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Yabadabadoo!!! Flintstones Complete Vitamins, Part Trois

If you believe Popeye, iron comes from spinach. True but what he did not tell you is that there are two types of iron and since he was the front man for the canned spinach industry, it’s only normal he would not tell you the whole truth. As for me, Olive Oyl was my favorite character, as she is in my salad dressing. Spinach is not even the top veggie in the bunch when it comes to iron content. Pumpkin seeds are. More iron and “natural” and “artificial” flavorings below.

This time I am offering you a cold soup for summer: Cold Spinach and Avocado Soup. For added iron, sprinkle roasted pumpkin seeds.

Enjoy the learning experience and the soup.

Chef Alain

Ferrous Fumarate *

Ferrous fumarate or Iron (II) fumarate is a form of iron. It is the salt of fumaric acid, occurring as a reddish-orange powder, used to supplement iron intake. Iron supplementation is typically used to treat iron deficiency or anemia. It is not recommended for children. If your child is allergic to iron fumarate, it could show as abnormal tiredness, upset stomach, throwing up, belly pain, dark tarry-black stool, and a weak or fast heartbeat. Avoid.

Unless your child is being treated by a doctor for anemia or iron deficiency, I would rather you feed him/her foods loaded with natural iron.

What are the two types of natural iron?

Food-based iron comes in two types: heme iron and non-heme iron. You can find heme iron only in animal flesh as it is derived from the hemoglobin and myoglobin in animal tissues. Non-heme iron comes from plant foods and dairy products.

What Can Food Source Iron Do For You?

Iron helps increase oxygen distribution throughout your body, keeps your immune system healthy and helps your body produce energy.

Chef Alain’s Recommended Food Sources of Iron: All DV (Daily Values) are for 100 g serving (3.5 oz).

Heme iron food sources

Mollusks: Clams – 155% DV;  Oysters – 57% DV; Cuttlefish – 51% DV; Whelk – 48% DV; Octopus – 45% DV; Mussels – 32% DV; Abalone – 18% DV; and Scallops – 14% DV.

– Liver 129% DV: (beef, chicken, lamb, pork, turkey); Venison – 31.5% DV; Beef and Lamb tenderloin – 21% DV;

Non-heme food sources

– Produce: Squash and pumpkin seeds 83% DV; Non-GMO Soybeans (organic) – 49.1% DV; Lentils – 36.6% DV; Spinach – 35.7% DV ; Sesame seeds – 29.1% DV; Garbanzo beans – 26.3%DV; Lima beans – 24.9% DV; Olives – 26.6% DV; Navy beans – 23.8%; Beans (assorted) and pulses (lentils) – 21% DV – unless you are on the Paleo diet; Kale – 20% DV; Tofu (organic or non-GMO certified only) – 15% DV.

– Nuts – 34% DV (almond, cashew, hazelnut, peanut, pine);

– Whole grains, fortified cereals or bran – 8% DV (unless you are on the Paleo diet or allergic to gluten).

– And finally, but not least, Dark chocolate – 97% DV (70% cocoa and above) and Raw cocoa powder.

Natural Flavors

Natural flavors can come from proteins from GM corn or soy beans (MSG). Ask for non-GMO certification. The exact definition of natural flavorings & flavors from Title 21, Section 101, part 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations is as follows: “The term natural flavor or natural flavoring means the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.” In other words, natural flavors can be pretty much anything approved for use in food. Avoid!

Artificial Flavors

Artificial flavors are produced by fractional distillation and additional chemical manipulation of naturally sourced chemicals, crude oil or coal tar. Although they are chemically different, in sensory characteristics are the same as natural ones. I don’t know about you but I personally would prefer my child eating a fresh banana than the artificial banana flavor isoamyl acetate or a real orange than octyl acetate (artificial orange flavor) derived from coal. Avoid!

Chef Alain’s Recipe

Cold Spinach and Avocado Soup

Soupe Froide d’Épinards et d’Avocat. Cold Spinach and Avocado Soup

Another one of my favorite cold soups. It is loaded with fiber, chlorophyll, iron, healthy fats and it’s very, very green. It tastes great and is very healthy for you. To dry the spinach, my grand-mother use to send me outside to shake the water out the “panier a salade”. She used to just shake it hard but my favorite way of getting the water out was to turn round and round until my head was spinning. If I was lucky, I managed not to drop the salad in the process or else I would need to run real fast to avoid “une calotte” (a smack in the back of the head)from Mamie.

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 10 min.

INGREDIENTS

– 1 cup vegetable broth

– 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

– 2 tsp lemon juice, fresh-squeezed

– 2 packed cups baby spinach, washed and dried

– 2 cloves garlic, chopped

– 1 tsp sea salt

– 1 large avocado, very ripe

– 2 Tbsp pumpkin seeds, lightly roasted

PROCEDURE

1. In your blender, combine the liquids: broth, olive oil and lemon juice; on top, press the spinach leaves, chopped garlic and sea salt; process, stopping once in a while to make sure to push the spinach leaves back into the mix.

2. Peel and pit your avocado; add to the mix and finish blending. If necessary, adjust the thickness with a little more broth.

3. Serve in white soup bowls and sprinkle pretty roasted pine nuts on top.

= Chef’s tip: to toast the pine nuts, you can sauté them in a dry frying pan very carefully. Or better yet, roast them in your toaster oven at 350˚F for about 8 minutes.

This recipe is excerpted from How to Lower Your Cholesterol With French Gourmet Food by Chef Alain Braux

Next time, I will tell you about the sneaky soybean oil and the different kinds of gelatins.

Until then, A Votre Santé – To Your Health

Chef Alain Braux

Chef Alain Braux is an award-winning executive chef and award-winning food and health author. Chef Braux is the executive chef and nutrition therapist at Peoples Pharmacy in Austin, TX, as well as running his health food consulting private practice at A Votre Santé – To Your Health. You can also find him on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Chef Braux is an expert in food allergies diets and the author of multiple award-winning food and health books. “How to Lower your Cholesterol with French Gourmet Food”, “Living Gluten and Dairy-Free with French Gourmet Food”, “Healthy French Cuisine for Less Than $10/Day” and most recently “Paleo French Cuisine”.