Why You Should Add Spinach to Your Next Meal
Popeye’s favorite vegetable, we love spinach for its superfood qualities. The high nutrient content in spinach leads to multiple benefits in the body- and it can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Why should you add spinach to your next (and basically every) meal?
For a simple detox
Even if you’re not on a detox you can still enjoy a few of the benefits of one. Spinach contains phytonutrients that support liver function by preventing bacteria from overgrowing in the gut microflora.
Its anti-inflammatory properties also reduce the chances of developing leaky gut syndrome. Furthermore, the fiber in spinach helps to carry waste and toxins out of the body.
To keep skin healthy
Spinach’s vitamin C and A content help fight UV light damage that can cause skin cancer and the appearance of aged skin.
Its antioxidants also boost the growth of new skin cells and support the production of collagen, which maintains skin’s elasticity and youthfulness.
Maintain vision
Spinach contains lutein and zeaxanthin, carotenoids that prolong and preserve eye health. The zeaxanthin filters out harmful light rays from entering the cornea, and its other carotenoids protect sensitive tissues in the retinal area from oxidative stress that can cause blindness and cataracts, among other complications.
Lower cholesterol
Spinach’s flavonoids act as antioxidants that prevent cholesterol from oxidizing.
Slow the aging process
The antioxidants in spinach reduce inflammation and oxidative stress that contributes to cognitive decline. Furthermore, spinach can protect the brain from age-related diseases and reverse damage in the cerebral cortex of the brain as a result of stroke.
Spinach can also boost heart health, maintain bone health, prevent cancer, increase immunity, and help to prevent diabetes.
Hate spinach? We have a few favorite recipes that will make you actually want to eat it.
Breakfast
Spinach can be added raw to smoothies (we promise you won’t notice it). For high spinach contact and a tropical flavor, try this detox smoothie.
Lunch
Instead of lettuce, use spinach. We recommend the savory apple pecan feta salad, or this power salad with quinoa.
Dinner
Add spinach to soups and even macaroni & cheese. Blend it with pesto and as a main meal in spinach Parmesan rice bake.
We love spinach and include it in our Heart of the Roots, side dishes that rotate based on what’s in season.
Add spinach to your next meal to enjoy all of its incredible health benefits.
Meet
Meg is a dreamer, entrepreneur, and homesteader based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. She loves her cats, feasting, and road trips in her green VW Bug.