Green breakfast smoothie - frozen spinach ok???

BenEadir · 02-04-2014 11:12am #1

Hi all,

I'm a big believer that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I exercise first thing in the morning (usually a 6.5km 40 min jog) three times a week and every morning I have the following breakfast:-

- A pint of green smoothie made up of frozen berries + a banana + a large handful of fresh spinach + a pear or apple (skin and core included) + a desert spoonful of milled flax seed + some cranberry juice.

- two poached eggs on whole grain bread with butter and marmite

- Omega 3 fish oil supplement tablets.

I figure this breakfast is pretty good but I sometimes struggle to have fresh spinach available so was wondering would there be a big drop in benefit if I used frozen spinach as it's readily available in Tesco and I can stock up?

Any other thoughts on improving my breakfast in any way would be most welcome. Are milled flax seeds the best additive or should I be using something else?

Cheers,

Ben

Mr. CooL ICE · 02-04-2014 12:10pm

I don't have a link, but IIRC, spinach is one of those veggies that needs to be cooked to make it's nutrients digestible. If you are throwing them into a smoothie raw, you aren't getting as many benefits as you could do.

It's an extra step, but perhaps blanching the frozen spinach before throwing it into the smoothie might be a better option.

Alf Veedersane · 02-04-2014 12:18pm

When spinach is raw, it has a lot more folate, Vit C, niacin, riboflavin and potassium. Cooking spinach increases the bioavailability of gVit A, Vit E, protein, fibre, zinc, , calcium and iron. Cooking it also makes beta carotene more available and your body converts that to vitamin A.

The moral of the story?

Half 'n' half.

BenEadir · 02-04-2014 12:29pm

Thanks guys, so maybe fresh uncooked spinach isn't the best "green" option for my breakfast smoothie. Blanching it isn't going to be an option given the morning rush with kids etc so can you suggest an alternative I can use raw? Kale perhaps?

Ben

Alf Veedersane · 02-04-2014 12:33pm

BenThere wrote: »

Thanks guys, so maybe fresh uncooked spinach isn't the best "green" option for my breakfast smoothie. Blanching it isn't going to be an option given the morning rush with kids etc so can you suggest an alternative I can use raw? Kale perhaps?

Ben

It's not that it's not the best option. It's just that in it's raw form you won't get those extra couple of milligrams of some of the nutrients that cooking/blanching you give you.

It'lll be the same with kale as well - some nutrients are more bioavailable raw and some are more bioavailable when cooked.

Neither option would be a bad option though. You're talking about a couple of mgs in the difference, not absence vs. presence.

baulbeg · 03-04-2014 1:14pm

I also fire in frozen spinach in my morning rush shake. Frozen still better than none at all

silverharp · 03-04-2014 1:22pm

in passing I saw someone adding something to a shake to stop the spinach soaking up/blocking nutrients (calcium or Iron I think from the body). cant remember what it was now.

Kale is the one of the best veg on the planet and good for a shake as an alternative

BenEadir · 03-04-2014 2:39pm

Think I'll get some frozen Spinach as a fall back for when I haven't got fresh spinach or kale. That'll do the trick.

Green breakfast smoothie - frozen spinach ok???

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