Well, we’re officially halfway through Lent, folks. Easter is only three weeks away!
It has been nice having this time to focus my eating a bit more and follow a fabulous daily devotional by Naptime Diaries.
I must say that my vegetarian journey has had some ups and some downs. You can read about the first few weeks here.
I’ve had to actually not eat some things that I wanted to in the past few weeks, I’ve begun to crave meat again, and I have had some not-so-great experiences with vegetarian and vegan food.
Let’s look at the highlights:
Seasoning is key
I’ve been eating quite a bit of tofu over the last month, and I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it’s great when you’ve got it in a nice red curry sauce or stir fry (like the one pictured above from Bida Manda). But, on the other hand, it can be your worst enemy. Straight up, tofu does not really taste like anything. In fact, it can even taste like a weird sponge. Seasoning and sauce is key here! You can’t just throw some stuff on tofu and expect it to taste like pulled pork. Oh, no no. This leads me to my second point.
Vegetables don’t usually taste like meat
We all know this. Vegetarians and meat-lovers alike get this. I’ve never understood why some vegetarian or vegan dishes were trying to be something they’re not. Guess what, I like vegetables, and I know that this food is going to taste like vegetables. I’m not expecting it to be gallivanting around like a meat product.
I had a low point last weekend with a veggie burger at a popular burger spot in Durham. It was like they had tried to make the veggie burger act and feel like a real burger, therefore, there were a lot of weird, mystery ingredients ground together to get that affect. It did not taste good, and I just kept thinking: Give me a black bean burger with sweet potato and I’ll be happy. In fact, I love that veggie burgers and full of vegetables. Why would I order one otherwise?
I will say all this with the caveat that after eating at Fiction Kitchen last night, they can actually make non-meat products taste like amazing pulled pork. But, that is definitely an exception, and should not be tried at home.
Cravings are real
This past week was the first time that I really wanted to eat meat. I was tempted by the smell of a Cookout burger (but I stayed strong and stuck to the fries). I started salivating for meatloaf, of all things, listening to a Bon Appetit Foodcast episode. And while eating out, I almost ate a delived egg that was full of ham. I usually don’t even care about deviled eggs…who am I?!
Well, I guess the good news is that I’ve stuck with it (other than tasting a few meat broths). Although I’m looking forward to roast chicken on or shortly after Easter, I’m enjoying feeling good and pretty healthy on a day-to-day basis.