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How to Use Up That Bag of Spinach Before it Gets Slimy

A bowl of salad greens with spinach

Spinach is one of those items that, when you want to use fresh, almost always results in some leftovers.  A nice big bag or box of spinach is usually more than one recipe calls for. I think it’s important to use fresh spinach in your diet (it’s a Super Food, after all), and it’s also important not to waste food. In that light…

Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to gather a few spinach recipes that your family enjoys so that you can always use up your spinach.

Although spinach can always be thrown into salads raw, either with lettuce or as the whole salad, it’s important to also eat it cooked to neutralize the oxalic acid (see more on spinach’s health benefits here).

I don’t usually have a problem with too much spinach – anymore. I used to struggle to use the whole bag, but now that I have enough recipes and ideas for spinach, using it up is simple.

Some of my favorite spinach-use-it-up-methods:

  • Half spinach, half romaine lettuce in our salads – this greek salad is yum
  • A handful in scrambled eggs
  • A handful in spaghetti or pizza sauce, or any casserole like lasagna
  • In any stew or meat dish, even Mexican food
  • In meatloaf and meatballs, or meat muffins
  • Mixed into mashed potatoes
  • Mixed into potato pancakes (Latkes)
  • Dehydrate it and make homemade greens powder
  • Stir-fried or grilled in foil with veggies – we’ve especially been loving a mix with zucchini, peppers, onion, garlic and a bit of crushed or diced tomatoes with olive oil and Italian seasoning on top.
  • Supercharge your smoothies with a handful of spinach
  • Get the kids to eat spinach in this Cheesy Spinach Bake with Crumb Topping
  • In some of my favorite recipes:
  • When I can’t use enough of these ideas in a week’s time, I simply steam a big batch (only for 1-2 minutes) and make food cubes in an ice cube tray, and then I’m ready to go for green smoothies. I’ve used frozen boxed spinach in the smoothies, and there really is a bit of a taste with that stuff that I don’t find at all with home-cooked greens.
Spinach the Ultimate Super Food’s Health Benefits

I encourage you to try a new recipe that includes spinach if this isn’t a customary food for your household, and then experiment with other uses to make sure you use it all up. If you need a little more convincing on why you should eat more spinach and why it might be better to eat it cooked than raw, read up on all the health benefits here.

What is your favorite way to eat spinach? Let us know if you find a new favorite here!

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12 thoughts on “How to Use Up That Bag of Spinach Before it Gets Slimy”

  1. Donna Phillips

    Hi Katie
    thanks for your ideas even though I am a food coach I am always looking for ways to use up my fresh vege, I get an organic box delivered weekly and hate to waste any of it!!

  2. I love green smoothies, but I use my spinach raw. If I need to freeze some, I just wash it, run it through the salad spinner so it’s nice and dry and throw it in a freezer bag. It’s easy to break off what I need for my morning smoothie and I don’t lose as many nutrients as I would if I had cooked it first.

  3. A friend taught me that it’s really easy to steam spinach by putting it into the colander before you drain pasta. Click my name for details. It’s one of those cooking ideas I think of as a Guy Thing: I wouldn’t have thought to try it myself because it’s not the way my mother taught me, but it’s simple and efficient!

  4. We love spinach here. Our favorite way to eat it is in Strawberry Spinach Salad. Thanks for the recipe links they will be put to use.

    Alea’s last blog post..Butter Tossed Green Beans

  5. I always have spinach on hand and I put it in just about anything savoury. In winter I buy the snap-frozen spinach in bags from the supermarket freezer section. A nutritionist I work with said that it is virtually just as good as fresh spinach because of the way it is frozen, and that goes for most frozen vegetables these days.

  6. I’ve never tried the stuff. I don’t know why, but I’m scared to! LOL

    Come stop by my blog ~ I’m sharing a tasty thing I found that works for me and my daughter, which you’ll see LOL. Plus I have a little info on a Non-BlogHer party going on with GIVEAWAYS and fun!! http://www.garibaysoup.com

    Amanda’s last blog post..This is how we eat our ice cream cupcakes!

  7. I’ve heard before that putting spinach in pesto along with the basil is a good way to “hide” it. 🙂

    Such great ideas!

    Stopped by from We are THAT Family.

    Genny’s last blog post..An Easy Way to Make Cookies Healthier

    1. You bet! I just did that this week, too – but you don’t want too much, or the basil flavor starts to fade. MMMmmmmm…

  8. I can never get through a whole bag of spinach, so I’m bookmarking this list! Thanks =)

    mub’s last blog post..Lemon Sponge Pie

  9. Alison @ Hospitality Haven

    I love spinach as well!! We had a HUGE crop of it in our backyard. We’re going to plant more for the fall. I also did a post on spinach, which you can see here: http://alison.blogsome.com/2009/05/06/spinach/

  10. What a perfect time for you to post this Monday Mission. I just harvested LOADS of kale from my garden! I planted a mesculin lettuce mix but it is about 80% kale and arugula, both of which are great substitutes for spinach. I have been making green smoothies for breakfast most mornings, check out my recipe here: http://copingwithfrugality.blogspot.com/2009/07/going-green-for-breakfast.html

    If you check out my gardening and recipe sections of my blog you will see other ways I have used it, or discussions on how the heck to use it! 🙂

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