Substitute It! Spinach

When it comes to building a salad, lettuce is the obvious first choice.  We use lettuce on sandwiches, burgers and tacos.  Some prefer iceberg lettuce, others prefer romaine or green leaf.  They all vary a little in taste and texture, but the concept behind their uses is the same.Well, what about SPINACH?
Spinach has been gaining popularity in the last decade.  It used to be famous as a disgusting slimy side dish.  Something your grandparents would feed you and expect you to eat.  I remember at times looking at that glob of spinach on my plate as a kid, wondering where I could hide it.
Spinach was NOT my favorite vegetable.
The creators of Popeye showed the character eating spinach straight out of the can.  Upon swallowing the veggie, Popeye would gain super strength and save Olive Oyl, the damsel in distress.  It was one of the first instances of using television to promote healthier eating.
We now see spinach everywhere.  Spinach salads are popping up at restaurants around the country.  Grocery stores carry a variety of different types and brands and even some Subway restaurants are serving spinach as a possible sandwich topping (I was SOOO excited!).
I've been trying to substitute spinach for lettuce in salads and sandwiches as much as possible.  I still use SOME romaine in my salads, but about 2/3 of it is spinach now.  I did this because I knew that spinach was healthier for us.  I just didn't know how MUCH healthier.
So today I looked up a comparison chart between lettuce and spinach.  And I was right!  When I compare spinach with the romaine lettuce we prefer, spinach was higher (sometimes more than double) in EVERY SINGLE CATEGORY. 
I now have validation that my choice to use spinach has been a good one! :)
Below is the chart so you can compare spinach with your lettuce of choice.  So next time you are eating something with lettuce, consider substituting spinach instead!

A Comparison of the Nutrient Content of Spinach and Lettuce Types
		Spinach	Lettuce, iceberg	Lettuce, looseleaf	Lettuce, romaine	Lettuce, butterhead
Nutrient	Units	Value per 100 grams of edible portion
Water	g	91.580	95.890	94.000	94.910	95.580
Energy	kcal	22.000	12.000	18.000	14.000	13.000
Energy	kj	92.000	50.000	75.000	59.000	54.000
Protein	g	2.860	1.010	1.300	1.620	1.290
Total lipid (fat)	g	0.350	0.190	0.300	0.200	0.220
Carbohydrates, by difference	g	3.500	2.090	3.500	2.370	2.320
Fiber, total dietary	g	2.700	1.400	1.900	1.700	1.000
Ash	g	1.720	0.480	0.900	0.900	0.590
Minerals
Calcium, Ca	mg	99.000	19.000	68.000	36.000	32.000
Iron, Fe	mg	2.710	0.500	1.400	1.100	0.300
Magnesium, Mg	mg	79.000	9.000	11.000	6.000	13.000
Phosphorus, P	mg	49.000	20.000	25.000	45.000	23.000
Potassium, K	mg	558.000	158.000	264.000	290.000	257.000
Sodium, Na	mg	79.000	9.000	9.000	8.000	5.000
Zinc, Zn	mg	0.530	0.220	0.290	0.250	0.170
Copper, Cu	mg	0.130	0.028	0.044	0.037	0.023
Manganese, Mn	mg	0.897	0.151	0.750	0.636	0.133
Selenium, Se	mg	1.000	0.200	0.200	0.200	0.200
Vitamins
Vitamin C, ascorbic acid	mg	28.100	3.900	18.000	24.000	8.000
Thiamin	mg	0.078	0.046	0.050	0.100	0.060
Riboflavin	mg	0.189	0.030	0.080	0.100	0.060
Niacin	mg	0.724	0.187	0.400	0.500	0.300
Pantothenic acid	mg	0.065	0.046	0.200	0.170	0.180
Vitamin B-6	mg	0.195	0.040	0.055	0.047	0.050
Folate	mcg	194.400	56.000	49.800	135.700	73.300
Vitamin B-12	mcg	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Vitamin A, IU	IU	6715.000	330.000	1900.000	2600.000	970.000
Vitamin A, RE	mcg_RE	672.000	33.000	190.000	260.000	97.000
Vitamin E	mg_ATE	1.890	0.280	0.440	0.440	0.440
Lipids
Fatty acids, saturated	g	0.056	0.025	0.039	0.026	0.029
Fatty acids, monounsaturated	g	0.010	0.007	0.012	0.008	0.008
Fatty acids, polyunsaturated	g	0.146	0.100	0.159	0.106	0.117
Cholesterol	mg	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Phytosterols	mg	9.000	10.000	38.000
Amino Acids
Tryptophan	g	0.039	0.008	0.009	0.012	0.009
Threonine	g	0.122	0.053	0.059	0.074	0.059
Isoleucine	g	0.147	0.075	0.084	0.105	0.083
Leucine	g	0.223	0.070	0.079	0.098	0.078
Lysine	g	0.174	0.075	0.084	0.105	0.084
Methionine	g	0.053	0.014	0.016	0.020	0.016
Cystine	g	0.035	0.014	0.016	0.019	0.015
Phenylalanine	g	0.129	0.049	0.055	0.068	0.054
Tyrosine	g	0.108	0.029	0.032	0.040	0.032
Valine	g	0.161	0.062	0.070	0.087	0.069
Arginine	g	0.162	0.063	0.071	0.088	0.070
Histidine	g	0.064	0.020	0.022	0.028	0.022
Alanine	g	0.142	0.050	0.056	0.070	0.055
Aspartic acid	g	0.240	0.127	0.142	0.177	0.141
Glutamic acid	g	0.343	0.162	0.182	0.227	0.180
Glycine	g	0.134	0.051	0.057	0.071	0.057
Proline	g	0.112	0.043	0.048	0.060	0.048
Serine	g	0.104	0.035	0.039	0.049	0.039
USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 12 (March 1998)