Low Iron Levels at 2 Year Old Check Up

Black Strap Molasses!!!! Incorporate at least a tablespoon in her daily diet! This is the best way! I guarantee if you do this daily, at the next dr appointment, her iron levels will be back to normal or better!

Cook everything in a cast iron skillet.

Broccoli & Spinach are usually tolerated by children, Careful as Calcium (cheese, cream sauce) blocks the absorption of Iron.

Egg yolks

I was anemic my first pregnancy. I would by organic liver & make pate (Chopped Liver, pate sounds better). Cook the meat, sautee yellow onion, a little garlic & parsley, salt, pepper. Put it all through a food processor til it is smooth. Spread it on a cracker or make a sandwich. I know to most people it sounds gross, but it is very tasty.

Here is a list I found:

Some Good Sources Foods Rich in Iron* (Dietary Iron) are:
List of Grains Rich in Iron:
Iron (mg.)
Brown rice, 1 cup cooked 0.8
Whole wheat bread, 1 slice 0.9
Wheat germ, 2 tablespoons 1.1
English Muffin, 1 plain 1.4
Oatmeal, 1 cup cooked 1.6
Total cereal, 1 ounce 18.0
Cream of Wheat, 1 cup 10.0
Pita, whole wheat, 1 slice/piece, 6 ½ inch 1.9
Spaghetti, enriched, 1 cup, cooked 2.0
Raisin bran cereal, 1 cup 6.3

List of Iron Rich Legumes, Seeds, and Soy:

Sunflower seeds, 1 ounce 1.4
Soy milk, 1 cup 1.4
Kidney beans, ½ cup canned 1.6
Chickpeas, ½ cup, canned 1.6
Tofu, firm, ½ cup 1.8
Soy burger, 1 average 1.8 to 3.9*

List of Vegetables Rich in Iron:

Broccoli, ½ cup, boiled 0.7
Green beans, ½ cup, boiled 0.8
Lima beans, baby, frozen, ½ cup, boiled 1.8
Beets, 1 cup 1.8
Peas, ½ cup frozen, boiled 1.3
Potato, fresh baked, cooked w/skin on 4.0
Vegetables, green leafy, ½ cup 2.0
Watermelon, 6 inch x ½ inch slice 3.0

A Sample List of Foods Rich in Iron:

Blackstrap Molasses, one tablespoon 3.0
Dates or Prunes, ½ cup 2.4
Beef, Pork, Lamb, three ounces 2.3 to 3.0
Liver (beef, chicken), three ounces 8.0 to 25.0
Clams, Oysters ¾ cup 3.0
Dark meat Turkey ¾ cup 2.6
Pizza, cheese or pepperoni, ½ of 10 inch pie 4.5 to 5.5

Here is the source:
http://www.bloodbook.com/iron-foods.html

We use iron drops by Enfamil(vitamin section) that I add to kids drinks......worked great. We also but Green goodness juice, yo baby yogurt with extra iron, kashi honey cheerios and kids Luna bars. They all have tons on Iron and other good stuff.

I have struggled with borderline low counts all my life. When donating blood, I often was not able to because of my counts. The Red Cross recommended raisins. What a great snack food for children. Good luck. S.

All cereals and breads are iron fortified so any that she likes will help. I would also suggest adequate amount of meat if she likes meat. Beans, spinach, other dark greens are good sources of iron as well but not absorbed as readily as the iron found in meats. Make sure she takes her supplement with a Vit. C rich juice as this will help asbsorption and also make sure that she only takes what has been recommended as too much iron can be harmful.

Good Luck!

I think raisens are the easiest at her age, especially the yogurt covered ones if she is picky. You can also try to 'hide' ground beef inside tacos. Good luck.

I am a Registered Dietitian. Low iron is not always due to LOW dietary intake of iron. Iron is hard to absorb. If your child is drinking too much milk the calcium could be competing for absorption with the iron...calcium always wins. Therefore, much of the iron from her diet is not being absorbed. I would cut back on her milk consumption and continue with iron supplements. Iron supplements are best absorbed on a empty stomach or with an acidic juice like orange juice etc.
Hope this helps

hey there is a book called "The Sneaky Chef" about how to get your kids to eat veggies and meat without them knowing but still teaching them good eating habits. here's an article about it. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/sfl-kids-sneakingfoo...

I bet you can get the book at your library. Mostly it's pureeing foods and putting them in other foods. It's pretty cool. You can hide stuff in brownies, cauliflour (?) in mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes in spaghetti sauce, green veggies in all kinds of things

there are 2 cookbooks out that help sneak food into your kids meals. The one that comes to mind is Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld.

will she eat a bean soft taco? My grandchildren eat refried beans, cheese and s cream, not a lot, on a soft taco shell. They like them. You can blend spinach with fruit and give her a sippy.

Cream of Wheat is high in iron (50% of your DV) and is good by itself or with a little cheese in it.
I don't know if she likes salads, but I use collards, mustard greens, spinach, beet greens, and radish greens in place of lettuce. It gives you far more nutrients than lettuce and taste great! I usually toss it with a little olive oil and lemon juice and then add whatever sounds good...nuts, olives, raisins, carrots, feta cheese, apple, orange, beans, etc.. You can make a meal off of just the salad.
Breastfeeding is also a good source as the iron is readily absorbed. So if you happen to be breastfeeding keep on nursing.
Another thing you might want to try is Vemma. It is a liquid supplement and kids usually like the taste. It is ordered online at www.VemmaSouth.com and delivered to your door with a 100% money back guarantee, so there is nothing to lose for trying it. Since it is a liquid plant based supplement your body absorbs 98% of the vitamins and minerals as opposed to about 15% of a pill form. My whole family takes it and we love it!
Best of luck!
Allison

I am a dietitian and my daughter and I have food intolernaces. We add Kroger Infant SOy Formula to a lot of my daughters treats (breads, cakes, cookies, hot chocolate mix, etc...) I also make smoothies with tofu, frozen fruit, splenda, Krogers infant formula and soymilk. These are great ways to sneak in the iron, calcium and a lot of other nutrients.

Wonder bread makes a bread specifically for kids packed with lots of iron. The best way to get your child to eat more iron rich foods, like green veggies, is to eat them yourself. Offer them to her repeatedly. When she sees you and the other family members eating them she'll eventually join in on the fun. I would definitley advise you not to give her sweets or snacks until she eats the necessary foods first. After denying her other things she'll have to eat what you offer her simply because she's hungry. (Don't allow your child to tell you what they will or won't eat. As they get older they start telling you what they will and won't do)Allowing her to help in the kitchen is also another way to get her interested in trying a lot of different foods. My oldest is five and my twins are 2 and they will eat almost any veggie you serve them. God Bless you and I hope this helps.