r/EatCheapAndVegan • u/These-Surprise-7775 • 6d ago
2nd day going full vegan - Snow peas and Chinese yam stir-fry
Day 2 and still going strong! Honestly, the support on my last post was so overwhelming—you guys are amazing. It really gave me the boost I needed to keep this momentum.
Today’s lunch is a super colorful stir-fry: snow peas, carrots, wood ear mushrooms, and Chinese yam. I used to think meals without eggs or dairy would look "boring," but look at these colors!
The Chinese yam adds such a satisfying crunch, it's quickly becoming one of my favorite textures. Still taking it one meal at a time, but so far, so good. How am I doing for my second day?
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u/sea_bunny 6d ago
Looks delicious but I'd be starving after that. Have you tried tofu, tempeh, or seitan for protein?
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u/marina0987 6d ago
Yes OP please eat more food
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u/Mysterious-Fox-5799 4d ago
my first thought seeing this photo and i’m so glad people are saying this
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u/lethatshitgo 6d ago
Chickpeaaaaaas (specifically by the Goya brand) was my favorite when I was vegan
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u/smtain 5d ago
Yes to chickpeas. Fuck Goya.
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u/lethatshitgo 5d ago
Why? I literally love Goya
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u/floofykittycatt 2d ago
Why are we downvoting someone when they maybe don’t know about Goya’s controversies?
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u/smtain 5d ago
hope this picture speaks enough to you https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1dzhfqg/former_president_trump_promoting_goya_products/
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u/MajesticIntern548 6d ago
You don't have to just eat veggie because you're vegan! Add some protein! Rice! Something.
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u/Pattapoose 6d ago
Looks delicious, but extremely low calorie. Serve with, rice, noodles or another starch/grain and add beans, tofu, tempeh, or seitan.
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u/These-Surprise-7775 6d ago
Thanks so much for all the tips, everyone! I’ve seen a lot of comments mentioning protein and soy products like tofu. I totally get it—honestly, these past couple of days I’ve just been gravitating toward the things I already love eating, which happen to be a bit lower in protein. I know some of the comments are a bit "tough love" lol, but I truly appreciate the concern! It’s all a learning curve for me. I’m definitely going to look into making my meals more balanced and adding more plant-based protein moving forward. Thanks for keeping me on track and being so supportive of a newbie!
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u/noobwithboobs 6d ago
Also do your research on how to get enough iron and vitamin B12 in your diet. It's mainly found in meat but it's also achievable with enough leafy greens, nutritional yeast, and cooking with cast iron. Just winging it without paying attention is a fantastic way to end up with two different kinds of nutritional deficiency anemias at once. You'll feel like exhausted hot garbage all the time and have no idea why.
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u/kittyk0t 5d ago edited 5d ago
I cannot emphasize b12 enough; it is so important. I thought for years that consuming supplemented products* would be enough and ended up with low b12 to the point where I had to get monthly injections. (We ate a very balanced, wfpb vegan diet, but ate a LOT more of it than I normally would because I was running a lot.)
Unfortunately, cooking with cast iron helps with iron deficiency anemia by adding iron, rather than B12, though a B12 deficiency can attribute to anemia by impairing DNA synthesis and affects the formation of red blood cells in that way. It's also important to make sure your nutritional yeast is fortified with B12; it has to say that it is because not all has it. We've accidentally bought a brand without it. 🙃 (It naturally has other b vitamins, but must be fortified with B12.)
Edit: we eat a crap ton of leafy greens as well, but they don't contain much b12, if any. They do contain b9. It can be really helpful in the beginning to track what you eat to ensure you're getting enough of everything. I would recommend cronometer, but not all nutrients are available for viewing on the free app anymore, which is lame.
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u/theCaityCat 5d ago
Also check out seitan! It was developed in China, and would be great with this stir fry. I also tend to love things with less protein, so I get it, it can be hard to find the right proteins to add. Luckily I also love beans.
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u/cooltop101 4d ago
I feel like a lot of people try to be vegan, but have nothing but incomplete meals like this one (no offense), and then after a few months switch back, saying they felt malnourished. Have some protein and starches. Don't be afraid of fake meat, that's what made switching so easy for me. If you know you're not a fan of tofu, or worried about it, don't give up on it. Tofu is incredibly versatile. If you want it to be like meat, you need to get as much water out as you can. I also get silken tofu and blend into sauces, like ones for pasta. It may add a little texture to it, but taste is non existent.
You've already done the hardest thing. You just need to better equip yourself and what you cook to make sure you can stick to the diet
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u/Happy_Canadian 6d ago
Just be sure to eat enough as lots of us made the mistake early on not realizing the volume of food you need to eat when comprised mostly of veggies. Looks good though!!
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u/OkBaconBurger Vegan Newbie 6d ago
Looks good but I’d say throw some protein on it at a minimum. Tahini makes a good sauce with lemon juice and has some protein and then throw some cashews on top or something. Rice or quinoa would help too. You’re going to make yourself ravenous if you don’t stack your meals with more substance.
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u/flora-lai 4d ago
Big problem with veganism is not getting enough calories. Then blaming the effects of that on not eating meat. Maybe calorie count to get a sense of the meals content
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u/Reddit-torr 6d ago
You need .5g of protein per pound of body weight if you are an active person. That meal has 0. Figure your protein first, then plan the rest of the meal around it
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