This is a hot mixture of oatmeal or oats slowly cooked with water or milk. The term 'porridge' is used in Britain specifically for oat porridge (oatmeal).

Gruel is a thinner version of porridge and congee is a savoury variation of porridge of Asian origin. Oat porridge, or oatmeal, is one of the most common types of porridge. It is usually served hot in a bowl, depending on its consistency. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, fruit or syrup to make a sweet cereal, or it can be mixed with spices, meat or vegetables to make a savoury dish. “It also works well in mini frittatas, which my kids love.” If eating spinach in a dish doesn’t sound appealing, try this green mixed into a naturally sweet fruit smoothie.Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. “I love using sautéed spinach in vegetable lasagna,” says Largeman-Roth. While the leafy green often gets a bad rap in the taste department, especially among kids, it's an easy ingredient to sneak into recipes undetected for a secret iron-boost (and as a non-heme iron source, it's especially beneficial when paired with foods high in vitamin C, like some veggies, suggests Anzlovar, and as research shows). The same serving size of raw spinach, which is more loosely packed than when prepared cooked, gives you almost 1 mg of iron, offering some of the mineral, according to the USDA. Per the USDA, 1 cup of this healthy green (frozen and then boiled) delivers 3.72 mg of iron, as well as some protein, fiber, calcium, and vitamins A and E.Ĭalcium is necessary to keep your bones strong, according to the Mayo Clinic vitamin A is beneficial for your vision and immunity, the Mayo Clinic notes and vitamin E helps your vision, as well as your blood, brain and skin, per the Mayo Clinic. No matter how you prepare it, spinach is an excellent source of iron. Here are 10 foods high in iron that can help you get all of the mineral you need. The good news is that a lot of common foods contain iron - from oysters and pumpkin seeds to fortified cereals and red meat. RELATED: Why Are Healthy Eating Habits Important? Common Foods Can Help You Get Enough Iron You’ll need to aim for nearly twice as much iron per day (about 1.8 times as much, per the NIH) if you don’t eat meat. Heme iron is more easily absorbed by the body than plant-based non-heme iron according to the Cleveland Clinic, so it can be beneficial to get both types of the nutrient in your diet, Largeman-Roth adds. The NIH also notes that meat, poultry, and seafood contain both heme and non-heme iron. “There are two types of iron: heme iron from animal sources and non-heme iron from plant sources,” says Frances Largeman-Roth, RD, author of Eating in Color: Delicious, Healthy Recipes for You and Your Family and a nutrition counselor in private practice in New York City. The NIH cautions against taking in more than 45 mg of iron per day if you are a teenager or adult and more than 40 mg per day among those age 13 and younger. RELATED: A Detailed Guide to Using MyPlate for Healthy Eating Avoid Consuming Too Much Iron Infants and Children 7 to 16 mg, depending on age

Nonpregnant Women ages 19 to 50 18 milligrams (mg) How Much Iron Do You Need Per Day?Īccording to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), here’s how much iron different groups of people need per day:

Symptoms of anemia may include fatigue, chest pain or shortness of breath, cold hands and feet, dizziness and headache, poor appetite, and unusual cravings for substances like ice, dirt, or starch. Iron deficiency, a condition called anemia, makes it difficult for your red blood cells to deliver oxygen, according to the Mayo Clinic. “Most well known is that it's a key component of red blood cells and helps transport oxygen from your lungs to the rest of the body,” says Anzlovar. That’s a problem because the mineral plays a number of critical roles in the body, says Sarah Gold Anzlovar, RDN, the Boston-based owner of Sarah Gold Nutrition. Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency globally - especially among children and pregnant women - and the only nutrient deficiency that is widely prevalent in developed countries, according to the World Health Organization. If you’ve been told you’re not getting enough iron, you’re not alone.

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