You guys, stop everything and make this salad. I am freaking out.
I used to be a vegetarian, or pescatarian, or whatever. I basically ate fruit, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds and cheese (and cookies and chocolate) exclusively, sometimes fish or an egg too. I did this for 5 years. I did this because as I learned about health and our food system in Nutrition School, it became abundantly clear to me that factory farmed animal foods are bullshit and I wasn’t into them anymore.
Plus, I was starting to feel so much better cutting that stuff (and processed foods) out, that I just said ‘peace out’ to them altogether at some point. Oh and seeking out and buying the good high quality stuff was hard and expensive and it was just easier and cheaper for my mid-20s-broke-ass-self to eat veggies and brown rice.
Now that I’m all grown up, debt free, making more money and living with a joint checking account, I’m OK with paying more for the good stuff.
Anyway, earlier this year I started to crave steak and cheeseburgers. I’m not kidding. I’m not sure why, but I did. I’ve actually read about this happening to other vegetarians but they fight it. Maybe they are stronger than me, maybe they are eating veg for political or ethical reasons and I respect them for that.
If I’m beng honest though, I started eating that way for my-ass-to-look-better-in-jeans reasons. But, now that I don’t mind my ass in jeans, my resolve has weakened some.
These cravings became really strong though. It sucked because I’d been veggie for so long and taught so many people about the benefits of a whole-foods, plant-based diet, that I felt like a fraud. I’d defended myself and my choices for so long that I was embarrased to be caught eating ‘the meat’ again, especially amongst my harshest critics.
“She won’t eat my freakin’ meatbawlz!” I could hear my mother’s words to Joel – the first time she ever met him – repeating in my mind. What would that blonde woman say when she found out?!
I started sharing my meat feelings with Joel and I could tell he was trying to support me but also trying to hide his enthusiasm. “No. I swear, babe. I have loved the fact that you only cook brown rice and vegetables for me in various forms.”
Then one night I was cooking Asian Cauliflower Fried Rice from NomNomPaleo for us. The recipe called for bacon. I hadn’t cooked bacon ever. Seriously, I had never cooked bacon before. I just figured I’d garnish Joel’s plate with it and leave it off mine.
“Just cook the bacon, I thought. It will be easy to resist, I thought.”
But I’d had one glass of Chardonnay so my inhibitions were slightly impaired and once that glorious aroma hit my nostrils, I couldn’t take it anymore.
I told Joel what I was thinking of doing and he basically pulled up a chair with some popcorn and stared at me while I contemplated taking my first bite. He was literally at the edge of his seat. His eyes opened wider and wider with excitement as that strip of pork inched closer and closer to my face.
And then I did it. I ate the bacon. I closed my eyes and literally thought “Something so good just couldn’t be wrong, could it?”
Bacon: “my own personal brand of heroin.” – Edward from Twilight
So yeah, once that happened, I decided I might as well try a cheeseburger, and then a steak, and then some more bacon. So, if there was a bacon-and-beef-eating vegetarian category, that would be me now. I am really into making it organic, grass fed and naturally raised though. Seriously, watch Food Inc and you’ll never look at it the same way again.
OK. On to the recipe.
Deconstructed Grass Fed Bacon Cheeesburger Salad
(Note: I made this for 3 days worth of lunches and I’m not sure about the actual ingredient amounts so, feel free to do you on that.)
Ingredients
grass fed ground beef
naturally raised, organic bacon
kale
red onion
organic herbed goat cheese
1/2 avocado
balsamic vinegar
olive oil
salt & pepper
1 organic egg (optional)
Method
Cook the ground beef in a nonstick pan, breaking it up and adding some salt and pepper until its at your desired state (I like medium-well). In another pan, cook the bacon until crispy and then chop it up once its cooled. Rip the kale from the stems and chop it up and throw it in a bowl. Dice some red onion and throw that on top. Cut up the avocado and put that in. Sprinkle some herbed goat cheese on top of that and then the bacon on top of that (really, you can do this in any order, you’re going to mix it all up before you eat it anyway, right?) Finally, add the ground beef on top once it too, is cool. (Optional to put a bird on it – add a fried egg on top!) Add the balsamic and olive oil to taste and enjoy. Like, really, really enjoy!