National Spinach Day

Spinach is one of the most nutrient-dense foods available chock full of fiber, vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, manganese, vitamin B6, riboflavin, magnesium, potassium, and iron, and a good source of calcium and vitamin E.  Talk about a mouthful! Channel your inner Popeye with this spinach salad with avocado dressing or hide it from your kids in this spinach banana berry smoothie (they’ll never know).

Spinach Salad with Red Cabbage, Apples, Almonds and Avocado Dressing

 

Prep time: 15 minutes

Yields:4 servings

 

Ingredients

For the salad:

  • 4 cups packed spinach
  • 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
  • 1 large Gala or Fuji apple, diced
  • 1 cup chopped red cabbage

For the avocado dressing:

  • 1 ripe avocado, peeled, pit removed and roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 tablespoon, chopped onion
  • Juice of 1 large lemon
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon or yellow mustard
  • salt and pepper to taste
Directions
  1. In a large bowl, combine spinach, almonds, apples and red cabbage.
  2. For the dressing, add all ingredients in a blender or a food processor. Process and blend until smooth and creamy. Add a little more water, if you prefer it to be a little thinner. Taste for lemon and salt, and add more, if preferred.
  3. Drizzle the dressing on the salad and toss well to coat. Serve!

 

Spinach Banana Berry Smoothies

 

Prep time: 5 minutes

Yields: 2 people

 

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen blueberries

1 cup frozen strawberries

2 cup almond milk

2 cup fresh spinach

1 banana

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

 

Download Spinach Salad Recipe

Download Spinach Banana Berry Smoothies

 

Author: Mat Shalenko