Wilted Spinach same as Fresh and other ?'s

marmadukemas · 01-12-2009, 10:45 PM

Me: 47 yo 20% BF, lifting 2 x wk, cardio 3 x wk, pounding 1.5 g/# of protein /day, trying to retune my diet and have a few questions...

I know I need to eat more vegtables, but to be honest, I don't like a lot of vegtables so I am trying to maximize the ones I do like. Case in point, I prefer wilted spinach (wilted in water, fresh ginger, pepper & vinager) to a plate of fresh spinach or baby greens with just a vinager dressing. Is the wilted as good nutritionally as the fresh?

Also switched to brown rice, pretty happy with that, got a rice cooker and it comes out perfect everytime. So if I am having two to three servings of brown rice with chicken at 10, 2 & 5 each day, is that too many carbs? Should I cut out one of those?

glossygraphics · 01-12-2009, 11:06 PM

spinach is spinach, i just prefer mine fresh and raw

but even cooked is fine

the carbs thing depends on the rest of your diet...

marmadukemas · 01-13-2009, 12:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glossygraphics

spinach is spinach, i just prefer mine fresh and raw

but even cooked is fine

the carbs thing depends on the rest of your diet...

Glossy, thanks for the post. I'm about 2300 on an off day and 2500 on an exercise day I think percentage wise my carb ratio is good, but at 47 fat doesn't shed as fast as it used to. So wondering if I'd be better off with more fiberous carbs.

LoveANurse · 01-13-2009, 03:52 AM

i remember reading somewhere a while ago wilted spinach (cooked) is nutritionally better just the same as tomatoes are better cooked.

BookMonkey · 01-13-2009, 04:01 AM

I, too, remembered reading something about spinach being better nutritionally when it is cooked. I think the point of the article (which was a culinary article, not a bodybuilding article) was that you get less from raw spinach. Personally though, I love both. I eat the raw leaves straight like people do potato chips (but then again, I do that with most veggies). I find cooked spinach goes great with soups and casseroles (especially lasagna).

Speaking of which, reps to anyone that can give me a kick-ass protein-packed lasagna recipe that is still healthy.

PTN_old · 01-13-2009, 05:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glossygraphics

spinach is spinach, i just prefer mine fresh and raw

but even cooked is fine

the carbs thing depends on the rest of your diet...

x2

brown rice is a complex carb and i wouldn't worry about it too much but again, it depends on what your diet is. if you are shooting for a 2300/off 2500/on, as long as your are within your cal total your fine. now if your shooting for a low carb diet, then it depends on many carbs you have already ate and if your are staying under your total.

glossygraphics · 01-13-2009, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marmadukemas

Glossy, thanks for the post. I'm about 2300 on an off day and 2500 on an exercise day I think percentage wise my carb ratio is good, but at 47 fat doesn't shed as fast as it used to. So wondering if I'd be better off with more fiberous carbs.

you should aim for a nutrition ratio of 35-50-15... and if you'r enot getting 25g of fiber in a day, then more fiberous carbs would be a-ok.

I wouldn't up your calories on workout days if you trying to lose fat... that could be 200 calories burned ya know?

Instead you can do calorie intervals of adding 100 and deficiting 100 (2200-2400)... or doing "cheat" days

Laxer311 · 01-13-2009, 08:18 AM

Alot of the vitamens and minerals in spinach (along with many other vegetables) are fat soluable vitamens. Meaning they absorb more readily into your body when there is a fat present. Therefore if you cook them with olive oil or the oil of your preferene you can absorb more of the nutrients.

A great way to do that with spinach would be to.
1. Heat olive oil in a pot, 2 table spoons or enough to cover the bottom of the pan
2. Toss garlic cloves into the bottom of the pot, (i use 3-5 cloves depending on the amount of spinach)
3. When bubbles start to form around the garlic you know its getting hot, Then toss in as much spinach as you can fit into your pot and cover it.
4. Stir frequently so you dont let it burn. The spinach will wilt down so you can continue to throw more in as you go.

in10city · 01-13-2009, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoveANurse

i remember reading somewhere a while ago wilted spinach (cooked) is nutritionally better just the same as tomatoes are better cooked.

It sort of goes in both directions. The oxilic acid in it raw can interfere with calcium absorption and cooking inactivates it. But depending upon how it's cooked, you may lose some nutrients due to them leaching out for instance.

Splitting hairs really.

marmadukemas · 01-13-2009, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BookMonkey

I, too, remembered reading something about spinach being better nutritionally when it is cooked. I think the point of the article (which was a culinary article, not a bodybuilding article) was that you get less from raw spinach. Personally though, I love both. I eat the raw leaves straight like people do potato chips (but then again, I do that with most veggies). I find cooked spinach goes great with soups and casseroles (especially lasagna).

Speaking of which, reps to anyone that can give me a kick-ass protein-packed lasagna recipe that is still healthy.

BookMonkey and LoveAnurse, thanks for the info about wilted. I do like fresh, but get tired of it quickly. As I mentioned, I can't say in general that I love veggies (hate broccoli, cauliflower & brussel sprouts among others) but love wilted spinach. Good to hear that I am not missing out by cooking it.

marmadukemas · 01-13-2009, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BookMonkey

Speaking of which, reps to anyone that can give me a kick-ass protein-packed lasagna recipe that is still healthy.

BookMonkey, check out my receipe at http://blog.bodybuilding.com/marmadukemas for healthy lasagna. This uses ground beef which if you rinse in hot water after cooking removes all the fat, but you can also use turkey breast.

marmadukemas · 01-13-2009, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laxer311

Alot of the vitamens and minerals in spinach (along with many other vegetables) are fat soluable vitamens. Meaning they absorb more readily into your body when there is a fat present. Therefore if you cook them with olive oil or the oil of your preferene you can absorb more of the nutrients.

A great way to do that with spinach would be to.
1. Heat olive oil in a pot, 2 table spoons or enough to cover the bottom of the pan
2. Toss garlic cloves into the bottom of the pot, (i use 3-5 cloves depending on the amount of spinach)
3. When bubbles start to form around the garlic you know its getting hot, Then toss in as much spinach as you can fit into your pot and cover it.
4. Stir frequently so you dont let it burn. The spinach will wilt down so you can continue to throw more in as you go.

Laxer, awesome recipe, and appreciate you pointing out that some fat is essential to absorbing the vit/min. I do like the taste of garlic too, I'll give this one a try and send you feedback

Thanks to all of you for weighing in on this question.

BookMonkey · 01-14-2009, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marmadukemas

BookMonkey and LoveAnurse, thanks for the info about wilted. I do like fresh, but get tired of it quickly. As I mentioned, I can't say in general that I love veggies (hate broccoli, cauliflower & brussel sprouts among others) but love wilted spinach. Good to hear that I am not missing out by cooking it.

Personally, I love broccoli and brussel sprouts. But almost always, cooked. I do love broccoli raw with some sort of dip, but when cooked, goes great with non-calorie-intensive broth or soups. I almost always add frozen broccoli to any soup I make that goes well with it. Broccoli beef is yum. And frankly, smart-butter with b-sprouts works well too. Heck, just steaming them gives a yummy cabbage like taste (sometimes I add that non-fat butter spray thing).

marmadukemas · 01-14-2009, 11:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BookMonkey

Personally, I love broccoli and brussel sprouts. But almost always, cooked. I do love broccoli raw with some sort of dip, but when cooked, goes great with non-calorie-intensive broth or soups. I almost always add frozen broccoli to any soup I make that goes well with it. Broccoli beef is yum. And frankly, smart-butter with b-sprouts works well too. Heck, just steaming them gives a yummy cabbage like taste (sometimes I add that non-fat butter spray thing).

Well I hope that is a taste I can acquire, I just don't like broccoli but know I ned to eat it more. Thanks for your tips, I'll give them a try, never thought of putting it into soup. Good thing about that is the nutrients stay in the dish, good idea.

Hey where you heading in India? I was there for 2 weeks in March last year. Great experience, absolutely loved it.