Today's food tip: pureed spinach!
I mentioned the last time how I stir a bit of pureed spinach into boxed mac n cheese to make it a little healthier. But there are many other uses for pureed spinach! I steam it until wilted, put it in the food processor, and then freeze it in ice cube trays. Sometimes I will freeze a fourth to a half cup in a baggie as well.
Our favorite use for pureed spinach is in scrambled eggs. I thaw a cube or two and whisk it in while beating the eggs... a little grated cheese is very good in the scrambled eggs, too. The spinach is very obvious and not disguised at all, but for reluctant children, maybe it could be seen as "green eggs" like the Dr. Seuss book... I have also stirred it into egg casseroles and souffles.
I also like to stir some pureed spinach into spaghetti sauce (along with grated or pureed carrot sometimes). It becomes disguised this way unless you use a whole lot! I use the sauce for lasagne as well (look for lasagne in a future Food Tips Friday post).
I also like to make personal pita pizzas... take a small can of tomato sauce (I only use about half of it for four or so pitas and then freeze the rest) and stir in some pureed spinach. Then spread it on pita bread and cover with shredded mozerella and whatever toppings you would like. Bake it at 400 for just a few minutes. Yum!! This is a relatively quick hot lunch idea, especially if the cheese is already grated. Putting the pizzas on a foil-lined baking sheet is not a bad idea here... easier cleanup.
I have heard also that some people throw a little spinach into smoothies. I have not tried this myself, but it is not supposed to change the taste or color...
Anyone else have a use for spinach (pureed or not) that you'd like to share?
I had mentioned the smoothie idea before, and it's really great. the spinach actually disappears into it - you can't even see it. The other day, I was at Costco and a guy was demonstrating a blender and he made vanilla ice cream in the blender with spinach. You could see the green color, but could not taste it at all. Very similar to the smoothie idea - he used ice, milk (you can use soy, rice, almond or regular), vanilla extract, a littel agave nectar for sweetner and a HUGE bunch of spinach. It was really yummy and when I told my kids about it, they were very intrigued with the idea of "green" ice cream. We may try it at home.
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