IntroductionMost people know me from
The Game Changers, the documentary in which I transformed everyday comforting favorites into delicious plant-based meals. I was cooking for NFL players in the film, but in real life I cook for all kinds of clients from athletes to musicians and just regular people looking to change the way they eat.
Let me tell you, though, it was a
journey to get here. I went plant-based— or “Plegan” as I call it (more about that on page 22)—in 2017. Shortly after, I made a grocery run and looked like a total madwoman—I loaded my cart with every vegetable you could imagine—you’d have burst out laughing if you’d seen it! When I got home that afternoon, my toddler daughter signed to me, “Eat, eat!” (one of her few toddler sign language words). I looked at my garden haul and I swear, I had a full nervous breakdown. I had bought tons of food . . . but what were we going to
eat? What was my plan? I didn’t have anything that she’d want, and I had no idea what to quickly toss together. I was so overwhelmed that I put my head down on my kitchen counter and prayed for encouragement. Then, it came to me, in a
divine voice:
“Make everything you love—just change the ingredients!”Call it God, call it the universe, call it a stroke of genius—it was exactly what I needed to hear.
Suddenly I found myself halfway through my jambalaya recipe, but this time, there was no diced chicken, andouille sausage, or shrimp. Instead, I added smoked tofu and spicy blackened veggies for kick and flavor. That’s when I found my mojo. I learned that I didn’t have to reinvent the wheel. I could still rely on my favorite flavors, like traditional Puerto Rican and Creole spices and jerk seasoning, and make the foods I loved, now with plant-based ingredients swapped into the same dishes. I realized that I’d put up mental barriers about what could and couldn’t go in certain recipes, what was traditional, what was authentic, and what the “rules” of the kitchen were.
And you know what? Everybody loved what I was cooking because I was still building layers of flavor like I learned in culinary school (don’t worry, I will teach you how). Transitioning from meat to plant-based cooking for me was a mental shift. Rather than being limited by not eating certain things, being plant-based brought forward new and exciting ways to be creative, and taught me how to take my favorite dishes and make them brand-new. But make no mistake, eating plants doesn’t mean eating rabbit food! One flip through these pages proves that.
This book is a collection of my favorite recipes, my family’s favorites, and my clients’ favorite recipes, too. I’ve come up with quite the arsenal—and they’re all
unbelievably flavorful. I use all kinds of amazing spices, surprising hits of acid, and lots of heat to make sure you don’t feel as if you’re missing out. Just try my Fried Chik’n with Spicy Maple Syrup (page 206) or a platter of Buffalo Cheezy Sweet Potato Fries (page 179) and tell me you’re not satisfied!
If you want to jump into a fully plant-based way of eating, go right ahead. If you want to ease into it, that’s fine by me, too—maybe you do meatless Mondays, meatless weekdays, or start with just one plant-based meal a day. It’s all good. Maybe you just want some ideas of how to spice up your day-to-day and eat less meat—I’m here for it. Start slow: try a few recipes at first, learn some new techniques, and work them into your weekly meals. Maybe start with Papas & Walnut Chorizo Breakfast Tacos (page 103) for breakfast one day. Try a next-level Garbage Salad with Creamy LemonPeppercorn Dressing (page 144) for lunch. Make your family a Gochujang Jackfruit Noodle Bowl (page 215) with a side of Sesame Avocado Kale NoEgg Rolls (page 161) for dinner. Eventually, when you’re comfortable, do what I did—try out one of your family favorites and just switch up the meat, fish, and dairy for plant-based alternatives. It really is that easy.
This book was curated with love. I love what I do, I love people, I love our earth, and I love sharing. I look at recipes as a guide, not something written in stone, and mine are no different. I hope this book will gently nudge you out of your normal routine, help break down barriers in the kitchen, and encourage you to explore your culinary creativity. Learn to be flexible, adventurous, and make everything just the way you like. If you don’t like black beans, that’s cool; use pinto or red beans instead. Not a fan of kale? Use spinach or arugula. The world has hundreds of thousands of grains, beans, vegetables, and edible plants to explore. Have a field day!
No matter how you decide to use this book, I’m here to support you, inspire you, and
empower you. Because, as I’m hoping you’ll learn, I haven’t lost meat—I’ve gained life.
Charity
Copyright © 2022 by Charity Morgan. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
