Heavy perimenopausal periods and plant-based eating can both drain iron. This collection pairs iron-rich foods with the vitamin C that helps you absorb them.
Iron carries oxygen in the blood, and running low leaves you tired, breathless, and foggy — common when periods are heavy in perimenopause. Red meat supplies heme iron, the form the body absorbs most easily, while lentils, chickpeas, spinach, and pumpkin seeds provide non-heme iron. Non-heme iron is absorbed far better alongside vitamin C, so these dishes lean on tomatoes, peppers, oranges, and leafy greens. Tea and coffee with a meal do the opposite, so timing matters. Persistent symptoms deserve a ferritin blood test, not just diet.
Every recipe below is one of ours — tap through for full ingredients, method, and nutrition.
Plant and egg iron with vitamin-C tomatoes for absorption.
Eggs, beans, and veg for a savory, protein-packed start.
Slow-digesting chickpeas and spinach for steadier blood sugar.
Heme iron from beef with vitamin-C peppers.
Heme iron from beef plus non-heme iron from lentils.
Pumpkin seeds and apricots with vitamin-C orange, on the go.
This is a short 3-day rotation you can repeat through the week — some meals recur on purpose, which keeps shopping and prep simple. Our recipe library is small and growing, so we'd rather show you a realistic starter than a padded 7-day plan. New recipes are added regularly.
Here are the 6recipes in your starter plan. Tick each one off as you gather its ingredients — open the recipe to see its exact ingredient list (we don't guess quantities you haven't chosen a serving size for). Print this page for a clean, ad-free checklist to take to the shops.