"Strong to the Finish, Cause I Eats My SPINACH

North Powder was the site of the first Harvest of the Month tasting table in Union County. On May 10^th a very dedicated parent volunteer, four OHSU nursing students, and I visited the North Powder elementary school during lunch time and passed out samples of local spinach salad and a fresh spinach and strawberry smoothie.  After trying both, students voted for which recipe they liked better.  The results?

• 80 students said that they really liked the spinach smoothie.
• 14 said that they liked the salad.
• 94 students tried fresh local spinach and had fun doing it!

 We learned a lot of really valuable lessons from the North Powder tasting table. 

First, it was great to have our first table at a school that is really on board with the goals of Farm to School and increasing students’ access to fresh, healthy food.  A special thanks goes out to all of the teachers who took the initiative and tasted the salad and smoothie in front of their classes and told their students how delicious they were.  Teachers are role models for students, both in learning the “three Rs“ and how to lead a healthy life.  Students were good role models as well!  It was great to see the first student brave enough to try a bright green smoothie tell their friends how delicious it was. 

Second, if you’ve read some of our blog posts (and I hope you have) you know that we hit a road bump last month when temperatures took an unexpected climb a week prior to the scheduled tasting tables. The green house of Val Tachenko, from Val’s Veggies, overheated and fried all of the baby spinach.  So this month we purchased some beautiful spinach from Paul Castoldi who sells at the Walla Walla Farmers Market.  The Castoldis are fourth generation farmers located just outside of Walla Walla.  If you are interested in purchasing spinach from them, Paul can be reached at (509) 520-5150.

Finally, if you are interested in trying a delicious spinach salad or a bright green smoothie, here are the recipes:

FRESH SPINACH AND CRANBERRY SALAD 

• 1/2 lb fresh local spinach-3 cups per serving (4 servings) ($2.00)

• 3 oz or 1/2 cup dried Oregon cranberries ($1.00)

• 3 oz or 1/2 cup chopped walnuts ($1.85)

• 3 fluid oz (7 tbsp) raspberry vinaigrette-or oil & vinegar ($1.85)

• 2 whole local carrots-diced/shredded ($0.50)

• 2 whole local apples peeled, cut into chunks ($1.13)

• 1/2 small local red onion-cut to preference ($0.50)

• Oregon Feta cheese or cheese of choice (optional)

 Combine all ingredients in large bowl, toss until spinach is evenly coated with dressing.  Serve immediately.  Serving Information: 2.5 cup servings = 4 servings per recipe

Cost Information: $8.83 for entire recipe, roughly $1.80 per serving

SPINACH SHAKE

2 bananas – ($0.39)
2 handfuls of local spinach (2 oz) – ($0.40)
1 cup of frozen Oregon strawberries (8 oz) – ($1.04)
1/2 cup OJ (4 oz) – ($0.44)

Add all ingredients into blender and blend finely.  Use frozen fruit instead of thawed for a smoothie texture.  Play around with ingredients to give different flavors. (Yogurts, different frozen fruits, peanut butter, etc.) Total cost: 16 oz of shake = $2.27 - Total Servings:  2 - 8 oz. servings

Teresa Roark is an organizer for Oregon Rural Action, working through an Americorps position with the Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) program. She is currently focused on Union County's new Farm to School program as well as conducting a food assessment of Union and Baker Counties. She also likes spinach.