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Standard “iron-rich” menus don’t always line up with our real lives. Mine definitely didn’t.
But when I tried mapping out a full day of Southeast Asian meals I most often eat, 18 mg looked much more doable.
You can try the same. Map out your typical meals. You might be closer than you think.
Last week, I walked away from my “18 mg in a day” exercise feeling defeated. The menus didn’t look anything like how I actually eat. It felt like I’d have to completely overhaul my eating habits, or add foods I don’t even like or habitually buy.
I’d already finished writing the issue when it hit me: I had done the exercise completely wrong. To make it useful, I needed to start with the meals I actually eat. And for me, that means dishes rooted in Southeast Asian traditions.
Honestly, what’s on the standardized lists of the US and Western Europe simply doesn’t speak to my Asianness.
So, with that in mind, here’s round two. I have to report that the results are happily much more encouraging. And maybe yours will be too.
Here’s what a full 18 mg can look like when you build from meals you could find on a Southeast Asian table:
🍚 Cambodian Everyday Staples1
Breakfast: Jasmine rice porridge + 2 boiled eggs + sautéed morning glory (~4.5 mg)
Lunch: Lemongrass chicken thigh (~3 oz) + stir-fried tofu (~½ cup) + steamed bok choy (~1 cup) (~4.5 mg)
Snack: A handful of cashews (~1 oz) + mango with lime (~1.9 mg)
Dinner: Beef + veg stir-fry (~4 oz beef + broccoli/peppers) + jasmine rice (~4.5 mg)
Dessert: Black-sesame & coconut sticky rice ball (~2.0 mg)
Daily Total = ~18 mg
🍜 Vietnamese Vibes
Breakfast: Sticky rice with mung beans + sesame seeds (~4.5 mg)
Lunch: Beef noodle soup with greens + bean sprouts (Phở bò, ~3 oz beef) (~5.5 mg)
Snack: Papaya with lime + a handful of cashews (~1.9 mg)
Dinner: Stir-fried chicken with morning glory + jasmine rice (~5 mg)
Dessert: Mung bean sweet soup with coconut milk (Chè đậu xanh) (~1.5 mg)
Daily Total = ~18.5 mg
🍛 A Taste of Thailand
Breakfast: Rice porridge with a boiled egg + scallions (~3.5 mg)
Lunch: Green curry with chicken (3 oz), tofu (½ cup), Thai eggplant + rice (~6 mg)
Snack: Cashews (~1.9 mg) + fresh pineapple
Dinner: Stir-fried beef (4 oz) with broccoli and peppers + jasmine rice (~6 mg)
Dessert: Coconut milk custard with a sprinkle of sesame (~1.0 mg)
Daily Total = ~18 mg
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🍲 Cambodian Comforts
Breakfast: Rice porridge + 2 boiled eggs + spinach (~5 mg)
Lunch: Grilled chicken with pickled vegetables + jasmine rice (~4.5 mg)
Snack: Mango with chili salt + cashews (~2 mg)
Dinner: Beef lok lak (4 oz) with tomatoes and watercress (~6.5 mg)
Dessert: Mung bean pudding with coconut milk (~2 mg)
Daily Total = ~19 mg
Laying it all out, it’s encouraging. These menus actually look a lot like how I eat, which means I’m probably getting more iron than I feared.
That said, it’s worth noting: white rice, the backbone of so many Asian meals, is very low in iron. When rice takes up most of the plate, the overall iron density drops fast.
It’s a reminder that even if the meals feel familiar and balanced, hitting 18 mg can still take a little thought.
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Make your iron menu personal. The key is to start with your own plate. Here’s how you can try the same exercise:
📓 List your typical meals. What do you actually eat most weeks?
🥦 Spot the iron players. Look for beans, leafy greens, seeds/nuts, and proteins (meat, poultry, tofu, eggs).
🧮 Do a rough add-up. Use a simple table (like the USDA or your country’s food comp data) to estimate the mg of iron.
🔎 See the gaps. Notice where you’re falling short — is it at breakfast? Snacks? Dinners?
🍬 Snack smart. I love that sesame sweets can make the difference!
💬 What about you? If you mapped your own meals, how close do you think you’d get to 18 mg? Reply and let me know.
1 Notes on the conservative assumptions: eggs ~1 mg each; morning glory cooked ~2 mg/cup; tofu ½ cup ~2 mg; bok choy 1 cup ~0.8–1 mg (rounded down); beef 4 oz ~3.3 mg; cashews 1 oz ~1.9 mg; black sesame dessert kept modest at ~2.0 mg.