Healthy & Hearty Spinach-Kale & Brown Rice Cakes

Yes, I have always known that spinach is super healthy, but while researching yesterday and creating a list of veg. sources for all the vitamins and nutrients, both spinach and kale kept coming up as a key source for most vitamins and nutrients. Thats when I decided that other than the usual carrot & brocolli – these two are gonna be my superfood vegetables from now on. I also read that spinach is best had with tomatoes (as iron in spinach is better absorbed with vitamin c). So, I bought spinach & kale today and decided to later figure out how to incorporate both in a dish for tonight. While drying back, I thought of some kind of spinach-kale + bread patties/cakes.

Dig This!!!

SPINACH – High in iron, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B2, B6, B9, Vitamin K & high in dietary fiber. Also rich in antioxidants such as lutein, zea-xanthin and beta-carotene.  Ths wonder vegetable also contains good amount of minerals like potassium, manganese, magnesium, copper and zinc and also is a rich source of Omega-3 fatty Acids! W-O-W! more

KALE – Also an incredibly nutritious green -has low fat, no cholesterol & high health benefiting anti-oxidant properties. Very rich in Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Vitamin C. Also good source of B-complex group of vitamins, Also high in iron. more

BROWN RICE – Brown rice is a source of many beneficial nutrients, including fiber, magnesium, selenium, manganese, zinc and vitamin B-6. Health benefits include low cholesterol, antioxidants, protection against heart diease, breast cancer & is also known to lower Type 2 Diabetes Risk. more benefits.

OATS – Oats contain several vital nutrients such as complex carbohydrates, B vitamins, fiber, and minerals such as phosphorous, iron, selenium, and calcium. Health benefits include lowering cholesterol, reduces high blood sugar, revving up immune system, weight loss and a great protein source. PHEW! more I used Weetabix’s ReadyBrek (finely milled fortified oats)

IRON & VITAMIN C – When eating spinach, add a dose of vitamin C to your meal. Vitamin C blocks the oxalate from binding to the calcium, therefore encouraging calcium and iron absorption into the bloodstream. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends eating spinach with tomatoes, citrus fruits or orange juice. more

Keeping the Spinach-Vitamin C combination in mind & the health benefits of the above main ingredients,this is what I decided to do 🙂

List of Ingredients:

For the spinach-kale brown rice cakes

Baby spinach, kale, cooked brown rice, fine oat flour, wholewheat flour, fresh or dried bread crumbs, corn flour, garlic, cumin, lemon, chilli powder, salt, olive oil

For the Tomato-Basil-Mint Reduction

Fresh or canned tomatoes, fresh mint, basil, garlic, cumin, chilli powder, sugar, tomato ketchup

The Method:

For the Cakes:

1) Lightly soften and saute the spinach and kale in  a tsp of oil with a pinch of salt. Remove in a big bowl.

2) Mix all other ingredients in the bowl along with spinach and kale. Make a paste of cornflour and water. Add in the mixture.

3) With your hands, make 3 inch round cakes of the mixture. You may have to press tightly between your palms to make the patty/cake.

4) With the least amount of oil (I use oil spray to control the quantity of oil), place the cakes in a shallow pan on medium gas and press gently with a spatula. Turn over after 1-2minutes, and cook till both sides are golden brown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the Tomato Reduction:

1) Blend canned peeled tomatoes with salt, garlic, cumin, chilli powder, pinch of sugar or a tsp of tomato ketchup. Transfer to a pan on the gas. Cook on medium heat and intermittent stirring  for 10 minutes. Add freshly chopped mint and basil and cook for another 2 minutes.

Serve the cakes on a bed of tomato sauce/ reduction. ENJOY 🙂

 

 

Being on a health mission for this week, turned out perfect for a week night supper, as we were looking for something different and hearty but still using all the super healthy and nutritious ingredients with the least amount of fats and oils possible 🙂

What do you all think ???????? Would love to know your comments on how you eat your spinach? And is it true that spinach or iron high foods consumed with milk or dairy products like yogurt inhibit iron abosorption??