Did any of you ever take one of those personality quizzes when you were in high school that supposedly pegged your leadership style (or lack thereof)? If you had a dominant personality you were a "red," and if you like to be the peacemaker you were a "green," and so on.
No matter how many times I took that damn quiz it always told me that I'm "easily influenced." It was right. I can't help it. I get very excited when I hear a good idea.
So that explains why I've been driving J crazy by re-telling him pieces of the documentary Forks Over Knives after seeing it a couple of weeks ago. Please tell me someone else has seen it so the poor guy can get a break.
Forks over Knives "examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods." That's from the website. I'm too lazy to put it in my own words.
In other words, eat plants people. Not animals.
After watching it, I dusted off the few vegetarian cookbooks I own. Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas is a favorite.
I've eaten a bit of meat a few times since then, when there seriously was no other option, and I'm still consuming a bit of dairy and fish, but mostly I've suddenly gone quite veggie on everyone. (They're all just nodding and smiling for now, probably waiting for the next wave to wash me away.)
After reading Diet for a Small Planet sometime in the late 1990s, I was Megan the Vegan for a short while. Yes, I pronounce my name Meegan, so, yes, it rhymes. I should have embraced that back then and stuck with it, huh?
In all seriousness, I do believe a plant-based diet is the healthiest way to eat and treat the planet. I'm not sure I'm going to take it to vegan again, and I'm not much into labeling myself as one thing or another anyway, but as long as I have energy and feel good, I think I'm going to keep giving this a shot.
Even before all this, one of our family's favorite snacks has been kale chips. Kale chips are so easy to make I don't think you can even call this a recipe. And as long as I don't overcook them, the girls devour them as greedily as J and I do.
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Wash a bundle of kale. Tear kale leaves off their stems. Discard the stems (er, compost the stems, if you really want to do things right). Tear the leaves into bite-size pieces.
3. Toss the kale with a glug of olive oil in a bowl. Use your hands so all the leaves get coated (but not soggy with oil).
4. Spread the kale onto a baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Watch the oven carefully toward the end. You'll start to find a sweet spot where the kale doesn't overbake nor does it come out too soft. They are supposed to be "chips," after all.
5. Sprinkle with salt or another favorite seasoning. Serve.
6. Start making the next batch because the first one will go quickly, I promise.