i have come to the realization that i have turned into an accidental vegetarian. while i realize this is an almost impossible task for a greek, explained so famously by Aunt Voula in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, i fear it may be true.
how did this monstrosity happen, you ask? well, it all started during my first grocery shop (ever). i was almost finished my shop, when i headed to the meat section of the store and picked up a little package of chicken. as my eyes set upon the price, i almost fainted. $8.00 for a pack of chicken that would last me 3 days?! sacré bleu! while in shock, i placed it in the cart and quickly walked away. scary.
as i wandered aimlessly throughout the rest of the store trying to make sense of this madness, i stumbled upon tofu. the whole world seemed to glow and a string quartet piped up in my head as i reached for a large pack of tofu (enough to last me 6-10 days), for only $2.00!!
now, don't get me wrong, i love my meat (pass me the chicken wings and steak, pleaaaaasee!) but it's so expensive! and as a student, i need to save money where ever possible. yeah, i didn't really need that comfy pillow from ikea, or that warm sweater from h&m, but it just makes more sense to get my protein from a less expensive source.
now, tofu has it's ups and downs. for one, it sucks if it's not seasoned correctly. and when i say correctly, i mean heavily. two, it will never replace a steak or some ribs.
on the upside though, it does contain less calories and fat than meat. while that's not why i choose to eat it, it's never a bad thing! also, you can use tofu in place of meat in many meals. for example: chilli. you can use a soft tofu and crumble it in or, as an alternative to plain tofu, companies have come out with great soy products that look and taste similar to meat. my favourite is Yves Veggie Round Grounds - they look like ground beef, but are veggie friendly. in fact, during the summer i convinced my mother to add it to our yemista - nobody could tell that it wasn't meat!
i don't think i could ever completely give up my steak, chicken wings, roast lamb and ribs. for now though, i will not be eating as much of it as i used to. now, just because i use tofu in some recipes doesn't mean you can't simply replace it with chicken or extra-lean beef. you will find recipes with meat on my blog, although they may be few in numbers, they will be on here!
how did this monstrosity happen, you ask? well, it all started during my first grocery shop (ever). i was almost finished my shop, when i headed to the meat section of the store and picked up a little package of chicken. as my eyes set upon the price, i almost fainted. $8.00 for a pack of chicken that would last me 3 days?! sacré bleu! while in shock, i placed it in the cart and quickly walked away. scary.
as i wandered aimlessly throughout the rest of the store trying to make sense of this madness, i stumbled upon tofu. the whole world seemed to glow and a string quartet piped up in my head as i reached for a large pack of tofu (enough to last me 6-10 days), for only $2.00!!
now, tofu has it's ups and downs. for one, it sucks if it's not seasoned correctly. and when i say correctly, i mean heavily. two, it will never replace a steak or some ribs.
on the upside though, it does contain less calories and fat than meat. while that's not why i choose to eat it, it's never a bad thing! also, you can use tofu in place of meat in many meals. for example: chilli. you can use a soft tofu and crumble it in or, as an alternative to plain tofu, companies have come out with great soy products that look and taste similar to meat. my favourite is Yves Veggie Round Grounds - they look like ground beef, but are veggie friendly. in fact, during the summer i convinced my mother to add it to our yemista - nobody could tell that it wasn't meat!
i don't think i could ever completely give up my steak, chicken wings, roast lamb and ribs. for now though, i will not be eating as much of it as i used to. now, just because i use tofu in some recipes doesn't mean you can't simply replace it with chicken or extra-lean beef. you will find recipes with meat on my blog, although they may be few in numbers, they will be on here!
Blasphemy, my fellow mediterranean.; tofu is not food.
ReplyDeleteLet's go get pulled pork sandwiches.
Don't ever say that you don't need that sweater from H&M. Anything from that store is classified as a 'want' and not a 'need'.
ReplyDeleteHow about canned tuna, not too expensive. But not very versatile either.
ReplyDelete