Hey there! This is LA from Black Girls Eat with another newsletter for you. As a plant-based advocate, I’m happy to connect and chat about all things green. Well not always green but you know what I’m mean. I’m here for adding more fruits, veggies and grains to our plates.
Why are you getting this lovely note? You have signed up on the website, on Instagram or somewhere else and let me tell you how happy that makes me. We live in a world where follows are free but hard to get. So if you signed up on your own….whew! Now that’s saying something and I’m soooooo appreciative!
So back to going green. When I first started leaning into plant-based nutrition it was around spring or summer. So I had a good old time visiting farmer’s markets and trying out different salad combinations. As we neared the fall, the meals at home got a little lighter. By that time, I was only cooking and serving meat for my husband and daughter.
I made the meat for them and I ate the sides. And how great were the sides! Roasted sweet potato and golden beet salad and mexican street corn were my faves.
But as we approached Thanksgiving and Christmas, things got a little dicey. The culture requires holiday meals to be plentiful and spectacular. I could hear hesitation from family and friends when I started talking about hosting the holiday dinners. Our table was always filled with yummy goodness so why was there any doubt that I would deliver as I’d done year after year?
Well the honest truth is that the plant-based lifestyle gets a bad rep. All anyone can imagine is a table full of kale and Brussells sprouts! I knew that I would not just green out the whole holiday table. That wouldn’t be fair to the family and it would probably be boring. That would be a perfect example of when keeping it green goes wrong.
Just because I decided to lean away from meat products and dairy didn’t mean that I wanted to torture the folks I care about. That’s my whole vibe with Black Girls Eat.
I love to meet people where they are, introduce new food ideas and bring joy. I’m not here to stress anyone out.
So I did the damn thang! My husband made meat for the carnivores and I wowed everyone with all kinds of plant-based goodness. It’s been all good ever since. They often ate so much of the sides, that no one really noticed just how little meat and dairy was actually on the table. My motto is if it’s not burnt or salty…it’s all good!
The Recipe: Vegan Sweet Potato Pie
Yass! I figured out how to make the classic pie that we love but without dairy. This one was scary because if you mess the pie up, you won’t be able to live it down. My brother is married now but I remember when he lived with us. He is not a cake guy. I used to love getting his feedback on my pies. His seal of approval meant everything!
The Random: My Food Journey in Dubai
The first thing I realized when I got to Dubai was that I would not have enough time to eat all of the food! There were decadent desserts, yummy pastas and all kinds of amazing seafood. Dubai felt like the warmth of Miami but at night it looked like Las Vegas and the vibe was all NYC. And speaking of NYC….I went to both Indochine and Miss Lily’s. They both have locations in NYC! Check out the reel I created about my food adventures in Dubai!
Thanks so much for reading! Thanks for being a part of the community. If you have time, check me out in this recap from Blogher: Why Advertisers & Brands Should Rethink Their Approach to BIPOC Publishers.