Yeah so I’ve been trying to go vegan all year and I’m pretty proud that I’m for all intents and purposes fully vegan at this point. Except I’ve been dealing with some stomach issues this past week or so, and unfortunately many of my go to stomachache recipes use chicken: plain chicken and rice, chicken soup, chicken broth, etc.
I’m wondering what, as vegans, you all eat when you’re dealing with stomach issues. I can generally stomach oatmeal, although not too much of it, and plain white bread, again not too much. Bananas are always a go to for me also. But I’m unsure of what else to eat - beans are out, I feel like most nuts are out? What do you all eat when dealing with stomach issues?
Maybe some coconut yoghurt? You can add a bit of oatmeal and a chopped banana and it’s potentially a meal.
beans are out, I feel like most nuts are out
why?
Can you describe your stomachache in more detail? Are you experiencing diarrhea or constipation? Where is the pain relative to your navel?
My go-to for stomach pain is squash soup with beans or a really hearty borscht with some lentils
I feel like OP is after stuff that is easy on the stomach. Beans are not exactly known for that.
Why is that the case? Too much fat content for the fiber to be beneficial?
Honestly… I don’t know why specifically. But with stomach issues it is commonly recommended to have some “lighter” foods and beans are not in that category.
constipation, and idk it feels around/below my navel.
beans idk, for some reason I thought they were too tough on a sensitive stomach. all that fiber I guess, idk
idk, maybe I’m making my own occasional stomach discomfort worse, but at least my colon gets cleaned out with the constant bean intake
I hope you feel better soon! Has your discomfort continued for more than 24 hours now?
Yeah it’s been like a couple weeks. Gonna go to the doctor but in the meantime I need to eat
I cannot recommend enough getting this seen as soon as you are able!
Isn’t ginger good for stomach aches?
The whole family recently had a stomach bug and when I took one of our kids in to get looked at, his dr recommended the BRAT diet. Bananas, Rice, Apple Sauce, Toast. It’s not incredibly nutritious and I guess not recommended much anymore, but it seemed to work for me at least. It’s super easy to adapt to vegan too. The fruit part already comes vegan out the gate, but I used plant butter(well margarine) for the toast and rice and did that for 2 days until my stomach wasn’t doing flips and flops anymore.
For swapping what you listed, Gardein makes a few soups that are decent. And most places will carry veggie broth. I used Better Than Bouillon veggie base for a lot of stuff and it’s easy to whip up a cup of broth with it.
Better than Bullion is some great stuff
It’s basically kitchen crack for me lol. I use it to hydrate TVP a lot.
Soup Goop.
When I’m feeling ill (esp with trouble keeping food down) I usually gravitate toward acai bowls, with some fruit (esp bananas), oatmeal/granola, and some nut paste.
I find that I metabolize this very easily without upsetting my stomach. And it provides me both with an immediate hit of energy (due to the fruit), but also a slightly longer lasting effect (due to the nut paste - although to be sure, on balance, this I still a quickly metabolized meal).
when i’m fucked up, my ‘tummy stabiliser’ is:
- two/three slices of toast with light amounts of plantbased margarine, cumin and salt; and
- ginger tea (or tincture) with ~15 ml apple cider vinegar.
if i’m super fucked up (by my IBS), i also take some simeticone and loperamide with my stabiliser.
my recovery meals consist of things like: pedialyte, soymilk, vegetable/mushroom broth, tofu, rice, soysauce, applesauce, oatmeal, mashed potatoes, coconut yoghurt, saltines, graham crackers, spinach, nutritional yeast, and more toast.
is tofu easier on your stomach than beans in general?
it seems to be, yeah. i think it’s about how it’s prepared. tempeh, edamame or any ‘raw’ beans are a no-go if i’m unstable, but tofu’s been fine (and soya mince is okay, in moderation).
My family remedy: 4-5 thick slices of fresh ginger, simmer in a small saucepan of water, bit of salt, and spoon of brown sugar for ten minutes or so. Drink the infused water when it’s cooled down a bit.
Congee is very good when you have stomach issues as well, easy to digest. Silky tofu seasoned with a bit of soy sauce and green onions for protein.
Maybe try something low in fiber, like white rice and veggies? Sautee some lower fiber veggies, like romaine lettuce, asparagus,mushrooms, green beans, or spinach. Make a sauce with soy sauce, maple syrup, garlic and ginger, thicken with cornstarch.
This has been my project lately. Replacing chicken noodle soup essentially.
Congee is a big one, seitan or just sweet potato and ginger. Can make with oats if you’re up for eating something more substantial.
Miso soup, optionally seaweed, rice/mung bean noodles, corn, silken tofu depending on what you need to get down.
Savoury oats, so cooked in broth (e.g. miso paste and water) with ginger and whatever else. Oats cooked with water are much lighter and if you’ve been throwing up salty broth can help you get some electrolytes back.
Pearl barley stew in the slow cooker. Tomatoes and other light veg flavours.
Thin white bean soups? Like potato and leak. Make it it a bit watery so it’s less heavy in the stomach.
GL <3 being sick is miserable.
Unsweetened cashew coconut yogurt
Sugar free oil free rice cakes
Bananas
Tofu
Baked russet potatowould tofu be easier on my stomach than beans? Was avoiding it for that reason
Generally what doesn’t sit well with people with beans (unless it is an allergy) is the starch, almost all the starch is removed when making tofu.
I would try developing a soup with a load of ginger, maybe a phó. I’m not a vegan, but maybe you could use tofu as a protein? To make pho, I would lightly burn start anise, ginger, shallots, lemongrass and cinnamon quills. Then bulk it up with carrot, potatoes, celery, wild (or brown) rice. Add some fresh greens at the end, Vietnamese morning glory has an amazing flavour which would add some fresh crunch, though it’ll be hard to get unless you live in a warm area and can grow it. I live in southern Australia and have heard of people growing it here, where our climate is similar to Southern coastal California
I was sort of worried tofu would be hard on my stomach, since I’ve been avoiding beans
Similar to the reasons I used to make chicken soup, but I make a very simple potato soup now. For me the goal is to have a nourishing and very simple meal that won’t over complicate things in my digestive system and will restore some of those electrolytes you can lose through illness.
To make it, I basically just cube a few potatoes, dice an onion, and throw it into the pot with some water and simmer until the potato is soft then add a bunch of salt at the end. Super soft to eat, easy on the stomach, and restores some of the lost salts in your body.
Edit: Low key, it’s also really tasty but I can see how it could come across as bland. This with some Better than Boullion veggy stock and some extra vegetables and more compound steps (like sauteing the onions) is one of my main rotation meals too.
Vegetable broth is easy to make to replace meat broth in dishes. Add mushrooms or miso to give it umami flavour.
