Celebrate Spring with Spinach & Green Pea Empanadas

Welcome the first week of spring with a batch of these delicious empanadas filled with spring vegetables. I’ve taken Food & Wine‘s recipe for Spinach & Green Pea Empanadas and subbed in better-for-you ingredients like organic whole grain flour and organic seasonal vegetables. The result? More flavor, more nutrition, and no harmful pesticides or other chemicals. Enjoy!

Toxin-free salt: Substitute mineral-rich and toxin-free Himalayan crystal salt or Real Salt from Utah for table salt.

Better butter:  Replace conventional butter with butter made from the raw milk of grass-fed cows.  (If you’re allergic to dairy, substitute organic extra-virgin coconut oil for the butter.)

Spelt flour: Increase nutrients by using spelt flour in lieu of all-purpose flour.  Unlike
other grains, even conventionally grown spelt is not commonly sprayed with pesticides or other synthetic chemicals.

Organic spinach: Swap in organic spinach to avoid the high levels of synthetic pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers found in conventional spinach. (The Environmental Working Group offers a printable list of produce with the highest and lowest levels of pesticides.)

Organic extra-virgin olive oil: Raise your antioxidant levels, protect against disease (while keeping your waistline slim), and help the environment by using organic extra virgin olive oil instead of conventional varieties treated with harmful pesticides.

Fresh peas:  Opt for fresh, organic peas if they are available at your local farmer’s market.  If frozen is your only option, choose organic to avoid exposure to pesticides and chemicals sprays.

If spinach and peas don’t speak to you, feel free to experiment with other vegetables available at your local farmer’s market—fresh organic kale, chard, ramps and asparagus would make delicious additions to this recipe.