Why is Spinach so popular?

1. It’s a good source of: iron, calcium, magnesium, vitamin A, vitamin B-6, vitamin C, vitamin K and potassium.

Eating spinach is essential to maintaining good bone health since it is high in vitamin K. As we age, our bones become brittle, it’s just part of the natural aging process. You can slow down this process by incorporating foods that are high in vitamin k, vitamin D and calcium into your daily diet.

2. Spinach is readily available out in the market place and it’s easily grown at home.

Spinach can be found: canned, frozen or fresh and in a variety of package sizes.

Now that we know that spinach is good for us, what can you make with spinach?

Here are a few of my favorite spinach recipes.

Party Dip

1 packet Ranch salad dressing mix
1 (10 ounce) bag frozen spinach
1 c. mayonnaise
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
1 (8 ounce) block cream cheese
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. chopped green onions

Let spinach thaw. Remove cream cheese from refrigerator and let it set at room temperature for 20 minutes to soften. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl until well blended. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. You can serve this dip with crackers, raw vegetables, chips or party breads.

Healthy Fresh Salad

1 lb. fresh spinach
1 sm. red onion, sliced into rings
3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Remove stems from spinach, wash leaves and pat dry. Tear or chop into bite-size pieces. Combine fresh spinach with sliced onions, eggs and crumbled bacon. Top with the following dressing.

Dressing:

1 sm. onion, chopped
1 c. olive oil
1/3 c. white vinegar
1/3 c. granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. yellow mustard
1 tsp. celery seeds
1/2 tsp. salt

Combine all of the above ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Mix until well blended. Use this dressing on top of your spinach salad.

Creamy Soup

1 (10 ounce) bag frozen spinach
1 c. milk (I use 2% milk)
1 can cream of chicken soup
optional: shredded cheddar cheese

Thaw out your frozen spinach by letting it sit in a colander so that the liquid drains. In a large saucepan combine your milk, cream of chicken soup and your drained frozen spinach. Simmer on low for 10 minutes, stirring often and then serve. Do not use high heat or you will scorch the milk. If you like cheese, you can sprinkle a little cheese on top.

Eating out in Los Angeles is sure to be a great experience for all kinds of foodies because of the amazing variety of fare available in the various eateries in the city. Generally, you can find out about five types of restaurants in Florida, which are budget, trendy, business, personal, and gastronomic. You are free to make your pick according to your taste. Plenty of restaurants include a good wine list on their menu and even allow diners to carry their own bottle of wine.

Here is your guide to some of the best eateries in Los Angeles:

Ago: This is Tuscan-fashion restaurant and it draws foodies from all parts of the city. The décor is very modern and stylish. Good-looking Italian waiters and candlelight enhance the setting. You must try out delicacies such as porcini mushroom risotto and bistecca, which are main course dishes. For dessert, try digging into soft ricotta cheesecake. It is located at 8478 Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood.

Noe: If you keen on enjoying innovative cuisine, then check out this restaurant, where Chef Robert Gadsby creates a storm in the kitchen. Housed in Omni Los Angeles Hotel, this restaurant offers you its signature dishes such as minted mango frappe, mimosa chicken salad, sour and sweet pear and spinach, soy mustard sauce, tuna with crusted hazelnut, and more. Along with these yummy treats, you listen to soft music played in the piano.

Patina: Gourmets find this place as a paradise for heavenly delicacies. Chef Joachim Spichal prepares excellent French-Californian nouvelle dishes as his wife welcomes all guests.

Some of other fabulous places for dining in Los Angeles are Campanile, Spago, Out Take Bistro, Locanda Veneta, Newsroom Café, Lula, El Cholo, Mishima, Capri, Roy’s, and Joe’s Restaurant.

If you want to discover the different restaurant and eateries in the city then you can book the services of car hire Los Angeles.

The Meat

The main meat in the region is the Carollais beef cattle, and as such meat eaters are guaranteed large rich portions. Often this can be mixed with fine wines, like in the eponymous boeuf bourguignon, a traditional recipe of the region combining these two fine elements with baby onions, bacon and carrots. Coq au Vin follows a similar formula, only with chicken instead of beef. This style is repeated with many other dishes, and if your French isn’t that good, look out for the phrase “a la Bourguignonne”. There are bound to be some restaurants near your campsite in Burgundy serving this kind of food, given it’s such a popular local fare.

There are plenty of other meats if you’re not a chicken or beef eater, various hams, hare, calf head and even some river fish – usually poached in white wine, with bacon, onions, garlic and butter. Finally of course, there are the snails, and although many people will turn their noses up at them, the humble ‘escargots’ are delicious, served as they are stewed with Chablis, carrots, onions and shallots, then stuffed with garlic and parsley butter. If you consider yourself a connoisseur, you may wish to consider the black snails (the best of which are raised on grape leaves) which are considered amongst the best in France!

The Cheese

The cheeses are another fine part of the region’s cuisine, and a very nice gift to bring back from your holiday spent camping in Burgundy. The best ones are Chaource (creamy and white), St-Florentin, the orange skinned …poisses and various types of goat’s cheese from Morvan.

The Sauces & Condiments

The region’s most famous condiment is the mustard. As well as being the birthplace of the Dijon variety, there are hundreds of other types available, ranging from the blisteringly hot to the pleasantly mild. The ingredients in each variety vary, and can include the likes of tarragon and honey. You may well end up looking to take these back as souvenirs from your time spent camping in Burgundy!

As well as the wine based ones mentioned above, cream based sauces are also common, sometimes mixed with the mustard like in andouillette de Macon, for example.

The Wine

The region’s wines are celebrated the world over for their high quality and delicate flavours, and it would be a crime not to enjoy a bottle or two over your time spent camping in Burgundy. As a general rule of thumb, the farther north the vineyard, the richer the flavour of the Burgundy wine. Here, the pinot noir grape gives a delicate combination of velvet textures and complex flavours. Towards the south of the red Burgundy region is Beaujolais where gamay grapes are used providing a more dry, fruity flavour, allowing them to compliment all kinds of food.

So worry not – your holiday spent camping in Burgundy should not involve trying to light a portable stove and open cans of beans. With many fine restaurants across the region, it’s all too easy to be having some truly outstanding gourmet food prepared for you by experts – you may want to “accidentally” leave the can opener at home…