An easy to make healthy green salad rich in iron. Spinach has a high iron content but because of the iron absorption inhibitors it it contains a lot of that natural spinach is normally not absorbed by your body. But by combining the spinach with vitamin C – found here in fresh lemon juice – we can ensure you get the maximum iron possible from the spinach. We’re using pumpkin seeds here because when toasted they have a loveyly nutty, crunchy flavour and they have a higher iron content than say pine nuts. They’re certainly cheaper too.
Ingredients
3 tbsp light mayonnaise
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp each Dijon mustard and anchovy paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp each pepper, salt and Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
8 cups baby spinach
4 slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled (optional)
1 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
Preparation
Whisk together mayonnaise, with lemon juice, mustard, anchovy paste, garlic, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Gradually whisk in oil. Stir in cheese.
Taste for seasoning. In a large bowl, toss spinach with half the bacon and half the pumpkin seeds.
Toss with enough dressing to coat spinach (any extra can be kept for several days, covered and refrigerated).
Sprinkle with remaining bacon and pumpkin seeds.
Makes 6 to 8 servings.
Tip:
To reduce the saturated fat content, you can replace the bacon with 1/4 cup finely chopped sundried tomatoes. This will reduce the iron content some what. To boost the iron content with or without the bacon simply add a cup of finely chopped raw parsley when you’re mixing the spinach with the dressing.
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