Fresh Spinach Day
About Fresh Spinach Day
When is Fresh Spinach Day? This holiday is always celebrated on July 16
Today is a heart-healthy day. It is a Popeye-approved holiday. It is Fresh Spinach Day. On this July 16 holiday, we are encouraged to put healthier food into our diets. And, there’s not many food items healthier than spinach.
Popeye the Sailor is right. Spinach is one of the healthiest foods you can eat. SPinach is It tastes good, and there are many recipes. Many people turn up their noses to it, without even trying it.
In the cartoons we always see Popeye eating processed spinach from a can. What you didn’t see is behind the scenes, where he eats it in a variety of salads and other fresh recipes. The reason for eating fresh spinach is that its nutritional value is the highest when it is fresh and uncooked.
Celebrate this day by introducing some fresh spinach to your meals today. You could start by mixing some spinach into your garden salad. Your family may not even notice, but by doing so, you are making them healthier!
Gardeners know that spinach is easy to grow. And, it’s hardy. You can plant it as soon as the ground can be worked in the spring. Why, that’s today in many parts of the country! More on Growing Spinach.
Did You Know? V-8 Vegetable Juice is not just tomato juice. It includes 8 vegetables. One of them is Spinach.
Spinach is a Superfood
Fresh or cooked, Spinach is one of the healthiest foods you can eat. First, it is high in fiber. It is high in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Diabetics love it as it is low in carbs. People with celiac disease love it as it is gluten-free.
Here are some of the other health benefits:
Consumption of spinach helps to lower and control blood pressure.
It promotes eye health.
The antioxidants help to fight cancer.
Spinach was the first frozen vegetable available on grocery store shelves.
Nutritional Value of Spinach
30 grams of raw spinach contains approximately:
- 7 calories
- 1 g carbs
- 0 cholesterol
- 0.1 g fat
- 0.7 g fiber
- 0.9 g protein
- 24 mg sodium
Spinach Trivia and Fun Facts
Here is some interesting spinach trivia. These fun facts could be new to Popeye, too.
- People have been eating healthy spinach for thousands of years. It was first cultivated in Persia over 2,000 years ago.
- Spinach is part of the Amaranth family.
- It is related to beets.
- Alma, Arkansas claims to be the Spinach Captial of the World. It is the original home to Popeye Brand Spinach.
- Alma, Arkansas also boasts the world’s largest spinach can. The city’s water tower holds 1 million gallons of water. It is painted green and has a picture of Popeye on it.
- In the 1930s, the Popeye cartoon boosted spinach consumption by 33%.
- Americans consume 1.5 to 2.0 pounds of spinach per year. While some people never touch it, others eat a whole lot more.
- California is the largest producer of this cool weather crop.
- China produces over 90% of all worldwide production and consumption. At 3%, the United States is the second largest producer.
- The Chinese call it “Persian Green”. In Spain it’s called “Spanachia”.
- On the downside, it has high levels of vitamin K1 which promotes blood clotting.
How to Celebrate and Participate in Fresh Spinach Day
We see two opposite ways to celebrate the July 16 holiday. Here are a few ideas:
- Buy fresh spinach.
- Make a spinach salad.
- Add it to a smoothie.
- Look for ways to add it to the foods you eat today.
- Do not cook it today. If you do, it is no longer fresh, and you lose some of the healthy minerals and vitamins.
- Grow it in your garden. Then, you can have it fresh from the garden whenever you’d like.
Today's Quote
“I’m strong to the ‘finich, ’cause I eats me spinach. I’m Popeye the Sailor man!” – – Popeye the Sailor
History and Origin of Fresh Spinach Day
We have not yet found the originator of this special day or any historical reference to when it was started. It has not been around for a long time. The holiday does not yet have a broad following or presence on the internet. So, let’s change that!
This Day in History
Besides Fresh Spinach Day, here are some other things that happened on July 16:
- The first x-ray photo of arterial circulation is taken in Rochester, NY. (1936)
- J.D. Salinger publishes the novel “Catcher in the Rye “. (1951)
- Actor and comedian Will Ferrell was born on this day in 1967.
Related Holidays and Articles
More July 16 Holidays
Additionally, here are more July 16 holidays we are sure you will enjoy:
More About Today
Find more about the “goings on” on this date.
This Day in History – Indeed, many other important events occurred on this date in July. See what happened on this date in history.
Famous July Birthdays – Did you ever wonder what famous people share your birth date? If so, then find out now!
Ecards – Send a free Ecard daily for just about any calendar holiday, occasion, observance, or event. Undoubtedly, it’s fun for both the sender and the recipient.
Flower of the Day: Rose of Sharon
Recipe of the Day: Spinach and Mushroom Salad
Holiday Insights, where every day in July is a holiday, a bizarre or wacky day, an observance, or a special event. Join us in the daily calendar fun each and every day of the year.
Did You Know? Moreover, in addition to Fresh Spinach Day, there are literally thousands of daily holidays, special events, and observances, more than one for every day of the year. And many of these holidays are new. People and organizations are creating new holidays regularly. July holidays are no exception. Consequently, at Holiday Insights, we take great efforts to thoroughly research and document the details of each one, as completely and accurately as possible.