Iron 101 Smoothie: Tropical Fruit Flavor and Rich in Iron

Here’s a great smoothie for iron (and calcium). The dark, leafy greens in this recipe are masked by the ripe, flavorful fruit. I did detect a subtle “green” flavor, but it’s just a hint and mostly from the fresh-tasting Italian parsley. If you’d like to mask the green flavor further, simply add an extra banana or a cup of fresh pineapple. A handful of raspberries or strawberries would enhance the flavor further while adding even more iron! I really liked this recipe as-is, though.

If you are wondering why I call this smoothie recipe “Iron 101″, it’s because it has 101% of your daily value of iron. A significant amount of iron comes from the fresh parsley which has 47% of your recommended daily allowance (RDA) of iron alone. *

Iron 101 Smoothie Recipe

• 1 ripe mango, peeled and pitted
• 2 large ripe bananas, peeled
• 3 cups organic kale
• 1 cup fresh, organic Italian parsley (or use curly parsley)
• 4 to 6 ounces of filtered water

Add all the ingredients except for the greens to your blender, (I use a Blendtec) and hit the “pulse” button a few times. Next, add the rest of the greens and blend on high for 30 seconds or until the smoothie is creamy.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 498
Fat: 3g
Protein: 12g
Carbohydrates: 121g
Calcium: 32% RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance)
Iron: 101% RDA *
Vitamin A: 1257% RDA
Vitamin C: 447% RDA

This smoothie is also a rich source of folate, vitamins B1 – B6, vitamin E, vitamin K, copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, and potassium.

* Special Note for Women and Vegetarians/Vegans: This green smoothie provides 8 milligrams (mg) or 101% of the recommended dietary iron intake for adult men and post menopausal women. Adult, pre-menopausal women need 18mg of iron per day. Vegetarians and vegans also need a higher dietary intake of iron due to the difference in bio-availability of animal-sourced and plant-sourced iron. An adult male following a vegetarian diet should consume about 14 mg of iron daily while vegetarian, pre-menopausal women should strive for 33 mg daily. These figures are based on recommendations set in 2000 by the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences.

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Tags: banana, calcium, fitness recipe, iron, kale, mango, meal replacement recipe, parsley, potassium, recipe, Recipes, vitamin a, vitamin c