Have you ever tried a vegetarian or vegan diet? It’s tough, because animal products are such a big part of the culinary world. It’s one of those things that you try with a super open mind and stick with it for maybe a week before dropping out. That’s why my family and I have decided, for one of our New Years resolutions, to do meatless Mondays! It’s exactly what it sounds like. Meatless Mondays is a way for us to slowly get accustomed to the idea of not eating, well, meat! This isn’t part of some sort of plan to become 100% vegetarian in the future, but we did want to make our diets a little more healthier going forward.

We’ve gone through three Mondays or so of being vegetarian, and I can say, by far, that our remake of the Ancient Grains Bowl from True Foods Kitchen has been the best part. I wrote a post on that particular restaurant from Stanford Shopping Mall a while back, and if you may have remembered, one blaring highlight was, obviously, the Ancient Grains Bowl! Consisting of ancient grains (brown rice, quinoa, and farro), miso-glaze sweet potato, portobello mushrooms, sugar snap peas, avocado, charred onions, and a cilantro sauce, this healthy meal is the perfect choice for vegetarians. It even suits my dad’s more extreme vegan diet!

With much needed inspiration from Aunty Sue (thank you!), my mom worked hard to prepare all of the ingredients for the Ancient Grains Bowl just this past Monday. It was a huge success, and fell right into that “healthy-licious” zone. Despite not having the Ancient Grains Bowl for a really long time, it all came back to me within the first bite. The Ancient Grains Bowl stands as a reminder that flavor/seasoning alone can make a meal delicious, even without certain items.

Even if you aren’t a vegetarian, I still encourage you to try going meatless on one day (every once in a while). It’s a neat experience because a) you’re eating a little healthier and b) you get to branch out and find new, innovative recipes to try. I eat a ton of meat, so trying the homemade Ancient Grains Bowl from my mom felt exceptionally good. An important thing to note is that meatless best works with every meal of the day. If you sort of “slack” off for, say breakfast, then it’s easier to do that for future meals. Let’s face it, going vegetarian isn’t easy at all, but if you’re willing to give it a shot at least for one day, who knows where it’ll go from there?

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. weekend!