Full of nutrients and delicious in taste, spinach is a year round superfood

Spinach has many health benefits. Besides being low in calories, it is high in vitamins A, C, and K, and folate, as well as being a good source of iron and magnesium. Vitamin A is important for immune system health, vision, and reproduction, meaning a good handful of the green stuff can help improve eyesight, promote healthy skin, strengthen muscle, and can even prevent heart attacks. Spinach here we come!

Spinach, Roquefort and feta strudel

Spinach Strudel is the Austrian version of the Greek spinach pie Spanakopita. Famous for their pastries, the Greeks serve both savoury and sweet pies as a diet staple and we think it’s high time we get onboard. Who says strudel has to be filled with apple, blueberries or other sweet treats? This spinach and feta version is fast and easy to make and it tastes just as delicious at room temperature as it does warm, making it perfect to take along for lunch or to potluck dinners. It’s also versatile and will easily double up as lunch the next day for the office if cut into thick strips.

Go nuts with the ingredients (the options are endless as long as things are chopped finely) but do bear in mind the dough is extremely difficult to work with if it gets too warm. It sticks and falls apart and you’ll end up with holes all over the place. Keep it in the fridge until you need it and make sure the spinach filling is not hot when you begin to build your strudel. Enjoy!

Spinach salad with roasted pumpkin, feta cheese and parsley

Warm salads are some of the best dishes to serve when things heat up in the desert. The bed of greens keep things cool while the warm chunks trick our body into thinking we’re eating something far more substantial than we really are. Start by roasting ingredients in plenty of oil (more than you would normally use for roasting alone) and use flavoured oils as a base for any dressing as this will give an added kick. In many ways, warm salads are much easier than cold salads because often all they need is a squeeze of lemon or sprinkle of vinegar and the flavours just seem to ‘pop’ thanks to the heat.

Even if you have only a single oven, you can roast multiple things at the same time. You just need compatible ingredients. Be brave and experiment.

Spinach smoothie

Spinach is a great green to use for beginner green smoothies as it’s easy on your blender. It’s naturally very delicate in texture and flavour which, in a nutshell, means it tastes great even to someone new to the smoothie revolution. The slightly sweet and subtle flavour of spinach goes really well with fruits, healthy fats like almond butter or avocado, and especially with plant-based protein powders.

They all blend beautifully together for a really friendly spinach smoothie. Try blending spinach with banana or juicy Granny Smith apples, for a really interesting taste for either breakfast or lunch.