Help me put together a smoothie for vegetarian DD (protein/ iron help)

[ComfortandHappiness]

I know this the vegan section, but thought it could be a good place to ask.

She's had a blood test and is low in iron and creatine. B vitamins are normal, but low.

She's really stubborn and it’s taken me ages to get her to have the blood test in the first place (15, nearly 16).

She has a daily smoothie for protein (whey). I feel we could be adding more in.

Money is difficult. We can afford a variety of food, but probably not enough of each item to make enough of a difference.

And is it better to have it before bed, or for breakfast? She normally has it before bed because she struggles with a large breakfast.

Cornflakes. Kellogg’s are definitely fortified with iron and vit Bs amongst other things, not sure about own brand. I’ve never tried them in a smoothy, but they may blend to undetectableness! (They were recommended to vegetarian me by a midwife when I had very low iron levels after giving birth.)

Also, you need to make sure that she’s having something vitamin C rich at the same time as the plant based iron or it isn’t absorbed efficiently. So spinach alone won’t work but spinach and red pepper will.

I make one with berries (defrosted strawberries and blueberries from aldi), spinach and Greek yoghurt (also again, the one that looks like total yog) plus tsp maple syrup and a splash of milk.

Or banana, peanut butter, spinach, Greek yog, tsp syrup/honey and milk is nice.

You could add a scoop of protein powder or creatine.

Could she just add some Floravital? Probably wouldn't really taste it mixed in with everything else and it has all the iron and b vits.

With iron you can't take it within a couple of hours of tea/coffee though so if it's a morning smoothie that might not work.

Is there any reason she can’t just take a supplement? Sorts out iron and vitamins etc then you’re not spending lots of money on weird foods.

fortified food such as cereal and bread are the best options for actual food. For iron cornflakes or toast would be better than a smoothie. Beans on toast will do both iron and protein.

is there a reason you’re adding whey? There are millions of protein sources- milk, eggs, dairy, beans, lentils, chickpeas, tofu, peanut butter, nuts, oats, grains, quinoa- does she not eat any of these? Why are you particularly concerned about protein?

dd was iron deficient- she eats a general healthy diet plus a multivitamin.

I could never eat enough to keep my iron within normal limits, I also need to take a supplement.

This sounds good:
https://www.teaforturmeric.com/iron-boosting-orange-green-smoothie/

We're doing all of this and she's still deficient, hence thinking about a smoothie.

She eats all of these things, but can’t physically eat more.

Her creatine was low, so was thinking about protein.

She eats lots of veg, but could probably eat more, but it’s expensive.

She has a multi vitamin, plus extra iron.

Do you mean creatinine? As in creatinine on the blood test was low?

creatinine is the metabolite of creatine (a protein). It does not mean her protein intake is low.

creatinine is an indication of how well your kidneys are working. If it’s high it means you have an issue with your kidneys. It does not in any way reflect how much or how little protein you’re eating.

have you had a dr run through the results with you properly?

it sounds like it might be a good idea to ask for a dietician referral. taking an iron supplement, a multivitamin with iron, and increasing her dietary iron may cause other issues.

Is there a reason why she’s not taking vitamins? That’s surely the cheapest and easiest option?

Give her a b-vitamin complex and also a separate iron supplement. Or a high quality multi with iron.

She takes a multi vitamin, b vitamins and additional iron. It’s just too low.

She eats a varied diet, but eats like a bird. I can’t afford to buy lots and lots of veg (for the whole family as well as her).

We eat a variety of food daily, but probably not in the quantities needed iyswim.

I looked up creatinine and it said protein.

She will not eat meat (fine). She does eat tofu and some pea protein meat substitutes.

I want to get her diet right. I do not want to cause eating problems. A smoothie for breakfast or supper seemed a way of getting extra nutrients into her.

It is hard to speak to the dr. But will try. The message came via their online system. His message was to take iron tablets. I have explained to him already that she does. I am trying to push him on numbers (mg iron for example). It’s nigh on impossible to get an appointment.

How about a spoonful of chia seeds and some spinach in her smoothie? And also something with vitamin c to help absorb (orange etc). Non-heme iron needs to be eaten with vit c.

Low creatinine does not mean she's low in protein.

Join the iron protocol on Facebook. It's really helped me. Low iron and felt so awful, doctors said it was satisfactory (ferritin was 6!!) so I joined after a poster on here recommended it and loosely follow their guidelines and I feel much better. Had no follow up bloods yet but hoping to get those done soon.

I make my boys a smoothie/milkshake of banana, peanut butter, milk, cocoa powder, hemp protein powder.

What does she take now?

Spatone is amazing for helping iron content. Prescribed iron tablets can have horrible side effects so I'd be wary of those.

Chia seeds in a morning yoghurt with some fruit, making sure she's getting enough protein even if it means that she's eating protein bars or something, if this stems from her being vegetarian it may well be that she needs to make the choice to stop being vegetarian for her health. I was a veggie for seven and a half years and stopped because it was impacting my health, I was low on iron and B vitamins and was so unwell.

Oh and if she won't stop - leafy dark greens. Spinach, kale, broccoli, etc. you can get fish made of iron that you boil in with food to infuse iron into it

Chia seeds and ground almond on yogurt/icecream -chia seeds are so high in protein. And a glass of orange juice with the iron supplement. Nutritional yeast to improve the B12. Does she eat cheese? Lidl Gouda is really high in protein for example. Kidney beans for iron if she likes nachos/tacos/chili.

With the iron take it every other day, same absorption, less side effects
Get some fizzy vitamin c tablets (cheap on Amazon in bulk) and get her to drink one of those with the iron tablets too

Trek bars too and the plant pioneers sausage rolls. Theres just so many options now.

You don’t absorb iron the same way from plant sources.
she needs to either eat more eggs and meat or take iron supplements.

One of my favourites is a banana, peanut butter, chia seeds, vanilla extract, a handful of spinach, teaspoon of spirulina and oat milk all blended together with ice. Used to make it for DS when he went through a vegan phase and we both still have them regularly now.

Iron tablets are nowhere near as good as Spatone. I would highly recommend a sachet of Spatone and a glass of orange juice every morning. It is absolutely the only thing that has ever reliably worked for me.

Again, I think you would benefit from the help of a dietician.

you are getting things wrong here. Creatinine is not protein. It should be low. If it’s high it means her kidneys aren’t working, not that she eats a lot of protein.

you run the risk here of coming to the wrong conclusions from the blood panel. It sounds like you’re giving too much iron, getting focussed on protein based on your incorrect interpretation of the blood results.

she’s 16. She needs a balanced diet with a multivit. That’s all you need to worry about. Faffing too much and focussing on one or two particular nutrients will unbalance everything and leave her deficient in other areas.

stop with the whey and protein and feed her an normal diet.

If only it were that simple.

I have asked about being referred (eating services) but the dr doesn’t think it’s necessary. He said she couldn’t be getting enough protein without meat, which is why I made the (wrong) connection between protein and the creatinine (it was lower than the 'normal' range given).

I feed a healthy diet, clearly it’s not good enough. She absolutely won’t eat meat or fish. I am worried about her heading towards eating problems if I try to get her to eat more (veg is fibrous and filling).

She has two eggs per day, beans/ tofu/pea protein daily. She eats cheese. We have a variety of veg in and she eats everything but mushrooms. My assumption is she’s not getting the correct quantity. I can’t afford to buy more and definitely can’t force her to eat greater quantities. I figured a smoothie might help with this. She doesn’t like peanut butter, but maybe adding a little to a smoothie will be better.

Her b vitamins are fine, her haemoglobin (sp?) is fine, but on the low side. Her iron is too low.

Dr's appointments where there’s time to talk is like hen's teeth.

I do a smoothie once a week or so as a way to up the variety in our diet.

Mixed berries
Banana
Oats
Bit of orange or apple juice
Greek yoghurt
Linseeds
Add water to the consistency you like.
I add protein powder sometimes for DS and DH.