Too much spinach gets thrown out at my house. I like to use fresh spinach in salads and anywhere that lettuce would normally be used. Examples: I add fresh diced spinach to crab salad, and sprinkle some on a burrito along with diced tomato, shredded cheese and chopped green onion. I do the pack-ahead Mason jar salads. They are great!
But even eating a salad a day, I can’t use up the bag of spinach from the grocery store before it starts getting wilted and smelly. I have a life-long intense dislike for canned spinach, so buying canned is not an option. So, today I did what I needed to do a long time ago; I went in search of ways to use fresh spinach when it is starting to go bad.
But first, found a bit of knowledge on spinach shelf life: http://www.eatbydate.com/vegetables/fresh-vegetables/spinach/ According to this source, shelf life is about 5 days, if you want it completely fresh. I try to make my package last 2 weeks, and by the end of that time, what’s left in the bag is pretty rank.
Lots of helpful spinach ideas came up on my search. Here are some I particularly liked:
Freeze it for pizza or quiche. http://healthyconfidentyou.com/2013/02/18/what-to-do-with-spinach-that-is-going-soggy/
Make Spinach Pesto; toss with fettuccine, or mix into Alfredo Sauce. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/655245
Puree and freeze in ice cube trays for adding to smoothies. http://rowdystroudy.blogspot.com/2012/08/good-things-and-green-smoothie-tip.html
More freezing advice. http://runeatrepeat.com/2012/07/31/just-the-tip-tuesdayfrozen-spinach/
And more good ideas for using spinach. http://eatathomecooks.com/2011/03/ingredient-spotlight-spinach.html
[Update; Suggestion from Redhenrun.wordpress.com: Yotam Ottolenghi’s Skillet-Baked Eggs with Spinach, Yogurt, and Spiced Butter. http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/03/yotam-ottolenghis-skillet-baked-eggs-with-spinach-yogurt-and-spiced-butter-recipe.html ]
And here are the nutritional facts about fresh (raw) spinach, per the USDA:
| Nutrient | Unit | Value per 100.0g | cup 30g |
bunch 340g |
leaf 10g |
package (10 oz) 284g |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proximates | ||||||||
| Water | g | 91.40 | 27.42 | 310.76 | 9.14 | 259.58 | ||
| Energy | kcal | 23 | 7 | 78 | 2 | 65 | ||
| Protein | g | 2.86 | 0.86 | 9.72 | 0.29 | 8.12 | ||
| Total lipid (fat) | g | 0.39 | 0.12 | 1.33 | 0.04 | 1.11 | ||
| Carbohydrate, by difference | g | 3.63 | 1.09 | 12.34 | 0.36 | 10.31 | ||
| Fiber, total dietary | g | 2.2 | 0.7 | 7.5 | 0.2 | 6.2 | ||
| Sugars, total | g | 0.42 | 0.13 | 1.43 | 0.04 | 1.19 | ||
| Minerals | ||||||||
| Calcium, Ca | mg | 99 | 30 | 337 | 10 | 281 | ||
| Iron, Fe | mg | 2.71 | 0.81 | 9.21 | 0.27 | 7.70 | ||
| Magnesium, Mg | mg | 79 | 24 | 269 | 8 | 224 | ||
| Phosphorus, P | mg | 49 | 15 | 167 | 5 | 139 | ||
| Potassium, K | mg | 558 | 167 | 1897 | 56 | 1585 | ||
| Sodium, Na | mg | 79 | 24 | 269 | 8 | 224 | ||
| Zinc, Zn | mg | 0.53 | 0.16 | 1.80 | 0.05 | 1.51 | ||
| Vitamins | ||||||||
| Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid | mg | 28.1 | 8.4 | 95.5 | 2.8 | 79.8 | ||
| Thiamin | mg | 0.078 | 0.023 | 0.265 | 0.008 | 0.222 | ||
| Riboflavin | mg | 0.189 | 0.057 | 0.643 | 0.019 | 0.537 | ||
| Niacin | mg | 0.724 | 0.217 | 2.462 | 0.072 | 2.056 | ||
| Vitamin B-6 | mg | 0.195 | 0.058 | 0.663 | 0.020 | 0.554 | ||
| Folate, DFE | µg | 194 | 58 | 660 | 19 | 551 | ||
| Vitamin B-12 | µg | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Vitamin A, RAE | µg | 469 | 141 | 1595 | 47 | 1332 | ||
| Vitamin A, IU | IU | 9377 | 2813 | 31882 | 938 | 26631 | ||
| Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) | mg | 2.03 | 0.61 | 6.90 | 0.20 | 5.77 | ||
| Vitamin D (D2 + D3) | µg | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ||
| Vitamin D | IU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Vitamin K (phylloquinone) | µg | 482.9 | 144.9 | 1641.9 | 48.3 | 1371.4 | ||
| Lipids | ||||||||
| Fatty acids, total saturated | g | 0.063 | 0.019 | 0.214 | 0.006 | 0.179 | ||
| Fatty acids, total monounsaturated | g | 0.010 | 0.003 | 0.034 | 0.001 | 0.028 | ||
| Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated | g | 0.165 | 0.050 | 0.561 | 0.016 | 0.469 | ||
| Cholesterol | mg | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Other | ||||||||
| Caffeine | mg | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
According to USDA charts, it takes 14-15 leaves of fresh spinach at 10g each to meet my entire recommended daily intake of Vitamin A. Source
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Yotam Ottolenghi has a spinach and egg recipe combination which is not very attractive looking in my opinion, but is super nutritious. Thank you for the other spinach uses listed here. I generally end up throwing too much of it away.
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Just found the recipe–Skillet baked eggs with spinach. Yum! Thanks for the tip.
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