For the last few weeks my wife has been suffering from a rather nasty cough.

A course of antibiotics failed to shift it so a couple of days ago she returned to the Doctors after an all clear from the x-ray machine. Greeting her at the door (I’m paranoid rather than doting) I asked what was wrong.

She patiently explained that the Doctor was not sure. But that she was run down and that it could be Iron deficiency anemia. So they gave her a full battery of blood tests and we should find out in due course.

Iron deficiency anemia means that a lack of iron in the body means a reduction in the number of red blood cells. Because these red blood cells carry oxygen around the body this means that we don’t get enough of it. In turn this cause fatigue, shortness of breath and a pale complexion.

Just in passing he UK’s NHS recommend that the amount of iron you need is 8.7mg a day for men and 14.8mg a day for women. They also say that this should be available through diet rather than supplements.

So this is where I come in. One of my duties as household chief bottle washer is that I do the shopping and cooking. So treating anemia with diet has come my mission for the week. If we can start a small foundry by Sunday I’ll not be to blame!

So I’ve decided to plan this weeks meals by using produce which I know is high in iron. The results of my research have been rather useful so far and the iron sources recommended are:-

a) Liver. Now I love liver but my wife does not. Her exception to this is pate which she found, rather to her surprise on her breakfast plate this morning.
b) Meat. A bit of a generic you’ll agree. But beef is considered very good. This is lucky as I served steak yesterday evening.
c) Green leafy vegetables such as kale and watercress. Shades of Popeye here but good news as we are fond of salad.
d) Beans. Flatulence aside this is a great opportunity to delve into the Mexican larder and knock up some refried beans.
e) Nuts. To be honest I find peanut butter too sweet for my taste.
f) Whole grains. In particular brown rice is recommended.

Which make this evening’s meal rather simple. I’m planning a kale pesto (with pecan nuts) on brown rice pasta.

But does anyone have any high in iron and high in taste recipes they would like to share. If so please feel free to do so in the comments section below.

PS By the way liver is not recommended for pregnant women as it also contains large amounts of vitamin A. Vitamin A could damage your baby.

PPS Have you heard of iron overload. You can find out more about haemochromatosis here.