Thanks to a terrible internet connection for two photo challenges and being rather busy, I’ve missed posting for some time. I doubt I will get time to back track and complete the ones I have missed but fingers crossed I’m back to doing the weekly challenge as normal.
Habits. When I think of habits I always think of the bad ones. You know, the ones your significant other really hates, like letting a piece of food grow its own ecosystem in the refrigerator instead of throwing it out. Of course they don’t have any bad habits, noooooo.
Anyway, some months ago I started to change some of my exercise and eating habits. I walk the dog twice a day, do exercises like lunges, squats, bicep curls etc twice per week, run nearly 5Km on a Saturday morning and eat things like flax/linseed meal, nuts, veggies and so on. I have also started substituting some flour with almond meal and sugar with raw honey. Healthier habits I hoped would make me less tired and give me more energy. It worked for a short while but now it seems I’m worse off than before. I’m really, really tired and I have no attention span. Where is the vigor I expected to feel from all my exercise and healthy eating?
After some frustration these past few weeks, feeling like a limp noodle, I decided to look into things a little more. Women are suppose to have 18mg of iron per day. I’m really lucky if I get 8 or 10mg per day. Exercise can zap some of that iron, and calcium rich foods and the tannins in tea and coffee can inhibit iron absorption. I usually have several dairy products and sometimes tea with my highest iron sources. I love, love, love cheese, sour cream, yogurt and milk. I often have at least two or more with my iron sources.
Vitamin C however, is suppose to help absorption. So, it is out with having dairy and tea with meals and in with some high vitamin C sources to see if I can improve my less than brilliant state. I’m hoping this change, along with eating more iron rich foods, will help bring me back to life.
As part of my healthy habit I eat flax/linseed meal. I quite like the stuff and eat it sprinkled on salads and incorporated into baked goods, if enough other flavourful items are added. This muffin contains 3 Tbsp flax/linseed meal, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 egg, 1Tbsp olive oil, 5 or 6 chopped pecans, 2 dates, 1 tsp raw honey, and 1 tsp almond extract all mixed up and put in the microwave for 63 seconds. If I’m calculating right, this muffin should have about 3mg of iron. Only 15mg more to go to reach my daily requirement… Sigh…