Popeye and Olive Oyl would be proud

In the old cartoon, Popeye the Sailor, the hero Popeye downs cans of spinach to have super human strength, while his girlfriend Olive Oyl swoons over him. 

Today we know that Popeye was a pretty smart sailor because spinach is an excellent source of fiber which lowers your risk of diabetes and heart disease, Vitamin A which contributes to good vision, and Vitamin C and Folate which contribute to the reduction of fatigue.  It is also a good source of Vitamin K and Manganese, which contribute to healthy bones, and Potassium which helps maintain normal blood pressure. 

The trick is to sneak these health benefits into meals.  We add fresh spinach into salads, and wilt spinach with olive oil (Popeye's girlfriend Olive Oyl would be so proud), and we also get the kids to eat spinach disguised in a yummy spinach dip, that we dip veggies into.   For me, fresh, dark green, spinach is preferable to the canned kind that Popeye loved, but however you can get the kids and yourself to eat it, spinach is the ultimate green, so give it a try. 

We've purchased fresh spinach in various packaging, sometimes plastic clam-shells that can be recycled, and sometimes pre-packaged plastic bags.  The other night, I offhandedly checked the spinach bag, and was delighted to learn that Fresh Express (pre-packaged spinach and salads) uses "an eco-friendly wash that cleans salads better than traditional chlorine wash" and comes in a #7 recyclable pre-package bag!  I couldn't believe that the bag actually had a recycle symbol since so many bags that can be recycled do not.  Fresh Express scored points with me because not only is the spinach healthy for us, they are using a healthier rinse, and the bag can be recycled to boot.   I think Popeye and Olive Oyl would be proud too ;)