More Veggies, Less Meat

 

More Veggies, Less Meat - Thug Kitchen Recipe

 

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For the past few weeks, I’ve been following along as my cousin, Shamiika via JustMiik’s Journey, shares about her transition to veganism.  I have no desire to transition, but I found her journey to be so very interesting.  At the same time, another person I follow, Tia via Tia V Fitness, recommended two plant-based cookbooks, one of which I purchased right away.  Lastly, I watched the film, What the Health.  I ended up hating the film, so I refuse to link to it here, because I felt the information, although some of it good was poorly presented and the studies/facts that were shared were done so without context.  The only thing it did do was make me want to do my own research about meat and plant-based diets.  So, I guess it was good for something.

With all of the above weighing on my mind, I realized how the majority of our meals are made with meat being the focus/highlight.  So, my goal now is to get more veggies on our plates and to have at least one meatless meal per week. Again, I have no desire to be vegan, and I don’t even want to be a vegetarian (b/c I love my dairy).  But, “more veggies, less meat” is my go-to phrase for now when I’m meal planning, prepping, and grocery shopping, and it’s how I’d like to play things going forward.
More Veggies, Less Meat - Thug Kitchen Recipe
The book I bought recently is Thug Kitchen, Eat like You Give a F*ck by Matt Holloway and Michelle Davis. There’s a lot of swearing in it, and I mean a lot. So be mindful of that if you’re considering purchasing it.  I really love the book’s approach and the discussion around how we should think about food. And, I actually think the cursing is cleverly woven in, so it doesn’t bother me a bit.
The first recipe I chose to make was the Mixed Mushroom & Spinach Lasagna. Y’all, it felt like it took forever to make.  Forever, y’all.  But…but…it was so good. Like, really good.
Surprisingly good!
More Veggies, Less Meat - Thug Kitchen Recipe
One of the things I did before I took a single bite was remind myself this was not lasagna.  At least not in the traditional sense.  And, if I went into it thinking it would be similar to cheesy, meaty lasagna then I probably would have been disappointed.  I believe that’ll be one of the major keys to this more veggie less meat journey when trying new meals.  One thing this meal did have was a ton of flavor.  My husband mentioned how flavorful the dish was, right after he complained about there being too much mushroom.  He doesn’t like mushrooms, so I expected that.  Otherwise, he thought it was good.  So, I’ll take it.
As I said before, I really enjoyed it.  The girls ate most of it too, so I count this first go at a meatless meal a win.
A few quick thoughts about the Mixed Mushroom & Spinach Lasagna recipe in the Thug Kitchen cookbook:

 

  • It took me two hours to make this meal. Two.  One to prep. One to bake the lasagna.
    • Prepare what you can in advance or cook this thing over the weekend.
  • To make this recipe, you had to use two other recipes in the book; the House Marinara recipe and the Tofu Ricotta recipe. The lasagna recipe itself included basil pesto and the mushroom spinach filling that had to be made.  All of this prep work makes the making of this recipe feel like a never-ending process.  But, it ends up being worth it and will last a family of four (lunch/dinner) for three days.
More Veggies, Less Meat - Thug Kitchen Recipe

More Veggies, Less Meat - Thug Kitchen Recipe

More Veggies, Less Meat - Thug Kitchen Recipe
  • I was so nervous about the tofu. I’ve never had, used, made tofu before. But, it turned out so very well. So don’t sweat it, the writers of this book know how to make things flavorful and delicious.
  • I added cheese to the very top of our dish (but nowhere else), b/c again, I’m no vegan or vegetarian. I think the dish would have been great without it. But, I love me some cheese and couldn’t help myself (I didn’t go heavy on it though).
More Veggies, Less Meat - Thug Kitchen Recipe
More Veggies, Less Meat - Thug Kitchen Recipe

P.S.  I literally just purchased another plant-based book that Tia recommended called, 28-Day Plant-Powered Health Reboot:  Reset Your Body, Lose Weight, Gain Energy, & Feel Great by Jessica Jones and Wendy Lopez.  I’ve been listening to their  Food Heaven podcast too, thanks to Shamiika’s reco as well.

So, what are your thoughts?! Have you been thinking about your eating habits lately?  If so, what are you doing, reading, watching to make a change for the better?

Live Fully,

xoxo, Nicole

 

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7 Comments

  1. August 1, 2017 / 2:37 am

    This looks delicious!! Seriously delicious. I'm sure it did take a super long time to make. I've been wondering about that documentary (nervous to watch it, though.) I do love the idea of more veggies-less meat!

  2. August 1, 2017 / 3:48 am

    oh my gosh! this looks so yummy! We're trying to incorporate more meatless mondays into our family meals! two hours with three days worth of food seems totally worth it!

  3. August 1, 2017 / 5:28 am

    I am also slowly moving towards being less of meat lover to vegetable lover. Thanks for these recipes and the photographs are so tempting!

  4. August 1, 2017 / 9:53 pm

    YUM!! I'm a Vegetarian and people always thing that there is nothing to eat besides meat whenever you tell them you're meatless! There is a while world outside of meats!

  5. August 2, 2017 / 2:23 pm

    When I moved to the USA from Germany I was SHOCKED by the amount of meat consumed here!
    We've had meat maybe twice a week. That's it.

    I personally don't eat a lot of meat. I can go through weeks without it! So I LOVE your suggested cook books. I will definitely give this lasagna a try.

    Thanks for sharing <3

  6. August 4, 2017 / 1:04 am

    Yum this looks amazing! I have read a lot about plant based diets recently and LOVE that cookbook name haha! I'm definitely going to look into it.

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