Are You Eating This High-Protein, Vegetarian Snack?
Much to my family’s dismay, I became a vegetarian at 12 years old. Those first few years were rough; I’m not going to lie. My family were avid meat eaters, and the last thing my mom wanted to do after a long day at work was cook two separate dinners. Needless to say, there were more than a few nights of eating just sides. Sometimes when we went out to dinner, the only vegetarian item on the menu was french fries. I remember more than one barbecue eating PB&Js and chips while everyone around me dug into juicy burgers and hot dogs.
When I went to college, I started exploring vegetarian cooking more seriously, but my meals tended more toward the “carb-atarian” lifestyle— there’s only so much you can do with a dining hall salad bar and a dorm microwave. As my interest and skills in the kitchen grew, so did my nutritional literacy. Now, in my 30s, I’m still a vegetarian, but eating a balanced, protein-packed diet is my priority. I’m an avid lover of all things beans and legumes, as well as tofu, seitan, textured vegetable protein (TVP) and tempeh.
Excerpted from Eating Well
