I’ve been advised to increase the iron in my diet but, as a vegetarian preoccupied with getting sufficient protein, I’m at a loss.
June, by email
Last year, a study by Randox Health found that almost one in three women who attended its UK clinics have an iron deficiency, which is to say that June isn’t alone. Yes, there are good sources that vegetarians can tap into, but we first need to address a few key points: “The heme iron you get from animal sources – red meat and darker poultry, say – is in a form that’s slightly better absorbed than non-heme iron, which is found in the likes of beans, tofu and leafy greens,” says Dominique Ludwig, nutritionist and author of No-Nonsense Nutrition. This is where vitamin C is your friend: “When we eat non-heme iron and vitamin C together, it increases absorption, so it might be a case for having peppers or tomatoes with your tofu.” But there’s another potential hitch: “On a vegetarian diet, some of that iron can be blocked from absorption because of things such as phytates [a plant compound found in whole grains, legumes, etc], or tannins in tea and dairy,” Ludwig adds, so it’s not simply about how much iron you’re getting, but how good your absorption is.

“Women aged 19-49 should aim for 14.8mg iron a day, but after menopause that drops to about 8.7mg, which falls in line with men’s requirements,” Ludwig says. “If you’re vegetarian, then, you can’t just be having pesto pasta, you need to be eating beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, soy products, and leafy greens, too.” Tofu can have 3-5mg iron per 100g, cooked lentils 3-4mg, chickpeas 2½-3mg, cashews 6-7mg and sesame seeds 14-15mg. So, much like getting dressed, layering is important.

Oats in the morning are a no-brainer: “A 40g serving will give you 2mg iron, so have them with milled flaxseed and berries for the vitamin C,” Ludwig advises. The same principle applies to the likes of a tofu scramble: “Throw in some kale and tomatoes [again, for the vitamin C] and serve it with wholemeal bread, and you’re looking at about 7mg iron,” Ludwig adds. In other words, your day is getting off to a good start.

Also, seeing as Jane is vegetarian rather than vegan, she has eggs to play with, too, which is good news considering each one contains about 2mg iron. “Try a frittata with cottage cheese and broccoli, then sprinkle over some pumpkin seeds [a fantastic source of iron] before baking.” You can see how this all starts to add up.

Cashews, edamame, dried fruit (apricots, figs, prunes) and that perennial favourite, carrots and hummus, will all help. An evening stir-fry, meanwhile, can bring the odds and ends in your fridge together into an ultra-fast dinner that ups your iron. There are greens (kale, broccoli), of course, but June could also add tofu or seitan, and nuts, perhaps, and serve it with brown rice. “Or add lentils to your pasta, and stir through lots of green veg,” Ludwig adds. It can be easy being green.

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I first cemented the allure of the “chew” aged 14, working illegally as a chambermaid (I lied about my age) and finding a guest’s Gummy Bears laid open – a breach I heavily exploited. Recently this chew need has been sated by dates and their use in chocolate as a healthy caramel. Dates do have nutritional benefits over mere sugar: fibre, minerals, antioxidants and make a great pre-workout boost.

My favourite, and how it all started, was with Solkiki’s excellent date bonbons: almond ganache in a date, surrounded by 66% Bolivian chocolate. When I’m eating chocolate dates for personal pleasure, the cocoa content needs to be high to counterbalance the tooth-jarring sweetness of dates, so these really did it for me. Another great contender was Sam Joseph’s 70% covered peanut butter medjool dates.

My young testers are obsessed with Forest Feast’s chocolate-covered fruit, so its date offerings are an easy segue. Best in the ring here are the peanut butter and milk chocolate: dates, chocolate and peanut butter are a menage a trois made in heaven. And in terms of the biggest, most pillowy dates, Birley Bakery wins with its selection boxes. These are sweet – especially the caramelised white with pecan – but I couldn’t resist biting into them for the sheer marshmallowness of the dates: epic. Meanwhile, if you’re in London, visit Makers in Chelsea for its date-stuffed offerings: I liked the gingerbread almond praline, although peanut butter is also available.

For using dates as sweetener, Cosmic Dealer is my current obsession. I love everything about their 75% chocolate-covered low sugar chocolate squares stuffed with a variety of nut butters and extras. I buy in bulk; my favourites are the peanut butter and smoked salt and the salty fig.

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What can I do with herbs that are past their best?
Joe, by email
Happily, Joe and his on-the-turn herbs aren’t short of options. “The obvious choice for hard herbs is to chuck them in a sandwich bag and freeze them for future stock-making,” says Alice Norman, founder of regenerative bakery Pinch in Suffolk. Alternatively, Sami Tamimi, author of Boustany, would be inclined to dry his excess herbs. In summer, he’d simply pop them on a tray and put them outside in the sun, but right now he “dries them in a 60-70C oven, then packs in containers, ready for the next time you’re short of fresh herbs”.

Norman’s current MO is to blitz languishing herbs (“rosemary and/or thyme work best”) with a 3:4 ratio of fine salt. “You don’t want too many herbs, because that will throw off the moisture content and turn the mix black, but you need enough for the blades to catch and break down the rosemary properly.” Pulse until fine, then store in an airtight jar in the fridge (where it’ll keep for a month or so). “That can be used for so many things, from seasoning game to roast potatoes, and it works particularly well in bread.” To which end, take any focaccia recipe, boost it with mashed potato and replace the required salt with the herby salt: “The potato helps retain moisture, while the rosemary salt adds fragrance.”

An even easier route for past-their-best herbs, Tamimi says, is to get them in a chilled yoghurt soup, or any yoghurty dip, really. In a similar vein, Ethan Pack, head chef at Three Sheets in Soho, London, puts them to work in hummus, though purists had better look away now. “Make a herb oil first and use that in the base of the hummus, or blitz the herbs with the chickpeas, tahini, etc,” he says. “If I’m feeling fancy, I might also use the herbs to make a compound butter or fridge-raid chimichurri.”

Joe could also keep sad herbs sweet by using them to infuse cream. If you have thyme – or, even better, lemon thyme – Norman suggests trying this: “Warm cream until it’s gently steaming, then add the thyme, though remember that a small bunch goes a long way.” Turn off the heat, cover, leave to infuse for an hour or two, then strain and discard the solids. “Chill the cream, then, to serve, whip softly with golden icing sugar – that pairs beautifully with a rhubarb and apple cobbler, for instance.”

Don’t let those stalks go to waste, either. For Norman dill and tarragon stems are especially golden. “I keep a bottle of vinegar for each herb in the fridge, and top them up with the stems as I go – just make sure the vinegar covers them.” Give the dill vinegar a whirl in tzatziki, say, and the tarragon version in a béarnaise. If you want to get a bit cheffy, Norman says, turn parsley stalks into fake “capers”: “Dissolve 40g fine salt in 500ml water, cool completely, then add parsley stalks chopped to roughly the size of small capers.” Get that in the fridge quick-smart and it’ll be good to go in a couple of days, ready to bring “a bright tang to anything that needs a lift”. And we could all do with a bit of that right now.

The Guardian