Tuesday, July 23, 2013

A meat eater walks into a vegan bar...

When engaging in culinary discussions with people, I usually admit casually that I love meat. I prefer local, sustainably raised meat, but I'll admit to being guilty of not really sticking to that principle very well. The idea of being a full-time vegetarian or vegan is just foreign to me. I mean absolutely no disrespect to anyone who chooses to follow that path, it is simply not mine (I won't say never, though). That being said, I fully accept that something needed to change in my 'balance' regarding dietary choices.

My relationship with fruits & veggies for food has always been a tenuous one. For very long time, I would not seek the healthier fare unless guided or cajoled by an external force. My wife gets current credit for that role, and deservedly so. It isn't a fun role to play, but I definitely appreciate her persistence. My Mom always joked that 'the right woman' would get me to love onions and tomatoes. That always got an eye roll from me, but she may have been onto something.

Without going into boring detail, prior to this year my consumption of non-processed foods, especially fruits & vegetables most closely resembled the Standard American Diet (SAD, such a fitting acronymn). Fruit at the bottom of a yogurt container was consumed far more often than pulling a handful of blackberries (which is a shame, because those are my favorite). I promise, the comment I made about SAD is the last 'preachy' thing I will say. The point of this post (finally, he's coming to it!) is to share my experience with trying to make healthy changes in my diet and how a local company is helping me succeed.

So a few months ago, my wonderful wife shared with me her desire to try out a new service called Nourish. This is an extremely unique company that, per their website, is "Charlotte’s only locally-sourced, organic, vegan/vegetarian, prepared healthy food delivery service." For most of my friends, as soon as I uttered the word "vegan or vegetarian", the conversation would end. If it weren't my wife telling me about it, I probably would have had the same reaction. Fortunately for me, we've been toying with more plant based meals, so this service seemed like a perfect opportunity for me to finally bite the bullet and give this plant based diet a serious, consistent try. One big change that has happened for me that kind of set this up was my willingness to discard some of my previous assumptions about my relationship with vegetables. If some of those issues come back up, so be it, but at least give them a try, right?

In full disclosure, the only real expectation I had was that there would likely be at least a few meals that I just ultimately wouldn't like. Doing this was a huge change for me, and I was just trying to normalize my expectations a bit. That's reasonable, right?

Man, was I wrong! We've been using the service since mid-June and the food has been utterly delicious! I won't go through every meal, but I would like to touch on some of the highlights:

The Oats - One thing I neglected to mention is that I'm trying to reduce the amount of gluten (especially processed) in my diet. I don't have a sensitivity or allergy but my readings on nutrition have convinced me its a good goal to have. You'd think the Oats would run counter to this, but they're gluten free! They really get creative with variations between banana bread, carrot cake, apple pie, even peach cobbler. You'd think a veggie version (and thus low or no sugar) would make these less appetizing, but they're scrumptious! I started out feeling a little guilty for eating these, thinking I was cheating, until I read the ingredients. Healthy AND delicious!

Sloppy-Joe Stuffed Portobellos with Cole Slaw - This was arguably my first, "ok, let's see how they pull this off", meals. I LOVE mushrooms, so it had that going for it. I loved sloppy-joes as kid, so I had a hard time keeping my "what, no meat?" bias at bay. To say this meal surprised me would be a grand understatement. This started out as my favorite dinner from Nourish thus far. That title has changed a few times, but this is still in my top-5 dinners.

Butternut Mac 'n' Cheeze with Fried Onion Breadcrumbs - This is probably my current #1 in the dinner category. What red blooded American doesn't like Mac n' Cheeze, right? But wait, this is vegan AND gluten free, so how the heck are they pulling this off? I read the ingredients and I won't bore with the details (maybe in another post), but yeah, they did it, and it is simply amazing. My wife commented that the next time they offer this, we may order 10 to freeze. Yeah, they're THAT good.

Finally, I have to mention The Tarts. Nourish doesn't make these themselves, but they distribute on behalf of another Charlotte based company called The Naked Tart. These are the most delicious 100% natural desserts I think I've ever had. The variety is amazing (this week is blueberry and I can't wait to try it). The only downside is they are a little too good. Natalie loves them more than I do, so I wind up getting to eat less of them. I guess we'll have to order more.

I feel like I've barely skimmed the surface on their offerings. My only, not sure I'd call this a complaint thus far is their variety. Its too much! I had no clue eating this way had so much delicious variety! But, we do run into the problem of wanting more of something (like my #1) and its not on the menu. They are so creative with this stuff its amazing. I know its probably better for me, but I want more of some of this stuff!

So, needless to say my experience with Nourish could not be more positive. I have something in the works with this program but will hold off on details for now. As a theoretical card carrying member of the NMEA (national meat eater's assoc), they have me sold. Meat is still on my menu, but today is my 3rd consecutive day of being meatless, and it doesn't bother me one bit. There's a lot more good food to be had.

Did I mention they deliver?

* I know I didn't list ingredients. I can't find them but I'll try and share some of the current ones I get.