iron tonic syrup

October 12, 2010 at 4:23 am (Herbal Remedies, Midwifery, Natural Pregnancy, Recipes)

most women who have investigated supplements for a healthy pregnancy have come across a lovely (and expensive) concoction known as floradix.  pregnant women need to consume nearly twice as much iron as their non-gravid sisters, and this sends many women after this lovely and mysterious elixir.  floradix liquid differs from typical iron pills in that it is plant-derived iron and therefore much more easily assimilated into the body.  anyone who has taken regular iron pills can tell you (as can their sore behinds) that floradix is well worth the cost since it bypasses the nasty constipation associated with the pills.

the good news?  you can make your own floradix-esque concoction!  for very little money!  below, you’ll find a recipe for what i (rather selfishly) call “lucadix”…..feel free to tweak the recipe to your liking, and please share it with others.  also, anemic women will benefit from a daily dose of this yummy syrup!

ingredients:

2 parts yellow dock root
2 parts nettle leaf
2 parts red raspberry leaf
1 part dandelion leaf
1 part dandelion root

(this is a very complete syrup when it comes to vitamins and minerals, but if you really just need the iron and want to save the $$, you can just make it with yellow dock root and the ingredients below)

water
molasses
honey
a jar

step 1.  measure out 2oz by weight of your herb mixture (in a pinch, two big handfuls) per quart of water that you’re using.

step 2.  bring your water to a boil, add your herbs, and turn down to a medium-low simmer.

step 3.  simmer uncovered until the liquid is reduced by half (different stoves/pans vary, but 2 quarts boiled down to 1 quart for me in about 50 minutes–make sure not to burn it!)

step 4.  fill your jar halfway full with 3 parts molasses to 1 part honey (ish—experiment with taste here, but there should always be more molasses than honey because it is a very good source of iron)

step 5.  strain the decocted (boiled and reduced) mixture, and fill the other half of the jar.  (So it’s one part sweet, one part liquid)

step 6.  if you aren’t pregnant and are just taking this for the iron, you can add a dash of brandy to preserve it.

step 7.  stir or shake to mix the molasses, honey, and decoction, and then pop it in the fridge.

you can take up to 6 tablespoons a day, and feel free to get adventurous with it.  while you can’t add fruit juice to it (it will spoil), you can add fruit syrups as part of the sweet half.  for instance, i used the last of my elderberry syrup (another lesson forthcoming) in addition to my honey and molasses.  get creative eating it too.  you can put it on biscuits or pancakes or ice cream, or you can take it straight out of the spoon!  in the fridge, this should keep for a few weeks.

get your ingredients here.  shipping is expensive, so buy in bulk or go in with other herbies you know 🙂

blessings!

 

yellow dock root--see all the yellow, iron-y goodness?