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!
  
  

Monday Yumday: Marinated Veggies

In attempts to mimic our role models on Food Network, my roommate and I are starting to get crafty in the kitchen. We're attempting to plan our meals ahead of time in hopes to eat healthier when we come back from class ravenous. 

One easy food tip I learned in college: dressing makes a great and cheap marinade. I also learned that you can basically marinade anything. Hence, our craftiness. Italian dressing + Vegetables = Greatness

We marinated onions, squash, and a giant zucchini in Italian dressing overnight. Simple. I sauteed mine along with a few green beans and batta bing batta boom, dinner. It's not rocket science, but it's simple which makes its a quick and delicious meal. Pair it with chicken, whole wheat pasta or savory by itself. Yum. Gosh, I love vegetables. 

Our next planned meal is yellow squash spaghetti from scratch. Stay tuned, y'all.

  

Don't Fear the Tofu

A year ago if you'd say tofu, I'd say no thanks. It's white, jiggly, and kinda mysterious (I mean how do they make that stuff anyways?). Well, I decided to get over my judgmental attitude and give it a try. Tofu is a great low-fat meatless alternative. It's made from soybeans, so it's packed with protein, iron, calcium and other health benefits. Yay for tofu!

I don't have any fancy tofu recipes, so I thought I'd keep it simple and saute it with some fresh vegetables. Below is the brand of tofu I used; I like that it's a lighter version so it cuts some calories while still keeping all the flavor (well, as much flavor as tofu can have). I'm going to jack-up the tofu with spices to revamp its plain reputation. 

I picked a zucchini, some tomatoes and onions from my garden and sauteed them in a separate pan. Note: Instead of slicing the zucchini, I used a potato cutter to make zucchini ribbons; I cut until I reached the seeded and then threw the core away. It give the zucchini a linguine/noodle look. Its a fun way to change up textures especially at the end of the summer when I have sliced up more zucchinis than I can count. I cut the tofu in cubes and sprinkled it with oregano, basil, and black pepper. I cooked the tofu on high so it would acquire a nice crisp.

I kept flipping the tofu until it turned a nice brown and sauteed the veggies until cooked. My dad said the kitchen smelled pretty darn good,...especially since it was, gasp, tofu (he isn't ready yet to trade in his juicy steak for jiggly tofu but, he did try it!...there's still time to convert him).

Once cooked, plate and eat! So simple and, yet, so good. Congrats tofu, you've overcome your plain stereotype and proved yourself a tasty, meat substitute. I say don't judge a book by its cover, or in this case...a tofu by its tofu-ness. Give it a try and it may surprise you. Team Tofu!