Popeye would be proud of me

I’ve been eating my spinach.

I’ve been a salad eater for a long time. I spend quite a bit of time each week with knife and cutting board, slicing greens and veggies for my lunch.

I used to buy iceberg lettuce because it was the cheapest. Then I learned that it had virtually no nutritional value. So, I switched to green leaf or romaine lettuce.

But then the recent economic problems hit, and food prices skyrocketed. The head of green leaf lettuce that I used to buy for $1.69 is now $2.29.

Well, my pocketbook won’t handle that for very long, so I started looking for alternatives. I wanted to keep as much nutritional value in my salads as possible while still keeping my food budget in mind.

Suddenly, I looked at the dark greens – spinach, kale, mustard and turnip greens. I had bought spinach on occasion, just for something different in my salads, and I knew it packed a wallop nutritionally. But then I noticed something even better: the price. Spinach is $1.69 a bunch at my grocery store. Its price may have gone up recently, too, but it’s still cheaper than green leaf lettuce. So I started buying it on a regular basis a few months ago.

Since I’ve been eating spinach a lot lately, I got to thinking: exactly what nutritional benefits does it have? Well, to answer that question, I checked Wikipedia.

Spinach is a rich source of iron. According to the USDA, one 180 gram serving of boiled spinach contains 6.43 mg of iron -- three times the iron in the average hamburger patty.

Spinach has a high calcium content. It is a rich source of vitamin A (and lutein), vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, magnesium, several vital antioxidants and folic acid (Vitamin B9).

Spinach is an excellent source of manganese, folate, vitamin B2, potassium, and vitamin B6. It is a very good source of dietary fiber, copper, protein, phosphorous and zinc. In addition, it is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, niacin and selenium.

This Web site shows a great chart of the percent daily value of the nutrients in spinach.

Wow! I knew spinach was good for you, but I didn’t know just how good! I’m glad economic factors drove me to choose a food that’s cheaper on price, but not cheap on nutrients.

With all that nutrition, I just might have to stick with eating my spinach for awhile. Maybe I’ll get as strong as Popeye!

Do you eat spinach? Why or why not? Leave me a comment!