If you do nothing else this week

go get yourself some organic baby spinach.  Seriously.  The kind that’s already washed.  Make life easy.

This whole health thing can get overwhelming.  There are so many ways to eat, and so many things we “should” be doing.  Which makes it hard to do anything sometimes.  And while there are different nutritional theories out there…paleo, vegan, low-fat, low-carb, etc, etc, one thing everyone agrees on is that vegetables are good!  We could all use more leafy greens.  And spinach is one of the easiest to fit in to your busy life.

Why should your spinach be organic?  Leafy greens tend to carry a lot of pesticide residue. For more info on this, check out my post When you hear the words “Talk dirty to me”. And why baby spinach?  It’s cute!  No, really I just find it more versatile, since it is tender enough for salads.

So what can you do with your organic baby spinach?  Well, it is super easy to blend into a smoothie.  If you are a green smoothie virgin, start with spinach!  It is so mild you barely taste it.  You can read how I make a blueberry/spinach smoothie in the post When you hear the words “Talk dirty to me”, but it really blends well with any fruit you like.

As a hot vegetable, spinach cooks so quickly.  Get yourself any tasty, heat stable fat…olive oil, avocado oil, butter, or ghee are all good.  Put a BIG pan on medium heat, melt the fat, and throw in your spinach.  Sprinkle with a little high quality salt…I like pink Himalayan. Stir it a bit, then put a lid on for a minute or two to help it wilt.  Then stir some more.  It just takes a few minutes.  If you do dairy, it is awesome with some feta cheese and chopped walnuts sprinkled on top.  A big bowl of it served that way could be lunch.

What else can you do with your organic baby spinach?  Use it as the base for a salad.  The mild taste goes great with just about everything.  Throw some protein on top and it’s a meal.  If I have leftover chicken, I’ll put that on a bed of spinach with some chopped hard boiled egg.  Drizzle with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar, or any dressing you like.  For help picking the right olive oil, read Has your olive oil lost its virginity?

Oh, another one of my favorite things to do with spinach is to put it in my scrambled eggs.  Melt some butter or ghee in a pan, throw in a handful or two of spinach, and cook for a few minutes until it shrinks a bit.  Then add your eggs and cook until they are to your liking.  And if you missed my post on eggs, here you go: Why I don’t buy my eggs here.

So how can spinach help you feel happy, healthy and hot?  That’s easy!  You will be happy making quick, delicious meals.  And spinach is rich in vitamins A, K and C, as well as many of the B vitamins.  It is also contains minerals, including iron and copper. All of which are  important for your good health.  As far as hot, I’m always telling you how great vitamin C is for your skin, since it helps your body produce collagen., which is what keeps the skin on your face and body firm and youthful.  Guess what?  Copper supports collagen production too!  Just remember to have some type of fat with the spinach so your body can absorb all those amazing nutrients.

So there you have it!  You don’t have to do everything!  Maybe you’re grossed out by oil pulling (see Believe it or not, I go through this tub pretty quickly!  And you can’t get into dry brushing.  Just do what you can…add more veggies and you’re off to a good start.  I’d love to hear from you…any other ideas for using spinach?