Confession: I hated spanakopita for basically my entire childhood. I liked spinach, I liked feta, and I liked flakey pastry stuff, but spanakopita, or the Greek answer to spinach pie, was on my bad list. I probably had a half-decent reason for disliking it at first, but it soon became habit and I just refused to let it anywhere near my plate. It wasn’t until I was 12 or 13 that I realized that this stuff is decidedly delicious.

To make my spanakopita even healthier than the original, I use olive oil between the layers of phyllo pastry instead of butter, use an assortment of greens including a ton of kale, and scale back on the dairy, adding enough feta to give it it’s signature taste without becoming overwhelmingly caloric.

Spanakopita is the perfect big-dish meal because leftovers are easy to slice and pack as lunch, tasting as good at room temp as they do warmed up. I especially appreciate this because I have yet to give in to the whole microwave trend and have to use my oven to warm things up which is sort of a negative experience on hot summer days. Instead, I take a slice of spanakopita out of the fridge about 30 minutes before I want to eat and try to let it come to room temp before attacking it with my fork.