*this blog post includes affiliate links.

Let me be honest. Sometimes I feel like I have something to prove, re: my decision to follow a mostly plant-based diet…as if, I am not allowed to get sick or feel low-energy because, if I do, my diet is surely to blame.

Oddly enough, when I got a call from my OBGYN letting me know that I am slightly anemic, I had been eating more non-plant-based foods that I have in ages — meat, fish, eggs, cheese…you name it…stuff that generally makes me feel BLEH but I had been craving (and decided to eat) during pregnancy!

My theory is that in filling up on these other foods, I was too stuffed to fuel my body with my usual iron-rich plant-based goodness. And so, I started to become anemic.

I decided to make a point of reintroducing and prioritizing iron-rich plant-based foods in my diet, regardless of what else I ate. My go-to assurance that I get enough? These Iron-rich energy balls (and, uh, lots of lentil soup). Almost all of the ingredients are natural and high-iron: molasses, hemp seeds, flaxseed, sunbutter, sweet potato flour….

Iron-rich [Energy Balls]

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned gluten-free oats

  • 1/2 sweet potato flour (other options: hazelnut flour, almond flour, flax meal)

  • 1 tbs hemp seeds

  • 1 tbs flax seeds

  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon

  • dash of nutmeg + ginger

  • 3 tbs blackstrap molasses

  • 3 tbs maple syrup

  • 3/4 cup sunbutter (or whatever kind of nut or seed butter you prefer)

DIRECTIONS:

  • Combine ingredients in a bowl

  • Roll into ball shapes (makes ~16)

  • Store in air tight container in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks!

Ingredients used:

Disclaimer: you can overdose on iron; talk to doctor if they recommend supplement before eating these or other foods for medical reasons or instead of taking a supplement.