Spinach

I love spinach.

I'm not sure if it's the kelly-green color, the blood-boosting iron, or the myriad ways to cook it...it's just a great vegetable!

Actually, I love the way you can add it to hot dishes and it magically disappears among the other ingredients.  

Did you put the spinach in already?  Maybe not, better add another handful.  

Five minutes later, you'll wonder the same thing until you've added five handfuls of spinach without overwhelming the dish.

This is what I did with the zucchini pasta dish I found on Pinterest.  After melding all the ingredients together in a deep pan, I started adding spinach.  This dish contains three heaping handfuls of spinach, but you would never know it!

Am I right?!

My recipe was slightly altered from the one I found on Pinterest, so here you go:

-1 box of whole wheat pasta

-2 small bags (or one big bag) of frozen shrimp

-1 zucchini, diced

-1 red pepper, sliced

-1/2 red onion, chopped

-olive oil

-1/2 bag baby spinach leaves

-Mediterranean seasonings (garlic, lemon peel, thyme...)

Heat a deep pan with olive oil (I used garlic-lemon infused oil I got for Christmas, but you can use regular...add garlic and lemon juice for extra flavor if you want!)  Toss in any size shrimp you want.  I used 2 small frozen bags of salad shrimp.  Allow the shrimp to defrost and soak in the flavors of the oil.  Spoon the shrimp out and set aside.

Meanwhile, boil water for whole-wheat pasta.  Cook the pasta as directed and set aside.

To the watery-oil mix in the pan, add chopped zucchini, red pepper, and onion.  Add seasoning.  Cook the veggies on medium-high until soft and most of the water has evaporated.  Add the cooked pasta and shrimp and toss.  Add more olive oil (1-2 teaspoons) if it's too sticky or dry.

Now start adding spinach, one handful at a time.  Allow the spinach to cook down and "disappear" before adding the next handful.  Really, you can add as much as you want!

Allow all the ingredients to simmer for at least 10 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

Combine with a new weight lifting routine.  I took a friend to a Body Pump class today and although she was nervous, she enjoyed it!  Hope she's not too sore tomorrow!  Although they say "sore is the new sexy!"