Strong to the finish 'cause I drink me spinach!

It's a lean, green, inflammation-fighting machine! I recently bought a huge box of organic baby spinach and then, true to Toronto form, the weather dropped 20 degrees to bone-numbing cold the next day.  My desire for fresh salads came to a grinding halt. 

It was shortly before that when a patient of mine told me about adding spinach to smoothies. I was a bit surprised as it was something I had never tried before. I expected stringy and leafy bits to be left behind which I think is why I never gave it a whirl (ha ha... blender...whirl...!). Until this past week when I've been enjoying one of my favourite leaves a la Popeye! Almost. 

Spinach is amazingly rich in nutrients, specifically folate, vitamins K and A, and a whole range of trace minerals. It's high in fibre and low in calories. It's anti-inflammatory, filling, nutritive, and keeps you regular. It's great fresh in a salad, mixed with rice and beans, or wilted down in a curry. 

But in a blender? Really? If I haven't lost you yet, here's the recipe for what I've been eating daily for the past 2 weeks. It's basically a super nutritious chocolate milkshake:

1 cup of baby spinach 
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
1/2 cup water
1 scoop unflavoured protein powder (I use a mixed vegetarian source)
 1 tbsp organic cocoa powder (purely to beef up the antioxidants...)
1 tbsp raw honey
2 tbsp ground flaxseed
Calories: 290  Protein: 30g  Fat: 10g (almost all unsaturated good stuff) Carb: 27g

You might already know that my favourite kitchen gadget is my Cuisinart SmartStick (no, I do not work for them!) so that's all I use to blend this up which works fantastically, as always. 

Spinach for breakfast...who knew!? 

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