Spinach is a vegetable that brings health benefits such as preventing anemia and colon cancer as it is rich in folic acid and antioxidants.
This vegetable can be consumed in raw or cooked salads, in soups, sautéed and natural juices, being an easy and cheap option to enrich the diet with vitamins, minerals and fibers.
Thus, including spinach in feed brings the following benefits:
- Prevent vision decline with advancing age by being rich in antioxidant lutein;
- Prevent colon cancer by containing lutein;
- Prevent anemia, being rich in folic acid and iron;
- Protect the skin against premature aging, being rich in vitamins A, C and E;
- Help to lose weight by being low in calories.
To get these benefits, you should consume about 90g of spinach 5 times a week, which equates to about 3.5 tablespoons of that cooked vegetable.
Nutritional information
The following table shows the nutritional information equivalent to 100 g of raw and fried spinach.
Spinach Raw | Spinach Braised | |
Energy | 16 kcal | 67 kcal |
Carbohydrate | 2.6 g | 4.2 g |
Protein | 2 g | 2.7 g |
Fat | 0.2 g | 5.4 g |
Fibers | 2.1 g | 2.5 g |
Calcium | 98 mg | 112 mg |
Iron | 0.4 mg | 0.6 mg |
The ideal is to consume spinach in the main meals, as the absorption of its antioxidant lutein increases with the fat of the meal, usually found in the meats and oils of the preparation.
In addition, to increase the absorption of spinach iron, one should eat a citrus fruit in the dessert of the meal, such as orange, tangerine, pineapple or kiwi, for example.
Spinach juice with apple and ginger
This juice is easy to make and is a great choice for preventing and fighting iron deficiency anemia.
Ingredients:
- Juice of a lemon
- 1 small apple
- 1 tablespoon flaxseed
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 200 ml of water
Method of preparation:
Beat all the ingredients in the blender until the spinach is well crushed and serve ice cream. See more recipes for juices to lose weight.
Spinach Pie Recipe
Ingredients:
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup oil
- 1 cup skim milk
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup of wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 clove garlic
- 3 tablespoons grated cheese
- 2 bundles of spinach, chopped with garlic, onion and olive oil
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese in pieces
Method of preparation:
In order to make the pasta, it is necessary to beat in the blender the eggs, the oil, the garlic, the milk, the grated cheese and the salt. Then add the sifted flour gradually and beat until smooth. Finally add the baking powder.
Sauté the spinach with garlic, onion and olive oil, and you can also add other ingredients to goto, such as tomato, corn and peas. In the same saucepan, add the minced mozzarella cheese and the dough of the pie, mixing everything until it is homogeneous.
To assemble, you should grease a rectangular shape and pour the mixture of the pan, placing grated parmesan on top, if desired. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 ° C for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the dough is cooked.
See other foods rich in iron.