Yes, it has IRON!

Contrary to what Popeye might have you believe, spinach isn’t the prime ruler for iron. It’s good for you, yes, and contains iron (best when lightly cooked), but there are other surprising and abundant sources of iron out there. Why does iron matter? Inadequate exposure to iron can create a failure to thrive, lack of stamina, tiredness, loss of appetite, anemia. Some doctors argue that a lack of iron in the formative years can lead to learning disabilities, excessive trantrums, and holding one’s breath until turning blue.

Your little one needs a significant amount of iron throughout their development. The early years are important. From 7 to 12 months, a baby’s need for iron springs by double to 7.8 mg and from a year onwards hovers between 6 to 7 mg. And, at 7 years it jumps to almost 9 mg. That said, it’s confusing and frustrating to expose your child to 7.8 mg at 7 months when they have just started eating solids. It’s these figures that lead most parents to buy and offer highly processed and refined, and fortified (often with the worst quality vitamins/minerals) baby rice cereals.

There are two types of iron, heme which is found in animal products and the iron found in vegetarian sources known as non-heme. Conventional nutrition argues that heme sources of iron are more available to the body, and therefore more readily absorbed. The amount of iron absorbed from vegetarian foods is believed to be around 1 - 10%, while it is 10 - 20% from animal foods. The misleading thing here is that we often read the nutritional charts on packages to determine the nutrients contained within. What we often don’t know is how much and how many nutrients are absorbed by our bodies. So, simply exposing your child to their 7.8 mg may not be enough. You’ll want to expose them to a variety of sources, taking into account that the body doesn’t absorb all of the iron available in the foods we eat.

Combining vitamin C rich foods with foods that contain iron can increase absorption. Broccoli and bok choy for instance are high in both iron and vitamin C.

There are some excellent and surprising non-heme sources of iron. Here’s the WeeMunch shortlist.

Blackstrap Molasses

Tahini

Tofu (Non-GMO, organic preferred)

Raisins (ideally organic)

Turmeric

Watermelon

Mint and Parsley

The following is a list of foods that provide 8 mg or more of iron per 100 grams:

Whole (unrefined) cereals and grains

Legumes: lentils, soybeans, lobia (black-eyed bean curry)

Vegetables: Beetroot greens, parsley

Spices: Turmeric

Fruits: Dried dates

Fish, turkey and red meats

Mussels, sardines, oysters, shrimp

Kobucha Soup

What child doesn’t love gazing at and eating anything with the colour orange? We’ve gone through carrots, yams, butternaut squash. And, I’ve been looking for something new. That is, until my mother brought home an organic Japanese pumpkin, also known as Kobucha, from a market in North Vancouver. It weighed no more than 2 pounds and had a lovely tough bark-like skin. Ilan explored the new textures of its skin while playing on the floor, until I had the chance to wash it and roast it for a soup.

Kobucha is actually considered best in season in late summer and early fall. It’s usually one of the veggies offered in tempura in Japanese restaurants, which I always thought was yam…but not quite yam.

Nutritionally, as with other orange vegetables, Kobucha is rich in beta carotene, along with iron, vitamin c and potassium, with trace amounts of calcium, folic acid and B vitamins.

When you bring it home, to draw out its rich flavours, leave your Kobucha in a warm dry place for 10 to 15 days to ensure that it is fully ripened. Then it can live in your fridge for up to a month to increase the carbohydrate content. This process draws out the smooth, sweeter flavours and will have a reddish-yellow skin. Kobucha is expected to reach the peak of ripeness 1.5 to 3 months after it is harvested.


How to Make Soup with Your Kobucha

Many people have their own way of making soup. And, this is my way to draw out the maximum flavours in this squash.

1. Wash and cut your Kobucha in half and removed the pith and seeds with a spoon
Cut into small squares
2. Place on a baking sheet and add a small amount of olive oil, unrefined salt and pepper. Mix with your hands and then place in a pre-heated oven at 365 Degrees for approximately 40 to 50 minutes or until soft and slightly browned (this ensures that the natural sugars are drawn out)
3. While your Kobucha is cooking, take three or four beef bones or chicken bones and heat with oil/organic butter, unrefined salt/pepper in a large soup pot.
4. Stir and cook for five to 10 minutes on a medium heat until you’ve lightly browned your bones.
5. Add cold water and bring to a boil and then let simmer on a low heat, but maintaining some boiling action, for 1 to 2 hours
6. Remove your Kobucha from the oven, let cool and then and remove the skins, as these are too tough to eat. And, place the reddish-orange skins in the cooking soup broth. Let the broth and Kobucha cook together until the squash has fallen apart and integrated into the broth.

NOW…because I like to go by feel…my soup was quite watery. I over-estimated the portions and made too much broth for my tiny Kobucha. And, hunger often dictates here. Rather than adding flour or starches at this stage to thicken your soup, add a small handful of organic red lentils. The beauty of red lentils is that they do not need to be soaked overnight and they work beautifully as a thickener in soups. I always have red lentils in my cupboard to eat on their own or to add to soup. And, because you are only adding a small amount…you’ll still retain that sweet, smooth flavour of the Kobucha, adding a further healthy kick from your lentils.

To maximize flavours…you could try adding a pinch of cinnamon and raw honey or you could go the other way and roast some garlic and add that at the end and season to taste. I like texture in my soup…so it didn’t require any pureeing, but that’s also an option. Serve with a dollop of whole fat yogurt or sour cream…and it’s to die for.