuce on sandwhiches as well.
  • keeptehpeace
    keeptehpeace Posts: 189 Member
    I love spinach! Maybe make cheese and spinach ravioli? I love it on pizza or in the sauce.
  • amcsouth
    amcsouth Posts: 283 Member
    I normally just eat it in salads as I don't like the taste when its cooked. Recently I discovered that spinach tastes really good blended with strawberries, protein, bananas, ground flax seeds and whatever else I feel like(easy way to get extra fruit and veggies in, very fulling too)
  • tishtash77
    tishtash77 Posts: 430 Member
    skinny taste . com has a few nice recipes using spinach, a feta and spinach crust less pie, stuffed chicken, pasta bakes, meatballs. If it has to be hidden though I would really recommend putting it in a saucy food like spaghetti, chilli, or stews.
    My 4 year old would tell you he does not like spinach, however he really likes spinach pizza and will eat the spinach pie when I point out its just like pizza without the bread.
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
    Whatever you do, make sure to soak it and rinse a couple of times. Spinach is notorious for holding onto sand particles and it's not a nice taste or texture in your mouth if they stick around. I personally love spinach/cheese combos, very delicious!
  • OsricTheKnight
    OsricTheKnight Posts: 340 Member
    If you really want to sneak it into foods you might want to look at the sneaky chef recipes.

    Osric

    [re-reading this I thought some might think I was kidding - I am not - http://www.thesneakychef.com/ is the website]
  • smaihlee
    smaihlee Posts: 171 Member
    A simple sautee is my favorite. A little olive oil in the pan, put in the spinach and sautee until wilted, then add some slivered or minced garlic and sautee a little more. Finish with a touch of salt.

    Also love it mixed in smoothies, in salads, and mixed into eggs as others have mentioned. My family of 3 usually goes through a 2-lb bag of spinach a week.
  • Keena7656
    Keena7656 Posts: 55
    Following
  • AmyMgetsfit
    AmyMgetsfit Posts: 636 Member
    My daughter puts it in lasagna. You can't really tell it is in there. She cooks in with the meat.
  • MercenaryNoetic26
    MercenaryNoetic26 Posts: 2,747 Member
    Love spinach in an egg scrample, pizza, salads or even burgers. Luv spinach. Chop it up and eat a bunch of it at once.
  • charlottemilton
    charlottemilton Posts: 144 Member
    Italian creamed spinach--wilt 1-2 lbs baby spinach and dry well. In the same skillet without the spinach in it, add a little olive oil, butter, garlic, and pinch of nutmeg. Add a couple tablespoons of cream reduce to about 1/2. Add spinach back and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Toss to mix. This is so yummy.

    Use spinach in a quiche for an easy dinner or brunch. This is good left over the next day.

    Use it in stir-fry.

    Make a salad with spinach, slivered almonds, and mandarine oranges.

    Use it in ravioli or lasagna.

    Eating spinach with an acid based food like tomato or orange increases the available iron. Using a cast iron skillet also increases the amount of iron available to your body.
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    Spanakopita.
  • aelphabawest
    aelphabawest Posts: 173 Member
    Mix it with a salad, good for omelets or quiche, I also just fry it up with a tiny bit of butter and salt and eat it as a side dish.
  • CaffeinatedConfectionist
    CaffeinatedConfectionist Posts: 1,046 Member
    Saag paneer!
  • Raderal14
    Raderal14 Posts: 1
    I usually use spinach as a base for my green smoothies. A cup of spinach and some fruit and voila! It may look like an unappealing green color, but you really can't taste the spinach at all.
  • tjsoccermom
    tjsoccermom Posts: 500 Member
    I finely chop it and put it into anything I can. Snuck it into stuffed shells tonight, put it into scrambled eggs and omelette, soups...list goes on. At firsts family complained but they've realized that you can't really taste it, so they're used to it now. For me, I like spinach instead of lettuce in salads now. Just experiment, lots you can go with it.
  • FrauHaas2013
    FrauHaas2013 Posts: 615 Member
    Yum, I LOVE spinach!!! I use it in my salads, sandwiches, pastas, etc. And I love it creamed (there are low-cal/low-fat versions you can make) but my fave would be sauteed with garlic and sprinkled with pepper. SIMPLE!
  • FranceyPants
    FranceyPants Posts: 98 Member
    Baby spinach is a really great and tasty base for salads.

    As for regular English spinach, you can make:
    - Spinach and ricotta pastries which aren't so healthy but they are SO YUMMY
    - Veggie fritatta with spinach plus pumpkin and feta, it's delicious and full of protein from the eggs
    - Just cook up some spinach with butter and garlic, eat as a side to any dish. It goes well with mushrooms

    You could try this: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2011/03/the-best-baked-spinach/
    It looks really tasty!
  • michelleraebaker
    michelleraebaker Posts: 42 Member
    My favorite is chicken breasts in a cake pan, with cut up tomatoes, light Italian dressing then fill the pan with the whole bag of spinach, it shrinks a lot when cooked. Cover and cook at 350 degrees for an hour. Yummmmmy! If your kids don't like it they can still eat the chicken breasts.
  • jess1992uga
    jess1992uga Posts: 603 Member
    I use it in salads but today I put some on my tuna wrap (just tuna pounch on fat free tortilla) and pressed it in my George Foreman...SO FREAKING GOOD!

    I also know people put it on their grilled cheese. My mom cooks it into her egg beaters when scrambling (I've done this with egg whites and liked it with a little hot sauce).

    Also you can put it in quiches made with egg beaters.

    You can put in grilled cheese but using mozzerella or italian blend cheese (add mushrooms makes it really good)

    My dad puts it on pizza and that's good as well.
  • burbacka1132
    burbacka1132 Posts: 19 Member
    I add spinach to salads. I also throw a handful in a blender with strawberries/banana/water.
  • Uhhhwut
    Uhhhwut Posts: 23
    Not sure if anyone else has said this but I like to mix spinach into scrambled egg whites. I replace lettuce with spinach in sandwiches as well, also I put it in smoothies...hell I love spinach with everything!
  • ckmurph
    ckmurph Posts: 19 Member
    Wow, thanks for all the great replies! There were quite a few ideas that I am going to try. Tonight, I sauteed it with olive oil and garlic. I found I needed a little more flavor, so I sprinkled it with some grated cheese. As far as getting my son to eat it, I think I'll have to resort to hiding it in sauces and such.
  • Azurite27
    Azurite27 Posts: 554 Member
    I've been making wraps for work lunch with fresh spinach, feta, and sandwich meat. Worked pretty well.

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