Here are my suggestions for using an entire bag:
1. Stack up a succulent veggie sandwich
In this sandwich, I used toasted wheat bread, spinach, sliced tomato with S&P, melted mozzarella cheese, feta cheese, and grated carrot with drizzled balsamic vinegar. I truly felt full afterwards. You can also wrap up black bean hummus in a whole wheat tortilla and fill it with spinach, red peppers, avocado, and cilantro.
2. Blend it in a smoothie
I've made sunshine smoothies with added spinach, and banana shake smoothies with added spinach. When I first get my weekly bag of spinach, I put handfuls of it into sandwich bags, then put them in the freezer for good keeping. When I make my breakfasts, I just grab one individually-portioned bag for blending. I honestly don't taste the spinach in my smoothies. They just dull the color of it. So, instead of having a nice bright pink from the strawberries, it makes the mixture a brownish color. For the banana smoothies, it just turns the light brown into a pretty minty green color.
And despite my plea for no yogurt in the post on sunshine smoothies, I started adding yogurt because Mr. Sillypants likes the mellowing effect of it, whereas I usually like to keep the tartness from the berries and orange juice.
3. Hide it in meatballs
Chop up several handfuls of spinach, and mix it in with your raw meatball mixture, or even add it to meatloaf!
4. Simmer some lentil and white bean soup with spinach
Handful of lentils, can of white beans, half of a chopped red bell pepper, half of a chopped onion, four cups of water, one or two chicken bouillon cubes, bay leaf, S&P, handful of chopped spinach. Crockpot on high for two hours. Easy.
5. Slow cook some hot spinach and artichoke dip
Try some combination of this mixture: several handfuls of fresh spinach, can of artichoke hearts, mayonnaise, sour cream, cream cheese, and mozzarella cheese (can use low-fat for all of these). Slow cook on low for 6 hours or so.
6. Try green hummus
7. Add a layer to a veggie pizza
8. Enjoy a summer salad
My favorite is strawberry spinach salad, but I also love chopping up spinach and tossing it into a simple pasta salad with other fresh veggies and some Italian dressing.
9. Sneak it into brownies
By slightly steaming a batch of spinach and blending it into a puree, you can freeze cups of it in ziploc baggies to sneak into just about everything. Brownies are especially good candidates because their dark color, dense texture, and rich flavor hides the spinach extremely well, so you never notice the difference. Check out Jessica Seinfeld's treasure trove of vegetable puree recipes that helped her get her kids to eat their vegetables, without even knowing it! We have our own puree post coming soon...
10. Sneak it into anything!!!
Pasta sauces always have room for a handful of chopped spinach, any soup would be great with bits of green, and any casserole will only be better with it! This past week, I added it to a fried egg sandwich on a wheat bagel, with a layer of green hummus. I also included it in a crockpot chicken dish with a can of Italian diced tomatoes, onions, and mushrooms. Next week, I plan on adding fresh chopped spinach at the last minute to a chicken broccoli alfredo dish. That layer of spinach adds such a wonderful element of earthiness that you can't get anywhere else.
Get your dark leafy greens! Spinach is mild in flavor and oh-so versatile!
