Spinach

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been watching the spinach in my vegetable garden sprout from seeds and grow into tiny plants. My vegetable garden is 4 feet by 6 feet, so I only have room to grow a few select vegetables. Spinach made the short list not only because it can be grown in the early spring – surviving some frost and even a snow fall – but also because it is an amazing vegetable from a nutritional perspective. Spinach is an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin K, folate, vitamin C and magnesium. It is also a good source of fibre, vitamin B2, and vitamin B6.

One hundred grams of fresh spinach (about 1 ½ cup packed down) provides as much calcium as 1/3 cup of milk (which doesn’t sound like much but that’s pretty impressive for a vegetable!) and as much iron as 100 grams of cooked ground beef. The amount of iron in spinach is particularly notable even if it is not as well absorbed into the body as the iron found in meat. One can increase the absorption of iron from spinach by eating it along with something containing vitamin C, such as mandarin orange slices, strawberries, or even by putting lemon juice in the salad dressing!

I am looking forward to the day when the spinach in my garden is ready to harvest!