reverendannie.myfreeforum.org :: Nutrition-Iron

Rev/Scout · Site Admin

Nutrition is an important part of life. Although one can take pills to supplement vitamins and minerals, I have found that nothing beats a nice home cooked or prepared meal for wonderful nutrients.

As all cells need oxygen to survive, and red blood cells carry oxygen to the cells, that makes iron an important part of our daily diet, as it aids in the formation of hemoglobin which is an essential component of red blood cells.

When I feel the need for more iron in my system I usually try and supplement it by eating pork or beef liver (I like beef better because I don't feel the need to cook it until it is the consistency of shoe leather like I do with pork) (liver is also filled with Vitamin A), oysters, clams, mussels, beef, pork, salmon, lamb, shrimp, clams, turkey, canned beans, canned asparagus, baked potato with the skin on, pastas that are iron-enriched, enriched breakfast cereals, and beans, including kidney beans (I love chili!), lima, navy, black, pinto, soy beans, and lentils.

Pumpkin seeds, filled with iron, are a great snack food, and I frequently mix them with peanuts, soy beans, and dry roasted salted cashews (According to http://www.nutnutrition.com/nutrition/cashews.htm , 1 ounce of dry roasted salted cashews supplies 10% of one's daily requirement of iron and zinc, along with 15% phosphorous, 20% magnesium, 25% manganese and 30% copper values for the day) for a hearty snack mix.

Apricots and prunes are supposed to be a good source of iron.

Collard greens, kale, mustard greens, and turnip greens are all supposed to be high in iron. So is tofu, which I do eat a lot of (mixed with vegetables such as carrots, celery, onions, tomatoes, green, red, and yellow bell peppers, baby corn cobs, bok choy, water chestnuts, mushrooms, and sometimes some chicken or beef).

Blackstrap molasses is wonderful for baking with. I can't turn down a molasses popcorn ball. They are easy and fun to make, with nothing to cook but to pop the popcorn.

Sardines have lots of iron too, but, personally, I don't like bones. I never acquired a taste for them, but to each their own.

Broccoli apparently has a fair bit of iron. It also has calcium. When I crave milk I usually eat broccoli. I really like it with cheese sauce.

Swiss chard I used to grow in the garden. I love the taste of it. It seems like a milder choice of green, milder than spinach, although spinach also has iron.

Cooked asparagus, parsley, watercress, and brussel sprouts (those lovely little cabbage looking veggies that also taste great with cheese sauce. See a pattern here? LOL) have lots of iron. Raisins also have iron, and can be snacked on just about anywhere.

Rev/Scout