A Chef's Guide...

I often lay in bed at night and get excited to eat my breakfast the next morning. Or I’ll wake up and start thinking of what I should make for dinner. Now, I know for a fact that I am not the only one who does this. I wouldn’t call myself a foodie, but I do love good food. I used to not be much of a cook. I was the queen of French toast, pancakes, and quesadillas in high school. I grew up where we were in charge of making our own breakfasts and lunches. When it came to dinner, we would eat out occasionally, but for the most part my mom would cook and we would all eat together as a family. When I moved back to Kauai and lived with my sister, she was the one who fed me. She loves to cook and bake and is very good at it, both of which benefited me greatly. Until she got married, that is, and left me to fend for myself. Trial and error are common when learning to cook, but at some point, I think I finally caught on and figured out how to get fancy with the spices. Now, let’s step into my kitchen.

Breaky

For some reason, cooking for two or more people feels easier for some. And I suppose I could see the appeal, however, I have learned to love cooking for one. I have broken it down to a science, figuring out how many veggies make what for different dishes and how much of what will fill me for a certain amount of time. As I said, it’s a science. But, when there is only yourself to feed, finding the motivation to cook or coming up with what to cook can sometimes be frustrating. So, let me try to inspire a spark of hope in those lost souls. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day hands down. And breakfast is the most personalized meal of the day. Meaning there are a handful of different factors that come to play in choosing what to fuel ourselves with. In the mornings, I try to keep it simple. I switch up what my breakfast of choice is, and when I am hooked, I tend to repeat meals. At the moment, I am hooked on a piece of bread toasted with a mix of protein powder, one spoon full of vanilla and one spoon full of chocolate with chia, hemp, and flax seeds mixed with a touch of peanut butter and almond milk to make the perfect chocolatey mixture. I top it all off with cinnamon and a banana. I also always drink a scoop of my superfood greens. Other breakfasts I swap between are, a plant -based yogurt bowl with chia, hemp, and flax seeds, protein powder, whatever fruit I have on hand, and cinnamon, topped with homemade granola. I go through phases of liking oatmeal and right now, it’s not in the mix. Although, I will occasionally make oat banana pancakes. I put in my blender a banana, oats, my three-seed mix, cinnamon, and almond milk then blend and create beautiful pancakes (be cautious to not make them too liquidy). Then the high ruler of all meals at any time is the smoothie bowl. I could eat one every day for the rest of my life and be content. I used to make one every morning, but I decided to let some other options have a turn. 

Lunch 

After breakfast concludes, my taste buds leap with anticipation for their next adventure. Lunch for me is simple; I eat a salad every day. I make enough dinner the night before to top my lettuce creating a fun, flavorful, and different salad each day. If I don’t have anything from the night before, I’ll sauté a variety of veggies or quickly chop some up and throw them into my air fryer to cook while I work. No matter how a veggie is cooked, seasonings are our best friends. The top seasonings I always have on hand are salt, pepper, garlic, chili flakes, any kind of mushroom powder, and ginger. I also use balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar, and shoyu (aka soy sauce) along with nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast is a yeast that carries a bit of protein and tastes like cheese that I use in just about every meal I make. To bulk up my salads I will bake some tofu the night before (either plain or topped with any of the combos listed above), add any beans (typically chickpeas, black beans, or refried), or if none of those options are on hand, nuts/seeds make for a great replacement.

Dinner

Dinners always seem to be the strangest to navigate when cooking for ourselves. It can feel pointless to put in the effort or hard to find the motivation. Above all else, it can be a challenge to jump between the worlds of our minds and our stomachs to design a meal that will be delicious and nutritious leaving our determination eager to try again. I am a dairy-free pescatarian who will occasionally eat eggs. However, it is simpler to say vegan, which is how I eat when I am at home. I don’t exactly have a meal plan at the start of my week. If I am craving something, I’ll find a recipe and shop accordingly, however, typically I stick with my staples. My shopping list roughly looks like this,

Costco: bell peppers, brussels sprouts, lettuce, cauliflower, zucchini, Okinawan sweet potatoes, bananas, frozen blueberries, dates, tofu, and all-natural peanut butter.

Target: broccoli, carrots, kiwis, onions, avocados, yogurt, lentil/chickpea pasta, tomato sauce, beans, dark chocolate chips, oats, Siete grain-free tortilla chips, corn tortillas, and occasionally any new spices I find.

Safeway: rice noodles and rice paper. 

That’s my starting point. I shop about every other week. My go-to meals are different variations of Italian, Mexican, and Asian. I am in a pasta obsession right now, so that has been my main. I like to sauté whichever veggies sound good that night and depending on my mood I’ll switch out the sauce from a homemade pasta sauce using Italian seasonings to a balsamic glaze. I have made vegan cheese from either carrots and cauliflower to make mac and cheese or out of tofu to make creamy pasta or vegan lasagna. In making dishes where you know you aren’t going to be able to eat it all at one time, I am a firm believer in cooking half and freezing the remaining to cook another time. 

Mexican is simple, typically I’ll cook whatever veggies I have with a mélange of seasoning that brings out those warm flavors. I’ll switch out my proteins depending on my mood and will either make tacos on corn tortillas, a bowl using chips as a utensil, lettuce leaves tacos to bring in a fresh crisp, or occasionally I’ll make a small batch of nachos. A few other go-to's are rice noodles with veggies and tofu coated in either a warm peanut sauce or a delicate soy sauce. If short on time or ingredients, rice paper rolls with peanut sauce are the best option. They are delicious and there is a never-ending list of ways to fill them. Curry is a simple and flavor-filled meal that can be entertaining to play around with and accompany rice or quinoa. Lastly, a few of my honorable mentions are tofu scramble providing a safe space for any variation of vegetables and a cozy pot of veggie broth soup. I tend to add whatever veggies I have on hand, spices, veggie broth, chickpeas, water, and pasta to mine. 

Meal Time

Everyone has their preferences and their favorite meals. Eating out or making a pre-made meal is fun and convenient every now and then, but it is fun to experiment and treat meals like an art project. Occasionally there will be a dud, but it’s through those over-salty, under-seasoned, over-cooked, and exciting meals that we learn and discover what we enjoy. 

Pinterest is a great friend of mine during meal times! I love to surf through pages looking for a new project that will evolve my skills and leave my taste buds dancing. We have the world's largest cookbook at our disposal. Might as well take advantage. Making food can be fun and has the capability of working around our preferences, time limitations, wallet size, and allergies. Food also helps connect us with different cultures.  

Food can bring people together, but it can also be a way to simply take care of ourselves. It is another form of self-care; to entertain and create yummy, healthy meals that satisfy our stomachs and strengthen our bodies. I hope that my meal plan was able to cultivate ideas in your kitchen. I love writing on requests, so if there is a topic that sounds entertaining, send it my way. Don’t forget to share, subscribe, and follow on Instagram. You can also follow my Pinterest to find my fun food inspirations. Hope you all had a great week and enjoy the weekend. Thanks for reading Allie-Cats.

• Dru Allie