I'm having a major brain fart right now, bear with me guys.  I've googled this question, but for whatever reason, can't seem to come up with an actual 'meal' that is iron rich.  Like, I want 50% iron, in ONE meal, so I can eat that twice a day.  No refined/processed foods... like, I know soy foods are enriched - and I hate the convenience of that.  My body doesn't do well with those foods.

Wheat germ is really high - but, almost 500 calories in a cup.  I'd need two cups a day (pukes) so that's somewhat out of the question.  

I'll check the box of bran flakes at the store tomorrow... might be more tolerable.

But, any other vegan iron rich foods anybody knows of, please please tell me.  Thanks so much.

The whole grains or dark leafy greens (but not spinach) are really your best choice. IIRC, things like kale, collard greens, bok choy, and broccoli have decent amounts of iron, and as you point out wheat germ (and other whole grains or whole-grain derivatives).

You really have set yourself a challenge. The human body requires a lot of iron (relatively speaking), and isn't designed to get it all from veggies. (Sorry vegetarians; a lot of the good minerals in plants are bound and unavailable!) If you're coming up short, consider iron supplements. I know they're processed but they do have vegan ones available.

It's also possible that there are ways to prepare veggies with high-but-unavailable iron content (like spinach) in ways that unbind the minerals, but I don't know of any myself. In case you're curious, herbivores tend to have bacteria that help free the iron for them, bacteria that unfortunately can't live in human beings.

I always eat Raisin Bran myself.  It's iron enriched and raisins are a great source of iron too.  There's a lot of iron enriched cereals.  Special K and Total are a couple more I can think of.  

Maybe if you were to make some kind of pasta dish with tofu and lots of dark green veggies (spinach, broccoli, watercress to name a few) you'd get a good iron meal.   Oh and start drinking prune juice and eating dried fruits (apricots & prunes are my favorites). 

Women need 18 mg a day I think it is?   And don't forget your Vitamin C in the same meal to help your body absorb the iron better.

Good luck in your quest!

p.s. According to this article, you just need to eat spinach with something that has iron absorption enhancers:

http://www.healthcastle.com/iron-spinach.shtm l

Oh and I guess cook it!

You could try my Bean Casserole with Oat and Seed Topping.  Served with a portion of steamed spinach it comes to 46% of your daily iron intake needs.   I've itemised different beans (dry weight) but as long as you have 4oz cooked or canned/drained beans you can change them to suit.

Green Lentil Dahl with Brown Rice and again a side order of steamed spinach reaches 53% iron.

damn!  i came over here because i've been iron deficient for years and i thought i might see something useful.  instead, i get debate.  about spinach?  i thought spinah was the one thing i could count on.

i like kale.  i like (smaller like) brocolli.  i like beef, too.  i really like spinach.  and you people are debating the merits of spinach?

I just looked at my box of oatmeal and saw that one serving had 8% of the iron we need.

if you get steel cut oats, I don't think that is too processed. 

yum I love dahl!!!!!!!!  Thanks for that!!!

And spinach, or any plant based iron needs vit. C in order to be absorbed by the body. 

pgeorgian, it's no debate, that's how it goes for plant based foods.  Same as calcium must be taken with vit. D - that's why it's usually enriched with vit. D. 


I found that hemp protein has 34% iron in ONE scoop.... I normally put two scoops in my smoothie.    Hempseeds have 39% in one tablespoon.  GOOD!!!  I'll make sure to eat these things everyday, and make a big pot of dahl for dinners, with steamed spinach and lemon on the side. 

Thanks so much!!!

Whole foods has a terrific reference for food nutrition. The link below is for veggies but they also have one for seafood and fruit.  You can scroll down and see which ones have the highest contents of whatever vitamin or mineral you're lacking.

One of my fav's are artichokes.  YUM! 

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/products/prod uce/list_veg.html

try chick peas

Chickpeas, mature seeds, cooked no salt

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)

Energy 160 kcal   690 kJ Carbohydrates     27.42 g - Sugars  4.8 g - Dietary fiber  7.6 g   Fat 2.59 g - saturated  0.269 g - monounsaturated  0.583 g   - polyunsaturated  1.156 g  

Protein

8.86 g Water 60.21 g Vitamin A equiv.  1 μg  0% Thiamin (Vit. B1)  0.116 mg   9% Riboflavin (Vit. B2)  0.063 mg   4% Niacin (Vit. B3)  0.526 mg   4% Pantothenic acid (B5)  0.286 mg  6% Vitamin B6  0.139 mg 11% Folate (Vit. B9)  172 μg  43% Vitamin B12  0 μg   0% Vitamin C  1.3 mg 2% Vitamin E  0.35 mg 2% Vitamin K  4 μg 4% Calcium  49 mg 5% Iron  2.89 mg 23% Magnesium  48 mg 13%  Phosphorus  168 mg 24% Potassium  291 mg   6% Sodium  7 mg 0%

Zinc  1.53 mg

15

If you like snacking - pumpkin seeds are pretty high in iron - 1/4 cup has about 25% of your DV.

Original Post by lionpaw:

The whole grains or dark leafy greens (but not spinach) are really your best choice. IIRC, things like kale, collard greens, bok choy, and broccoli have decent amounts of iron, and as you point out wheat germ (and other whole grains or whole-grain derivatives).

You really have set yourself a challenge. The human body requires a lot of iron (relatively speaking), and isn't designed to get it all from veggies. (Sorry vegetarians; a lot of the good minerals in plants are bound and unavailable!) If you're coming up short, consider iron supplements. I know they're processed but they do have vegan ones available.

It's also possible that there are ways to prepare veggies with high-but-unavailable iron content (like spinach) in ways that unbind the minerals, but I don't know of any myself. In case you're curious, herbivores tend to have bacteria that help free the iron for them, bacteria that unfortunately can't live in human beings.

Its funny about this.  I went vegetarian in the early 80s a couple of years before I became pregnant with my first son.  I couldn't manage the iron supplements they gave out - they made me terribly unwell so I just kept up with a good vegetarian diet.  In the ward after delivery there were 6 of us - 5 meat eaters and me the veggie.  The routine there would be to take blood from us to check if we were iron deficient and I got all the negative comments from nursing staff about how I would need "extra help" as I was undoubtedly iron deficient.  Got tested.  I was the only one who was NOT iron deficient

Interesting that.