Spinach

Caravan of Dreams is one of the restaurants where my family likes to eat when we're in New York City. It's a funky, comfortable place in the East Village, with food that's hearty and innovative (and all vegan). Once, my younger son ordered the Green Garden Platter, described as "seasonal mixed greens sautéed with grilled marinated seitan, garlic, and olive oil, topped with grilled carrot polenta in mushroom gravy." I was intrigued by the combination of seitan and polenta, so when I got home, I made my own version, which bears little resemblance to the restaurant's. There's something enticing about seitan/polenta synergy, and with the addition of greens, the result is a great-looking, hearty dish.

Start breakfast by making a potato pancake, then cover it with sausage, eggs, and cheese and bake until puffed and golden.

The addition of airy brioche gives this aromatic spiced stuffing a less dense texture than most holiday casseroles.

This veggie-licious burger provides 12 grams of filling fiber, nearly half of your recommended daily intake. Cool beans!

Leeks are easy to cultivate, but they do require a long growing season. This soup is one of the easiest to prepare, and it gets a colorful boost with the addition of fresh spinach leaves.

A misleading name for such a luscious, creamy dish. This creamed spinach gunges up quite nicely.

We find that the kids are more likely to eat spinach when it's chopped and not "stringy." Their word. Not ours.

I have to admit that making a vegetarian dinner is liberating. When I don’t include meat, I feel entitled to splurge on other riches, in this case avocado and pumpkin seeds. Nonetheless, these veggie-packed tacos are proof that something can be hearty and healthful at the same time.

These tasty steaks are served on a bed of spinach, which earns them their name. Both round and butt steaks are full of flavor, and they are so well appreciated all across America that we think of them as "American cuts." They are chewier than sirloin or tenderloin but full of great beef flavor. If you can find prime beef, buy it, but choice will do just fine here.

Serve this classic quick soup with brown rice crackers to increase the fiber and for dipping

Editor's note: This recipe is part of Susie Fishbein's Tricolor Matzo Ball soup .
Due to the high water content of fresh spinach, these matzo balls may be a little harder to roll than the other two flavors. If this occurs, add some extra matzo ball mix or matzo meal, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the batter can be rolled into balls. You want to use as little extra as possible so that the matzo balls remain light and fluffy. Meat or Parve
Gebrokts

Enhance eggs with spinach, which has mounds of magnesium, a mineral that helps keep blood pressure steady.