How to cook healthy and vitamin-rich meals with iron deficiency?
How to improve your diet so that it is not only healthy, but also delicious.
Photos from pixabay
Iron is an element that helps the blood carry oxygen through the body and performs a number of other important functions. Proper intake of the mineral with food can prevent the development of the disease or help in recovery. How to improve your diet so that it is not only healthy, but also delicious.
Iron obtained from food is divided into two types: heme and non-heme. We get heme iron from animal products. But not all iron gets inside — it is absorbed by the body only up to 35%. Non-heme iron is found in plant products, and up to 20% is absorbed from it. It is important that your diet consists of both sources.
Cereals, legumes and nuts are the main plant sources of iron. However, the phytic acid contained in them interferes with the absorption of the mineral and prematurely removes it from the body. To prevent this from happening, soak these products for several hours before cooking.
Tannins and polyphenols contained in black tea and coffee also inhibit iron absorption. Therefore, it is worth significantly limiting their use and switching to herbal teas or chicory.
Add natural probiotics to your diet, such as sauerkraut. It is an affordable source of vitamin C, such a product helps to improve intestinal function, and therefore the absorption of iron.
Nutrition for anemia should include not only foods containing iron, but also sources of B vitamins, vitamin C, copper and zinc. These are cofactors, without which the element is not absorbed or is not fully absorbed.
The diet for iron deficiency is built from a sufficient amount of proteins, proper fats, slow carbohydrates and fiber. Don't forget about bone broths and warm liquid dishes.
1. Liver pate
Liver is an excellent source of iron, but not everyone may like its taste. A soft creamy pate will solve this problem and is suitable for both adults and small gourmets.
Photos from pixabay
Ingredients:
chicken liver (peeled) 17.64oz
onion 1 pc.
garlic 1 clove
butter 2 tablespoons
cream 1/2 cup
salt to taste
pepper to taste
Instruction:
Cut the onion into slices. Heat a frying pan and fry the onion until golden brown in half the butter.
Put the chicken liver in a frying pan, season with salt and pepper and simmer for a couple of minutes. Add the cream and leave the liver to simmer for another 10 minutes.
Transfer the contents of the pan to a blender, but leave some of the liquid so that the pate turns out to be dense. Puree until smooth.
Put the mass in a glass jar. And put the remaining half of the butter on top to avoid a dry crust.
2. Beetroot and spinach cutlets
This recipe, surprisingly, turned out to be incredibly tasty, so I strongly advise you to try to cook this simple vegan dish. There are beetroot, spinach, pomegranate, and nuts for a healthy diet. If beetroot dishes are still underestimated by you, then you need to correct the situation! A dietary, filled with vitamins and minerals, delicious, sweet, wonderful vegetable is sure to help us unload our body a little and recharge with energy!
Photos from pixabay
Ingredients:
beetroot 10.58oz
frozen spinach 10.58oz
onion 1 pc.
walnuts 5.29oz
garlic 3 cloves
salt to taste
pomegranate seeds to taste
Flax seeds (ground flax seed) 5 tablespoons
Soy sauce 3 tablespoons
Vegetable oil 4 tablespoons
Breadcrumbs 6 tablespoons
coriander to taste
Instruction:
Soak the walnuts for a few hours, then dry on a paper towel. Chop the vegetables and nuts with a meat grinder.
Defrost the spinach and squeeze out the excess liquid. Boil or bake the beetroot as desired, and then finely grate.
Peel the onion (take a small one for the recipe) and garlic, put them in a blender. Add the nuts, spices, salt and grind until smooth. To fasten the cutlet mass, instead of an egg, we use ground flax seed.
Combine with spinach and beetroot. Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil and mix well.
Mix the cutlet mass well and leave to "rest" for 15 minutes, during which time the dry ingredients will absorb excess moisture, and the mass will become more convenient for cutting into cutlets.
Do not make the cutlets too large, it will be inconvenient for you to work with them. Breading cutlets for frying in breadcrumbs.
Fry the cutlets in vegetable oil for 3-4 minutes on each side until a golden crust forms. The cutlets are tender, but they keep their shape well.
Place the cutlets on paper napkins to remove the remaining oil.
It is better to serve warm, so their delicate sweet beetroot taste with a nutty-garlic note is most evident.
Garnish the finished cutlets with pomegranate seeds and coriander. Enjoy your meal!
3. Cod in creamy lemon sauce
Photos from pixabay
Fish and seafood are another reliable source of iron. It is better to cook them with citrus fruits rich in vitamin C. For this recipe, you will need the juice of half a lemon. As a side dish, you can make a green salad and use the juice from the remaining half as a dressing.
Ingredients:
cod fillet 28.24oz
cream 20% 1 cup
lemons 1 pc.
butter 2 tablespoons
garlic 2 cloves
mustard 1 tablespoon
salt to taste
pepper to taste
parsley to taste
Pre-melt the butter.
Instruction:
Place the fish fillets in a baking dish. For this recipe, you can use not only cod, but also other white fish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Chop the garlic, cut the lemon in half and squeeze out the juice from one part. Combine the butter with cream, lemon juice, garlic, and add a little salt. Pour the resulting sauce over the fish. Bake the cod for 15 minutes in a preheated 356F oven. Decorate the finished dish with herbs.
Mashed lentil soup
The broth left over from cooking lentils is delicious and healthy. It is fragrant, saturated with useful substances. Do not forget to add a slice of lemon to it, it is tastier and healthier.
That's why the cream soup is so good. The basic recipe is as follows: boil the lentils until tender in plenty of water, then punch everything with a blender. Add fried carrots and onions. And you can also add boiled potatoes, fried mushrooms, when serving, serve with half an egg and fresh herbs.
Photos from pixabay
Ingredients:
red lentils 8.82 oz
lemons 1 pc.
onion 1 pc.
carrots 1 pc.
potatoes 2 pcs.
tomato paste 2 tablespoons
butter to taste
salt to taste
ground paprika to taste
hot pepper (optional)
Instruction:
Pre-soak the lentils and then rinse. Chop the onion and potatoes, and grate the carrots. In a saucepan with a thick bottom, fry the onion in butter, then add the carrots and saute until soft.
Now put the spices and tomato paste and mix. Next, pour in the lentils and add the potatoes. Pour in water (or broth), bring to a boil and leave on low heat for 30 minutes.
Squeeze out the lemon juice. Add it to the soup and mash with an immersion blender. Let it brew for 5-10 minutes.
If you want to soften the taste, pour in half a cup of cream with a fat content of 20%. Serve sprinkled with herbs (don't forget to add coriander!) and sprinkled with lemon juice.