iron-rich foods which are easy for children to eat?

[imaginaryfriend]

Dd is 6.5 and has had a blood test today confirming she's anaemic.

She's not a big meat eater and broccoli is the only green vegetable she really eats.

Any tips on child-friendly iron-rich foods I could tempt her with?

Dried apricots.

Lots of green vege pureed into a soup, mostly brocolli?

i think you can get cereal fortified with iron. what about spinach, you can easily hide it in things like lasagne, put it in cheese sauce for pasta? its a long shot but i think lentils are good too, would she eat that?

Rasins
red meat (conjure it into bolognaise, cottage pie, anything)
bacon

BIG POINT - vitamin C helps the body absorb iron better

Breakfast cereals! For snacks as well as breakfast.

weetabix etc are all fortified.
(I.F. have also posted on the other thread)

Message withdrawn

Message withdrawn

red lentils? Easy to make into soup or add to stews.

I should have said she's got a severe allergy to peanuts, cashew nuts and sesame seeds. Of the anaphylactic variety.

A lot of things mentioned she already eats - broccoli, eggs, wholemeal bread and rice, dried apricots.

I'm rather flummoxed as to why she's anaemic to be honest as I thought her diet was quite good.

Yes, it's fantastic, thanks for the replies!

Red lentil soup is lovely - and so easy to make. Servedwith wholemeal bread and some fresh orange juice it is a complete meal.

That's a good idea, I'll give that a go, she might like that especially if I make it with a spicy tomato flavour.

I meant to also mention that she has a bit of a problem swallowing certain foods. She's never been good with beef or steak for instance. Apparently it's a common problem with kids with severe food allergies, they get a bit phobic about things being stuck in their throats. If she has ham, for instance, she chews it for ages and eventually has to spit it out as she can't swallow it.

Spatone is great. Sachets of naturally iron-rich spa water which you mix which juice. You can get it in Boots and Hoalland and Barrett (and prob other health food shops). It's suitable from age 2+ and my DCs have always been happy to drink it.

Liquorice Allsorts.

Full of iron.

Anything iron-rich she already eats, get her to drink orange juice with it as Vit C helps absorb the iron.

So eg, scrambled eggs on wholewheat toast with orange juice

And get her kids' vits with iron, & take those with orange juice as well.

Thanks, great suggestions.

Is lack of iron always to do with diet?

i have recently been diagnosed with celiac disease, and one of the symptoms of this is unexplained iron deficiency, may be worth looking into if things don't improve?

Lamb is not so good for iron as you'd think - it's not as bio-available as beef.

Spatone and orange juice for breakfast is good.

Withdraw any source of caffeine from mealtimes (it stops absorption of iron), ditto high levels of cows milk if she is eating them.

Lack of iron is not always to do with diet - bleeding from injuries can cause anaemia, drinking a lot of cows milk or any other food which irritates the gut in quantities will lead to excreting small amounts of blood in faeces which can cause low iron levels. Hereditary factors can also be involved. My family has obscure blood disorders including some which predispose us to anaemia.

However if the iron level is very low, you need clinical supplementation as well as dietary changes. It takes about six months to fully recover your iron levels through supplementation before diet can take over and maintain the levels.

Special K is particularly well supplemented with iron I think.It is my cereal of choce to demonstrate ow to remove iron from breakfast cereals using a magnet

Easiest absorption is from meat as I think the mechanism for haem is different to inorganic sources.