various lunch plates, thoughts on transitioning to vegan

The "brunch plate" above has azuki beans (Japanese sweet red beans), brown rice, kale, tofu - all cooked with sesame oil and soy sauce.  Those are polenta slices and crumbled tortilla chips on top.

It's been about a month and a half since I transitioned to a vegan diet.  I wish I'd photographed all the recipes I've tried, but will start now.  For the first couple weeks, I had a constant low-grade hunger and a bit of light-headedness.  I read this would happen as the body adjusts to more plant-based fuel.  Chewing thoroughly is supposed to help.  I was used to throwing together veggies, and adding things like egg, cheese, ranch dressing, cottage cheese, fish, turkey, or chicken to feel satisfied.

So instead of all that animal protein, I put together various beans, peas, grains, nuts, nut butters, seeds, tofu, starchy vegetables (sweet potato, squash, corn.)  I put these together with greens and less calorie-dense veggies.  I found these flavorful mix-ins instead of dairy & egg-based dressings: miso paste, sesame oil, Japanese sesame dressing, wasabi and soy sauce, tahini, peanut butter, sunflower seed butter, rice vinegar.  And my best trick is to tuck cut-up fruit on the side, and mix it in a little: halved grapes, sliced bananas, chopped peaches, dried cranberries.  A drink with diluted fruit juice and fresh-squeezed lime juice provides extra vitamin C to increase the bioavailability of plant-based iron.  Red Star Nutritional Yeast is a cheesy-tasting sprinkle that's fortified with B12 and other B vitamins.  It's been a popular vegan condiment since the '70s.

So my bottom-line advice for eating vegan is to include plenty of calorie-dense plant foods.  There are easy recipes out there for satisfying, gooey sweets, too.  Being able to eat all that (and I still have lost weight without trying) helped me not need the meat, dairy, eggs, and fish anymore.  Focusing on absorbing iron and taking B12 every day (from supplements or fortified foods) keeps red blood cells healthy.

This plate has (clockwise from top): edamame hummus with cucumbers and pita chips,  steamed mustard greens with ground flax seeds and sesame oil, Japanese sweet potatoes and kabocha squash (Japanese pumpkin), watermelon, my quinoa cashew salad (someday I'll blog that recipe.)

This was my yummy lunch plate today.  I threw together ingredients from the fridge: barley, kidney beans, steamed collard greens (high in calcium!), tomato, avocado, fresh basil, lime juice, miso paste, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, roasted garlic (I wrap the bulbs in foil and bake in oven), nutritional yeast.