Spinach...to eat or not to eat
I know right now with the whole E.Coli thing going on spinach is a no-no, but I have a few questions, if anyone would care to lend some advice. I love raw spinach, I find any reason to use it. But I read in one of these threads, someone stated that it contains something in it's raw state that makes the absorption of the iron and stuff harder and that its better slightly cooked or "wilted" I cannot seem to choke down spinach in that state. and Kale is NOT an option, I gag at the thought of eating it. I love dark leafy greens otherwise but only fully cooked, or in spinach's case raw or fully cooked. I'm not anemic, but my iron has always been on the lower side of normal. Any suggestions on how I can make sure I'm gettin plenty of iron WITHOUT having to resort to supplements?
Raw spinach is full of iron. And if you eat plenty of things that contain fiber then most likely it will have iron in it as well. Apples and wheat and any whole grain is what you need. I was anemic as well and it happends quite often. not sure why. I think its the diet i was on. But, I do take a multi vitamin now and a vitamin b supplement as well as ginko
Since organic spinach must be farmed under regulations more stringent than regular spinach, there is no raw sewage used as fertilizer. So use organic!
(And there's always arugula!)
Since organic spinach must be farmed under regulations more stringent than regular spinach, there is no raw sewage used as fertilizer. So use organic!
(And there's always arugula!)
actually -- while the news hasn't mentioned it specifically, the initial discovery was made involving Earthbound Farms Organic Spinach, with the USDA logo proudly displayed on packaging that looked just like this: http://www.ebfarm.com/Products/Salads/Specialty.aspx
It's thanks to this situation: http://www.organicconsumers.org/sos.cfm#news that really, given the trend in the government's handling of the expansion of the organic food market, we actually know less and less about what we think we know about organics, especially corporate organics.
And if you think that because it's got some little local address on the package claiming production and packaging somewhere nearby, that means it's not part of the global agribusiness, think again -- and this here handy chart will help:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/Organic/orgChart.pdf
I try to stick with the farmers' market and my local grocery collective. And here endeth my organic rant for today.
Happy New year!
The original company produces both organic and conventional spinach, but it was not the organic that was involved.
I appreciate the advice guys, and I will check out those sites. I too love the Farmers market, but where I live, they only have 2 each month the 1st and 3rd Sat. of each month, so I can't use them as my sole source of produce. For now I will just stick to frozen spinach, and dishes using that, until they give the OK for raw consumption. Thanks again!
Hi,
If you're concerned about how spinach inhibits calcium absorption (the oxalic acids in spinach binds with the calcium), just eat some foods high in vitamin C with it, such as lemon juice or orange juice. It tastes better like that too, especially in it's raw state : )
Regarding kale...try dinosaur kale or red kale if you don't seem to fancy the normal green kind.
Dinosaur kale is less rough, and red kale doesn't have as much of that...'gardeny' taste.
I used to hate kale, but now it's my favourite vegetable, and I eat it at least every other day.
You can make them tasty by wrapping them over big, RIPE, spoonfuls of papaya or mango!
The result: scrumptious raw dumplings!
-jessica
The original company produces both organic and conventional spinach, but it was not the organic that was involved.
robin -- are you sure? That would make sense as they never did say on the news that it was organic, I hope you're right, though the first package i saw on any broadcast was the "organic" erathbound farms, and I thought to myself "great, that'll work wonders for the movement." (And my conspiracy theory bells started ringing, but that's another story...) Also, I thought the contamination was due to infected manure, which I didn't conventional farmers bothered using, with all their chemicals and so forth...
My news cast said Earthbound Farm Organic Spinach as well. Here in NC the word is that anything local is OK. I'm sticking to green mixes for a while. And Kale is awesome if you prepare it right! I don't like it raw, and heard its hard to digest that way anyway. Try the Kale and Brown Rice with a Kick recipe on this site. It got me hooked!
...news stories I've heard and read since Friday have emphasized that point.
That company does sell Earthbound Farms, but it also sells several other brands, including Dole. I think that photo they kept showing of Earthbound Farms was because the company sells that product rather than because it was that particular type of spinach that had been linked to the outbreak.
This is an interesting listen:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6125187
Hm. NPR's website's not letting me listen to anything right now, but I did find the following links:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-09-17-spinach_x.htm
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/18/health/main2016329.shtml
So, on 9/18 USA Today said the spinach company said that its organic stuff had been cleared of any suspicion. That same day CBS ran a story saying the same thing, but also clearly adding that the FDA had yet to actually confirm this claim, and that nothing had officially been cleared.
In order to keep my obviously, unabashedly biased spirits up, I intend to look at it either way: if it was a conventional crop -- well, there ya go; we should all just go organic. If it was organic stuff that was tainted... well, it's not the organic technique that's at fault, it's whoever was taking care of the tainted cows that supplied the tainted manure, and by extension, it's the USDA's fault for not having organic certification guidelines and watchdogs stringent enough to make sure this wouldn't happen. Moral of the story: the USDA is not to be trusted, and sick, mistreated cows make for sick, mistreated people. Businesswise, I note that it was no little family farm that was tainted, but a huge agribusiness conglomafarm that would surely cut a corner or two at its earliest, most surreptitious opportunity. Not that I'm a cynic or anything.
So I've got my argumentative guns cocked and loaded no matter what the outcome. In the meantime I've been enjoying my same old bulk spring salad mix from my 2 trustworthy local grocers, and for cooking, I'm gettin' down with some escarole -- a new green, for me. A little oil, a hearty pinch of salt, dab o' black pepper, maybe some garlic, a dash of apple cider vinegar, stir it quick on high heat til it wilts a bit, serve with slabs of seitan and a grain of some kind on the side -- I've forgotten that spinach ever even existed. Spinach is dead to me. I'm an escarole man now.
I would re-iterate kairi-kun's comment, you can't absorb iron if you are low on vitamin 'C'. Vitamin 'C' needs to be in your diet every day, as it is water soluble
and your body can't store it up. If you are having trouble with your iron, a extra
boost of 'C',via 'C' vitamin pills might be in order
I too am a spinach lover and after reading the thread felt like adding my two cents. Any American brand of spinach or any import that is sent through customs from the States has been pulled off the shelves here in Canada. So if you want your fresh spinach still, look for Canadian, Spanish or other imports to fill your needs.
Okay, really not sure here and don't want to spread misinformation and as I don't live in the states I wasn't following too closely but I thought they pulled the organic stuff becuz it was PACKAGED in the same place as the regular and were not sure of the source of contamination.... does that make sense?
Colorado spinach growers what you to know that Colorado spinach is safe! (I saw this on the news)
Anything UNpackaged, locally grown is probably safe. It is the packaged prewashed (think oxymoron here) stuff may or may not be. Or, as another poster said, stick to frozen or switch to kale.
My favorite way to eat kale is very lightly steamed, just till it turns a brighter green, and sprinkled with seasoned rice vinegar. I can eat this by the bushel.
Way late to the dance, BUT
It was my understanding that this strain of E Coli has only been around since the late 70's early '80's when the practice of cramming cattle onto feedlots and feeding them grains came into popularity. This E Coli is due to feeding cattle grain as opposed to having them graze on grasses as they would normally do. Additionally, the contamination (I believe) was traced to a neighboring cattle ranch whose manure pit had leaked and contaminated the water with which spinach guy irrigated his fields.
Sorry for the late entre-
Alex
Quite right-- and hopefully it was a one-event contamination, and we will be able to go back to our green-stuff-chewing ways. ;)
I'm afraid I'm a little cavalier about my own chances and kind of just kept on eating it, having had a mixed bag of food poisonings in Peru (e. coli, salmonella, giardia) over the years ... but I'd oh-so-rather avoid it if possible. I guess I'm a lucky idiot.