Popeye started the craze! Some people might say kale has the nutritional edge on spinach but I personally prefer the taste of spinach, whether it’s cooked or raw in salads – I love the variety of things you can do with it!

Green leafy vegetables are a power pack of nutrients and spinach is up there with the best of them! With lots of calcium for the bones and an abundance of other essential minerals, including anti-inflammatory nutrients – which are good for protecting the heart, eyes, increasing energy levels and prevention of degenerative diseases, incorporating spinach into your diet couldn’t be more beneficial!

There are different type’s of Spinach, the baby leaf spinach is the one to use in salads, I mix it with other salad leaves for a lovely variety of nutrients and flavours.

When I was growing up we had perpetual spinach growing all year round in the garden. This isn’t great for salads, but is fabulous for cooking as a side vegetable, or even the main event – (spinach with poached eggs takes me straight back to my childhood as this was a regular meal in our house).

Spinach seems to marry very well with fish and meat dishes as well as vegetables, just beware as it doesn’t take much cooking – just until it ‘wilts’, as it’s detrimental to cook the life out of it! Try adding your spinach to a tray of oven roasted vegetables after cooking, stir in the spinach and allow the residual heat from the vegetables cook it for a tasty side dish.

People with a tendency of kidney stones and/or ‘leaky gut’ would be well advised not to eat too much raw spinach due to the oxalate levels, however I think it will always retain it’s ‘Popeye’ status for keeping you big and strong!