Posts Tagged ‘spinach’

Good morning! I feel like its been forever since I actually got to cook something for dinner! Last night I made I made Popeye Pasta from Eat Drink and Be Vegan. This recipe is extremely simple, full of flavor, and slightly different from your usual spaghetti recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 lbs rotini pasta
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• black pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
• 1 tsp dried bail
• 1 tsp agave nectar (I used honey since I had no agave on hand)
• 6 cups fresh spinach

Cook pasta according to package directions. In large sauce pot, cook onion, garlic, salt, and pepper in olive oil covered for 5 minutes. Reduce heat and stir in wine; cook uncovered for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, oregano, marjoram, basil, and agave nectar. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove sauce from heat and add spinach. Stir until spinach is wilted.

Spoon sauce over pasta and serve with garlic bread. I improvised with some left over pitas I had and made cheesy garlic pita bread using Earth Balance spread, garlic powder, grated sharp white cheddar cheese, oregano, and basil.

I am going on a Chicago Health and Wellness tour this afternoon; more pictures and info on this later! The weather is perfect today I can’t wait!

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Earlier this week I had lunch at Noodles and Company. One of my favorite dishes, among many, is their Pasta Fresca. While munching away I decided that this is totally something I could easily make at home; so later in the week I went at it. Here is what I came up with! Recipe makes 2 servings.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 box penne pasta (~2 cups cooked)
• 2 roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup red onion, sliced
• 1 cup spinach
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 tsp red wine vinegar
• 3 tsp white wine
• feta cheese
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to directions. In a large skillet, heat 4 tsp olive oil. Add pasta and sauté until noodles begin to brown (about 5 minutes). In a small bowl, combine wine, vinegar, garlic, 1 Tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper. Add tomatoes and onion to pasta and cook for a few more minutes. Pour sauce over noodle mixture. Remove from heat and mix in spinach and feta cheese. Serve immediately.

Tomatoes appears to be a common ingredient in my kitchen lately; I just can’t resist the fresh tomatoes in season!

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Upon request, Vitamin of the Month is back! Check out previous vitamin of the month posts to see more information on Vitamin A, Vitamin D, and Vitamin E. In keeping with the theme of fat-soluble vitamins, January is the month for Vitamin K!

What is Vitamin K?

Vitamin K (along with vitamins A, D, and E) is the last of the fat-soluble vitamins. This means that dietary fat is necessary for the absorption of vitamin K into the body. Excess fat soluble vitamins are stored in the liver and adipose (fat) tissue from which the body can retrieve the vitamins later as needed.

What are the health benefits of Vitamin K?

Vitamin K is important for healthy blood clotting and protecting your bones from fractures and postmenopausal bone loss. Many cardiovascular problems are related to the hardening of arteries causing them to become blocked. This in turn impairs blood flow to major organs like the heart and brain causing further medical problems. Vitamin K prevents this hardening or calcification (build up of calcium deposits) within the arteries and therefore limits blockage that may occur. Vitamin K also provides protection against liver and prostate cancer.

(Source)

What is the daily recommended amount of Vitamin K?

People who are deficient in vitamin K suffer from excessive bleeding such as heavy menstrual bleeding, bleeding of the gums, digestive tract bleeding, and easy bruising or nose bleed problems. If you are on anticoagulant medications (such as Coumadin) you should discuss vitamin K with your doctor as vitamin K works to clot blood while these medications try to prevent clotting. Other deficiency-related problems include bone loss (osteoporosis) and age-related bone fractures. On the other end of the spectrum there has been no research regarding vitamin K toxicity.

What foods contain Vitamin K?

Foods that contain vitamin K include dark leafy greens such as spinach, Brussels sprouts, Swiss chard, asparagus, broccoli, kale, and mustard greens. Cauliflower, green tea, liver beef, and a variety of lettuces are also good sources of vitamin K. Be sure to pick darker lettuces (such as spring mixes that include spinach, arugula, and endive) as they will contain more vitamin K than lettuce with less pigment (such as iceberg) Cooking, freezing, or storing such foods will not effect the amount of vitamin K in any of these foods. It is recommended that men consume 120 micrograms/day and women consume 90 micrograms/day.

Eating only 1/2 – 1 cup of any of these vegetables is enough to meet your your daily needs! So what are you waiting for? Make vitamin K part of your January diet!

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One of my favorite things to do is build my own healthy pizzas. Its so easy to make a pizza out of left over ingredients you have lying around, not to mention a great way to get rid of them! This time around I made chicken and spinach Alfredo pizza!

Ingredients:

• 2 small whole wheat premade pizza crusts
• 1 package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1 cup cooked shredded chicken
• Juice from 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat Alfredo sauce
• 3/4 cup shredded fontina cheese
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Mince garlic and sprinkle over pizza crusts. Split Alfredo sauce between crusts and spread evenly. In a large bowl combine spinach, chicken, lemon juice, and pepper. Scoop mixture over Alfredo sauce. Top with shredded cheese and pepper flakes. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Enjoy!

What’s your favorite way to build a pizza?

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After jealously drooling over everyone’s Green Monster smoothies I finally had the guts to make my own! I stuck with the very basics: fresh spinach, a frozen banana, and vanilla soymilk.

I loaded it all into my Magic Bullet and voila! Suprising REALLY tasty! It made for the perfect dessert to some leftover pasta for dinner. Now that I was finally brave enough to try it, I can’t wait to experiment with different combinations!Enjoy this post? Share it with your Facebook friends!