Tofu Redemption
Now in my last article I know I hated on tofu a little, but like it or not, tofu is a great source of iron and protein. My philosophy as a vegan is to force myself to learn to like everything (healthy) I can eat. Following a vegan diet means that you cut yourself off to a lot of “normal” foods, so it’s harder for people to be as tolerant of a picky vegan. Plus, it’s harder on yourself to be picky. There are less opportunities to get the proper nutrients and gives you even less options when you go out to eat.

While tofu isn’t my favorite food, it can actually be pretty fun to experiment with in the kitchen. Tofu’s unique lack of almost any flavor makes it kind of gross on its own, but also makes it a really easy incorporate into almost any recipe.

You can add tofu to almost anything, savory or sweet. One of my favorites is the ever popular tofu scramble.

The Cheap Vegan Southwest Tofu Scramble
(3-4 servings)

In 1st pan:

• 1 14oz cube tofu
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp tumeric (mostly for yellow color)
• salt and pepper to taste

In 2nd pan:

• 1 onion
• 2 chopped green peppers
• 5 small red potatoes
• 3 chopped plum tomatoes
• 1/2 cup black beans
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 3/4 tsp thyme
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• sprinkle of chilli powder

In 1st pan:

1. Pinch off bite size pieces of tofu and put on medium heat. Allow water to evaporate off.
2. Once the water is mostly gone mix in the nutritional yeast, garlic, salt, pepper, and tumeric.
3. Leave on low heat stirring occasionally while the other pan is cooking.

In 2nd pan:

1. Bake, microwave or pan fry potatoes until they are soft, cut in quarters and set aside.
2. Dice onion and put into pan with about a tablespoon of olive oil. I try to use as little olive oil as possible but enough to get my onions clear.
3. Once onions have cleared add the green pepper and potatoes.
4. Once the potatoes and peppers have been evenly coated with the rest of the mixture add tomatoes, black beans, garlic, thyme, cumin, crushed red pepper, and chilli powder.
5. Combine Pan 1 and 2. Add salt to taste.
6. Serve in a bowl as a skillet, on bread as a sandwich, or in a burrito. I suggest serving with avocado and salsa on the side.

This recipe incorporates 3 items from our list of iron and protein foods as well nutritional yeast which is a great source of vitamin B12.

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)

Substitutes for Meat Substitutes

A lot of people have the impression that eating vegan means that you have to spend an arm and a leg on Tofurky and Trader Joe’s special vegan whatever. This isn’t true, there are plenty of cheap and easy ways to make meat substitutes with cheap, whole food ingredients.

1. Seitan, Tempeh, and Tofu - These are 3 meat substitutes that are very popular in vegan cooking. Seitan is the best for meat lovers gone veg. Tofu is good for making weird textures like scrambled eggs or ricotta cheese.
2. Nuts and Seeds - Healthy and very common in raw food recipes, also really good for staying full while eating vegan.
3. Beans and Legumes - Filling and full of fiber, beans and legumes are a great source of protein and are delicious. 
4. Portobello Mushroom (photo above) - Which produces helps your body produce its own antioxidants and helps with blood flow. Marinated mushrooms can be a great way to add some meaty flavor and a savory texture to your shroom.
5. Combos - Adding the foods mentioned above with grains like barley, bulgur what, or quinoa are a great way to make food like veggie burgers or “meat”loaf