Spinach is a popular vegetable that can be enjoyed raw in
salads and sandwiches, cooked in soups, or sautéed as a side. Spinach,
best grown in mild climates with an abundance of fertile, high quality soil and
water, put Crystal City, Texas on the map in 1917. This southern area of Texas
is best known as the Wintergarden region and is recognized by farmers for its
long growing seasons. From 1930-1950, the Wintergarden region experienced a
“spinach boom,” making Texas the top spinach producing state in the US. Over
time, consumer demands influenced production in Texas, leading to varieties
such as “baby” and “teen” flat-leaf spinach, according to Larry Stein, Texas
A&M AgriLife Extension Horticulturist. From 2006-2016, Texas experienced a
29% increase in spinach production, jumping from 32,025 tons of spinach
produced to 41,215.
Other than being a popular commodity in Texas, spinach has
many nutritional benefits, including its
- 2.86g of protein
- 3.63g of carbs
- 0.39g of fat
- 28.1mg of Vitamin C
- 469μg of Vitamin A
- 482.9μg of Vitamin K
- 194μg of Folate
Spinach is also very low in calories; one cup of raw greens
contains roughly 7 calories (USDA).
While spinach is often found in salads and soups, it can also be
enjoyed in pastas and dips. AgriLife Extension’s Dinner Tonight has
developed a plethora of recipes to incorporate spinach into your meals as a
main ingredient, including Chicken and Spinach Lasagna, Spinach Quiche, Black
bean and Spinach Quesadillas, and Spinach Pasta Toss. To find more nutritious
spinach recipes, visit dinnertonight.tamu.edu/.
As always, if you have questions, concerns, or just want to
chat, please feel free to call (903) 455-9885, email Sarah.Latham@ag.tamu.edu, or come by
the Hunt County Extension office, 2217 Washington Street, Greenville, Texas,
75401. You can also read more about this and many more topics on my
blog, http://agentsarah.blogspot.com/
References:
USDA. (2019). Spinach. SNAP-Ed Connection. https://snaped.fns.usda.gov/seasonal-produce-guide/spinach.
