Any Old Iron

Iron is a really important mineral. Without it, any period adaptation of a Dicken's novel would be strangely inadequate. It also has its uses for our body. It produces red blood cells which carry oxygen around the body - importantly, it carries oxygen to the brain, which is useful for thinking and remembering and being generally sharp.

A lack of iron can lead to anaemia - a problem for women especially, but also for children who restrict their diets. It's easy just to say, they're a picky eater, but this over simplifies what could be and is usually a hypersensitive reaction to textures and tastes. I personally can't stand squeaky food like haloumi and green beans, it literally makes my skin crawl, and when pushed, most people will admit to having a food or a texture which has similar results. Which is a blessing and a curse - while it is restrictive in youth, it can be used professionally in adult life. Just because I don't like the texture of those ingredients, doesn't mean I don't like the taste, so I have had to find inventive ways to incorporate them onto my plate, be it though drying, making a puree, a gel or as a soup.

Our son is autistic, he restricts his diet. It doesn't mean he is necessarily unhealthy - there's just enough of what he will eat, in order for some wriggle room, with the aid of deception and invention - we incorporate vitamins and minerals into his diet via the foods he trusts. This can be done whether your child is autistic or not. By the time they are old enough to realise what you are doing, they might even thank you.

This all started with breaded chicken. Beige food, is safe food - salty, fatty and usually made with some sort of non-descriptive meat which, may have once belonged to an animal, but could just as easily be up to 40% wheat and fat. What follows is a breakdown of how we changed the breaded chicken, from a filler, to something packing a nutritional punch - this may appear pretentious, but his health is a legacy which will continue long after we are gone.

Super pretentious, but vitamin and mineral packed, breaded chicken. It starts with the chicken itself, we wanted it to be as natural as possible, so we went completely organic. We used thigh meat, because it contains a higher amount of iron. Next, we finely chop garlic and spinach - full of antioxidants, and iron. For the Pane - The usual ingredients for this would be, flour, egg and breadcrumbs.

We use almond flour - rich in calcium. 2 yolks, 1 white for the eggs, for extra iron. breadcrumbs made from a vitamin fortified bread (most batch breads have been fortified these days).

For an extra dose of healthy fat, cook in coconut oil - but if you find the taste too strong, any polyunsaturated oil (nut/seed oil - though be aware of allergens) will do.

However, the picture is of a very tasty green pizza. Recipe below - Remember, to like, share and comment.

Green Pizza

for the dough:

1/2 bag spinach (washed)

use your favourite bread/pizza dough recipe - but blend the spinach into the water.

For the passata: makes 500ml

2 onions

5 cloves of garlic

1 carrot

1 stick of celery

1/2 bag of kale washed

1 tin of tomatoes

1 tsp mixed herbs

1 tbsp vinegar

1 tbsp tomato puree

pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper

sweat the onions for a few minutes, add the carrot, celery and fry for a few more minutes - add the garlic, fry for around 30 seconds.

then add the tomatoes, herbs, vinegar, salt and pepper - plus half a tin of water. bring to the boil, then simmer for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally.

now add the kale and tomato puree and cook for 5 minutes until tender. Next, pour into a blender and pulse into a thick sauce. If it is too thick, add a little water. If it's too thin, back onto the stove on a low heat until thickened.

Toppings - whatever works for you. I made a rocket pesto, dyed some mozzerella green and fried an egg - then added some fresh rocket, ground black pepper and chilli oil to finish.

Have an orange for your pudding - sounds boring, but it will give your immune system a boost and help absorb more of this iron rich dish.

Remember

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