National Spinach Day? Who needs a holiday with these recipes?!

I have iron deficient anemia. Not only do I have the hereditary born anemia that makes it difficult for my body to absorb iron, I also suffer with Endometriosis and Poly-cystic Ovarian Disease.  All that really means is that I bleed a lot. By 'a lot' I mean that I could probably provide enough blood-prop to a small Halloween film fest each month and usually I'm trying my very best to have enough energy to be as productive as my little Virgo soul demands.
Exhausted.

But, aren't we all?
I like to remind myself that we all have REASONS and not all of us need excuses. With that, I try to eat as much iron-rich food as I (and my wallet) can get my hands on. Learning to love deep green veggies and to eat as raw as possible, to bond Vitamin C and couple iron-rich foods into a DIET, has taken a long time.  Thankfully, with the support of family and the constant support of my body THANKING me with energy when I feed it well, I am rewarded to continue this trend.

So, if you don't already join me online for fun impromptu food cooking, shame. No, I don't blame you, who can stand to look at my dirty kitchen! Toddlers!?
For those of you that DO watch my cooking segments (soon to go on YouTube) and not nearly as professional as my cousin, Christina Jax (a REAL dietitian and one of my black-book go-tos on health advice) as seen on the 'real tube'.

Here are some of my easy favorite snacks that celebrate today's NATIONAL HOLIDAY of Spinach! Always fun to grow fresh, easy to cook with, and not a very strong flavor (unlike Kale, the spoiled cousin of Spinach).  Spinach is wonderful fresh from the garden and tossed in a light dressing or folded secretly into your pigs'n'a blanket or crescent rolls. Spinach can be chopped into a salsa, pesto, meatloaf, and smoothie - without a bold, "HERE I AM" flavor or texture change.  That's important when trying to make change in your diet so Spinach is a great guide into the world of health food. Take it's leafy, soft, don't break-it-or it slims hand and come with us into the following quick recipes:

Spinach salads bought in the bag are best when there isn't as much air, so grab the driest, most deflated bag you can find. No slimy pieces and toss lightly in your favorite dressing. Top with a fresh grated cheese and serve with something salty - like tots and mac n' cheese. The salad will become sweet and palatable. 

Pizza Athena is the trend here in Minneapolis pizza land and spinach can go on everything! Try grabbing some fresh mozzarella ($4), a bushel of cherry tomatoes ($3.50), a sweet red onion (.99) some spinach and basil in the produce area ($5). Put this on a pizza dough (canned or fresh), brushed with olive oil and garlic salt, topped with chopped toppings that were dressed in some salt, pepper and a dash of balsamic vinegar. Bake until dough is done - and this will rock your face off. 

Grab the beef on sale ($5) and slice it as thin as possible. Use those last bits of soy sauce packets in the fridge and let it marinate while you break out the Spinach. Toss the spinach in a fun Asian style dressing (mushrooms, vinegar, oil, salt, pepper, soy sauce, green apple, blend) or SALAD GIRL if you're in a rush.  Toss the salad, throw in mushrooms if you can, and crank the skillet in HIGH. A little oil in the pan, throw in the beef, cook to your liking and top it on the salad (use sesame seeds to finish if you're feeling fancy).  I get out a corn on the cob for color - those Tom Hanks carrots work great too! 

PHOTO BOMB BEAN RECIPE:  The Iron rich diet always includes white beans. I remember in my pregnancy, the midwife going over the iron rich diet (as if I would be hearing something new) and like most doctors, would get the white beans and skip by it.  Why?  If you have some sausage, bacon or fatty meat in the fridge, cube it up and put it in a hot skillet to cook off. Garlic, and scallions go in (don't burn - that ruins a dish). Lower heat and add butter. Get out those white beans! Drain, soak, whatever you need to do to clean the beans and put them into the skillet with the goodies. Cook with salt, pepper, a dash of cayenne and they make a great side dish! 

SALAD GIRL again, what can I say, it's a family-friend owned business and I adore their flavors.  A bag of rice side dish, spinach and mushrooms tossed in a good dressing and BEETS? Another dense iron-rich food that you can find canned and cut, ready to go. Drain the can, toss into a hot skillet with some spices and a bit of oil and they come alive! They become the MEAT of the plate without the bloat. 

Spinach becomes pesto. It happens a lot in my house because I never can ease the basil (I love basil).  A bushel of basil, double the amount of spinach, a bit of oil, extra seeds laying around, salt, pepper, garlic, BLEND - I throw in a green apple sometimes if I'm serving pork tenderloin and it becomes an addictive raw sauce that you cannot help but lick off the plate. 

Spinach and cheese. A bag of spinach, a light dressing, a fatty avocado and cheese - feta, Gorgonzola, balsamic, sharp, bleu, goat... the list goes on. The Spinach salad will always be a 'flat vessel' to house your most delicious flavors. Don't be afraid to 'lose the spinach' and think of the toppings as the meal. 

Lastly, for March, the Shamrock Shake. Spinach in a shake?! You betcha! 

I'm going to post the recipe later today for those chomping at the bit, but this is the most delicious green machine smoothie one can hope for and it doesn't come with fries... unless you want it to.