Help with a child's food, please!

[jilly_beans]

My 11 yr old son has been diagnosed with severe anemia. He is on iron pills but we need to make his food intake more iron rich.

He refuses to eat meat (he is a vegetarian).

Does anybody have any suggestions to good, cheap recipes that would fit in my budget & help him with his iron?

I appreciate it! :-)

[tryingtobefrugal]

I've had problems with iron in the past, I've read (and found) that taking chlorophyll with the iron pills helps with the iron absorption. They sell it in liquid form, it tastes minty, I would drink about 1-2 Tbsp a day. So that's something to look into.

[Dancing Lotus]

* beans, including kidney, lima, navy, black, pinto, soy beans, and lentils
* iron fortified whole grains, including cereals, breads, rice, and pasta
* greens, including collard greens, kale, mustard greens, spinach, and turnip greens
* tofu
* vegetables, including broccoli, swiss chard, asparagus, parsley, watercress, brussel sprouts

* blackstrap molasses
* nuts
* egg yolks
* dried fruits, such as raisins, prunes, dates and apricots

[NewLeaf]

Look up vegies w/high iron content. I think some instant breakfast drinks have high iron too. My 6yr old ds won't eat meat either. But he will drink instant breakfast.

AnnK has some great suggestions.

[NewLeaf]

Oh yeah, cooking in the old timey cast iron (black) pans puts iron in the food.

[jilly_beans]

wow, thanks for the ideas all!

[MTS04]

Nutritional yeast (has a cheesy flavor) has 4% daily supply of iron per tbsp serving. You can usually find it in the health food/organic area in the supermarket. It's about 3 - 4 $ a canister. I like the Red Star brand the best. Also, your leafy greens - spinach, bok choy, broccolli, etc. have iron and calcium.

Wanted to add this: Copied from this website : http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/iron.htm

Food Amount Iron (mg)
Soybeans, cooked 1 cup 8.8
Blackstrap molasses 2 Tbsp 7.2
Lentils, cooked 1 cup 6.6
Spinach, cooked 1 cup 6.4
Quinoa, cooked 1 cup 6.3
Tofu 4 ounces 6.0
Bagel, enriched 3 ounces 5.2
Tempeh 1 cup 4.8
Lima beans, cooked 1 cup 4.4
Swiss chard, cooked 1 cup 4.0
Black beans, cooked 1 cup 3.6
Pinto beans, cooked 1 cup 3.5
Turnip greens, cooked 1 cup 3.2
Chickpeas, cooked 1 cup 3.2
Potato 1 large 3.2
Kidney beans, cooked 1 cup 3.0
Prune juice 8 ounces 3.0
Beet greens, cooked 1 cup 2.7
Tahini 2 Tbsp 2.7
Veggie hot dog 1 hot dog 2.7
Peas, cooked 1 cup 2.5
Black-eyed peas, cooked 1 cup 2.3
Cashews 1/4 cup 2.1
Brussels sprouts, cooked 1 cup 1.9
Bok choy, cooked 1 cup 1.8
Bulgur, cooked 1 cup 1.7
Raisins 1/2 cup 1.6
Almonds 1/4 cup 1.5
Apricots, dried 15 halves 1.4
Veggie burger, commercial 1 patty 1.4
Watermelon 1/8 medium 1.4
Soy yogurt 6 ounces 1.1
Tomato juice 8 ounces 1.0
Green beans, cooked 1 cup 1.2
Kale, cooked 1 cup 1.2
Sunflower seeds 1/4 cup 1.2
Broccoli, cooked 1 cup 1.1
Millet, cooked 1 cup 1.1
Sesame seeds 2 Tbsp 1.0

Sources: USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 18, 2005 and Manufacturer's information.



Table 3: Sample Menus Providing
Generous Amounts of Iron
Iron (mg)
Breakfast:
1 serving Oatmeal Plus (p. 23) 3.8
Lunch:
1 serving Tempeh/Rice Pocket Sandwich (p. 94) 4.7
15 Dried Apricots 1.4
Dinner:
1 serving Black-Eyed Peas and Collards (p. 76) 2.1
1 serving Corn Bread (p. 21) 2.6
1 slice Watermelon 1.4
TOTAL 16.0
Breakfast:
Cereal with 8 ounce of Soy Milk 1.5
Lunch:
1 serving Creamy Lentil Soup (p. 49) 6.0
1/4 cup Sunflower Seeds 1.2
1/2 cup Raisins 1.6
Dinner:
1 serving Spicy Sautéed Tofu with Peas (p. 103) 14.0
1 cup Bulgur 1.7
1 cup Spinach 6.4
sprinkled with
2 Tbsp Sesame Seeds 1.0
TOTAL 33.4

[pip]

Also, when he eats eggs, have him drink some orange juice, too. The vitamin C helps the iron be absorbed better.

[Denvergirlie]

* iron fortified whole grains, including cereals, breads, rice, and pasta

Most if not all of these processed foods with added iron are not bio-available. Did you know you can take iron fortified cereal and grind it to a paste and use a magnet to pull out that iron....
In fact here is a Youtube video (althou there are many)
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIyKe9VE6o8[/media]

Ground up metal in your food is not going to be absorbed by your body. One might as just buy raw iron and make one's own shaving at home and just and take a teaspoon of it ... not going to help anything.

One is better with sticking to "real" food.

Also, you can check into getting a high quailty vitamin, one that is bio-available.

[zakity]

Oh yeah, cooking in the old timey cast iron (black) pans puts iron in the food.

I was going to say that!! You are so right. Great minds think alike!!

[Grainlady]

Although molasses was mentioned, a simple way to use it wasn't. Your son may like molasses milk - made like you would chocolate milk. Molasses is an important food for non-meat eating individuals. One very few of them take advantage of.

I have to AGREE with Denvergirlie about food-form iron over inorganic iron. I get deathly ill from eating foods (like highly-fortified commercial cereal) that are fortified with difficult-to-digest inorganic minerals and cheap chemical vitamins. I don't have the same problem when I make my own cereals from whole grains, so I can only assume it's not the grains.

I also have to DISAGREE with using iron skillets/pans as a source of iron. The iron in the pan is inorganic and not in a form made for human consumption.

Minerals break down into tiny particles in the soil called mineral salts. Mineral salts are dissolved in rain water and are taken up by plants by their roots. Through photosynthesis in the leaves from the sun, plants convert the mineral salts to ORGANIC minerals. The iron in leafy greens is organic while the iron in a nail is inorganic. One is designed to be consumed, the other is NOT.

People and animals get minerals through plants, and through the animals that eat plants. This is why we aren't out there eating dirt, sucking on nails, grinding off chrome from hubcaps, scraping sulfur off matches; eating chalk - concrete - or plaster of paris (forms of calcium), OR using an iron skillet, to get our minerals. We eat plants and animals for them.

Anyone who has ever taken iron supplements will tell you about the intestinal distress and constipation they suffer from while taking inorganic iron. How little is digested and used by the body while most of it is found in a tarry black stool.

Does your 11-year old have nutritional training and understanding to make these life threatening food decisions for himself? This is how what I call "TWINKIE Vegetarians" (commonly seen in young high school and college students) become ill. Avoiding meat isn't all there is to know about vegetarianism. They'll eat the non-meat junk food, over-processed foods that have little to no nutrients left, but not the whole foods that feed their body - nor with the knowledge of how to prepare those foods for maximimum absorption.

Even in human groups that are traditionally vegetarian (mostly in 3rd world countries), they get protein and B12 from meal bugs and other assorted insects commonly found in grains/seeds/beans they consume. They don't have Tupperware and great food storage methods, so they get lots more non-vegetable protein than "Twinkie" vegetarians.

In a vegetarian/vegan class I took as a Kansas State University Master Food Volunteer, we were instructed to ride our bikes and make sure we swallowed a few gnats every now and again to provide a natural source of B-12. To have regular blood test to check our B-12 levels. That was my first indication that plants can't provide everything an omnivore require in the diet. Anthropology tells us humans are omnivores - feeding on both animals and vegetable substances - not herbivore or carnivore. I'll get off my soap box now and hope what I've shared (because I really do care) will add to your world of information on the subject.

[mamamia]

I am anemic also, and to add to the already great suggestions, I thought you might like to know that when he takes his iron, try to have him eat a fruit that is high in vitamin C. It is known that this ~greatly~ adds to iron absorption in the body. Vitamin C supplements will not cause the same effect.

Hope he recovers soon,

Theresa

[Michelle]

http://blog.lakechamplainchocolates....ate-Chips.aspx

Interesting article about kids & iron:

http://kidshealth.org/parent/nutriti...tion/iron.html

"

• Serve iron-rich foods alongside foods containing vitamin C — such as tomatoes, broccoli, oranges, and strawberries — which improves the body's absorption of iron.
• Avoid serving coffee or tea at mealtime — both contain tannins that reduce iron absorption.
• If your child or teen is a vegetarian, monitor his or her diet to make it includes sufficient iron. Because iron from meat sources is more easily absorbed than iron from plant sources, you may need to add iron-fortified foods to a vegetarian diet."

Iron rich foods article:

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/t...ron-rich-foods

[tigo]

We have had anemia in our family in the past. Neither my daughter (vegetarian also) nor I tolerate the pill form of iron. We switched to cooking exclusively in cast iron and have had great results.

[joyofsix]

I'm a registered dietitian. Here are two sources I trust
http://www.vegsoc.org/info/iron.html
http://www.healthcastle.com/iron.shtml
I have found for kids, fortified cereals are great (if a little expensive). Mine likes cream of wheat and total but even the sugary stuff has a surprising amount of iron. Fortified spaghetti with tomato sauce is also pretty well liked. HTH