Have you ever pondered adding a Meatless Monday to your weekly menu rotation? Tried to “go vegan” ten years ago but couldn’t figure out what to eat except smoothies and salads? Convinced you’re allergic to all vegetables? (No kidding, someone actually told me this once. And they were serious.)
Well you are not alone. It's taken me my entire life to get to this place of absurdly delicious plant-based living. And now it's really an exciting time to be eating plants! There are an astonishing number of vegans and vegetarians living among us, and that number is growing every day. An incredible 40% of Americans are now making an effort to eat more plant-based. There are vegan meat options offered at almost every major fast food chain. It has never been easier to go plant-based, or to start that conversation with your family, with the incredible number of documentaries promoting plant-based living that are food for thought.
And I’ll tell you a secret. I wasn’t born with a broccoli in my hand. I’m a Korean-Japanese 2nd generation American who grew up on kalbi (Korean bbq ribs), pre-made lasagna from the supermarket and the occasional trip to McDonalds for chicken nuggets. There's nothing special about me- I don't have incredible restraint, an ironclad will, or anything. I have exactly zero willpower when faced with a good, flaky croissant. My weakness for chocolate mousse is borderline pathetic. I'm also a total sucker for a melty grilled cheese or basically any kind of pizza. But conveniently, all this stuff is now available vegan. A life where I can eat all the noms and not feel terrible about killing the planet and my own body? Win.
I became a vegetarian when I was in middle school after a life-altering experience with a lobster in a fancy restaurant with its eyeballs still attached. It looked at me (yes, even though it was dead) and I felt such an incredible pang of disgust and nausea that I declared right then and there that I wouldn't be able to eat meat ever again. I even dabbled in veganism when I was in college which didn't last long when faced with cheese pizza.
And then I met my future husband, who whisked me away from grad school to the hill country in Mendocino County where he ran a cannabis farm, grew his own food and occasionally raised and slaughtered his own chickens with the axe he also used to chop firewood. Talk about life-altering. There’s a story there but I’ll save it for another post.
We raised animals for a number of years, from chickens to sheep to cows, first to feed the strange collection of dogs and farm cats we acquired, and then also to occasionally feed ourselves and then our firstborn. We justified the slaughter to ourselves by saying “well, it’s the healthiest and kindest way to get our meat, and we NEED it”. It wasn't until my husband and I watched the documentary The Game Changers and we really looked at our own health and considered the health of our children that we were able to make the change. Our only caveat- we occasionally eat honey from local farms. And by local farms we mean our neighbors who put up some bee boxes last year and had honey coming out of their ears.
That's our story. Each individual will have their own way of going plant-based. For many just starting out, here's some quick hacks for jump-starting a life with some plants mixed in there:
1) Get inspired: try a new plant-based dish at a restaurant you love. This is one of my favorite things to do, because I am lazy and love it when other people cook for me, and I'm so in awe of other people's creativity! Example: I just had a vegan sausage pizza at a regular pizza joint and it was amazing!
2) Get challenged: If you like a kitchen challenge, find a recipe to try that is a new spin on an old favorite- meatless lasagna with vegan ricotta cheese anyone? Or perhaps chickpea curry with tofu over fluffy jasmine rice?
3) Get reflective: Examine your own daily and weekly habits. What are your go-to weeknight dishes? What really are your favorite foods? You may find that if you just don't buy those chicken breasts, you won't even miss it. It's like your week will just absorb the chickenless existence of your fridge and before you know it, you'll be whipping up vegetable stir-fries and tofu egg scrambles on the regular.
4) Get shopping: Find a cool plant-based product to replace an animal-based one. Love cream cheese on your morning bagel? Try Kite Hill cream cheese as a great vegan replacement.
And finally:
5) Be kind to yourself: My parents have mostly gone plant-based but will occasionally have an egg or fry up a fish that a relative caught for them. It's okay to flex into veganism. There is no vegan police. You're doing great.
So that's how we did it. And you can too. Go to the Food section at warmandwabi.com for my recipe box for more inspo on how we eat plant-based and keep everyone's bellies happy.
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