In the past, spinach hasn’t been the most popular food in the United States. In fact, many people have avoided adding spinach to their diets. This is mainly due to people trying canned spinach, finding the texture and taste to be unappealing, and then never trying spinach again.

Fortunately, that’s beginning to change as people are realizing that fresh spinach is far superior to canned spinach. This has resulted in a 500% increase in spinach consumption from where it was in the 1970s. It has also led to the creation of Spinach Lover’s Month, an observance that occurs during October.

The History of Spinach Lover’s Month

Unfortunately, there is simply no information that we could find that would lead to the origins of Spinach Lover’s Month. We have no idea who created it or when it was created. We’ll continue to search for this month’s origins, but at this point, it doesn’t appear we’re going to find out where it came from. Sorry, spinach lovers.

Fun Facts About Spinach

Spinach is a superfood that’s finally getting recognized for its nutritional and culinary value. That’s why we’ve decided to list some of the fun facts we’ve learned about it below. We hope the following spinach facts will encourage more people to try this delicious plant.

• Spinach was native to Persia and was introduced to China during the 7th century.
• Spinach was introduced into the U.S. during the 19th century.
• Spinach was used during the Middle Ages to make ink for artwork.
• The top U.S. producer of spinach is the state of California.
• Spinach prefers to grow in sandy soils.
• Raw spinach is made up of approximately 91% water.
• Pound for pound, there’s more iron in spinach than in hamburger.
• Popeye the Sailor resulted in 1930s spinach growers selling 30% more spinach during the Great Depression.
• Cooking spinach unlocks some of its nutrients and allows the body to absorb them more readily.
• Spinach is a relative of beets.
• Spinach juice was used during World War I to help stabilize hemorrhaging French soldiers.
• Spinach has more potassium than bananas.

Observing Spinach Lover’s Month

Spinach Lover’s Month can be observed simply by taking some time to add spinach to your diet. How many things can you make with spinach? More than you think, and we’ll prove it.

There are spinach smoothies, green eggs and ham (yes, the eggs are green because of spinach), pesto, spinach paneer, lasagna, calzones, and about a hundred other dishes. No matter what spinach dish you enjoy, just let us know about it using the hashtag #SpinachLoversMonth. We’d love to see what everyone has made using spinach.