THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

For the past two to three years I create a delicious, healthy, organic smoothie for breakfast every day.  About 1.5 years ago I started recording it, along with other thoughts, on my Facebook page.

Here is another sampling from The Daily Smoothie Report … Brought to you by the healthy benefits of Spinach, but first, the two-glass smoothie blast of organic goodness of the morning.  Today’s creation was made with water, blueberries, pineapple, ginger, Fuji apple, kale and spinach.  And now, back to full nutritional benefits of spinach.............

Full of nutrients and delicious taste, spinach is a winter super food. But what’s the best way to eat it? Read the following surprising facts about this leafy green:

·         It’s wiser to choose tender baby spinach leaves. The larger the leaves, the more mature they are and more likely to be tough or stringy. Also, spinach leaves that are placed under direct light in the stores have been found to contain more nutrients than those stored in darkness.

·         Cooking spinach actually increases its health benefits! Just half a cup of cooked spinach will give you thrice as much nutrition as one cup of raw spinach. That’s because the body cannot completely break down the nutrients in raw spinach for its use.

·         As an exception to the advice above, research studies show that taking spinach in juice form is actually the healthiest way to consume it. Blend spinach with other vegetables or fruits to create a delicious glass of juice, or try a green smoothie.

·         There’s a compound in spinach called oxalic acid, which blocks the absorption of calcium and iron. An easy way to solve this problem is to pair spinach with a food high in vitamin C. Mandarin oranges and cantaloupes spring to mind here. Another way to reduce the power of oxalic acid is to boil the spinach leaves for at least two minutes.

·         Freezing spinach diminishes its health benefits. The way to get the best from the leaf is to buy it fresh and eat it the same day.