You know that phrase “real men eat meat”?
Well, real men eat plants, too. Satiating meals with adequate micro and macronutrients can be made without animals. And Kyle can attest to that.
Lentil & barley stew.
Not only do real men eat plants, but they follow directions too!
Black eyed pea succotash and white rice.
As you can see, I only have a leftover portion photographed.
You see, this dish was thrown together last week, but didn’t make it on the blog because Kyle ate most of it. I never felt compelled to share his food before, but lately we’ve been eating the same things, so some of the recipes I’m cooking up aren’t getting face-time on HHH. Sorry!
I’m starting to realize that having a veggie partner is both a blessing and a curse. It makes grocery shopping a lot easier, but throws me for a loop when I come home from work and the meal I was planning on digging in to has already been polished off.
Anyway, if nothing else, this post demonstrates the balance of his and hers meals with some of the dishes I’ve been cooking up in the kitchen.
I had the succotash part in my own meal (with quinoa and this tofu), but never shared that work meal with you.
It was so delicious, that I had the same thing in a repeat lunch. See?
You can probably deduce the rest of the day’s eats from the above photo.
I’m sorry to say the PureFit bar was delicious, but ruined my gut for 24 hours (damn fructose!). I kinda knew that was a risk, which is why I ate it when I knew I had the next day off work. Kyle is now the happy recipient of vegan, gluten free protein bars…his reviews to come? [don’t hold your breath]
I also had oats with flax and raisins and stuff. But that’s old news, lemme just tell you about this guy.
For the succotash:
- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup peas
- 1/2 cup corn
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- pinch cayenne pepper (more to taste)
- salt & pepper (to taste)
I chopped the veggies, whisked together the oil and spices, and then brought both parties together.
I added tofu to mine, but beans (TJ’s black eyed peas) to Kyle’s.
Here’s his school lunch in total: Sensible Portions cheddar potato straws, Costco roasted peanuts, Bakery on Main apple cinnamon granola bar, succotash & beans with rice, tempeh scramble with rice
I made his breakfast scramble with 1/2 block tempeh, bell peppers, tomatoes, and tamari.
And since I’m on such a roll with Kyle’s food, here’s another lunch I packed for him.
Bakery on Main trail mix granola bar, Costco roasted almonds, almond butter and apricot preserves sammie, banana, leftover smoked tomato field roast with “fried” rice
The sando used up the last of this jar of apricot jam, so now we only have 43 more jars to go.
Leftover white rice makes the best fried rice because it’s so dry. Rather than soak up the oil, it pops on the skillet, getting all crispy. I started it in cooking spray only until it started sizzling a bit, then I added a few small glugs of garlic infused oil (Garlic Gold), put on the lid and let it snap & crackle away.
And when Kyle got home from a long school day, he had this “meaty” red sauce waiting for him with instructions on what to do.
[I actually ended up beating him home, so I just made the pasta for him]
For the record, a little TVP goes a long way.
For three reasons, I’ve been trying to use up my stash, (1) we need room for other pantry items, (2) my GI system just doesn’t like the processed galactans in textured vegetable protein, and (3) Kyle wants extra protein.
But the bag doesn’t seem to be diminishing!
To rehydrate TVP:
Add hot water (you could use vegetable broth too) to the dried protein flakes in a ratio that is almost 1:1, but with slightly less liquid.
Let it sit.
Watch it grow.
I added it to the marinara to make it a meat sauce, which Kyle loved. He said he probably wouldn’t have known that it was soy based.
It’s like I’m a mom in training with all these school lunches! The best thing about packing food for Kyle is that he loves leftovers. Still, I don’t want him to get bored with vegetarianism, so I try and reuse things with subtle changes.
Case in point: tempeh scramble.
This time I used 1/2 block tempeh, bell peppers, and cumin.
But then added it to quinoa and topped it with a wedge of Laughing Cow swiss cheese.
Unlike me, he prefers savory breakfasts. I’m a sweet girl – gimme oats, granola, cereal, whatever, but I want sweet things for my first meal of the day.
For dinner he had pasta with meaty red sauce, corn, and parmesan.
Phew! Now I’m off to pack us both lunches (again).
Do you share food with your spouse/roommate/significant other? Have you ever come home expecting to eat something to find it has already been eaten? How do you handle sharing a fridge?
Like I mentioned above, it’s much more budget friendly having a similar diet to Kyle’s, but it has definitely caused a need for increased communication about what food is fair game for who.
Do you pack lunches for others?
This is so funny! My husband and I typically eat different meals but every once in a while he eats the same things that I eat. Then he gets yelled at for eating all the leftovers that I had plans for! I like when he eats more veggies….just not when he steals mine. But seriously, it’s so nice to sit down to dinner and actually eat the same meal.
I loved seeing this! Im deffinetly trying to get the men in my life to eat more veg friendly. Please keep posting about this..love the meal ideas!
When M and I are together, we grocery shop and share food as a pair. I do most of the cooking, so his main duty is to clean up after me (my mess and the leftovers!). When I visit him in his hometown, I always pack his lunch when he works. I feel kind of obligated to do it, because otherwise I know all he will eat at work is Subway, Starbucks, and Tim Hortons!
The succotash is so pretty! The peas and corn are so brightly colored they look like beads. 🙂
I sometimes pack a lunch for my mom to make the mornings go faster. She’ll unload the dishwasher and I’ll do lunches, or we’ll swap and she’ll do lunches.
I am so intrigued by the Tempeh scramble…Im sure its so easy, but I have no clue how to do it! Do you just crumble up the block in your hands and then throw it in a skillet with some veggies and spices?
you’re such a good wife, i feel like men should want to clone you and have you as a wife, i would never be able to be a wife like you hahaha i’m never getting married i have a hard enough time putting things together for myself let alone someone else haha
My bacon-loving boyfriend went vegetarian for the new year and has been struggling with getting enough protein and calories. I want to step in and be more helpful, so I appreciate all the meal ideas here! I’m definitely going to try out barley and TVP sauce.
yup! you could also throw the whole block in with some oil or water and as it warms and softens it will crumble on its own. either way. you cant mess it up – promise!
he actually said (and I quote) “this really does taste like meat sauce”
plus, you can add tvp to literally anything and everything to make it more protein filled. veg based soups and chili, mac n cheese, pasta sauces, mock tuna salad, “meat” loaf, etc.
same. the (2) veg friendly cafeteria options on campus have gotten so old for kyle.
glad you like it cel.
right?? im like happy and annoyed at the same time, haha
When I met my husband 10 years ago, he was vegetarian and I a flexitarian. I became a vegetarian after moving in with him 7 years ago and never looked back. We were more junk food vegetarians for a bit and then started getting into healthier fare gradually. Three years ago, we transitioned to full veganism and eat a very whole food type of diet. So we make meals for eachother and he usually helps me do the preps for the larger meals. It’s really nice to have a supportive partner and he loves the way it feels and I find it attractive that my partner has a lot of compassion and caring for the creatures of the world too. Sometimes he will eat all of the leftovers before I get home and I do have to leave him sticky notes on everything too LOL – it works though! He’s not a fan of pickles though, so they are all mine 🙂
I do not pack lunches for others, but I do cook mine in bulk and then do a quick veggie/fruit chop each evening for the next day. I love the idea of adding TVP to tomato sauce!!
I’ve been trying to make more veg friendly meals that my whole family can enjoy together, instead of me eating (and preparing) a totally separate meal from them. It’s kinda cool to sit down to eat and my kids say, you can eat this? This happened recently when I made this chili http://www.theppk.com/2010/04/1379/ and served it over rice! My omni family loved it and so did I . I subbed TVP for the tempeh and they didn’t even know it was veg! Serving it over rice made sure there were lots of leftovers for us to share!
I feel your pain though. There’s nothing worse than reaching for a planned meal in the fridge and finding out it’s gone.
My husband eats meat but he’ll pretty much eat anything vegetarian that I cook too. It does surprise me, however, when he’s eaten an entire thing of leftovers instead of just tolerating the meal. I probably should keep note of what he actually likes.
Nice! I need to try tofu with quinoa I bet it’s really good! I need to get boyfriend over to the veggie side…he is strictly all American meat & potatoes. May have to sneak some tofu in one of his meals somewhere here very soon 🙂
Thanks for all the good packed lunch ideas, Elise! I pretty much pack my husband’s lunches every day and I try to keep it from being too monotonous. I know he doesn’t really care (the man would eat PB&J sandwiches for every meal if I let him) but it makes me feel better knowing he’s getting a wider variety of foods every day. We’ve been trying to cut way back on his meat consumption (I’m already a vegetarian) so these meals you posted will be a big help. Especially the TVP. Duh, I always forget about that stuff. Where do you purchase your field roasts? I’ve not been able to find them in our grocery stores.
Veg-friendly is boyfriend seems like such a rarity. You’re a lucky girl!
*in a boyfriend
yes totally agree real mean eat plants too!!! LOVE IT!
Sharing a fridge is easy between two people. But when I had three other roommates it was kind of a nightmare. It helps to have your eating patterns the same for sure!
I pack lunches only for myself but I always share my cooking/baking creations with my roommate 🙂
I cant wait to try it. Thank you!!
Will you please come pack my lunches? Seriously.
I always buy the frozen succotash from Trader Joes, which I love, but a fresh version sounds even better. And I have a bag of TVP that I’ve been working on for what feels like centuries…I don’t feel like I’m ever going to finish it!
Good thing it’s tasty and versatile. (:
Everything about this post just sounds delicious! 🙂 I wish you could pack my lunch too! lol. Since moving home, I have been sharing a fridge with my dad, step mom, and sister. One thing I have noticed is my Love Grown granola stash disappearing a bit faster than I would like. A bit of notice would be appreciated on this one considering I have to order the granola since it isn’t sold here!
boo! that stuff is like precious gold.
whole foods. havent seen them anywhere else though.
nice! thanks for the link. looks awesome.
My guy will eat anything except nutritional yeast, so leftovers are never safe around him! I like that he’s down with my vegetarian/mostly vegan cooking. It makes shopping and meal planning much easier.
Real men definitely eat plants, I completely dig that 🙂 You are amazing, Elise, for making Kyle’s packed lunches, and how cool that your healthy plant-based eating habits have influenced him in such a positive way 🙂
Tom and I eat differently, because he’s a (mostly) veggie but eats heaps of cheese, milk, yogurt and tomato based sauces in his food, none of which I can eat because of my eczema, nor soy. But we make it work! We just mostly make our own eats, and eat together. I do all the grocery shopping for us both, though – so I totally know what you mean about it being kinder on the budget to eat the same things! I do love it when we eat similarly, but I know that that can’t always be the case! Love all the eats in this post, so good! <3 xyx
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