Spinach salad ideas: Spinach – parsley salad (green queen)

By Stanka Vukelić

Spinach salad ideas

If you haven’t tried raw spinach yet – take this great opportunity to do so. This raw baby spinach salad with parsley is sweet and delicious, and a perfect combination of taste and nutrients.

Parsley is the world’s most popular herb; it is native to the Mediterranean region and highly nutritious. Parsley can be found year-round in your local supermarket (as you probably know), or can easily be grown on your window ledge or terrace.

Spinach and parsley have unique antioxidants and disease preventing properties. More info about spinach you’ll find in our Raw spinach soup / sauce / dip recipe. The health benefits of parsley are presented below.

Please note: Non-organic spinach is heavily contaminated by pesticides, and is one of the “dirty dozen” listed by the Environmental Working Group. Use organic!

Here is one of our spinach salad ideas –

Preparation time: 15-20 min.

Ingredients for 2 people:

10.5-17.5 ounces (300-500g) of young baby spinach

bunch of parsley – I usually use 3.50 ounces (100g)

juice of 1 lemon

garlic – as much as you like

extra-virgin olive oil

tamari soy sauce

Methods/steps –

1. Wash the fresh spinach and parsley.

2. Cut the parsley and garlic into smaller pieces.

3. Add all other ingredients into bowl and mix well.

4. Serve and enjoy.

Options:

Instead of lemon, use apple vinegar.

Instead of tamari soy sauce, use sea salt.

Bon appetite!

Extra info –

15 Facts About Raw Parsley

1. wonderful, fragrant rich biennial herb, is native to the Mediterranean region

2. one of the plant sources with quality antioxidant activities

3. the essential oil, eugenol, present in this herb has been in therapeutic use in dentistry as a local anesthetic and anti-septic agent for teeth and gum diseases

4. helps prevent age-related macular degeneration

5. reduces blood sugar levels in diabetics

6. helps control heart rate and blood pressure

7. role in bone health

8. keeps your immune system strong

9. herb has anti-inflammatory properties

10. lower your cancer risk

11. good source of minerals like potassium, calcium, manganese, iron, and magnesium

12. also rich in many antioxidant vitamins, including vitamin-A, beta-carotene, vitamin-C, vitamin-E, zeaxanthin, lutein, and cryptoxanthin

13. rich in many essential vitamins such as pantothenic acid (vitamin B-5), riboflavin (vitamin B-2), niacin (vitamin B-3), pyridoxine (vitamin B-6) and thiamin (vitamin B-1)

14. the richest of the entire herb source for vitamin K – 1366% of recommended daily intake

15. This unique herb provides:

38% of folates,

220% of vitamin C,

281% of vitamin A,

1366% of vitamin K,

14% of calcium,

77.5% of iron and

5561 mcg of zeaxanthin

5054 mcg of carotene-beta

(Note: the values are in % of RDA per 100 g (RDA-Recommended daily allowance)

Spinach salad ideas brought to you by:

organictalks.com

Sources and more information:

http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/parsley.html

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/7-surprising-health-benefits-of-parsley.html#ixzz2iZ5TFocu

http://www.naturalalternativeremedy.com/10-powerful-health-benefits-of-parsley/