Vegetarian needs more Iron

PaulaPalooza

Hi MFP folks,

things seem to be going pretty well with my nutrition except I'm about 50% under each day for how much Iron I should be getting. Any ideas on how to up this without putting meat back in the mix? Spinach recipes????

Fellow Vegetarians, what do you do?

deadstarsunburn

Spinach, any leafy greens, I think oats. There are a ton of things outside of meat =]

lor007

http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/iron.htm

rebeccask

spinach!! fortified breakfast cereals

Blackthorne99

You can also supplement iron. Heme iron seems to be the best in terms of being absorbed and bringing labs up. I have friends who take it because they cannot get enough iron in otherwise.

strawberryromper

The spinach-iron link is not as great as people think. I suggest fortified cereals or dried fruit like apricots.

Kate6868

beans, green peas

brattyworm

just dont forget to get in some good vitamin C to allow your body to absorb the iron you are taking.

cream of wheat and protein shakes are also great sources of iron

PaulaPalooza

Oooh thanks. I didn't know about the apricots thing. Guess I just need more fruits and vegetables in general, really.

I'll let you all know how things are going.

Thank you!

MrsBlobs

http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/food-sources-of-iron.php

Yup, looks like Apricots are good...but as another poster put, cereal would help. If you are going to struggle to put any of the veggie foods into your diet, cereal is an easy way.

PaulaPalooza

Thanks. Ill have to find some good cereal. And I really like vegetables, I just don't buy enough of them. Also I work at a camp that provides a lot of my meals.... Just gotta make better decisions at that salad bar