6.9.11

Giving Blood aka Pumping Iron

I never have had an issue with shots; but I, ironically, absolutely hated finger pricks. I would have chosen 10 shots over one finger prick. Eek..not my thing; but since needles in general never bothered me, I never had a problem giving blood. I actually kinda enjoy it. Here's my equation:

One pint of blood = free juice and cookies (maybe a t-shirt if I'm lucky) plus I help save lives. 

Sounds like a good trade-off to me; I have some blood to spare for a good cause. Sigh, the only thing I don't like about giving blood is, you guessed it, the finger prick prior to the procedure. But, I'll put on my big girl pants, suck it up and endure like a champ.

Not only is donating blooding an awesome gift of life, but it also torches a ton of calories! A person burns about 650 calories for every pint of blood they give. This is because the body is working overtime to replace the blood. Not too shabby, but it's important to fuel and refuel the body before and after donation. So say no to the gym and hello to an iron and protein packed meal.

Because donating blood wipes out a good amount of iron, my roommate and I are making an iron packed dinner the tonight before we go under the needle tomorrow. This dish is called Espinacas con Garboanzos....or in English: spinach with garbanzos beans, but I think the Spanish name gives it a little more pizzazz. We're making this dish along with brown rice...dear rice, beans and spinach, do your thing!

What you'll need:
A bag of dried garbanzo beans
Spinach
Cumin spice
Olive oil
Bread crumbs/croutons
Brown rice (optional)

You can buy pre-soaked beans in a can, but it's cheaper (being a college student this is clutch) to just buy a bag of dried beans and soak them overnight. It's like those little dinosaurs (lizards, horses, what have you) you'd put in water overnight & the next morning they'd be HUGE. It's like magic.

*THE NIGHT BEFORE: SOAK YOUR BEANS* 

Before

After....magic!

Strain the garbanzo beans and set aside. In a giant pan, saute spinach along with some water, olive oil, bread crumbs, and some cumin spice. Next, mix in the beans and stir until the mixture thickens.


Cook the rice (we used good ol' Minute Rice) and set aside until the beans and spinach are cooked. Once cooked, plate, and dive in. This meal is packed with well-needed iron and protein, and it'll pumped me up so I can pump out (give blood) tomorrow! 

The dinner of champions


If you're not deathly afraid of needles, give blood! It may be the easiest way to save a life (or several)! 


Enjoy your week!
  
  

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