It’s a particularly vexing question when one neglected to go grocery shopping over the weekend, so her fresh ingredient stock is limited to onions, baby carrots and a small handful of brussels sprouts.  A thorough inspection of the pantry yielded plenty of dry staples, though, and the back corners of the fridge were hiding the jetsam of our Thanksgiving cooking frenzy– a half jar of chestnuts, some leftover sage leaves– quickly on their way out.  Time to get creative.

I decided to compose a soup of Dried Wild Mushrooms, Lentils and Chestnuts, using roasted brussels sprouts and fried sage leaves as a garnish.  My hope was that this eclectic combination of earthy and sweet flavors would be harmonious rather than cacophonous, with crispy green garnishes offering a pop of welcome color and texture to the smooth, autumnal puree.  Since these flavors work so beautifully together in Thanksgiving stuffing, after all, why not a soup?  For seasoning, I chose thyme (a classic in stuffing, and one of my favorites), and a small hit of smoked paprika to add depth and richness of flavor in lieu of, say, bacon, which I don’t eat.  (You could use chipotle powder to similar effect if you prefer a spicier soup).  I didn’t bother using celery in my mirepoix, since I never have it around the house and doubt many of you do, either.

The results were fantastically tasty beyond my expectations.  This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian (and easily made vegan if you use Vegetable stock).  It is elegant enough to serve to company for a fall or winter dinner party, but easy enough to make for no particular reason on a weeknight.  It’s filling enough to be a one-dish meal, thanks to the hearty body that the lentils provide… just load it up with that brussels sprout garnish to get in some greens!

Recipe: Wild Mushroom Chestnut Soup with Autumn Garnishes

Serves 4-6

1 onion, chopped
2 TBSP olive oil
1 carrot, chopped (or equivalent chopped baby carrots to yield ~ 1/2 cup chopped)
1 oz dried wild mushrooms, soaked in enough boiling water to cover them for at least 30 minutes; reserve the water for the soup
1.5 cups dry lentils
1 cup of jarred whole chestnuts
1 quart (32 ounces) vegetable stock, chicken stock or plain water
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Kosher salt & pepper to taste

Smoked paprika is the secret ingredient that brings this soup to life

Garnishes (prepare while soup is simmering):

Roasted brussels sprouts (see directions below)
Fried sage leaves (recipe follows; make LOTS of them.  You will want one in every bite of soup… they are so damn tasty.)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in soup pot or large 4 quart saucepan
2. Add chopped onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until sweating
3. Add the chopped carrots, mushrooms in their soaking water, lentils, chestnuts, stock or water, thyme, paprika, 2 generous pinches of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper (optional) to taste
4. Cover and bring soup to a boil.  When boil is reached, reduce heat and simmer, partly covered, for about 30 minutes or until lentils are soft/cooked well
5. While soup is simmering, prepare garnishes below
6. When soup is finished cooking, taste for seasoning and add additional salt/paprika as desired.  Turn off heat.
7. Using an immersion (stick) blender, puree soup in the cooking pot to desired texture.  (Alternatively, you can transfer soup to a blender and puree it in batches).
8. Serve with roasted brussels sprouts and fried sage leaves as garnishes

• To roast brussels: trim base off of desired quantity of brussels sprouts, and cut them down the middle.  Toss them in a bowl with just enough olive oil to kiss them all but not drown or drench… a good rule of thumb is 1-2 TBSP per pound.  Sprinkle with kosher salt.  Roast in 400-degree oven for 15-20 minutes, or until outside starting to caramelize but the sprouts are not dried out or mushy.
• To fry sage leaves: set aside desired quantity of fresh sage leaves.  Trim larger leaves into 2-3 segments if necessary to ensure all leaves are roughly the same size.  Heat just enough olive oil in a pan to cover the bottom.  When oil is nice and hot, toss in a handful of sage leaves (you may need to do this in batches to prevent overcrowding the pan, which will result in soggy leaves).  Fry the sage leaves, stirring constantly, for 5-10 seconds only!  (The leaves will get crispy as they cool even though they still appear green).  Remove leaves from pan with a slotted spoon or spatula and place on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.  Sprinkle with a touch of kosher salt.

Related posts:

1. A Tearful Reunion with Mushroom “Barley” Soup
2. Pardon me, but is that Cauliflower soup in your lasagna?
3. Red Lentil Soup

Now, under pressure from consumers, a new wave of food brands are banishing BPA from their packaging by either switching the composition of their can liners or moving away from cans altogether to different packaging formats.  In addition to the brands listed below, Whole Foods Market claims that 27% of their canned private label items (“365″ brand) are now in BPA-free cans, but customer service could not provide me a list of which ones when I contacted them via e-mail due to fluctuation in available BPA-free can supply.

The BPA Basics

Polycarbonate (PC) is a plastic used for a variety of purposes, including to line the insides of metal food cans and tubes to keep their contents from touching–and therefore reacting with and being contaminated by–the metal.

The problem with BPA is that animal studies show it to be an endocrine disruptor.  In other words, it mimics the effects of certain human hormones, notably estrogen, and can therefore interfere with normal human development–particularly of the brain, prostate, and sex organs–and bodily functions, particularly of the metabolism.  While the body is able to excrete a dose of BPA within a few hours, many experts are concerned about the health implications of regular, chronic exposure to this chemical, even in small doses, such that it is constantly present in the body.  Furthermore, experts disagree on what a “safe” dose may actually be.  Indeed, data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) suggest that BPA  is present in the urine of 93% of Americans, indicating that pretty much all of us are exposed to it on a regular basis–both from the environment as well as the food supply.  Canada has declared it toxic and banned it from infant and baby products.  The US Food and Drug Administration is currently reviewing the evidence regarding BPA and human health before deciding on whether to follow suit, but in the interim, states that it is “taking reasonable steps to reduce human exposure to BPA in the food supply.”  The agency has promised to issue a decision on whether or not to ban BPA from food and beverage packaging by March 31, 2012, so stay tuned…

While direct causation between BPA exposure and adverse health outcomes in humans has not yet been established, recent research has shown that women with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) had significantly higher levels of BPA in their blood compared to a control group (and that higher BPA levels were also correlated with insulin resistance in the PCOS group).  A larger 2008 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association similarly showed that higher concentrations of BPA in the urine were associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and abnormal liver enzymes in the blood–the latter of which may be clinically indicative of fatty liver disease or other metabolic conditions.  Some research also suggests that maternal exposure to BPA may be associated with behavioral issues in young girls, but more research is needed.  Associations may not be causation, but it surely seems safe to conclude that high exposure to BPA certainly isn’t benefiting anyone.

Where BPA is:

• Most canned foods (with the exception of brands listed below).  A compendium of non-profit agencies sponsored a study and report entitled “No Silver Lining,” in which they investigated BPA levels in food from 50 cans of food purchased in 19 states.  They found BPA in food from 92% of the cans, and variables such as product type, brand, organic or conventional or place of purchase had no bearing on the level of this chemical residue.
• Most metal food tubes (such as those used for tomato paste)
• 5 gallon bottles of water, such as those used in your office water cooler (unless specifically labeled BPA-free)
• Any plastic labeled with a #3 (“V” or “PVC”), including some vegetable oil bottles or some clear food packaging
• Any plastic labeled with a #7 (or “PC”), including some Tupperware products or other similar food containers bearing this label.  Note that many of the disposable food storage containers, like Gladware and Ziploc, are made with #5 plastic and therefore should not contain BPA.

Where BPA isn’t:

• Any plastic labeled #1 PET, such as most single-serve water bottles and soft drink bottles
• Any plastic labeled #2 HDPE, such as gallon milk jugs, juice bottles, cereal box liners
• Any plastic labeled #4 LDPE, such as frozen food bags, bread bags and certain squeezable plastic containers
• Any plastic labeled #5 PP, such as yogurt, hummus or cottage cheese containers, margarine tubs, drinking straws
• Tetra-paks (a.k.a. aseptic packaging, such as the cartons used to package coconut water, shelf-stable ricemilk, chicken broth, etc..)
• Glass, Ceramics, Pyrex, Corningware.  Noted that some studies have found trace amounts of BPA in jarred foods owing to BPA used in the LID liners, even though the glass jars themselves are BPA-free.

BPA-Free Pantry Staples

Fortunately, there are plenty of BPA-free versions for most every pantry staple.  You just need to be aware of what the alternatives are, and vote with your wallet to send a message to food manufacturers that it’s time to eliminate BPA from their packaging.

Since eliminating all canned foods from your life may be impractical, I’d suggest focusing on the products you use with the most regularity–and especially ones you use to feed your kids.  If you are pregnant or nursing, I would suggest reducing your intake of canned foods as much as possible so as to err on the side of caution.

Ready-to-Eat Beans:

• Eden Foods markets their beans in a BPA-free can and have been doing so for years.
• According to the company’s Facebook page, Amy’s Kitchen, known for their canned baked beans, refried beans, bean soups and chilis, started switching their products over to a BPA-free can in early 2011.  The switch is supposed to be be complete by year-end, which is just about now…
• A new company, called Fig Food Co., has recently started distributing its ready-to-eat beans (and bean soups) at Whole Foods and some of the local health food stores on my stroller circuit.  Their organic, low-sodium products are cleverly packaged in a BPA-free tetra-pak.  I picked up a box of their Organic Baked Beans–which, incidentally, are also gluten free and vegetarian– the other day and they were quite tasty!
• Of course, if you can find the organizational skills to plan ahead and soak dry beans overnight, that’s the cheapest and surest way to ensure there’s no BPA in your beans!

Tomatoes

• Marinara sauce: Any sauce sold in a glass jar is going to be mostly BPA-free (though trace amounts may be present owing to BPA used in the lid liner).  Still, the jarred stuff will almost certainly have much less BPA than canned stuff, so this packaging would be preferable.
• Diced and crushed tomatoes:
• Eden Organic sells crushed and diced tomatoes in glass jars.  It appears their canned tomatoes may still be in cans with BPA-containing liners.
• Muir Glen Organic appears to be the first marketer to have cracked the code on a BPA-free can for an acidic product like tomatoes.  According to the company’s website, at this writing, the company is “transitioning to can liners that do not use BPA as we are canning this year’s harvest.”  I take this statement to mean that many of the products currently on store shelves are probably still the old BPA-lined variety, though I understand that products with a “use by 2013″ date should indeed be the new BPA-free batch.
• While you’re waiting for Muir Glen’s newest, BPA-free cans to arrive on a shelf near you, an Italian brand called Pomi markets a variety of tomato products, including chopped (diced), crushed and tomato sauce, all packed in BPA-free Tetra-Paks.
• Tomato Paste: While most tomato pastes are sold in cans or aluminum squeeze tubes (also BPA-lined, unfortunately), a brand called Bionaturae sells its version in a 7 oz glass jar.  I bought mine at Whole Foods.

Coconut Milk

• Currently, Native Forest is the only brand I’m aware of that markets a canned, BPA-free coconut milk.  Unless you use large amounts of coconut milk very regularly, however, I personally wouldn’t worry about using a conventional brand for the occasional 1/2 cup you use every month or so.

Vegetables

• For staples like peas, corn and string beans, choose frozen over canned.  (They taste way better and are more nutritious, anyway).  To heat them up, either steam the frozen vegetables on the stovetop, or microwave them with a few tablespoons of water in a covered microwave-safe glass or Pyrex/Corningware dish.  DO NOT microwave them (or any food) in a plastic container!
• For specialty items, like artichoke hearts, you can easily find products packaged in a glass container.  Choose these instead of canned, unless you’re buying Native Forest brand, whose canned fruits and vegetables are in BPA-free cans.

Soups and Stocks

• Look for soups and broths sold in Tetra-Paks, like those by Pacific Natural Foods, or Imagine Foods.
• Alternatively, use bouillon cubes for broths

Canned Kiddie Pasta

• I can think of 100 reasons to avoid buying canned pasta products like Chef Boyardee Ravioli or Campbell’s SpaghettiOs for your kids.  But their BPA content is probably sufficient to make a compelling argument for choosing refrigerated (fresh) or frozen ravioli instead and/or boiling your own alphabet-shaped dry pasta.  We’re all crazy busy, but are any of us really *THAT* busy that we can’t even find the time to boil water for pasta?

Tuna Fish

• Look for mainstream brands of tuna sold in those “flavor fresh” pouches rather than cans, such as StarKist or Chicken of the Sea.  The pouches are BPA-free.
• If you’re willing to spend more for a more sustainably fished tuna, look for brands called Wild Planet or  Vital Choice; they both market a BPA-free canned tuna product.  (You can order tuna online from both companies, along with a variety of other canned seafood products.)
• Whole Foods brand canned tuna (and salmon) are consistently in BPA-free cans as well, according to an email response I received from their customer service

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Red lentils were *made* to be turned into soup.  They cook fast and break down quickly into a thick, hearty base that can be further pureed into a velvety-textured soup… but certainly need not be if you can’t be bothered.  My previous go-to recipe for Red Lentil soup is from Cooking Light; it takes almost no time and effort as far as prep goes, and if you use an immersion blender instead of a food processor to puree it, it’s even easier.  (Once pureed, I think this soup makes an excellent food to share with baby).

Recently, I encountered a new recipe for Red Lentil Soup–from the back of the Bob’s Red Mill Red Lentil package, of all places–that has elbowed its way into our regular winter repertoire.  This one has a bit more texture than my previous standard (it’s not pureed, though if you wanted to share it with a baby you most certainly could puree it), but it’s equally easy and fast to prepare.  Both recipes draw heavily on pantry staples and require little by way of fresh ingredients (a bonus, since between the piles of snow outside and the screaming newborns inside, I’m essentially a shut-in these days): you can use frozen spinach and canned crushed or diced tomatoes for the latter recipe, and fresh onions and carrots are easy enough to come by (thank you, Fresh Direct) and last quite some time.  If you wanted to boost the nutrition content even further, you could swap in some well-chopped kale, collard greens or swiss chard for the spinach (I’m always looking for painless ways to use more of these dark leafies).

Personally, I double both recipes every time I make them to ensure enough leftovers.

Both recipes above fall into the modest 250-350 calorie-per-serving range (exact nutrition info provided with the recipe links), are loaded with filling and cholesterol-lowering fiber, and, incidentally, are edible with one hand while standing up and holding a baby in the other hand.  (In case your criteria for an acceptable meal is the same as mine is.)  All of the health benefits I’ve waxed poetic about previously with regard to legumes apply to red lentils as well, and I’m also a big believer in bean soups as a great snack or meal component to help keep winter pounds from creeping on.

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The Quintessential Soup for Locavores: Zucchini Curry soup at Moulin Brégeon

I’m just back from my second annual gluten-free summer vacation to France.

This year, we decided to visit the Loire Valley, since I figured what better time to visit a region renowned for its wineries and soft goat cheeses than when you’re pregnant?  Of course, I won’t lead you to believe for one second that my experience was in any way ascetic; even without the bread and wine, I happily, deliciously and easily found an extra 600 calories a day (and then some!) for the twins.  And even though it involved bending numerous pregnancy food safety dictates, I ended the week a bit heavier than when I started and no worse for the wear.

The cuisine in the Loire Valley was simple and delicious, featuring locally-grown produce in season, like strawberries, cherries and zucchini.   Locally-grown mushrooms also played a starring role, and locally-caught pike perch (fish) and locally-made goat cheeses are ubiquitous.

While our meals were quite varied, the one dish that kept resurfacing was some version of a curried zucchini puree.   At La Licorne restaurant in Fontevraud L’Abbaye, it showed up as a luxurious, warm,

Curried Zucchini Mousse at La Licorne

mousse-like amuse bouche that was clearly spiked with a generous bit of creme fraiche.  At a small tapas cafe (Le 7) elsewhere in town, it arrived as a thick, cold puree meant for spreading on bread–almost like a zucchini-curry hummus.  But the last–and by far most successful– variation on the theme was a cold, pureed soup served by our lovely and talented hosts at Le Moulin Brégeon, possibly one of the most idyllic places on the planet.

Moulin Brégeon’s Curry Zucchini Soup

This recipe was graciously provided by Bernard at Moulin Bregeon (a man whose talents, incidentally, would put Martha Stewart to shame.  It’s almost worth the trip just to sample his homemade elderflower syrup or cherry jam).   After having tasted the cool soup, which was incredibly refreshing after a long, hot day of touring around the region, I expected the recipe to be a considerably more involved and nuanced affair than it turned out to be.  The actual process is astonishingly simple, and really highlights the difference that locally-grown, fresh ingredients make from a flavor perspective.  In our case, the zucchinis used for the soup were picked from the inn’s garden just 3 hours before dinner, and we watched Chef Pascal clip some chives and pansies for the garnish just moments before we were seated for dinner.  Bernard emphasized the importance of using small, younger zucchini for this recipe–about 6 oz each– rather than the monster-sized zucchini we’re used to buying in the U.S.   He also mentioned that the trick to the texture is really blending the soup until it is a very smooth and creamy with no chunks or visible pieces; this gives such a velvety and rich effect without using any cream whatsoever.  For my vegan readers, I’m sure a vegetable broth would substitute just fine for the chicken broth.  While I’ve never much been one for cold soups (or making soup in the summer), I must say that this dish won me over; it’s a lovely substitute for a salad to start off a summer meal, or would make a fine half of a light soup-and-salad lunch.

Chef Pascal gathering the garnishes for the soup from the front garden

Serves 4

One large, peeled onion cut fine

2 tablespoons virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons curry powder

4 young zucchinis (~26 ounces total, or about 1.7 lbs), washed and cut in fine rounds

~4 cups (1 liter) of chicken broth

1. Pour the oil in a big pot, throw in the onion, the curry and a pinch of salt. Brown until the onion is tender (3 or 4 minutes).
2. Add broth and zucchinis, cover and reduce heat, cook for 20 minutes.
3. Blend until the soup is creamy.
4. You can eat this soup hot or cold; you can also add more curry if you like it spicier.
5. Garnish with fresh chives if desired

Approximate nutrition information per serving (this is so un-French to add, but I know many of you are watching your weight and counting carbs, so I hope I will not be considered too gauche for doing so): ~120 calories, 10g carbohydrate (of which ~2.5g is fiber), 6.5g protein and 8g fat (the healthy, unsaturated kind). This is a very diabetic friendly recipe (less than one carbohydrate exchange per serving), so long as you don’t go and start mopping up the leftover soup streaks in your empty bowl with lots of spongy bread!  (You will surely be tempted to do so).

Bon apétit!

Related posts:

1. The Magic Curry Leaf
2. If loving zucchini is wrong, I don’t want to be right
3. Pardon me, but is that Cauliflower soup in your lasagna?

When your doorstep, car and city are buried under 2 feet of snow, the situation calls for a very specific meal:

Something warm, filling and maybe even a little spicy to melt the chill away from snow-shoveling husbands returning home from their seasonal duties.

Something satisfying but not too high-calorie to compensate for the lethargic laze of a snow day spent mostly on the sofa.

Something cooked from scratch that draws heavily on one’s deep pantry and requires minimal fresh ingredients (it’s not exactly good weather for running out to the store, you know?)

For me, today that meal was a nice big pot of Mulligatawny (literally: “pepper water”): a heavily-seasoned Indian soup that commonly (but not always) features lentils.

I love this recipe, which I’ve adapted over the years from one served in the now-defunct “Daily Soup” restaurant chain and published in their eponymous cookbook, for lots of reasons.  First, it takes advantage of my beloved spice collection, calling for a laundry list of Indian seasonings that I’ve collected over years of dabbling in South Asian cookery.  Second, the prep effort is minimal: just one onion to chop and some ginger and garlic to mince.  Everything else is just opening cans or measuring spices.  Third, it fills the house with an intoxicating perfume… a nice touch when you’re likely to be stuck indoors until the Spring thaw.  Oh, and lastly: it’s insanely delicious.  Sort of like a spicy Indian chili of sorts.

If your pantry is extra-well-stocked and you happen to have a package of pappadum laying around, fire up the gas range and toast a few of them on the open flame using a pair of tongs. (See photos below).  Pappadum are those round crackery snacks served at Indian restaurants and made from lentil flour; they’re gluten-free and are sold in shelf-stable packages at Indian groceries.  Pick up a package next time you run into them; they’ll last an eternity in your cupboard and add a restaurant-quality flair to your next Indian-style meal.

Recipe: Mulligatawny

Adapted from The Daily Soup Cookbook, makes ~12 cups or serves ~8 people

1 TBSP minced ginger2 garlic cloves, minced

2 TBSP canola oil

1 large onion, chopped

1/4 cup black mustard seeds

1 TBSP garam masala

2 tsp tandoori spice mix (OR, can use 1 tsp cumin + 1/2 tsp ground coriander + 1/2 tsp turmeric instead)

2 tsp curry powder

2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp ground cardamom

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (leave this out if you don’t tolerate spicy!)

1 28 oz can OR 2 14-oz cans diced tomatoes

5 cups cold water

1 lb brown lentils, rinsed and picked over to remove debris

1 cup lite coconut milk

Optional: 1 10 oz bag spinach  (great if you happen to have it; if not, can leave it out)

1 TBSP lemon juice

Optional garnishes: 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (or anything green you have on hand; fresh mint or chives work well) and/or plain fat-free greek yogurt (to tame the heat if desired)

1. Heat oil in a large stockpot
2. Add ginger, garlic and onion.  Saute about 4 minutes until soft and golden.
3. Add mustard seeds and cook until they start to pop
4. Add: garam masala, tandoori spice mix, curry, salt, caradmom, cayenne.  Stir to coat vegetables.
5. Add tomatoes (with their liquid), stir well to combine, and simmer for 5 minutes,
6. Add water and lentils and bring mixture to boil.  Reduce heat, partially cover, simmer for 1 hour until lentils are tender.
7. Stir in coconut milk and simmer 2 minutes.
8. Remove from heat and stir in spinach (if desired) and lemon juice.
9. Serve garnished with cilantro and/or plain yogurt as desired

Approximate nutritional info per serving (assumes recipe serves 8 and includes spinach.  Does not include yogurt garnish):  ~310 calories, 44g carbohydrate (of which 19 enormous grams are fiber!  That’s almost a full day’s worth for women!  That amount of fiber means this portion has a net of 25g of carbohydrate, or about 2 diabetic exchanges), 16g protein, 8g fat.  It also has about 6mg iron (30% of the daily value for women).

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With about 5mg of iron per serving, this hearty vegetarian chili is far from an anemic entree.

Iron is a problem for lots of people.

While the average American man eats enough of it, most babies, children and pre-menopausal women do not.  And that’s not even including the vegetarianally-inclined.  Iron deficiency is the #1 nutritional deficiency in the world, and remains a problem even in over-nourished America.  Data from population surveys (1999-2000) show that toddlers and females aged 12-49 have the highest rates of iron deficiency in our country, with prevalence of  7% and 9-16%, respectively.

The majority of iron in our bodies exists as part of hemoglobin–the oxygen-transporting complex in red blood cells.  (A much smaller amount is used for other functions, such as DNA synthesis, the synthesis of neurotransmitters, immune function and the metabolism of food to create energy.)  Given these varied roles of iron, it makes sense that (1) people who lose more blood lose more iron, and (2) people who are growing (infants, children, pregnant women) will require more iron to manufacture more red blood cells, new DNA for each new cell in their growing bodies, and to promote brain development.  When someone has an insufficient number of red blood cells due to a lack of dietary iron, the condition is called Iron-Deficiency Anemia (though there are other types of anemia caused by non-iron factors as well).  Symptoms of anemia range from mild (fatigue, always feeling cold, rapid heart rate or palpitations) to severe (all of the above, plus atrophy of taste buds, sore tongue, sores at the corners of the mouth and spoon-shaped fingernails.)  Children with iron-deficiency anemia may experience retardation in cognitive and motor development that may be irreversible, irritability/attention deficit, stunted growth, and increased susceptibility to illness and lead poisoning.  Pregnant women with iron-deficiency anemia are more likely to miscarry and have low-birth weight babies.

Iron absorption and storage is a very tightly regulated process in our bodies; iron is efficiently recycled from old red blood cells that have been decommissioned, and used for the creation of 200 million new red blood cells per day.  On average, we only lose about 1.2mg of iron per day, which is approximately the amount that we absorb from our diets.  When we’re deficient, our body is able to absorb more.  When we’re awash in iron, our body is able to absorb less.  (Although large doses of supplemental iron can overwhelm our body’s natural feedback mechanisms, which is why it’s important to keep your iron supplements out of reach of children–iron overdose is the #1 cause of poisoning among children under 6 years old.)

Don’t let the Daily Values deceive you

Officially, the recommended daily value for iron is 18mg, which is the amount of dietary iron needed by adult women aged 19-50. (Though women who use birth control pills only require about 11mg per day due to an average of 60% less blood lost in their monthly periods.)  Adult men and women over age 50 require significantly less–only 8mg.  Pregnant women require 27mg/day, which is why a prenatal vitamin is recommended; it would be incredibly challenging to meet these needs consistently through diet alone.

More interestingly, infants 7-12 months need 11mg–or almost 40% more than a grown adult male! This is the reason why experts recommend iron-fortified cereals or pureed meat as baby’s first complementary foods after age 6 months; with the amount of iron infants need and the tiny quantities they eat, it’s virtually impossible to meet their needs on breastmilk or formula and foods like applesauce or pureed veggies alone.

But the daily values can be deceiving, as they assume one important fact: that the average American consumes an omnivorous diet. Since iron from animal sources (called “heme iron”) is up to 10x better absorbed–and the presence of meat, poultry or fish in a meal containing vegetarian sources of iron (called “non-heme iron”) helps increase the body’s ability to absorb it– the vegetarians among us actually have significantly increased irons needs as follows:

Vegetarian adult males: 14mg/day

Vegetarian pre-menopausal women: 33mg/day (though less if you’re on the pill)

And for those of you who donate blood with any regularity, know that each pint of blood you donate has over 200mg of iron that you’ll need to replace over time (though NOT all at once… iron toxicity is very serious, and wholly unpleasant).

What foods are the best sources of iron?

Iron absorption ranges by food source, from as low as 2% for spinach and legumes to 20% for steak.  Average bioavailability of iron from a mixed diet is 18%, whereas it’s only 10% from the average vegetarian diet.

Oysters are an iron-rich, sustainable seafood choice. Slurp ‘em if you got ‘em.

The best non-vegetarian sources of iron are:

• • • • • Chicken liver (12.8mg in 3.5 oz cooked)
        • Clams (11mg in 1/4 cup canned)
        • Oysters (5.6mg iron in 6 oysters)
        • Shrimp (2.6mg in 3oz)
        • Beef (2.3mg in 3oz)
        • Dark meat turkey (2.3mg in 3oz)
        • Canned light tuna (1.3mg in 3oz)
        • Dark meat chicken (1.1mg in 3 oz)

When it comes to vegetarian sources of iron, it’s tricky to talk about ‘best sources,’ because the absorbability of the iron will vary widely by what you eat the foods with. While tofu is an excellent source of iron on paper, there are compounds in soy protein that have an inhibitory effect on iron absorption.  The same goes for legumes and spinach; the presence of compounds called phytates drastically reduces the absorption of their significant iron content to as little as 2%.  The presence of significant amounts of calcium can also inhibit iron absorption, which is why prenatal vitamins have very little calcium in them and cow’s milk is NOT recommended for children under 12 months old.  In contrast, several dietary factors can enhance the absorbability of non-heme iron; these include: vitamin C, organic acids such as those naturally found in certain fruits and vegetables (citric acid, lactic acid, malic acid), alcohol, and the presence of meat, fish or poultry in the same meal (the mechanism behind this last one is unknown, so the scientific community refers to this mystery phenomenon as “MFP factor”–or meat, poultry, fish factor.  I’m not making this up.)

With these important caveats in mind, here is a list of some of the best vegetarian sources of protein:

• Fortified breakfast cereals (e.g.,Total, Raisin Bran, Cheerios): content varies, but one serving may contain up to 100% of the 18mg daily value.  Sadly, gluten-free cereals tend not to be fortified.
• Tofu (6.2mg in 1/2 cup firm)
• White beans (3.9mg in 1/2 cup)
• Lentils (3.3mg in 1/2 cup cooked)
• Blackstrap molasses (3.5mg in 1 TBSP)
• Cooked spinach (3.2mg in 1/2 cup)
• Baked potato (2.8mg in 1 medium potato with skin)
• Kidney beans (2.6mg in 1/2 cup cooked)
• Amaranth grain (2.6mg in 1/2 cup cooked)
• Prune juice (2.3mg in 6oz)
• Cashew nuts (1.7mg in 1 oz)
• Rolled oats (not fortified) (1.7mg in 1/2 cup dry)

When Life Hands you Anemia, Make Chili

Whether you make it with ground beef (or better yet, turkey) or keep it vegetarian, chili is one of the first foods I recommend to my anemic brothers and sisters looking to increase their dietary iron intake.  (One can only eat so much chicken liver, after all.)  The presence of tomatoes–which contain absorption-enhancing Vitamin C, citric acid and malic acid– help improve the bioavailability of iron in the beans.  If you use ground meat of any kind, you’ll get a two-fold effect on iron content: both from the heme iron content of the meat itself, as well as though the MFP factor’s further enhancement of the vegetarian iron bioavailability.

My go-to- recipe for vegetarian chili is this classic one for False Alarm Vegetable Chili from Martha Stewart.  It will surely go down in history as the unfussiest recipe she has ever featured, as it basically calls for chopping up a bunch of vegetables, dumping them in a pot all at once, and then dumping a bunch of dry and canned ingredients in 5 minutes later.  Voila.  It serves 10, and each serving contains ~4.7mg of iron.

If you prefer some meat in your chili, try this recipe for Colorful Turkey Chili from Whole Foods market.  It serves 4-6, and assuming one serving is ~1/5th of the recipe, each serving would contain ~5mg of iron.

Related posts:

1. When Life Hands you Tomato Blight, Make Salsa Verde
2. Spin doctors make over prunes in time for a holiday favorite