1. Blackstrap molasses: Add molasses to baked good, hot cereal, or pancakes and waffles. When I was a kid, we used to drink molasses mixed with warm milk. I have been on a chai tea kick lately and I think it might be good there as well.
2. Cast iron: Cooking with cast iron pans, especially for acidic foods like tomatoes sauces, increases the iron content of those foods.
3. Edamame (soybeans): Enjoy edamame (soybeans) as a snack or added to salads.
4. Fortified foods: Look for cereals, pastas, and bread products that have been iron-fortified.
5. Hemp seeds: Add 1-2 Tbsp hemp seeds to your breakfast cereal (hot or cold), rice or other grain, or salad.
6. Lentils or beans: Add cooked lentils or beans to salads, soups, and pasta dishes.
7. Nuts: Add nuts to baked goods, cereals, or salads or enjoy them as a snack.
8. Oatmeal: Have oatmeal or oat bran hot cereal for breakfast. Serve with strawberries or orange juice for extra vitamin C.
9. Pumpkin seeds: Add raw pumpkin seeds to salads, baked goods, and smoothies.
10. Quinoa: Quinoa is a quick-cooking and super nutritious grain. Use in place of rice, add to salads, or serve soup over quinoa for a hearty meal.
11. Raisins and dried fruit: Add raisins and/or other dried fruit to cereal, rice and grain dishes, and baked goods.
12. Sesame seeds: Add sesame seeds to salads, cereals, hummus, grain dishes, baked goods, and stir fries.
13. Spinach: Add fresh spinach to a smoothie, saute it with garlic, or add to pasta dishes or soups.
14. Split peas: Enjoy split pea soup served over quinoa with some fortified whole grain bread.
15. Tofu: Make a tofu stir fry with broccoli. The vitamin C from the broccoli with aid in iron absorption.
16. Vegetables: Many veggies are good sources of iron. Enjoy a wide variety veggies each day.
17. Wheat germ: Add wheat germ to baked goods, smoothies, or hot cereal.

1. Combine the cashews, water, syrup, and extracts in a blender (VitaMix works excellent for this!). Blend on high until silky smooth, at least 1 minute.
2. Place the blender container in the freezer for 40 minutes or in the fridge for 1 hour (or up to overnight). Pour the mixture into an ice cream freezer and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Add the chocolate chips just before the ice cream is finished freezing. Enjoy immediately for a soft-serve texture or freeze (in the freezer) for firmer ice cream.

1. Place the unpeeled garlic cloves on a piece of foil and drizzle with olive oil. Then loosely wrap the garlic in the foil and place on a tray in a toaster oven (or regular oven) heated to 350°. Roast until fragrant and soft- ~20-30 minutes.
2. While the garlic is roasting, combine the soymilk, bay leaves, thyme, and pepper in a sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. When the milk reaches a simmer, add the water, salt, onion, celery, broccoli, and beans. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium and cook until the broccoli is tender.
3. When the garlic is ready, pour off the olive oil into the soup. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their peel into the soup. Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Puree the soup with a stick blender until smooth-ish. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired.

1. Avoid packaged ready-to-eat foods as most contain highly-processed soy ingredients such as hydrolyzed vegetable (soy) protein, soy protein isolate, textured vegetable protein (TVP), lecithin, or simply "vegetable oil" which is often soy-based.
2. When choosing soy foods, always go organic. Why? Did you know that science has allowed humans to create genetically modified (engineered) soy seeds that enable farmers to spray the plants with Roundup (yes, the weed killer that has been linked to cancer) killing only the weeds and leaving the soy plants unharmed?
3. Stick to minimally processed soy foods and eat them only in moderation. Tempeh, miso, and tamari (like soy sauce) are particularly good choices because they are fermented foods and contain fewer phytoestrogens.
4. Choose other protein sources before soy. As Cookie Monster now says of cookies, soy is a "sometimes food".

• John Robbins on Soy
• Time Magazine article: Eating Soy is Safe for Breast-Cancer Survivors
• American Heart Association comments on Soy Protein and Coronary Heart Disease
• JAMA study on the affects of soy on breast cancer survival and recurrence
• JAMA study on the exposure of infants to soy formula
• WebMD article on how eating soy reduces breast cancer risk

1. Reduce the yogurt to 1/4-1/2 cup and add 1/2 a frozen banana to the puree. Add a splash of apple juice, if necessary, to make blending easier but keep the mixture thick.
2. Drizzle agave nectar or honey over the top of the berries and bananas if you like things a little sweeter.
3. Add 1 Tbsp of hemp seeds for extra protein and iron (either to the puree or sprinkled over the top).
4. Use tropical fruit such as mango, pineapple, or papaya instead of banana and strawberries. Top with a sprinkle of shredded coconut.

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat and add yams and shiitake mushrooms. Stir fry until tender but not mushy.
2. Add green onions, ginger, and garlic and cool for another 2-3 minutes.
3. Add broth, water, soy sauce, and lime juice. Bring to a bowl then lower the temperature and simmer for a couple of minutes.
4. Add spinach, cilantro, and sesame oil. Serve soup over cooked soba noodles.

1. Hummus
2. Guacamole
3. Chickpea salad
4. French green or black/beluga lentil salad
5. Quinoa salad
6. Raw nut burger

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until well blended and starting to clump together.

I converted a banana bread recipe into muffins today and they turned out so good that each of my kids ate two of them. That's no big deal for my almost-two-year-old, who will eat almost anything (I've seen him wolf down kale chips and ask for more!). But my four-year-old tends to be quite picky and he loved these muffins. These are free of "chunks" for my kids' sake, but you can add walnuts, raisins, blueberries, or other things if you like.

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Mash the bananas in a small bowl and add applesauce, both extracts, sugar, oil, and milk. Mix well.
2. Combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Add the wet ingredients and gently stir until combined but don't over-mix or your muffins will be tough. Add more milk of the batter is super thick (it should be thick but not cookie-dough thick).
3. Spray a muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray and fill the muffin cups level with the top. Since this is a converted loaf recipe, I found that it make only 11 muffins. Your mileage may vary. Bake for 20 minutes or until they are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.