Do you remember Popeye the Sailor Man? He was strong to the finish because he ate his spinach. And you know what? It’s true. Spinach is as close to a super veggie as they come. It’s a green vegetable that’s cheap and affordable by one and all. It’s so versatile and can be use in appetizers, salads, main courses and even desserts.
This bright, vibrant-looking vegetable is not only appealing to the eye, but nourishing as well. It’s difficult to overestimate the nutritional powerhouse of spinach. The health benefits are numerous. To start with, one cup of spinach has almost 20% of the recommended daily allowance of dietary fiber, aside from its tons of vitamins, antioxidants and flavonoids. I found a terrific informational article called 11 Health Benefits of Spinach; read up and find out just how good spinach is for you!
Here’s a spinach pesto recipe that’s oh-so-easy to whip up. And to think that people think pesto is difficult to make…
Spinach Pesto
- 1 8-oz bag spinach, washed
- ½ cup walnuts
- 1 – 2 cloves garlic (depending on taste)
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup olive oil
Using the large NutriBullet cup, split spinach into 3 batches. In the first batch, add third of the spinach. Add the balance of the ingredients and blend. Careful not to overfill the cup. Pour into a bowl. Blend the next two batches of spinach and mix all together. Voila!
This is an easy recipe to double and freeze. Here’s a great tip – it can be frozen in ice cube trays. This way you can take out only what you need, depending on the recipe. Pesto sauce can be used in hundreds of different recipes. I love it mixed with pasta, over some veggies or shmired on chicken. You will be surprised at how simple, scrumptious and versatile this recipe can be. Think outside of the box and get creative with a little pesto.
Enjoy!
-Kim Pontius
Raw'kin Snack of the Week!
Cake Batter Balls. We don’t think there’s anything else that needs to be said, but here’s a photo in case that wasn’t enough to whet your appetite.
This deliciously scrumptious, and yes, raw, vegan, gluten-free and high protein recipe, is brought to us by Practically Raw Chef Amber Shea. All you need is five ingredients. Click here for the full recipe and let us know how they turn out! And a special thanks to Chef Amber for this sweet little slice of raw heaven!
Did you know that your morning cup of Joe was full of antioxidants? Well, it is! What’s more interesting is that Americans get more antioxidants from coffee than any other source. Although fruits and veggies contain numerous beneficial protective qualities, American’s still aren’t consuming enough of them. We must admit, however, Nutribullet users are way ahead with their vegetable and fruit consumption than the average person!
Most of us do drink coffee (and plenty of it!), so we get lots of these necessary antioxidants. Coffee packs a lot for its serving size: one to two cups is beneficial. A medium or grande coffee contains 16 fl. oz of coffee, which equals 2 cups.
New research has shown that coffee can help prevent type 2 diabetes, liver cancer, colon cancer, and Parkinson’s disease. It is still however a controversial food. Keep in mind that drinking too much coffee can have some unwanted side effects like restlessness, anxiety and sleeplessness. Adding sugar, sugar substitutions, milk, or other sweeteners can reverse the positive health effects and actually worsen inflammation pain. As they say – everything in moderation!
Drink decaf? Good news, the benefits are the same in regular and decaf coffee!
Want to add coffee to your morning Blast? Try this recipe!
Fill your Tall Cup up with:
- ¾ cup cooled coffee
- ¾ cup almond milk
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
- 1 banana
Extract for 30 seconds. Add some almonds or walnuts for a nutty spin!
Raw'kin Snack of the Week
We’re all about nut butters. We love ‘em. Raw, organic peanut butter is great and almond butter is even better, but have you had pistachio butter? Well, we hadn’t, not until we found this recipe from Veggie Wedgie and, well, we just had to share it. Look at it. It looks beautiful and it’s absolutely packed with healthy nutrients copper, manganese, B vitamins, and a lot more. So give it a try. Three simple ingredients and you’re set. That, and your NutriBullet, of course. Click here for the full recipe.
Yum!
I made it through this last winter without anyone in my family getting sick! When there are six of us living under one roof, four of whom are children who go to school everyday with germs wondering about incognito, and one of us whom works in the Emergency Department of a hospital where germs are commonplace, this is an extraordinary achievement! So, my shock and surprise were no wonder when I received a phone call from the school nurse today that my eight-year-old had a fever.
“Are you sure?” I said. The voice on the other end of the line went silent. Of course she’s sure – she’s the school nurse! I rushed down to pick up my lethargic, pale-faced little man and he laid on the sofa for an hour. I gathered whatever ingredients I could find that would support a weakened immune system and immediately combined them into a NutriBlast. Being married to a physician this is considered quackery, but I know better!
Combine the following in the NutriBullet:
- One Large orange, peeled
- Half a lemon, peeled
- A few slices of garlic (to taste)
- A few slices of ginger (to taste)
- ½ cup strawberries (leaves removed)
- 1 large apple, cored
- 1 banana
- ½ cup frozen mangoes
- 1 kiwi, peeled
- 10 almonds
- 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
- Water to the fill line
Blast!
I honestly did not think he would like it. I figured I would give him a sip and I would finish the rest to prevent me from getting sick! He took a sip, then a gulp, then said, “This is really good, Mom,” and then slowly sipped on the remainder for the next 10 minutes until it was complete gone. Of course, I then had to scrape up enough additional ingredients to make myself one too. He then slept for about 30 minutes. All of a sudden he stood up and wanted to play hockey outside in the driveway (his usual pastime).
This probably sounds like a dramatization, but what happened today was the same experience I have had after giving a child NSAIDS for a fever. Except all of these ingredients were whole foods. I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusion…
-Jenn Giles, R.D., C.S.S.D.
