Hello!

Miss 4 is very pale and irritable and I strongly suggest that an iron deficiency is the culprit as she will not eat anything like red meat. We eat a lot of veg and she gets plenty of sunshine. I don’t want to subject her to having blood tests but want to (through diet) increase her iron levels. Can you suggest any iron rich foods/recipes that don’t include too much red meat?


Want more real mum questions sent to you?

You'll need to check this email to complete your signup.
  • It’s important to consume iron rich foods in combination with foods rich in vitamin C for absorption.
    Iron rich foods ;

    legumes (lentils, chickpeas and dried or canned beans)
    tofu and tempeh.
    wholegrains, particularly quinoa, buckwheat and amaranth.
    dark green leafy vegetables.
    nuts and seeds.
    dried fruit, particularly dried apricots, dates and prunes.
    eggs (for lacto-ovo vegetarians)


  • U can make a bread using spinach cheese and carrots grate them and put in ur dough and u can bake it


  • Use spinach in her salad or on bakes pizzas beatroot juice is very good use it with other juices and its not good tatste itself


  • Iron deficiency is very common. Those who are most at risk include children, adolescents, women of reproductive age, pregnant women, vegetarians and vegans.
    Foods That Help You Absorb More Iron: While not all dietary iron is absorbed equally, some foods can enhance your body’s ability to absorb it.
    Foods Rich in Vitamin C
    Vitamin C has been shown to enhance iron absorption. It captures non-heme iron and stores it in a form that’s more easily absorbed by your body (3).
    Foods high in vitamin C include citrus fruits, dark green leafy vegetables, bell peppers, melons and strawberries.
    In one study, taking 100 mg of vitamin C with a meal increased iron absorption by 67% .
    Hence, drinking citrus juice or eating other foods rich in vitamin C while you’re eating high-iron foods can increase your body’s absorption.
    In vegetarian and vegan diets, iron absorption may be optimized by including vitamin C-containing vegetables during meals (1).


  • Supplements are good! Really interesting reading the comments to this!


  • buy her a supplement, they are relatively cheap and can be bought in the kids range


  • Spinach and broccoli have very high iron content. Will she eat red meat as mince? Like in bolognese?


  • Perhaps try to find an iron fortified food that she likes, also drinking orange juice with a meal will help absorb it more!


  • baby cereal has iron… giev that a go?


  • there are tablet that you can get maybe go see a doctor


  • there are some good comments here


  • That’s a hard one with little kids!


  • I have problems maintaining my iron levels due to a dislike of the texture of red meat. I absolutley love Liverwurst sandwhiches though and find a few serves of this a week to be a great help.


  • Some good advice there below.


  • lots of children are deficient in iron, try an iron tonic


Post your reply
Add a photo
Your MoM account


Lost your password?

Enter your email and a password below to post your answer and join MoM:

↥ Back to top

Thanks For Your Star Rating!

Would you like to add a written rating or just a star rating?

Write A Rating Just A Star Rating
Join