Iron rich foods that don't break the bank

Some of you might say "gross!" but half the population is female, and we have issues sometimes. Grow up and deal with it. Due to some ongoing, serious and untreatable (without *major* surgery)"lady issues" I've been experiencing for some time now, I've become anemic, which at least explains why I'm so exhausted all the time. So, I've looked into how to get more iron in my diet with the almost nonexistent budget I have , or should I say, don't have, lol. It wasn't hard to find iron rich foods on a tiny budget. Fortunately for me, I just so happen to love mussels, and they're almost as high in iron as clams. Mussels are much cheaper than beef, chicken or pork, traditional sources of iron, and they are much, much higher in iron as well! Win, win! I've also recently discovered kale, which I have been growing in my garden all summer, and which also is high in iron. Both are low cost and easy to prepare in a variety of ways. My favorite way to eat mussels is to boil water, drop them in (after thanking them for giving their lives to nourish mine), let the water come back to a boil, strain them, and then dip them in melted butter with fresh squeezed lemon juice. It couldn't be easier, and it takes less than 10 minutes start to finish. If I want something a bit different, I cut up some tomatoes, garlic and onion and add a cup or so of white wine to the water and cook it all up together and then use some bread to soak up the yummy soup-like broth. Fantastic! Kale is just as easy, I soak it for anywhere from 10 minutes if I want to eat it then, up to overnight if I'm planning on eating it later, to make sure all the dirt comes off. Seriously, it can't be easier: throw the kale in a big bowl of water and walk away. Come back whenever and pour it into a strainer, then put it back in a fresh bowl of water and swish it around, then strain it again. It's usually clean at that point and ready to eat raw in a salad or sauteed in a pan with a bit of olive oil as greens. Or chop it up and add it to a soup or rice dish. So simple, fast and easy. Kale is chock full of not only iron, but almost everything else. It's a multi vitamin on a fork! So yummy, too. I've taken to rationalizing the occassional steak purchase, too, even though it doesn't have nearly as much iron in it as clams or mussels; it's always going to be an iron source for those who don't eat shellfish, and let's face it, steak is delicious! I know what you're thinking: "why doesn't she just take iron pills?" well, I've started to. I'm taking a multi pronged approach to a serious problem. Generally, though, I prefer to absorb nutrients the old fashioned and best way: from food. Pills are not a long term solution in most cases and I try to stay away from them and just solve the underlying problem instead - there's fewer side effects! Spinach, while high in iron, isn't a good source because it's also high in phytates which basically take the iron with them right out of your body. Cooked spinach has fewer phytates than raw, so it's still an ok source for iron, but not the best. Our bodies have to be able to access the iron, so it's important to understand absorbability quotients. Iron from raw spinach is poorly absorbed, so don't think you're getting enough iron from it when you're not. Try kale. I think you'll love it. I do. bon appetit!