I have been diagnosed with anaemia and need to get my Iron levels up. I don't eat red meat but read somewhere that chicken livers are one of the best sources of iron. All I can say is ... My dog loved them!
Instead I went for a one pot stir fry using ingredients I had in the cupboard. It turned out really nice.
Ingredients:
Chicken breast ( chopped up into small pieces)
3 garlic cloves ( sliced)
Broccoli ( chopped)
Carrot (sliced)
Spinach ( frozen)
sweet & sour source ( a large spoonful)
cashew nuts
Method:
stir fried the chicken in olive oil - added the garlic - added the blanched veg - threw in some cashews - added the source - quick stir and into a bowl.
Quick, healthy a good source of Iron and really tasty. Consumed with a glass of orange juice to boost the absorption of iron.
Written by
miss_m
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Yes I'm sure. Blood test confirmed I am severely Iron deficient. My Ferritin level is at 5!! - No wonder I have been so tired.
Has been a wake up call as I thought my diet was quite balanced and healthy.
Looking forward to reading through other posts on here and picking up a few recipes.
I agree about the Turmeric, amazing stuff! I tried drinking it in tea form but it wasn't for me so now I just add it to food, good for whitening teeth too.
Haem iron from red meat is more absorbable by the body, being similar to the form we need. I'm not sure that chicken breast will contain a lot, or the spinach has a form we can easily absorb. Other articles are much less positive than this: bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide...
Being dietarily vegetarian, I can't bring myself to take a haem iron supplement, despite using another animal based medication. I've been taking iron sulphate for a few years which took my levels in to normal range. However, as my ferritin was not as high as I need for good hormone conversion, I added a half an iron biglycinate. I'm pedantic regarding supplements & foods that can hinder absorption of something I need. I take iron on an empty stomach with citrus (also for folate) & other fruit, as vitamin C enhances the absorption. I make sure I have nothing to reduce the absorption such as tea, coffee & other minerals such as calcium for a few hours either side. The sauce you used may have something in that reduces the iron absorption from your spinach & broccolli, so it might be an idea to check the ingredients as wheat is another iron blocker.
I eat a lot of greens, & feel better for consuming my favourite cavolo nero from autumn to spring, as well as other dark leafy greens.
Thanks for the link. You're right, the chicken may not contain too much iron and some of the ingredients may slightly inhibit iron absorption but I am trying to be less strict with my diet as I believe that is what caused the ID in the first place. ( I did a lot of water fasts ) You mention wheat is an iron blocker, good point. It's something I myself only recently found out when looking into fortified breakfast cereals. Along with adding milk too close to having the Iron supp, my choices were not perfect and still need fine tuned, but we live and learn.
Now I start the day off with an iron tablet washed down with a high content vit C supplement in a drink, followed an hour later with porridge ( mixed with water only) and a glass of OJ. The vit C and OJ seems to help with the side effects of the Iron tabs.
Any suggestions of lunch time meals would be appreciated. On the lookout for a good simple recipe for Lentil soup.
The reason the liver was recommended is because that's where hen's store their iron (& also toxins), so go for organic if you eat these.
I've read sourdough bread enhances iron absorption, should you need to eat wheat, as the wild yeast & long fermentationbreak down the gluten & have a benefial effect on the grains. Also sprouted grains are better. If I eat noodles, I go for rice, or buckwheat which isn't a grain. There's quite a few non-wheat types available, though they're a little gloopy.
Check the ingredients of your vitamin C, in case it contains artificial sweeteners that play havoc with the gut, & things like magnesium, which also inhibits iron absorption. If so, swap to one made with natural ingredients, or just eat a citrus fruit. Even plain ascorbic acid powder (I have a pinch in the water I drink my thyroid hormones with as the acid aids breakdown & absorption) is better than the **** put in fizzy & most standard vitamins which are expensive & counter productive to absorbing iron.
My usual basic is lentil, squash, tomato & cavolo. The past few month I've been fond of lentil, watercress, & turmeric, after eating this in a cafe. I add cavolo nero, to anything appropriate. I regularly post recipes from emails I receive, almost always from veggie, or healthy eating websites.
If you like salad, I go for spinach, watercress & rocket. It's good for vitamin C, iron & other minerals, added tomato for even more, plus being acidic, it helps digestion, especially with a splash of apple cider vinegar for malic acid & probiotics.
I also like the cabbage soup diet soup as the high iron content from greens gave me energy when I was iron deficient, despite low calories. I now make it with puy lentils as I like the texture watery for a summer soup: 2-3 bunches of spring onions, 4-6 ribs of celery, 100g puy lentils, two red peppers, 2 chillies (I like it hot!), a bottle of passata & half litre of water or 3 tins of good chopped tomatoes, two teaspoons of mixed herbs. When everything is cooked, add a bag of cavolo, kale, or spring cabbage & cook for another 5 minutes. You can chop everything finely before cooking, which looks better, or use a hand blender for a smooth, but murky brown tasty soup.
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Leftover chicken.
Chilli etc
Delicious healthy dinner
