Spinach Coloring Pages

Leaves that get sweeter in the cold winter

Spinach is a winter vegetable with dark green leaves that we eat.
You can find it in stores all year round now, but it tastes best during its peak season in winter.
When it gets cold, Spinach stores sweetness inside its leaves. That makes winter Spinach sweet and full of flavor!
It is used in many dishes, like boiled Spinach with sauce, sesame salad, miso soup, and butter sauté.

The leaves, stems, and red base

The first coloring page shows a standing bunch of Spinach.
At the top, there are many overlapping leaves with rounded tips and jagged edges near the base.
Long, thin stems grow below the leaves and gather together at the bottom.
The base where the stems gather has a red or pink color.
This red part is sweet and delicious to eat, too!

A winter field covered in frost

The second page shows a Spinach field on a winter morning.
The Spinach in the front spreads its leaves wide, hugging the ground.
When Spinach grows in the winter cold, its leaves become thick and crinkled, spreading out flat along the ground.
A little bird is perched on top of a leaf.
In the back, you can see the rising morning sun, trees without leaves, and far-off mountains.

A Spinach breakfast

The third page shows a winter breakfast made with Spinach.
Small bowls hold boiled Spinach with bonito flakes and sesame salad.
You can also see rice, grilled salmon, natto, seaweed, and miso soup set on the table.
In the bamboo basket at the back, there is a bunch of Spinach with red bases.
Outside the window is a snowy garden, where two little birds are playing.

A vegetable that came from Persia

It is said that Spinach first grew in a region called Persia a long time ago, near present-day Iran.
From there, it spread to Europe and China, and it came to Japan from China.
People say the Japanese name "Houren" comes from an old Chinese word for Persia.
Its leaves are packed with good things for your body, like iron and vitamins.
If you boil it quickly and rinse it in water, it loses its harsh taste and becomes easy to eat.

Layer Dark Green and Yellow-Green on the Leaves

For the leaves of the Spinach, first color the whole thing with dark green.
If you add a little yellow-green around the lines in the middle of the leaves, the lines will stand out.
Make the bottom leaves underneath darker and the leaves in front lighter, and you can easily see how they layer together.
Make the stems a lighter yellow-green than the leaves.

Don't Forget the Red at the Base

The main secret for Spinach is the red at the base.
Color the base with pink or reddish-purple, and slowly blend it into the yellow-green of the stems.
Adding red makes the green look even brighter.

A Frosty Morning and a Warm Dinner Table

For the frost in the second picture, leave the edges of the leaves white or add a little light blue to make it feel like a chilly morning.
Color the morning sun light yellow or orange, and make the sky light blue.
For the dinner table in the third picture, make the wooden table light brown and the salmon orange. That will make the green of the Spinach really pop!

Colors for Boiled Spinach and Sesame Salad

For the boiled dish in the third picture, add light brown bonito flakes on top of the dark green Spinach.
For the sesame salad, add light beige dots on top of the green to make it look like sesame seeds.
Make the miso soup light brown and leave the rice white to make the colors of the side dishes stand out.
Color the bamboo basket ochre or light brown.

Red roots are a sign of sweetness!

They say the red color at the root of Spinach gets darker when it gets cold.
Spinach with thick roots and a deep red color is often super sweet.
Take a look at the roots when you pick out Spinach at the store!

"Kanzime": chilling Spinach on purpose

In winter fields, there is a way to grow Spinach by letting it touch the cold air on purpose.
This is called Kanzime.
When Spinach gets cold, its leaves grow thick and curly, and it gets so much sweeter!
Spinach grown this way is called Chizimi Spinach, and you can only find it in stores during winter.

Two types with different leaf shapes

There is an Asian type of Spinach with jagged, pointy leaves, and a Western type with round leaves.
Most of the Spinach you see in stores today comes from a mix of both types!

The source of Popeye's power

In the American cartoon "Popeye," the main character gets super strong whenever he eats canned Spinach.
Because of this cartoon, Spinach became famous as a vegetable that gives you energy!