So up out of New Mexico I went. Across the tip of Texas, through Oklahoma, up through Missouri, into Illinois, and past Chicago to a little town where my heart was currently residing.<\/p>\n
It was the kind of love that hits you hard and fast and before you know it, this person is your entire world. The kind of love that when you\u2019re next to this person the thought, \u201cI can die now and it would be okay\u201d is normal. The kind of love that makes you sick and dizzy and happy and crazy and angry all in the same disgustingly beautiful moment.<\/p>\n
It was that first love.<\/p>\n
And I drove a straight 26 hours to see her after not seeing her for 3 months.<\/p>\n
I stood on her porch and I rang the doorbell. It was 10pm and I was nervous, exhausted, hungry, nauseous, and excited, not knowing where one feeling ended and the others began. I was a walking ball of intense energy that could’ve powered a small country for at least 30 days.<\/p>\n
As she opened the door, my stomach felt like it was outside of my body and the moment our eyes locked, the earth became wobbly under my black Converse shoes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel the earth move under my feet…\u201d
\nI get it Carole King. I get it.<\/p>\n
In that moment my world stopped. A bomb could’ve gone off and I wouldn’t have noticed. I entered her house and walked directly into my bliss.<\/p>\n
Little did I know, my world was about to come tumbling down, way\u00a0down.<\/p>\n
Over the next week, a series of unfortunate events would take place:<\/p>\n
- \n
- I would find out that one of my girlfriend’s \u201cfriends\u201d that she had introduced me to was actually her new girlfriend.<\/li>\n
- I would smoke pot and have a complete freak out session in front of my girlfriend\u2019s aunt.<\/li>\n
- I would attend a family barbecue, trip down the stairs in front of everyone, and break the bottle of beer that I was fetching for her uncle.<\/li>\n
- I would defend my vegetarian diet by telling my girlfriend’s family that vegetarian food can be really tasty when done right, and then cook a vegetarian dinner only for her mom to throw it directly into the garbage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
It was not a good week for me.<\/p>\n
I could elaborate on all of the unfortunate events that took place over the course of that week (shit, I could write an entire book<\/em> about them), but the last bit is really where the heart of today\u2019s fuckery is at, so let\u2019s work this out.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how it started:<\/p>\n
Girlfriend\u2019s mom:<\/strong>
\nYou don\u2019t have any meat on your plate, go get yourself some meat.<\/p>\nMe:<\/strong>
\nOh, that\u2019s okay, I actually don\u2019t eat meat. Thanks though.<\/p>\nGirlfriend’s mom:<\/strong>
\nYou don\u2019t eat meat? What\u2019s wrong with you? You\u2019re gonna get sick. How do you get your protein?<\/a> Does your mom know?<\/p>\nMe:<\/strong>
\nYup, I was raised vegetarian, so I\u2019ve never actually eaten meat<\/a>. I\u2019ve always been healthy, so my body doesn\u2019t seem to need it. Hey that\u2019s a nice tomato plant, do you enjoy gardening? (trying to move the topic away from my diet).<\/p>\nGirlfriend’s mom:<\/strong>
\nHow can you not eat meat? Vegetarian food is so tasteless and boring\u00a0(ignoring any mention of the said tomato plant).<\/p>\nMe:<\/strong>
\nActually, if you do it right, vegetarian food can be really yummy.<\/p>\nGirlfriend\u2019s mom:<\/strong>
\nOkay then, why don\u2019t you show us meat eaters just how yummy it can be? This Saturday you\u2019re making dinner.<\/p>\nOkay – this was a problem for two reasons:<\/p>\n
1. Saying no wasn’t an option because she didn\u2019t ask me to do it, she told that me I was going to do it. Plus, she was a 6 ft. tall sturdy Midwestern woman who already disliked\u00a0me because I was sleeping with her daughter. Telling her no didn\u2019t seem safe.<\/p>\n
2. I was 19, and not only did I hate to cook, but I was crap at it. The thought of planning a dinner for my girlfriend\u2019s Midwestern, meat eating family made me ill. But it was on, and there was nothing that I could do except start planning.<\/p>\n
Fast forward to Saturday night.<\/p>\n
The table was set and there were 7 people sitting down waiting for me to prove them wrong about all vegetarian food being bland and unappetizing.<\/p>\n
As I made a plate for each person, I was nervous as shit. My menu was tofu \u201cwish sticks\u201d, a big green salad, and some heated up bread. Looking back, it wasn\u2019t the best choice of menu.<\/p>\n
Once everyone was served, I joined them at the table and we started to eat. I cringed as my girlfriend\u2019s Amazonian mom took the first bite of her \u201cwish stick\u201d. She chewed slowly, swallowed her food, looked directly at me and said:<\/p>\n
What the hell am I eating, a car tire?
\nThis has about as much flavor as rubber.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nShe got up from the table, brought her food to the kitchen, dumped it into the trash bin and ordered pizza.<\/p>\n
Everyone at the table picked at their food, trying not to make the situation any more uncomfortable than it already was, but eventually brought their dishes into the kitchen and waited for the delivery driver to arrive. I hadn’t proved any of them wrong about vegetarian food.<\/p>\n
My face was flushed, there was a lump in my throat, and tears in my eyes. I wanted to run to my car and insert my head directly into one of the holes where a speaker should have been, but the extent of my embarrassment had me paralyzed to the bone.<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t move, I couldn\u2019t say anything, all I could do was drink my beer and wait for the seconds to pass so that even the littlest of distance could insert itself between me and that brutal moment.<\/p>\n
The next day my girlfriend broke the news to me about her new girlfriend.<\/p>\n
Shit had gotten ugly fast.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know what hurt more, my epic dinner fail or the news that she had been cheating on me for the past 3 months.<\/p>\n
Probably the cheating \/ new girlfriend bit, but the dinner episode was a close second.<\/p>\n
I packed my bags and told her goodbye, knowing that I’d never see her again.<\/p>\n
I wanted to vomit.<\/p>\n
I got in my crappy but surprisingly reliable car and started the long and painfully silent drive back to New Mexico. As soon as I got home, I crawled into my bed and stayed there for the next month and half.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t a sad story because I believe that things played out exactly how they were meant to, but the thought of that fucking \u201cwish stick\u201d dinner still washes a cold sweat over me every time I think about it.<\/p>\n
Today I\u2019m giving you a simple three step process that will help you when deciding on plant based meals to cook.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s just say that I wish I would’ve had this baby back in the day, okay?<\/p>\n
1) Choose a hearty plant based foundation to build your meal around.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Starting with a starch or a protein will ensure a full satisfied tummy. Plant based and vegan eaters don\u2019t need to worry about getting enough protein because all plant foods have protein, so getting enough isn\u2019t an issue when you eat a variety of plant based foods. Starches are important <\/a>because they fill us up and\u00a0give the body a fiber boost.<\/p>\n
The reason to start your planning with a protein or a starch component is all about meal satisfaction and heartiness. And whether you\u2019ve been a healthy plant based eater for decades or you\u2019re brand new to eating this way, we all like hearty and satisfying.<\/p>\n
Good sources of plant based proteins include legumes and beans, quinoa, tofu, tempeh, nuts, and of course foods made from these ingredients. Good forms of starches include brown rice, beans, whole wheat or whole grain pasta, winter squash and potatoes, especially sweet potatoes.<\/p>\n
2) Think about texture.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Whether you\u2019re cooking for meat eaters or not, you have to consider texture when planning your meals. Typically, meals that have only one texture get boring really fast, whereas meals that have more than one texture are more satisfying and exciting to eat.<\/p>\n
So whatever you decide to cook, think about how you can add different textures to make it more satisfying. Even things that have one texture by design, like creamy soups<\/a> can get a texture upgrade by adding things like roasted pumpkin seeds and fresh herbs as garnish.<\/p>\n
A regular green salad could transform into a hearty meal by adding firm<\/em> baked tofu, crunchy<\/em> sunflower seeds, creamy<\/em> avocado, and some smooth<\/em> hummus on top. Think about it this way – every single bite should have two or more textures.<\/p>\n
3) Up the nutrient density.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Leafy greens and cruciferous veggies <\/a>are some of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet.<\/p>\n
Once you\u2019ve picked a yummy protein or starch and decided on the texture, think about how you can add in some leafy greens or cruciferous veggies.<\/p>\n
Leafy greens include things like chard, collard greens and kale. Cruciferous veggies include things like cabbage, broccoli and radishes.<\/p>\n
Okay – let\u2019s pretend that I\u2019m back in my ex-girlfriend\u2019s kitchen and I\u2019m deciding on a meal for her meat eating family. (ugh, really Mols? Yes, but I’ll make this fast)<\/em><\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how I’d plan out that meal now using this three step process:<\/p>\n
1. Okay – let\u2019s say that I decided to use black beans as my base.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
I’d then think about all the different ways that I could transform black beans into something that meat eaters would appreciate.<\/p>\n
The first thing that comes to mind is burgers. Bingo – black bean burgers<\/a>. Let\u2019s go with it.<\/p>\n
2. Now that I have my hearty base, I’d think about the texture component.<\/strong><\/p>\n
What could I put on the burgers that would give them a satisfying texture with each bite, especially for meat eaters?<\/p>\n
I could make some coconut bacon<\/a> to give it a nice crunch, some cashew cheese <\/a>to give it a creamy component, and thinly sliced red onion to add something crisp. Perfection.<\/p>\n
3. The last thing is to decide how to amp up the nutrient density of my burgers.<\/strong><\/p>\n
I’d start by thinking of different cruciferous and leafy green veggies until something popped out. In this case, the first thing that popped out was spinach.<\/p>\n
Saut\u00e9ed spinach is super yummy on burgers, it would add another layer of texture, and<\/em> it amps up the nutrient density. Saut\u00e9ed spinach for the win.<\/p>\n
So after going through this process, here’s what I would serve:<\/p>\n
Black bean burgers stacked with coconut bacon, cashew cheese, red onions and saut\u00e9ed spinach.<\/strong><\/p>\n
I’d find some nice whole wheat buns, make a little mayo,<\/a> and call it a damn day.<\/p>\n
I guarantee you that there would be no pizza ordering nonsense with this meal.<\/p>\n
So whether you\u2019re planning your meals for the week ahead, a special dinner, or just deciding on lunch, use this formula and pretty soon it’ll become second nature.<\/p>\n
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