Best Sources of Iron and Protein Without Resorting to Tofu

There’s nothing “wrong” with tofu, but the flavorless white jello can get old from time to time, especially if you haven’t mastered cooking it properly. The thought of having tofu at every meal can even be enough to scare a person out of trying to go veg. Many people think that tofu is the only way for vegetarians to get enough protein and iron. Luckily for us, there are other foods that provide enough of iron and protein to get to your recommended daily value.

First see how much protein you need a day by checking out this article on how to get enough protein. You might be surprised to know that most Americans eat over 50% of their recommended daily value. People need about 10-30mg of iron a day depending on their gender, if they’re pregnant, and other factors. Now that you know how much iron and protein you really need, you will be able to better plan out your meals using these delicious non-soy ingredients.

Cashews
 3.5oz of Cashews contains 6.2 mg of iron and 15 g of protein. Cashews can be pureed in to a sauce like a faux-alfredo or mac and cheese. You can also include them in a stir fry, cereal, or baked goods.

Blackstrap Molasses
If you’re already baking with cashews, incorporate Blackstrap molasses to your recipe for an extra boost of iron. Now I wasn’t too sure what to do with Blackstap molasses when I read that for every 2 Tbsp there are 7.2mg of iron. So I found a webpage with a few recipes to get us started. You can see it here.
Molasses is great for ginger bread cookies, biscuits, even baked beans!

Beans
Speaking of baked beans, beans contain over 40g of protein in 1 cup and about 3.5mg of iron! (even without molasses)
Beans are my main go-to protein substitute. There are dozens of ways to prepare beans and can be used at breakfast, lunch, dinner, as a main course or a side dish.
Don’t like beans? Check out this article from the Cheap Vegan archive on how to sneak beans into your meals without noticing.

Thyme and Rosemary
Both Thyme and Rosemary are great seasonings for preparing beans AND contain a bit of iron. There are 124mg of iron in 3.5oz of ground thyme and 30mg in rosemary.

(A quick note in defense of tofu: Tofu is a great source of protein and iron. Because it is relatively flavorless, you can make it taste like just about anything you want. So to help you out, coming soon to Cheap Vegan: Recipes To Help You Tolerate Tofu)

Mexiquinoawesome!
(rice substitute)

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1/2 vegetable bouillon cube
• 1/2 onion
• generous amount of garlic powder
• 1 yellow or green pepper
• 1 tomato
• 1 can black beans
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• 1/3 tsp cumin
• 2 leafs chopped Romaine or Kale
• Serve with Cholula hot sauce

1. Soak quinoa for 5 minutes. Add quinoa and bouillon cube to 1 and 1/2 cup water and bring to boil for 15 minutes in tight lid. Turn heat off and let steam until soft.
2. Add onion, garlic powder, and a splash of olive oil in a large deep frying pan.
3. Once onion clears, add the rest of the ingredients in order except for Kale/Romaine.
4. Serve on a bed of Romaine lettuce or Kale (see article here)

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad - Served warm or cool
(cous cous subsititute)

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1/2 onion chopped to preference
• 1 clove chopped garlic
• 6 mushrooms sliced
• 1 zuchinni/yellow squash (cut into half circles)
• 1 red pepper chopped
• 1 cup kale or spinach
• 1 can garbanzo beans
• 2-3 tbsp black olives
• salt or bouillon cube to taste

1. Soak quinoa for 5 minutes, then add to 1 and 1/2 cups water and bring to boil for 15 minutes with a tight lid. Turn off heat and let steam.
2. While quinoa is cooking, sautee onions and garlic in deep pan.
3. Once onions are clear, add mushroom. Then add the rest of the ingredients in order.
4. Either add cooked quinoa at the end and mix thoroughly
   or serve quinoa and put vegetable mixture on top.
5. serve warm or cold.