In my mid-twenties (I’m confident 27 is still “mid”), I have been completely and – time will tell – irrevocably seduced palatably by carrot cake. Which has nothing to do with the point of this blog post other than the fact that I’m eating carrot cake RN, and I can’t help writing about it. It’s fascinating – incorporating a vegetable into a succulent (my new favorite word to describe food) piece of layered goodness. Amiright?
And yes, it’s vegetarian. So follows my smooth transition into my journey of vegetarianism for the shortest month of the year: February (i.e., #vegetarianfor28days).
(Layout app only allowed nine of my #foodpics. Follow me on Instagram at @macrunnelk to view even more. Food. Even more food.)
I knew jack about jackfruit (see what I did there?), but I started hearing good things about this mysterious meatless “meat,” so I went to King Soopers to find a can of jack. No jack. Nada. Trader Joe’s? YES. Hit the JACKpot (YOU CAN’T STOP ME). The results – exhibit A (see photo above) – top left corner: jackfruit tacos.
So we’re off to a tasty start. And yes, on Valentine’s Day, I treated myself to the dessert bar featured in the second photograph. Gluten free, dairy free, free of everything except deliciousness. And sugar.
My nephew is a fan of macaroni and cheese. Maybe just cheese and he tolerates the macaroni… In any case, I decided to make it VEGAN (and gluten free). AND WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU SUBSTITUTE PASTA WITH BESIDES QUINOA? A lot of things, but this recipe called for quinoa. Broccoli quinoa mac and cheese – made with nutritional yeast. Like jackfruit, I had never heard of nutritional yeast. Yeast: of course (I am – correct me if I’m wrong – THE BIGGEST fan of bread – food, not band). And Trader Joe’s once again came in clutch with its availability of exotic and unknown food stuffs. So I was able to make the one mac and cheese my nephew won’t eat (the last photograph in the first row).
MOVING ALONG –
I felt fance, and put fruit in my oatmeal: apples and bananas in the first photograph of the second row, and apples, bananas, AND blueberries in the bottom right corner.
Also, you have to understand that I was not only restricting meat from my diet… but coffee as well. NOTE CAFFEINE DEPRIVATION, PEOPLE.
So oatmeal, which takes 2.5 seconds to prep and 2.5 minutes to cook (in the microwave at that) became a staple in the mornings.
The center photograph might be one of my favorite recipe finds: maple pecan banana breakfast bake. Not only vegan, but gluten free as well. Baked with maple syrup. Topped with maple syrup. Never too much maple syrup. If anyone compares maple syrup to sugar, respond appropriately:
Same, same but different.
I lied. The last photograph of the second row was my favorite find: apple pie oat pancakes. Topped with peanut butter. Like bacon, you can’t go wrong with peanut butter. I can’t believe I just said that about bacon in this post on being #vegetarianfor28days. I oink you not, it slipped out completely of its own accord.
Sweet potatoes – like potatoes but sweet and orange and healthy[er] – with a savory kick. That’s all I have to say about them. (Garnished with a flower petal by the brother in the bottom left corner.)
And finally, chickpea cookie dough. I will be honest. I prefer regular cookie dough. In spite of the *do not consume raw egg* warning thrown out there – y’all know we gonna eat a spoonful or five before baking them in the oven. Shoot. That’s the thrill of it. But this vegan cookie dough was a nice fix on day 4 of 28. I’d recommend it to my vegan friend(s).
And now the reflection bit. I’m terrible at reflecting – in any scenario, but especially since I’ve been consuming meat at least once a day for the past month (i.e., March). But I did notice that I challenged myself in February by finding and cooking with ingredients I had been oblivious to previously. Jackfruit and nutritional yeast are now products in my pantry. I baked with arrowroot. I made pizza with cauliflower crust (shout out with the kitchen assist by the boyfriend). I experimented with flavors and expanded my foodie bubble.
I’m completely satisfied with the results of Vegetarian February. I didn’t set out to lose weight or prepare myself for a completely meat free way of living for the rest of my life. And neither of those occurred. Friends and family mentioned how much more energy they felt taking meat out of their diet, so I wanted to see what it was all about. I felt good. I still feel good. I’m an active person. And I welcomed coffee back into my life. I appreciate vegetarianism pushing me to eat different foods in different ways. I was forced out of my comfort zone to reach out to the meatless world, and they embraced me in their green arms.
Happy eating, friends.
macrunnelk 