Cool Tip #2 - Iron

So people always say that eating while you are pregnant is so easy because you can eat anything. That hasn't been true for me. I find it so difficult, mostly because I still struggle to eat meat which makes it hard to get enough protein for baby. Then after my last blood test, my doctor said I need to be eating more iron.

Brian has become the "iron and protein nazi," which I appreciate how supportive he is, but it is still frustrating. The forced burritos at bedtime when I realized that I hadn't eaten much protein was humorous/annoying but also very sweet.

Tonight, after completing my last blog, I asked Brian if he wanted to share a grapefruit with me. I can always eat fruit. He said, "Shouldn't you eat some spinach? You haven't had much iron today." I told him that I really didn't want any spinach and he suggested that I eat both. Not feeling that hungry I decided to search for iron rich foods on google, secretly hoping something yummier like grapefruit would be on the list.

Healthcastle.com came up first on the list. On their homepage it listed Spinach as an Iron Absorption Inhibitor and grapefruit as an Iron Absorption Enhancer. There was also a link entitled "Is Spinach a good source of iron?" Feeling a little cheeky, and emboldened by my new knowledge of the limitations of spinach and the power of grapefruit, I clicked on the link thinking that I was going to prove Brian wrong and be able to just eat my grapefruit.

Unfortunately, in the section labeled "So should you or should you not eat Spinach?" it said spinach will be a good source of iron if you eat it with an Iron Absorption Enhancer...like grapefruit. So as I am typing up our story to share with you my newly found knowledge, I am eating a spinach salad with grapefruit slices. And Brian is gloating.