fresh spinach

kyregi
kyregi Posts: 55 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am on a low fat, low sodium diet due to health issues and I'm still trying to discover new recipes. I have found baby spinach lately and eat it as a salad with different other ingredients. Now I'm looking for other great ideas what to do with the spinach, as I usually buy a big box and would like to incorporate it in more dishes than just salads. I also had once or twice an omelet already, but that does not use a lot of spinach... In my life before low fat/low sodium I would eat creamed spinach, but that is out of question now. Just "cooked" spinach is yucky in my opinion. So, how do you use spinach?
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Replies

  • MensEtSalvere2013
    MensEtSalvere2013 Posts: 230 Member
    have you ever tried a green smoothie?
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
    Instead of lettuce in a wrap or sandwich.
  • hilly510
    hilly510 Posts: 46 Member
    I throw spinach in everything! Some of my suggestions might not work for your diet constraints, but you'll get the idea: omelettes, sandwiches, burgers, paninis, pizza, homemade soup, spaghetti sauce, meatball subs, etc. For the sandwiches its usually a small handful but the soup and spaghetti sauce can take a whole 10 oz bag if you want.
  • kyregi
    kyregi Posts: 55 Member
    have you ever tried a green smoothie?
    Not yet. Somehow green smoothies seem kind of weird to me. But maybe I should give it a try. What else do you add to it besides the spinach?
  • vibhorka
    vibhorka Posts: 21 Member
    Hello,

    I also enjoy eating spinach a lot. I usually like to mix mine with raw kale and arugula. Also, I try making it Indian style (SAAG).

    You can try the following recipe, and modify it to lower fat or increase protein levels

    http://www.paleoflip.com/paleo-indian-chicken-saag/
  • lindabeth333
    lindabeth333 Posts: 130 Member
    If you are hesitant about a green smoothie (I love them) - just make a fruit smoothie or protein smoothie and throw in a big bunch of spinach - you won't even know it is in there.
  • sfbaumgarten
    sfbaumgarten Posts: 912 Member
    I'll put spinach in just about anything- Pasta, wraps, salads, sandwiches, mashed potatoes, eggs, pizza...
  • kyregi
    kyregi Posts: 55 Member
    Instead of lettuce in a wrap or sandwich.
    That's an idea :-) We were talking anyway of eating tacos this week. Usually we would have some lettuce to add to them, but spinach might do the job (even better)
  • MensEtSalvere2013
    MensEtSalvere2013 Posts: 230 Member
    add coconut water, bananas, and some carrots. It's not too bad.
  • MamaFunky
    MamaFunky Posts: 735 Member
    When you make pasta throw a few handle fulls in when the pasta is done. Let it sit for a minute before you strain the water out. HTH! :smile:
  • kyregi
    kyregi Posts: 55 Member
    I throw spinach in everything! Some of my suggestions might not work for your diet constraints, but you'll get the idea: omelettes, sandwiches, burgers, paninis, pizza, homemade soup, spaghetti sauce, meatball subs, etc. For the sandwiches its usually a small handful but the soup and spaghetti sauce can take a whole 10 oz bag if you want.
    Spaghetti sauce sounds good. I will have to try that.
    If you put it on pizza, will it not get "burned" or just totally dried up?
  • StephyA86
    StephyA86 Posts: 68 Member
    I've been throwing about a cup of fresh spinach into my berry smoothies and I can't tell it's there AT ALL. :) It's a sneaky way to get some green in for breakfast. :)
  • jharb2
    jharb2 Posts: 208 Member
    I sautee w/ garlic / olive oil
  • kyregi
    kyregi Posts: 55 Member
    Wow, many great ideas. I will try the smoothies.... I also like the olive oil garlic combination. That with some spaghetti, sounds pretty good. I think I have some new ideas I will need to try over the next couple of weeks
    Thanks for all the great ideas!
  • hilly510
    hilly510 Posts: 46 Member
    I throw spinach in everything! Some of my suggestions might not work for your diet constraints, but you'll get the idea: omelettes, sandwiches, burgers, paninis, pizza, homemade soup, spaghetti sauce, meatball subs, etc. For the sandwiches its usually a small handful but the soup and spaghetti sauce can take a whole 10 oz bag if you want.
    Spaghetti sauce sounds good. I will have to try that.
    If you put it on pizza, will it not get "burned" or just totally dried up?

    Not at all. I usually put it closer to the sauce (either under the sauce or under the cheese) to make sure it gets nice and wilty, but putting it on top of the cheese with the rest of the toppings doesn't dry it out at all. My bf loves to over-cook food so our pizzas are in the oven for like 30 minutes and the spinach is never crunchy.
  • neenie122
    neenie122 Posts: 10
    Sautéed in garlic & olive oil. I also make spinach salad with olive oil, lemon juice, and little sea salt.
  • maroonmango211
    maroonmango211 Posts: 908 Member
    I love wilting some spinach in my soups just as they are about to be served, I find it adds great flavour along with its other benefits.
  • lesteidel
    lesteidel Posts: 229 Member
    Spinach pie, spinach dip, spinach quiche, add it to soups, sauté with garlic and onion as a side for your main dish, in a salad, in your pasta dishes, in a casserole with cream of mushroom, spinach, chicken, broccoli, and cheese. (Not completely low cal, but yummy in moderation)
  • Okapi42
    Okapi42 Posts: 495 Member
    If I have leftover rice, I like to make a simple lunch out of it with some beans (watch the sodium in tinned ones) and spinach. I just put it all in a tupperware box and microwave for two minutes at work. Might need a little of your favourite sauce, or a spoonful of cream cheese or sour cream.
  • DownsizingAaron
    DownsizingAaron Posts: 127 Member
    If you are hesitant about a green smoothie (I love them) - just make a fruit smoothie or protein smoothie and throw in a big bunch of spinach - you won't even know it is in there.

    Agree.
  • EveyRose
    EveyRose Posts: 74 Member
    thank you for posting this ? I think cooked spinach is yucky as well, just can not eat most green veggies once they are cooked tha tcome from that style of veggies..I eat peas green beans cooked but tha tis abut it...lots of great ideas here for me tto folks...thank you...
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    I am on a low fat, low sodium diet due to health issues and I'm still trying to discover new recipes. I have found baby spinach lately and eat it as a salad with different other ingredients. Now I'm looking for other great ideas what to do with the spinach, as I usually buy a big box and would like to incorporate it in more dishes than just salads. I also had once or twice an omelet already, but that does not use a lot of spinach... In my life before low fat/low sodium I would eat creamed spinach, but that is out of question now. Just "cooked" spinach is yucky in my opinion. So, how do you use spinach?

    Can you say what health issues have you on low fat because maybe we can recommend the right fats as everyone needs some.
  • kyregi
    kyregi Posts: 55 Member
    I am on a low fat, low sodium diet due to health issues and I'm still trying to discover new recipes. I have found baby spinach lately and eat it as a salad with different other ingredients. Now I'm looking for other great ideas what to do with the spinach, as I usually buy a big box and would like to incorporate it in more dishes than just salads. I also had once or twice an omelet already, but that does not use a lot of spinach... In my life before low fat/low sodium I would eat creamed spinach, but that is out of question now. Just "cooked" spinach is yucky in my opinion. So, how do you use spinach?

    Can you say what health issues have you on low fat because maybe we can recommend the right fats as everyone needs some.

    I am on a cardiac diet for heart reasons. I should have only 7% of my calorie intake in saturated fats. So I use cheese in moderation and then only the low fat versions. I'm getting pretty good at using olive oil in many recipes etc. So the spinach comes in for the "Increase your intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes to replace foods high in fat". As I look more at the nutrients now, spinach was also a try to up my iron intake a bit as that is always extremely low.
  • SingingSingleTracker
    SingingSingleTracker Posts: 1,866 Member
    I am on a low fat, low sodium diet due to health issues and I'm still trying to discover new recipes. I have found baby spinach lately and eat it as a salad with different other ingredients. Now I'm looking for other great ideas what to do with the spinach, as I usually buy a big box and would like to incorporate it in more dishes than just salads. I also had once or twice an omelet already, but that does not use a lot of spinach... In my life before low fat/low sodium I would eat creamed spinach, but that is out of question now. Just "cooked" spinach is yucky in my opinion. So, how do you use spinach?

    Chop it up and throw it on pizza (the healthiest pizza you can find which usually means starting with the crust and building your own), chop it up and scramble it in your eggs along with some onion, bell pepper, mushroom, etc... . Cook it by itself in a saute pan with a little olive oil and onion for a nice warm side dish. Have it on sandwiches. Chop it up and put it in the pasta. Chop it up and sprinkle it all over a baked potato or baked sweet potato. Green is good. Spinach is good.

    I've learned in the past few months I am much better off washing my spinach no matter how many times the package says it has already been washed...
  • S_Murphree
    S_Murphree Posts: 94
    One of my favorites is to put it in a frittata. Mix eggs with baby spinach, 2% cheese, any other favorite vegetables (I love mushrooms), canadian bacon (or ham, turkey or bacon), salt, pepper, etc. Spray nonstick skillet. Add egg mixture. Let set for a couple minutes. Finish in the oven. Slice and serve.

    Yum!
  • craftywitch_63
    craftywitch_63 Posts: 829 Member
    I use spinach, bell peppers, asparagus, broccoli, whatever vegetables I can find in egg fritatas. I use Egg Beaters (about 120 grams = 60 calories, 0 fat) a touch of mustard, one ounce of cheese (both are optional if you can't tolerate the fat/sodium, whatever) with the vegetables.

    If you use the microwave, throw everything together and stir it up, microwave for about 3-4 minutes until solid.

    If you use a conventional oven, mix everything together in a baking dish and bake for about 15-20 mins until solid.

    You can use low fat cheese if necessary.

    Awesome for breakfast but also makes a pretty good dinner. I also throw in some soy sausage, or you can use low-fat turkey sausage, etc. Fritattas are pretty adaptable.
  • dcglobalgirl
    dcglobalgirl Posts: 207 Member
    I love to cook it up with garlic, thyme and cumin and add raisins and feta cheese and chick peas. I can eat a big bowl of it for dinner.

    I think the recipe is sort of like this but I usually throw in a bit of feta at the end and let it melt.

    http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/spinach_with_chickpeas.html
  • Ashley_marley
    Ashley_marley Posts: 1
    Spinach is awesome and really tasty when prepared the right way....I prefer it steamed with other vegetables. Smoothies sound gross but actually its a great way to get the most nutrients out of your veggies.. I found this http://shedpounds.com/articles/2013-10-21/spinach it was really useful.:drinker:
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
    Sauteed spinach is great. I will put about 1 tsp of oil, then about 1tbs of Sriracha Chili Garlic (the paste, not the sauce) ... let that work together for about 1 minute, then throw an entire 7oz pack of spinach in. toss it a bit to get some of the hot oil on top, and it will all wilt down in about 2-3 minutes. The entire box, once cooked down would barely cover a dessert plate.
  • Jenn_Lyn1102
    Jenn_Lyn1102 Posts: 219 Member
    Try spinach chips, just like kale chips, but spinach instead. I love them!!


    http://www.hungrycouplenyc.com/2013/09/baked-spinach-chips.html

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