Getting that iron in when you can
By Brittney MacDonald, Life & Style Editor
As a vegan or a vegetarian, you might find that you’re having trouble keeping your iron levels up. This can lead to extreme fatigue, pale skin, chest pain, dizziness, and a multitude of other symptoms. Lucky for us plant-based people—and for everyone else—delicious leafy greens like Swiss chard are packed full of iron!
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot
2 green onions
1/2 cup chickpeas
1 bunch of Swiss chard
1 tomato
1/2 lemon
Pinch of salt and pepper
Begin by draining your chickpeas and then letting them sit in the fridge. Next, chop the Swiss chard into bite-sized pieces. After that, proceed to chop up the shallot and the green onions. Slice the whole tomato, but don’t make it too thin, otherwise the mass and texture will be lost when you cook it. Juice the lemon, then set the juice aside.
When you’re ready, heat up a skillet on medium high. Wait for the skillet to be warm before coating it in the olive oil. When it is hot enough, add the shallots and green onions. Sauté them for three to five minutes, or until the shallots are soft and they start to smell really good. Mix in the drained chickpeas, then salt and pepper to taste. Stir it slowly but constantly. You need it to be hot all the way through.
When you’re satisfied that the chickpeas are sufficiently heated, mix in the Swiss chard. Sauté until the Swiss chard is slightly wilted, then add in the tomatoes. Be careful not to add the tomatoes too soon, or they will break up and will make the dish too watery. When the tomatoes are just starting to get warm, pour in the lemon juice and give everything a quick stir. Add more salt and pepper to taste, then serve.
