As someone who is a recently diagnosed borderline- anemic, I have started to look for more ways to incorporate more iron into my diet, without overloading on animals. You see, my extensive medical training has taught me that there are two different types of iron- ‘heme iron’ and ‘non-heme iron’. Heme iron is found in animals- red meat, poultry, fish, etc. and is more easily absorbed into your body. Sources of non-heme iron include dark green vegetables, lentils, tofu, and other plants and leafy things. However, plant-based iron is not as easily absorbed.
So, instead of turning into a carnivore and eating every animal I see in order to stay awake all day, I have decided to borrow a few tips from the vegans (you’re welcome, pet owners). I have learned that plant-based (non-heme) iron is more easily absorbed when it is combined with something that is high in vitamin C, which brings me to this recipe..
I like making smoothies like this all the time, except have never tried putting spinach in them before. You can pack a whole bunch of spinach into one drink, which reduces down to almost nothing. You also can’t taste any spinach at all, which is great if you’ve got normal tastebuds.
In this particular smoothie I included: 1 chopped frozen banana (chop before freezing..), 1 orange, splash of milk, scoop of greek yogurt, a couple grapes and a few big handfuls of spinach. This would also be a good place to use almond milk, if you’ve made some but aren’t completely sold on the taste yet (like me).
[...] something involving some kind of salted caramel…hmm). Just like when you mix green things in smoothies, you really can’t taste the spinach at [...]
[...] me up). I like it, but feel it’s best enjoyed in smaller batches. I also made a fruit + spinach smoothie to have along with it, so the vitamin c of the grapefruit would help with maximum iron [...]