Well hello there tofu. It’s nice to meet you. And yes, I truly mean that because I thought you would taste awful.
GOALS THIS MONTH:
- go meat-free for one week!
- get an accountability partner to do it with me (AKA – my new hubs)
- make him cook me food because he is better at it than me
HOW DID IT GO:
It was an interesting week. I enjoyed it but my accountability partner didn’t…
I’ve wanted to go vegetarian for a long time but since I’m picky, it’s hard to cut out one food group where I actually like everything. This was a good trial run. I tried a few things that I would not normally have tried and I was pleasantly surprised.
We bought some frozen dinners to start off with that were vegetarian, mine was a Tofu Scramble, which was actually really good. Although it had mushrooms (NOT OKAY) and tomato slices (which would never microwave well). I was very surprised how good the tofu was though, I would eat that meal any time. My husband got a Mexican Casserole Bowl. We both thought that was pretty good too, although we were still starving afterwards because frozen meals are tiny.
One night, my husband made a delicious chickpea gyro that we loved! I had difficulty with breakfast foods because it’s hard to meal prep breakfast without meat. But I found an awesome, simple, meat-free breakfast wrap that can be made quickly in the morning (recipe below).
That weekend, though, we went to the Renaissance Festival and I sadly got left in the dust on our meat-free pact. I’ve said it for years, turkey legs just have too much power over people. He was never thrilled about the idea of not having meat anyway (something about needing lots of protein for “THE GAINS!”). I’ve struggled with wanting to go meat-free but not being sure how to do it since we usually switch off making dinners and meal prepping lunches/breakfasts. The only way I could see to do it without him wanting to go vegetarian also, was to cook all my own food, which I am just too lazy to do.
Having someone around who isn’t on board with committing to something you are, can be hard to follow through with, but I don’t want his not being interested in it to stop me. I’ve used that as an excuse before, but I would like to work towards having less meat, and try to choose only humanely raised meat when I do cook it. I enjoyed this week though. I think I have come up with a good compromise - to meal prep all my own breakfasts/lunches and only have limited meat during dinner, which we share.
This was a great learning experience for me! I learned some new recipes, and how to add protein when there is no meat. For instance, when I make baked ziti, I can substitute half of the ricotta cheese for soft tofu and mix it together. And I can add protein powder to a lot of foods! I guess becoming a vegetarian wouldn’t be a missed steak.
VLOG:
FAVORITE RECIPE THIS MONTH: Apple Breakfast Wrap
Ingredients:
- 1/2 apple
- 1 wrap
- 1/8 cup granola (I like to get the one with extra protein)
- 2 tbs raisins
- peanut butter
Directions:
Lay the wrap out flat and smear with peanut butter to your liking. (I prefer to have a thin layer over half of my wrap.) Sprinkle granola and raisins over peanut butter. Chop apple into thin slices and distribute onto one side of the wrap, then wrap it all together.
This blog post was prepared and accomplished by the author in her own personal capacity. The opinions expressed are solely of the author's and do not necessarily represent the views of Merritt Clubs.
