
Whether you eat meat on the regular or prefer to avoid it, there are tons of delicious ways to add iron to your diet. Here, we’ve gathered 16 tasty recipes featuring more than just spinach and beef that’ll help keep anemia at bay. We’re talking legumes, chicken, pork, leafy greens and so much more. To stave off dietary boredom, we made sure to include a diverse assortment of flavors so you can feel good about planning a whole week’s worth (or more) of meals using this collection as your guide.
1. Lemon Butter Chicken: Chicken thighs are a better source of iron than the typical breasts, and these golden, crisp-tender pieces enrobed in a creamy lemon butter sauce will definitely hit the spot. (via Damn Delicious)
2. Chopped Green Garden Salad: A luxurious avocado-lime dressing is just the thing to help this assortment of nutrient-rich green veggies, apple and pumpkin seeds go down. (via Veganosity)
3. Thai Larb: Make these flavorful wraps with chicken breasts, thighs or even pork. It may not be traditional, but feel free to up your iron intake by swapping out the iceberg lettuce for collard green leaves. (via Bon Appétit)
4. Smokey Black Bean Tostadas (Vegan, Gluten-Free): These healthy tostadas top crisp, faux-fried corn tortillas with creamy black beans, spinach and a smokey garlic sauce. No one will even miss the meat. (via Delish Knowledge)
5. Brie + Caramelized Onion Burger: Treat yourself to these thick, oversized burgers topped with rich brie and sweet caramelized onions. (via Salt Pepper Skillet)
6. Coconut-Braised Chicken Thighs With Kale and Sweet Potatoes: Who knew superfoods could taste so good? You only need five ingredients and one pan to throw it all together. (via My Modern Cookery)
7. Pepperoni Meatballs Spaghetti: Add a smattering of pepperoni to the mixture of beef, pork, aromatics and spices to make these meatballs extra irresistible and totally unique. (via Lady and Pups)
8. Apricot-Almond Chia Pudding: You don’t need to wait until dinner for an iron boost. This porridge loaded with apricots and almonds will start your day off right. (via Edibly Educated)
9. Chili-Rubbed Flank Steak With Chimichurri Sauce: Herbal, kicky chimichurri is a delicious accompaniment for slices of this spice-rubbed flank steak. Leftovers make a delicious sandwich or salad topper the next day. (via Joyful Healthy Eats)
10. Moules Frites (Paleo): Making this classic French dish at home couldn’t be easier. And using hard cider in place of the usual wine is a lovely twist. (via Stupid Easy Paleo)
11. Fatted Calf’s Meatloaf: This certainly isn’t your grandma’s meatloaf. Fresh breadcrumbs and a light hand when mixing keep it from becoming leaden. (via Food52)
12. 5-Ingredient Apricot, Prune and Walnut Energy Bites: Enjoy popping these healthy bites when you need a little extra pep in your step during the day. With their sweet taste, they’ll help satisfy any candy cravings. (via The Gold Lining Girl)
13. Spiced Coconut Dal (Vegetarian): Cooking already nutritious lentils with a host of spices provides them with a delightful addition of antioxidants. Make this dal a meal by serving it layered with sautéed spinach and tempeh — two terrific, meatless sources of iron. (via Poppies and Papayas)
14. Beer and Balsamic Braised Pork Cavatappi: A bowlful of this pasta tangled with super tender shredded pork will certainly put you in a good mood. Select enriched noodles for an extra dose of vitamins and minerals. (via Cooking for Keeps)
15. Black Bean Edamame Burger: The combo of black beans and edamame along with mushrooms, grains and vegetables gives these veggie burgers fantastic flavor and texture. Even omnivores are sure to find them satisfying. (via Hip Foodie Mom)
16. Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten-Free): The chickpeas and almond butter found in these guilt-free cookies are two sneaky sources of the good stuff. To satisfy intense chocolate cravings, feel free to add an extra helping of morsels to the batter. (via Brit + Co)
What are some of your favorite iron-rich recipes or foods? Share with us below!
Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
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Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
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You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regards to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. O'Keeffe Financial Partners and any other entity listed herein is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures