Happy Meat Free Monday gang! I received an email from a dear friend yesterday who is a vegetarian. She’s had a number of health problems but has maintained her choice to keep her diet meat free. Her latest issue wearing her down is dealing with anemia. She was concerned she’d have to start eating meat again to get enough iron in her diet. This is not necessarily the case.. So today I’m going to talk a bit about ways to get iron back into your body without having to eat a huge steak.
Iron is in a ton of foods. Organic produce is also has more iron than the veggies coming from mass produced commercial farms. Some of the most iron dense foods include dark leafy greens such as collards & spinach, egg yolks, dried fruit such as prunes & raisins, chickpeas, artichokes, soybeans, lentils, beans and iron enriched cereals (read the labels). For all of you pescetarians out there, most mollusks are an excellent source of iron as well (oysters, scallops, mussels & clams) Being anemic myself, once of the first tools I learned was when you eat iron rich foods pair them with foods that are rich in vitamin C, this will help your body absorb them better. So pairing your favorite iron rich foods with some citrus or broccoli can really be helpful. One thing to watch out for when eating iron rich foods: try not to pair them with a lot of dairy products, such as milk & cheese. These products can actually inhibit absorption of iron.
Another myth about anemia is that it is only cause by low iron in the blood, this is not necessarily true. It can also be caused by a deficiency in B12, so it was no surprise to me that one of the biggest side effects of anemia is exhaustion & fatigue. One of the easiest things I do to help combat this is to take a b complex vitamin everyday. IT makes a world of difference in my stress levels and helps my energy level remain steady through the day.
A lot folks ask me about iron supplements. Yes, iron supplements are available but they have their downside. There are several different types available. The drops that would be diluted in liquid such as water seem to be the easiest to take. One thing I’ve found is that all iron supplements seem to make my stomach really uncomfortable. It is much easier, and a lot tastier just to try to get the iron in my diet naturally.
Here are a few iron rich recipes to get you started:
-the lime juice in this Three bean salad recipe serves as the vitamin C to help your body absorb all the great iron in the beans. Its also a great way to clean out your pantry or freezer. It also makes a nice summer side dish at all those fourth of July bbqs coming up.
-Fire up the grill and enjoy these awesome & easy to make artichokes
-This Firecracker Spinach Salad is a hit in our home & I love the orange dressing.
-Don't grimace at the thought of brussel sprouts, they're a great source of iron! check out this slaw recipe that we enjoy at home from one of my past posts : Brussel Sprout Slaw
I hope you can use these tools to pump a lot more iron into your diet and still have the option to do so in a meat free way. Coming up soon, by request, some yummy desserts for those folks dealing with lactose intolerance. Hope you all have a great week. Be Good to yourselves!
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