When Flow drops in...

OK, so if you are like me and a vegetarian with...er... certain plumbing, you would probably be as lethargic and unenthused about life as I am when that time of month arrives. Why you ask? well lack of iron of course! while most of the female population will unfortunately opt for a giant steak or big bowl of Bolognese, us vegetarians need to be a little more creative.

So there are two types of iron, there is iron you get from eating animals (used to replenish the existing iron in our blood) and the iron you get from certain vegetables and legumes (not as readily absorbed by the body, but a good replenisher nonetheless) the key with eating non meat iron found in green leafys and legumes is vitamin C.

Yes, vitamin C commonly known as an ascorbic acid, actually enables the body to absorb the non animal iron you eat, which is why this soup is the gosh darn best when you are low on iron (which of course is inevitable when you are losing it throughout the day...)

I can't take credit for this soup, my dear friend Megan used to make it a lot when we lived together and I would end up raiding the stores of it she would leave in the freezer for a soup related emergency. She has passed this on to me and it has been a life saver!

The spinach, lentils, chickpeas and butterbeans provide an adequate source of iron matched with the tomatoes and capsicum giving this soup an absolute vitamin C bomb. There is nothing in this soup that isn't good for you, which is why I am passing it on

Megan's Spinach and Lentil aunty-flow-iron-thief soup

You will need;

Good splash of olive oil

1 large onion diced

1 red capsicum diced

As many fresh chillies as you can handle diced

2 cans diced tomatoes

2 cans lentils

1 can chickpeas

1 can butterbeans

1 bunch of spinach roughly chopped

Dollop of vegemite (I use marmite because I am 'anti Kraft')

Salt and Pepper and mixed herbs

In a large pot heat oil, add onion, chili and capsicum and cook until softened

Add diced tomatoes and all the beans make sure you have drained and washed the beans well

Cover concoction with water and start to add spinach, add a little at a time then cover until wilted down

Once all the spinach is in, cover and simmer on medium heat for about 30mins or until capsicum is soft

After 30mins is up season with salt pepper and herbs and add dollop of marmite, then cover again and simmer on low for as long as you like (usually 1.5-2 hours)

Eat as much as you can handle then freeze the rest for the next iron crash!

And there you go, lovely soup for when that time of month arrives and you feel a bit shit :)