Evening Ladies Are you having a relaxing day? To say that I’ve been chilling out, is the biggest understatement of the century! As soon as the weekends and evenings hit, it’s as if someone presses my “Standby” button and all I can do is sleep.

Of all the pregnancy symptoms I’ve experienced so far, the extreme fatigue is the one that’s getting to me the most. Some days I could cry at how tired I feel, on other days like today, the level of exhaustion is so high that I barely have the energy to shed a tear. On the flip side…..my dreams are pretty cool at the moment (think vivid, random and extremely entertaining) so at least sleep is entertaining!

After sleeping through my day off yesterday (yup….woke up at 5.30pm!!) and dreaming that Edward Cullen was feeding me pints of blood, it came to my attention that I may, in fact, be running low on iron.

Being a list kinda gal, I did the usual thing and headed straight to Google for a good old list of veggie iron sources. I’m thinking a chickpea salad is on the menu some time this week…..

Good vegetarian sources of iron

Dried fruit especially apricots, prunes and figs, Chickpeas, Spirulina, Cooked soybeans, Wholegrains e.g. brown rice, Nuts and seeds: pistachios, sesame seeds, Pumpkin seeds, Quinoa, Blackstrap molasses, Tomato paste, White beans, Cooked spinach, kale, watercress (dark,leafy veg), Dried peaches, Prune juice, Lentils, fortified breakfast cereals.

Tips to get the most iron out of your food:

• Eat iron-rich foods along with foods that contain vitamin C, which helps the body absorb the iron.
• Tea and coffee contains compounds called polyphenols, which can bind with iron making it harder for our bodies to absorb it.
• Calcium also hinders the absorption of iron; avoid high-calcium foods for a half hour before or after eating iron-rich foods.
• Cook in iron pots. The acid in foods seems to pull some of the iron out of the cast-iron pots. Simmering acidic foods, such as tomato sauce, in an iron pot can increase the iron content of the brew more than ten-fold. Cooking foods containing other acids, such as vinegar, red wine, lemon or lime juice, in an iron pot can also increase the iron content of the final mixture.

(SOURCE:  http://www.care2.com/greenliving/12-top-vegan-iron-sources.html)

Let’s see what tasty iron rich recipes I can come up with eh? I’ll be back with my best attempts…..

How about some yummy kidney bean burgers? Yes please!

Before I go, I just wanted to say thank you for all your wonderful comments on my last post. I hope to share my journey with you all, the ups and downs, the sleepy days and the energetic ones! Overall though, I want you all to know that whatever struggles you have in life, there is always hope Here are a few more articles for you girlies who’d like to know more about pregnancy following ED recovery.

http://www.essortment.com/anorexia-pregnancy-17155.html

http://www.pregnancyandbaby.com/pregnancy/articles/944205/eating-disorders-and-pregnancy

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2007/oct/16/healthandwellbeing.health

Love and hugs to you all!

Emm xoxo