Lesley's Simple Spinach with Olive Oil

She made this for us last year and we fell in love with it. Here I am now, posting it up for all to see.

(Leslie is Rick's mom, by the way!)

We like to call this a spinach dip but it's nothing like it especially since it uses no vegan mayo and the consistency is different. Either way, we love it and it reminds us a lot like our favorite warm chickpea salad, except it's much easier to prepare.

Lesley's Simple Spinach with Olive Oil
serves two, unless using as a condiment

10 ounce packages of frozen spinach, thawed completely
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup cooked garbanzo beans (chickpeas), whole or chopped to desired consistency
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

1. Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl. Adjust seasonings as necessary. Serve however you please!

Ricky and I ate everything. ^_^

We ate the spinach with tortilla chips and everything was gone within five minutes. Guess we're going to have to make more tomorrow to use in our falafel sandwich lunch. Mmm... can't wait!

Nutrition Facts
(if serving two)

Calories: 205
Fat: 14.5g
Carbs: 10.8g
Protein: 5.3g
Fiber: 3.3g

You can save grams of fat by just using one tablespoon of olive oil or only serving the finished side as a condiment, like on sandwiches. Frozen raw spinach is a great source of vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin K, calcium, folate, magnesium, manganese, and potassium. Spinach even contains a little bit of omega-3's and has tons of lutein, which is great for keeping eyes healthy. Go Popeye and eat a bunch!

Tomorrow, Rick and I are leaving San Jose and driving all the way down to San Diego again. I'll miss it up here so much and I do hope we can visit again for Christmas. At least I'll have more time to cook in my little kitchen again.