Wednesday, April 16, 2008

I'm Strong To The Finich.....


Cause I eat me spinach....... Popeye knew nutrition! Spinach is one of the very top super foods and we should all take a lesson from the famous sailor of yesteryear. Spinach is full of Vitamin A, C, E, K, magnesium, folic acid, iron, calcium and several vital antioxidants. It is best to eat it fresh. As with any vegetable, cooking it will diminish many of the nutritional properties of the food. I use spinach in place of lettuce on most anything. It is always on our sandwiches, always in our smoothies, tossed in with eggs, cheese crisps , beans and salads. It has a very mild flavor and can easily be hidden in dishes. You can buy a big box of organic spinach at Costco for under $4.00. I cringe when I have to pay the same price for a little package at the grocery store. We go through it so fast.
Since many of you have been stock piling the strawberries that were on sale, I thought I would give you my favorite salad recipe; Strawberry and Spinach with raspberry vinaigrette. I love this salad and all of my children will down it. It tastes like a dessert as it should be, it definitely has a bit of sugar tossed in with it. But, as they say, a spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down. Whatever gets the veggies down these little ones! I am sure most of you have a recipe like this one at home. If not, try it out. The dressing makes plenty to save for later. It will last several weeks in the fridge.
Strawberry Spinach Salad
1 Bunch spinach
1 head lettuce, romaine, butter, etc.
1 pt. strawberries
1 cup sugared nuts
1/3 cup raspberry vinegar
1 cup canola oil or grapeseed oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp minced onions
1 T poppy seeds
Tear up lettuce and spinach into bite size pieces. Slice strawberries. Toss in sugared nuts and add feta if desired. For dressing, mix vinegar, sugar, salt and onions in mixer. On very slow speed, drizzle oil in very slowly until all incorporated. If you do this very slowly, the dressing will not separate. When done, stir in poppy seeds. Do not blend. Toss some in salad just until lightly coated.

7 comments:

Tracey said...

This is one of my all time favorite salads, love it!

Tracey said...

This is one of my all time favorite salads, love it!

DK said...

Shari, I don't know you but love to read the wonderful information you have on here. I too am interested in feeding my family healthy. My question for you is... what is bad about soy protein isolate...I heard it is not good for you. My 15 year old is very athletic and is constanly asking for Clif Bars, Balance bars etc... but like every packaged food I'm not sure they are good for you and all contain Soy Protein Isolate. Do you know of any that are good for you or have a recipe for homemade ones? Thank you so much. ~Deena

Linda said...

Our favorite healthy snack bars are called Lara Bars! They sell 'em on Amazon or at Sprouts... they're just nuts, fruit and dates with no extra or crazy ingredients. They are pretty tasty!

Shari Goodman said...

DK,
If you read the article under my blog "a little light reading" you will hear a bit about Soy from Dr. Blalock, a specialist in this field. If soy were in it's pure form, it is a good thing. Unfortunatley, it usually is not. The Lara bars are great and good ole fashioned peanut butter balls are a great energy source as well. Almonds, fruit and whole grain muffins. If you need the recipes, let me know and I will post them.

DK said...

Thanks guys, we will check out the lara bars but I would love to have the recipes you have as well. Thanks so much. Deena

Anonymous said...

Shari, THANKS!