How smart is Popeye? Smarter than you think. Popeye attributes his amazing strength to eating spinach, but he is also protecting himself against osteoporosis, heart disease, colon cancer, and arthritis. The Journal of Nutrition recently published a report that spinach fights prostate cancer, while The Nurses Health Study reveals women whose diets are high in kaempferol, a nutrient in spinach, have a 40 percent less risk of ovarian cancer.
Spinach, like other leafy green vegetables, provides more nutrients than most other foods. Vitamin C and Vitamin A, two nutrients in spinach, are important antioxidants that work to reduce free radicals in the body known to cause blocked arteries, heart attacks, or strokes. Spinach’s Vitamin K promotes bone health. Add the iron and calcium and you have the mighty spinach. Make your spinach organic and you even increase the healthy nutrients of the mighty spinach. According to a study by Rutgers University comparing conventionally grown spinach with organic spinach, organic spinach has 97 percent more iron and 99 percent more manganese than conventionally grown spinach. Many of the essential trace elements that are absent in the conventionally grown spinach are rich in the organic. The United States—notably California and Texas—is one of the largest commercial grower of spinach. Help the economy and yourself—have organic spinach for dinner.
Jasmati Rice with Spinach
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large organic sweet onion, chopped
1 cup organic frozen mixed vegetables, defrosted
1 package of organic spinach, rinsed and dried
1 cup uncooked organic Jasmati Rice
2 cups of organic chicken broth
Directions:
1. Place rice in pan with chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Wrap towel around lid. Secure wrapped lid on pan, making sure the cloth does not touch any part of stovetop. Simmer rice for twenty to twenty-five minutes or until all broth is absorbed and rice is slightly dry. Turn off heat but keep pan on burner. Remove wrapped lid.
2. Sauté onion in olive oil for two minutes. Add mixed vegetables and spinach. Continue to sauté for three to five minutes. Add rice to large bowl. Add spinach mixture and stir well.
3. Serve Jasmati Rice and Spinach with sliced tomatoes on the side. Tomatoes help the body absorb the iron in spinach.
