A BLOOD-BUILDING COOKBOOK FOR LOW FERRITIN
Your ferritin is in the basement and you still have to make dinner.
50 dump and go recipes built on Traditional Chinese Medicine's oldest way to build blood, stacked with the iron absorption science your body actually needs. Crock pot, Instant Pot or Dutch oven. You dump it in, you walk away.
GET DUMP AND GODoes this sound like you?
If you're nodding along to more than two of these, your body is asking for blood building, and willpower isn't going to cover it.
Your hair is in the drain
Every shower, every brush. TCM calls hair the surplus of blood, so it's the first thing your body stops paying for.
You're cold all the time
Cold hands, cold feet, a sweater in a warm room.
You're dizzy when you stand
That head rush you've stopped mentioning to anyone.
Wired at night, wiped by 2pm
Heart racing in bed, then dragging through the afternoon.
The iron isn't moving the number
Months of pills, an upset stomach, and a ferritin that barely budged.
Dinner feels impossible
You know you need to eat better. You just have nothing left by 5pm.
HERE'S THE THING
Your body can only build with the iron it actually absorbs.
Most iron advice stops at "eat more iron." Chinese medicine and the absorption research both skip that step and ask a better question: can your body take in and use what you're giving it? So every recipe in this book is built on both.
THE TCM SIDE
Chinese medicine was describing what we'd now call low ferritin long before anyone could run an iron panel. They call it blood deficiency, and the treatment always starts with digestion.
That's why every recipe is warm, slow cooked and easy to digest, built on the classic blood builders: red dates, goji, beef, lamb, dark meat chicken, black beans, bone broth and ginger.
THE SCIENCE SIDE
Heme iron from animal foods absorbs far better than plant iron. Meat and vitamin C in the same meal help plant iron absorb, and cocoa, coffee and tea block it. In one study, cocoa cut iron absorption from a meal by 71%.
So the beans come with beef, the greens go in the chicken soup, and every pot finishes with something bright. Every claim comes with its PubMed citation.
What's inside
One ingredient list per recipe, then three short method blocks. Pick the pot you own and go.
5
Congees and porridges
The first food TCM reaches for when you're depleted, including my chicken thigh congee.
5
Soups and broths
Red date chicken soup, oxtail with daikon, lamb and ginger.
10
Stews and braises
Red-braised beef, short ribs with goji, chicken with chestnuts.
8
One-pot rice, grains and pasta
The whole meal, grain included, in a single pot.
10
Kid-friendly favorites
Cheeseburger soup, sloppy joes, butter chicken. Cook once for everyone.
5
Liver for beginners
The richest heme iron food there is, hidden where nobody will find it.
7
Breakfasts and sweet warmers
Red date and longan tea, black rice pudding, warm desserts that nourish.
+
Plus the guide
Blood building in plain English, the iron pairing rules, the pantry list, safety notes and every citation.
A PEEK INSIDE
This is as hard as it gets.
Here's the recipe I make the most. Seven ingredients, one pot, and three ways to cook it depending on what's sitting on your counter.
Chicken Thigh Congee with Peas, Corn and Carrots
Dark meat chicken brings heme iron, bone broth brings minerals, and the whole pot is so gentle it feels like being taken care of.
YOU'LL NEED
- 1 cup jasmine rice
- 1½ lb boneless chicken thighs
- 8 cups chicken bone broth
- 1 thumb fresh ginger and 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp salt
- 1½ cups frozen peas, corn and carrots
PICK YOUR POT
Crock pot
Add everything except the veggies. Low 6 to 7 hours. Shred the chicken, stir in the veggies, and cook 15 more minutes.
Instant Pot
Add everything except the veggies. High pressure 20 minutes, natural release. Shred, stir in the veggies, and sauté 3 minutes.
Dutch oven
Bring to a simmer, then into a 300°F oven for 1½ hours. Shred, stir in the veggies, and simmer 10 minutes.
This book is for you if
You have low ferritin, or every symptom of it, and you're tired of being told your labs look fine.
You want food to do more of the work, alongside whatever you and your practitioner are already doing.
You're feeding a family and you refuse to cook two dinners.
You own a crock pot, an Instant Pot or a Dutch oven, and you'd like it to earn its spot on the counter.
It's not the right fit if
You eat fully vegetarian. These recipes lean on animal foods on purpose, because that's where the most absorbable iron lives.
You've been told your ferritin or iron saturation is high. Talk to your provider before leaning into iron-rich meals.
You're looking for an herbal protocol. Everything here is food. Herbs belong with a licensed practitioner.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Do I need to shop at an Asian market?
I only have one of the three pots. Is that okay?
Will my kids actually eat this?
Will this fix my ferritin?
Is it safe during pregnancy?
How do I get it?
Let dinner be the easy part.
50 blood-building recipes. Three ways to cook every one. One pot and you're done.
GET DUMP & GO FOR $59