Garlicky Greens

When I was in high school, I learned that I had low red blood cell levels/ I was slightly anemic. Not surprisingly, Mom rarely packed any red meat or leafy greens in my lunches - which by-the-way, CAN YOU BELIEVE my Mom packed my lunches for me high school!?! First of all, only losers brought mom-made lunches, complete with sharpie-labeled brown bags, crinkle-cut carrot sticks and little embarrasing notes (which actually really make your day). I loved it. Second of all - How lucky was I!?!?! If I had some extra cash, I would seriously consider paying big bucks to hire Mom as my full-time lunch maker seeing as I have already accepted my uncoolness.

So anyway, when I was shot down at our high school blood drive for showing up with a lame red blood cell count and a ratio of far too much plasma, my Mom helped me research some ways to beef up (pun intended) my iron consumption. Not being a huge carnivore, I sought out iron-rich alternatives. I have been on a quest for dried peaches since. They just can not be found. What I did discover was spinach. I love spinach. Love it. One of the best parts about spinach, besides it's high iron content, is how easy it is to incorporate it into your diet. I like it strait up, in my scrambled eggs, sandwiches, salads, pizza, meatballs, tacos, lasagna, even fruit smoothies! Which bring me to the end of this wandering tangent - the recipe for garlicky greens. I would love to tell you about the NPR radio show that I listened to last weekend where garlicky greens were being downed in massive quantities at an eating competition, but it's time to get to the point.

Garlicky greens are just a bunch of spinach cooked down in a pile of butter and garlic. It takes all of two minutes to make them. Easy peasy. They are delicious and nutritious and I could eat them every day. To start, you need a big frying pan and A TON of spinach. One bag of spinach is only enough for about two to three servings. Add some butter or olive oil to the pan and turn it up to medium-high and add a clove or two of crushed/chopped/mashed/pressed garlic. Dump in all the spinach and cook that stuff up until it's shrunken down and wilted. Then add some salt and enjoy... or add it to your meatloaf! Then feel awesome and do your best Popeye flex, because you just ate a ton of spinach! Yummmmm...