Welcome to my eclectic journey of my life and delights. This year my theme is surrendering my writing pen to the true author, Jesus Christ, while looking forward to the future, reflecting on the past and dancing through my journey.




Wednesday, February 8, 2012

The Skinny on Green


I am forewarning you! This maybe more information on Green than you want...so enter slowly.

Back in the spring (the beginning of the green season of the year) Debbie of Wagon on Wheels gave out her green smoothie recipe.  Since I am usually a regular consumer of greens (salads are regular for me, or as my daughter-in-law says, rabbit food) it became very easy to add more green to our diet with green smoothies.  I was doing great with this new information when my teen son broke my blender and slowed down the smoothie-making factory. Spring just yells....."eat green", while winter seems more like comfort food.

Since buying baby leaf spinach in bags at the grocery store is very convenient, it has become a staple in my grocery cart... but not on the week prior to my doctor visit.  We eat it in salads, smoothies and I drop it into soups, casseroles, lasagna and even roast spinach.  I was defending myself before the doctor with my appeal of how much spinach and greens I usually put in our diet when she informed me to rarely eat spinach raw... instead to eat it cooked.

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Well, I am one of those who rarely takes anyone's knowledge and makes it my own without investigation.

Like most information you research on the internet or books, you can find two sides to every story.

Here is some great information:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/497467-nutritional-value-of-fresh-vs-cooked-spinach/ - cooked -vs-raw

http://www.livestrong.com/article/476539-what-are-the-benefits-of-green-smoothies-for-weight-loss/ - benefits of green smoothies

Since I like raw spinach the best, I will continue to add it to our diet, while also venturing out to find ways to add cooked spinach, too.  It seems that we can gain a lot of nutritional value in cooked spinach...so here we go, Popeye!


This year, I am also making homemade hummus (dried chickpeas are cheap) and adding quinoa to our diet.  I enjoy new adventures and cooking can get old unless you add some new twists. This year, my new twists will not only be more creative, but creative through enhancing our variety with healthier choices.  I am enjoying learning through Pinterest, which is very inspirational in many areas.

This week GREEN meant there was enough GREEN in the bank to go buy some raw GREEN, and for that I am just tickled GREEN....thank you, God.

In 2012, what new foods are you adding to your table or taking away from it?

Adding new foods and eating healthier makes my Sally List...joining My Place to Yours

28 Joining in with more words:

Mary said...

last night i made a baked pasta with sausage and tomato pesto dish, it had 6oz of baby spinach in it as well. yes, it was white not wheat pasta...next time i will try wheat.
i also used Gouda cheese instead of mozzarella. quite tasty.

Debbie said...

Good morning! I will check out your links later as I am interested to know why cooked over raw? I love greens too....no problem getting lots of those. Hope you have a wonderful green, haha, day! HUGS

Vickie said...

Hmmmm... cooked vs. raw, I'll have to check that out, Janette. I hope to see some of your recipes incorporating more cooked spinach, quinoa, etc., into your everyday fare. My hubby and I are trying to get healthier and lose some weight. So I'm always looking for ways to do that. Thanks for the info! Have a great day!

Debbie said...

This is a great follow up from yesterday's post when you had me whining because I don't like cooked spinach.

I clicked the links and I'm wondering if it's a simple matter of shrinkage? It doesn't say it necessarily, but if you think how much spinach shrivels up when cooked, it would make sense that a cup of cooked would pack much more because the amount you would eat to make one cup would be hugely different than raw.

Is that right? What do you think?

At any rate, I will try yet again to stomach cooked spinach. After all, I finally learned to eat sweet potatoes about a year ago. I'll still enjoy it in green smoothies and salads because for some reason, I love it raw.

Kale is another good one for smoothies, and it's even cheaper than spinach around here. You can get a big old honkin' bag of it in season for a few bucks.

Great post!

Susan Nowell @ My Place to Yours said...

Eating healthier is on my Sally List, too! The only way I can eat cooked spinach, though, is in a casserole (like a spinach lasagna), but I've cut out the pasta... so now what? Love it raw, though!

http://bitsandpieces-sonja.blogspot.com/ said...

I put spinach leaves all over the top of my what pita veggie pizzas this week, it almost disappears. I do use it in salads with the mixed baby greens. I need a new dressing, I haven't found one I love, probably should make my own.

I'm making chicken fajitas tonight with lots of green peppers, onions and avocado. Sound good? :)

Crickit said...

I like spinach both ways but mostly eat it raw. We all should be eating much more green these days!

Do green M & M's count? :)

Unknown said...

Yay! I loved the green M&M comment. lol I like it in salad. Can't bring myself to drink green, I must admit I haven't tried it but it looks so icky I haven't been able to make myself try it.
Maybe you will inspire me to try it at some point. :) I love it in quiche. My favorite way to eat it or in dip (not so heathy I guess with all those chip, bread or crackers) ha!
Hope you have a great day. I am going to mail your goodies in the am-so be on the look out.
Love ya

Janettessage.blogspot.com said...

Yes, Yes..green M&M count..how did I miss those?!?!?! LOL

Quiche...love it that way also..girls your creative juices are flowing...go GREEN!!

NanaNor's said...

Hi Janette, I loved this post because like you, this last spring and summer I got into juicing-using mostly spinach, kale, parsley, cucumbers, carrots, apples etc etc.
I don't know whether you have a Whole Foods store in your area but I found they have an incredible, delicious quinoa salad so I often make that-cucumbers, onions, tomato and basil...yumm. The only issue I have with juicing is there is so much bulk wasted but many will add it to their drinks as well. Have a great afternoon.
Hugs, Noreen

Nancy said...

What an encouragement you have been to me today....I eat lots of the wrong thing and desperately need to loose some weight.....I have been thinking about juicing and detoxing but truthfully I don't know exactly how to start....YOu've got me headed toward green anyway...Thanks girlfriend...

Sandy said...

I can't think of anything we are adding or taking away from our diet here. Well, we are eating less carbs because after all the research I've done I do believe they are what causes weight gain, not fat. Fat is good if it's the right kind. As for spinach, we love it both ways. My husband didn't care for quinoa so I guess I won't be having that at our dinner table for awhile.
Hugs~

Vee said...

I am mostly trying to take things away. I would like to add more fresh fruit and more fresh veggies.

Canadagirl said...

I am hoping to incorporate some fresh greens this spring. I will be blanching and freezing some greens for the winter too. [o= So any recipes you like...share! [o= Yes, Pinterest has taught me a lot! I am a ideas person and there are TONS of them there. [o=

Blessings and ((HUGS))
-Mary

Pom Pom said...

I've added 8 oz. of coconut water each day. It's hydrating.
I think I'll try a new vegetable. I'll let you know. Smile.

Catherine said...

Dear Janette, I am glad that you are taking care of yourself. It is important for yourself and family. Take one day at a time and don't forget to once in a while give yourself a treat. I find if am am going to treat myself and kids, the best is to bake it yourself. That is much healthier. Well, I am trying to make a salad each night. It is so time consuming though! It it healthy,but a lot of chopping!~Well, blessings to you my friend and I am glad that you are on a good path to staying healthy. Blessings my dear, Catherine xo

Tanna said...

Girl, is there any area of our lives that you don't inspire?? You always make me want to do better!! No matter what you are talking about! Love it! blessings ~ tanna

Judith said...

Yup, spinach is the way to go! I am following a slowcarb diet with spinach as a headline veg. Your recipes will be very useful to keep me focused. Hugs

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

Hey there Janette. Do you know, until we visited Sri Lanka, I didn't really ever think about where cinnamon came from. I mean, seriously, I never actually even considered that it was an actual tree. Touring the herbal gardens there was very enlightening.

Lots of folks don't understand food. When people hear I don't eat meat, they ask "then what do you eat?" I tell them there are so many more fruits and veges to choose from than there are types of cuts of meat. There are certain combinations -- like beans and rice, that make a complete protein; oatmeal and orange juice in combination are much better for you than if you had them separately. It's hard to find fresh spinach here, but I do use frozen in soups, sauteed with onions and olive oil, or in curries. Yummo!

I changed my eating habits 7 years ago. I never skip meals and always have snacks with me. If I go too long without eating, I start to feel nauseous or get a headache. For the most part, I do eat healthy. And I do believe that anything you make or bake at home is so much better than anything you can buy packaged in a store. :)

Wishing you a great day. Tammy

Petra said...

Eating healthier is on my list. You've got a valid point about having more green in the bank to buy more fresh greens. Eating on a cheepo budget is very unhealthy. I'm planning to grow more veggies this year. Blessings!

Maryann said...

we try to eat lots of fruits and veg...I like cooked spinach but with cream and butter...guess that defeats the purpose. I use it raw all the time.Maybe I can find some creative ways to put it in my soups and stews
I also like it sauted in olive oil...probably not good either...oh well
THanks for this info

Rebecca said...

Janette, I'm still trying to figure out the cooked/raw differences. I thought cooking takes nutrients out of food! COULD IT BE that when you cook spinach, it reduces in size so you get MORE spinach in a cup cooked than fresh????

Oh, I just see that Debbie wondered the same thing.

Now I'm going back to read your green smoothie link. (I don't think I"ll "like" 'em though.)

Lisa said...

I like spinach too! I didn't know about cooking it though. I do love hummus, although I admit I buy it ready made and I tried to make quinoa and it DID NOT turn out. I don't know what I did to it but it was terrible.It will be awhile before I attempt that again .LOL!

Sally said...

One of my favorite salads is spinach, strawberries, peacans with orange dressing. The three flavors are so tasty together, yum.

no spring chicken said...

Three cheers for spinach!!

I used to ONLY like it raw. Years ago my husband taught me to enjoy it cooked and now I, like you, buy the bag and throw it onto or into almost everything I cook. When the kids were little I learned right away to always throw something green in their food so they wouldn't grow up the way I did thinking that green in your food automatically meant, don't eat it! Yuck!!

Blessings, Debbie

Crown of Beauty said...

This is really helpful, Janette. I am really quite a vegie kind of girl... and am planning to go on a Daniel Fast this March...

Read your previous post too about your follow up visit to the doctor. It was such a good post, a very positive one.

Enjoyed my time here today...

BLessings on your weekend, friend!

Love
Lidia

Finding Joy said...

I've been eating more passionfruit as it is SO YUMMY and smells wonderful. I quite like to add spinach to things, great in pasta dishes like I had tonight.

I love hummus and was only talking about make some, my workfriend suggest white bean rather than chickpea as it makes a nicer hummus.

Not cutting anything out - spent a year dieting, now I am maitaining - so eating nice things in moderation.

Debbie Petras said...

I just finished reading Sonja's post on greens and had to hop over to read yours. I eat salads with lots of greens and recently have added Odwalla's Superfood juice. I take it with me to work and hope it works. :)

Since I've been sick on and off for the past month and a half I don't know how good it's been. But I've lost a few pounds simply because I haven't had much of an appetite as I'm coughing all day.

Stay healthy and cover your coughs; lol.

blessings and love,
Debbie

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