Non-meat sources of iron - any good ideas?

[Notcontent]

My young teen DD has recently stopped eating red meat and chicken, although she still eats fish. I make sure we have fish for dinner twice a week but othwise her diet is pretty much vegetarian. I think she is ok for protein as she eats eggs, yoghurt, nuts and tofu but I am a bit concerned about her iron.

Ant really good sources that I may have missed.?

Spinach, millet, pumpkin seeds, quinoa, broccoli. And avoid mixing with dairy products or caffeine which inhibits absorption.

Dates are good too

Full of fibre also

As others have already said, all dark green veg is good. Lots of youngsters moan about green veg but often they can be persuaded if you cook them in different ways. For example, sprouts that have been shredded and sauteed might go down better than the standard boiled version. I love roasted kale though paradoxically my son prefers it plain boiled. Most pulses are good for iron.. You can make a nice meat free shepherds pie with lentils, and even if I say so myself I make a fantastic lentil loaf - might do that for tea tomorrow in fact.Veggie soups with added lentils always go down well in our house and I also make a traditional Spanish stew with the grey/brown type of lentils, potato, garlic onions and carrots. The original recipe uses meat stock and has chorizo in it, but you can use vegetable stock and extra vegetables instead.
Dried apricots are brilliant because they contain plenty of iron plus vitamin C. Obviously you can just eat them as they are, or use in baking. I make homemade energy bars to take on bike rides that have a selection of dried fruits and seeds in that are probably quite iron rich. But you can also put dried apricots in savoury dishes like curries and stews.I do a morrocan style veggie stew with chickpeas, apricots, aubergine and tomatoes which is quite tasty served with cous cous or rice. Chick pea potato and spinach curry is another of our favourites and it is quick and easy.
As already mentioned by other posters, vitamin C enhances iron absorption so a glass of orange juice with main meals is a good idea. Tannin in tea reduces iron absorption so if she is a tea drinker it might be advisable to limit that.
I believe marmite contains quite a bit of iron. I dont like it myself, but I have a recipe for mushroom stroganoff that uses it and it adds a really nice flavour.
On the sweet front, black molasses is an unexpected iron source. And a good excuse to make gingerbread or parkin!
Basically if you serve a good range of different coloured veg, fruit and pulses there should be plenty of vitamins and minerals in there.
Hope that helps. Happy to share any recipes.

I'm quite surprised by how many people are saying spinach. I thought it was generally accepted now that spinach is a very poor source of iron.

Baked beans are a good source of iron so might be a good easy option if she liked them.

*likes

Get her Floradix to have once a day. Easy leash, tastes nice and will ensure proper levels of iron.

Green and Blacks cocoa powder and beetroot are great sources of iron from non-meat sources.
Make sure her vitamin C and zinc intake is good and that calcium isn't too high as it can impact iron absorption.

Life long veggie here who doesn’t eat dairy.

Most green veg, egg, chic peas, beans, lentils, squash/squash seeds, potato (with skin), apricots, peaches, prunes, brown rice.

Then there are fortified foods such as cereal and bread.

Don’t forget that some breakfast cereals (eg rice crispies) are fortified with iron. Check the label, but this is a quick and easy way to get vitamins in.

As she eats eggs, she should be fine for iron (and B12)