Consistently low iron and calcium

If you're looking for a non-dairy option that's low in calories, I'd recommend leafy greens like kale and spinach. Beans, lentils, seeds, and almonds are also good alternatives.

For things that I am persistently low on, I just get good quality supplements and incorporate them into my meals and pill schedule. I don't like fish but recognize that fish oil is a great source of omega 3's... So rather than trying to force myself to like fish (which has never worked in 40 years of life and isn't likely to change) I take fish oil supplements every morning and then enjoy my chicken. ;-)

Read your food labels and go for choices that have more of what you fall short in, but don't drive yourself nuts making everything perfect all at once. Supplement where you need to until you figure out where you're comfortable making changes.

deannalfisher wrote: »

what does your blood work say? unless a doctor tells you you have a deficency through that, i likely wouldn't worry too much

This ^^

Sophi_allheart wrote: »

So I've been tracking my food the whole month, and I've noticed I am consistently not getting enough calcium and iron.

I can't eat/drink milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, etc. But I am also a woman, so I know how important calcium and iron are.

Do you have any meal recommendations for how I can incorporate more calcium and iron enriched foods in my diet?

You may not be low at all. Database entries are crowd sourced and users enter information that is on a food label...iron and calcium aren't always listed. Additionally, some users leave out information when entering something into the database if it isn't relevant to them. MFP is pretty good in regards to tracking calories and macro-nutrients. I wouldn't really trust micro-nutrient information to be complete or use MFP to really track micro-nutrients with any kind of accuracy.

I am a vegetarian and my nutritionist said combining certain foods you get "a complete protein" because some plant sources might not have all the essential elements that beef does. So tomorrow I'm making chili with barley, and if I eat with some edamame Im getting all the aminos, plus iron from the beans, fiber and complex carbs together. Iron I eat greens like spinach.

Sophi_allheart wrote: »

So I've been tracking my food the whole month, and I've noticed I am consistently not getting enough calcium and iron.

I can't eat/drink milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, etc. But I am also a woman, so I know how important calcium and iron are.

Do you have any meal recommendations for how I can incorporate more calcium and iron enriched foods in my diet?

I'm not sure what you mean by "iron enriched" foods - do you mean foods that are naturally rich in iron, or foods that were fortified with iron? If fortified, you'd be better off taking a supplement. However, do not supplement without getting blood work that showed the need for iron.

I'm anemic and do look at the iron values of foods that were user entered, and they are often wrong or were left out. I've never seen an issue with the macros of foods that MFP pulled from the USDA database. (There can be other issues with those, but by-and-large these weird errors are easy to spot, and admin-created entries are far more reliable entries than user-entered entries.)

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/iron/

...Iron from food comes in two forms: heme and non-heme. Heme is found only in animal flesh like meat, poultry, and seafood. Non-heme iron is found in plant foods like whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, and leafy greens. Non-heme iron is also found in animal flesh (as animals consume plant foods with non-heme iron) and fortified foods.

Groups at risk for iron deficiency:

...Vegetarians—those who eat a diet without heme iron from meats, fish, and poultry may develop IDA if they do not include adequate non-heme iron foods in the diet. Because non-heme iron is not well-absorbed, either greater quantities of these foods my be required or careful attention is needed in how they are eaten to improve absorption (consuming with vitamin C-rich foods while avoiding eating with calcium-rich foods, calcium supplements, or tea).

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My favorite sources of heme iron are liverwurst and steak.

My favorite sources of non-heme iron are the brands of blackstrap molasses that have 20% RDA in 1 tablespoon (read labels before you buy.) I'd have to eat more than 4 C of raw spinach to get that much iron.

Get your iron tested to see if it’s really an issue. Women w heavy periods are more at risk of anemia. Non-heme iron isn’t that absorbable, so even if there’s 20mcg of iron in your spinach, that doesn’t mean your body is getting 20mcg of iron. I’m anemic unless I take an iron supplement, even though I eat red meat regularly.