Monday, December 10, 2012

The Vegetable Directory

Vegetable Directory

It turns out that in my current, grown-up state, my one true love is vegetables.  Seriously!  They taste good and make me feel good, which are the exact characteristics I’m looking for in a man as well.  Side story: I once had a crazy, crazy crush on this Brazilian guy (which I’ve written about before).  Oh my god, he was so beautiful and everyone thought so, especially the gay guys who used to hit on him in the locker room at the gym.  One time when the Brazilian and I were talking about food, I told him I was a vegetarian, and he responded, “I like vegetables.”  Which is, I think, the best response I’ve ever heard.  It made me laugh—it’s really the perfect thing for a non-vegetarian to say.  I later told Matt this story (truth be told, the Brazilian brought us together), and he said, “I like vegetables.”  Matt knows a good line when he hears one.

Anyway, this week my fridge is bursting with fresh produce, so I made myself a vegetable directory.  I’m such a dork that I can’t hide how excited I am.  Brussels sprouts! kale! yams!  For most of these goodies, I can build a meal around that item.  My meal planning these days has become rather formulaic:

vegetable + protein + carb = dinner

If the vegetable in question is really starchy (like yams), then I count it as my carb and try to add a second vegetable if I can.  My protein options are usually beans or lentils, eggs, cheese or yogurt, or some soysages.  Carbs tend to be bread or rice, though I acknowledge that there are plenty of carbs in the food I’m counting as vegetables or proteins.  I feel like carbs tend to round out the meal and give me some additional calories, which I need.  I like the formula because it’s very easy to build dinner without a recipe and using whatever I have on hand.

So that’s how meal planning works at Chez Rose-Anne!  How do you keep yourself organized and well-fed?

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