eating for energy

I have a tired boy.

And it's actually not Henry.

(Although by the end of last term he was officially cactus, and I kept him home from school one day in the second last week. Fatigue does apparently come as part of Velo Cardio Facial Syndrome, we're figuring out ways to help minimize it.)

No, my tired older fella. The one who works hard and packs it all into every day.

The one who, even if he's totally exhausted, still plays the "kids run maniacally at the front door when Dad gets home and he'll throw you up in the air" game. 

Who, even if pooped, always stacks the dishwasher. Marvellous man. 

And of course, I leap to the conclusion the tiredness could be iron deficiency. Heme iron, the red meat kind, because the man has a vegetarian cook in the house and although a steak might just do it, he'd have to cook it himself. 

Rough, hey?

So I've been obsessively feeding the family superfoods high in non-heme iron! And protein!

Spinach, cracked wheat and pinenut pie. 

Vegie sources of iron don't absorb as easily into the body, you can help this by eating foods rich in vitamin C, like a tomato and citrus salad! With your spinach pie!

A big batch of homemade hummus. 

Chickpeas are ace. (And also full of zinc, folate and protein.)

Have I lost you yet?

Mmmmm, check this out:

Yes, that's what Adam said too.

And guess what? I made TONS of it. 

Organic soybeans, barley and lentils. Carrots, celery and tomatoes. Slow cooked for forever.

You can do so many things with this zingy protein and iron-filled wonder!

I made shepherd's pie:

Twice!

And I made little pasties. Should've photographed them, they were cute. Next time. 

Also, burritos! With extra tomato! And cheese!

Snacks: cheese and homemade crackers, boiled eggs, dates and raisins, oven-toasted almonds. Iron booster balls. Bananas.

Wholewheat, oat and cranberry cookies:

And lots of iron-rich homemade wholegrain bread:

Ideally spread with peanut butter, unless you're Adam and you believe peanut butter is from the devil. 

Did it help?

Maybe a bit. My cold seems to have almost gone! (And Adam has it. Oops.)

I think, perhaps, I'll slow down on the ernest superfoods business and start researching holidays.

Two week oughta do it. 

xx