Square One

This week was about analyzing what I eat and where I can incorporate more culture into my diet. After examining what I eat, I realize dinner is my big meal. Often, this is where the meats and proteins that I would like to replace come into play and where I find myself reaching for take-out as it is when I crave these different types of foods that I want to learn how to make myself. So, I will focus on meals I can make when coming through the door or earlier in the week so they are ready when I get home.

With this in mind, I began by identifying the cultures I wanted to learn about and whose dishes I wanted to learn how to make, which are mostly plant-based. Mediterranean meals are going to be a big part of this process, especially since my dad is very interested in the Mediterranean Diet due to studies that have surrounded its benefits to Parkinson’s disease, which has been a diagnosis that has drastically reshaped his lifestyle over the past three years. Beyond Mediterranean foods, I am excited to try making Jamaican, Japanese, Indian and Italian foods. 

When researching plant-based cultures, I learned a lot about the vegan movement that has been growing. It challenged a big perception I had. I assumed Italian foods were very carbs-based. I was excited to have my views challenged as they have been shifting under the vegan movement occurring, and I am excited to explore the foods the website has hyperlinked under the section on Italy. https://mangolanguages.com/resources-articles/the-most-vegan-countries-in-the-world/

I have found this great website that identifies five largely plant-based cultures around the world with recipes to try, and I am excited to try some of their recommendations. https://foodrevolution.org/blog/plant-based-cultures-and-cuisines/

I began thinking of vegetable-heavy meals that I could prep ahead of time and with an alternative source of protein than just meat. I wanted to lay out my upcoming weeks and the dishes I will make. I plan on trying three Mediterranean meals and two of each other culture. I hope this gives me a solid foundation to build a final cookbook. I want to focus on hearty meals that I can make in the evening since dinner is my big meal of the day. I have found recipes I can make throughout my inquiry so that at the end of this process, I will have built a virtual cookbook of the stand-out meals I can incorporate into my future diet. I have built a schedule with all the recipes in one place to reflect on everything I tried at the end of this process and easily pull the stand-out recipes I want to use as I build a cookbook.

I want to look at Mediterranean food first, so I considered the ingredients found in the Mediterranean diet and many Mediterranean dishes. I am excited to try my first meal next week, which is a Mediterranean dish!