I love spinach and it has so many health benefits that there is way too much to list!
But beware... Non-organic spinach leads the category of leafy greens with the highest amount of detectable pesticide residue (approx. 50)!
So if you cannot afford to buy organic all the time, at least do it for spinach.
Spinach is amazingly versatile, but it does not like to be reheated. Spinach leaves contain (high concentrations of) nitrate. When you reheat previously cooked spinach, these nitrates can turn into nitrites and then into nitrosamines -many of which are known to be cancerous.
Here is a simple way to prepare spinach.
What you need
•steaming basked
•large pan
•strainer
•1 kg of spinach leaves; washed
•2 small (or 1 big) onion; sliced
•1 clove of garlic; pealed and chopped•1 tbs of coconut oil
•salt and pepper
What you do
•place a steaming basked in a large pan and add a bit of water (covering the bottom of the pan but making sure the steaming basket is not submerged in the water)
•warm up the water at medium heat and once you see steam, lower the heat
•put as much clean spinach as possible in the basket and close the pan with the lid
•once the spinach has welted (it will take approx. 3 minutes), remove it and put it in a strainer
Depending on how big your pan is, you might have to repeat this a few times
•once the steamed spinach has had the chance to cool down, grab the spinach with your hands and squeeze all the remaining moisture out of it
1 kg of spinach will make 2 fists of steamed/drained spinach like the ones you see on the chopping board below
1 kg of spinach will make 2 fists of steamed/drained spinach like the ones you see on the chopping board below
•now chop the spinach
•in a pan, place the coconut oil and once it is warm, add the onions and garlic to the pan
•when the onions are soft and you can smell the garlic, add the spinach
•finish off with some salt and pepper to taste and serve
