Meat-free cooking class

As I ran with a buddy (Black Girls Run) on Monday afternoon, the topic of food came up and before I knew it, the conversation moved to our Facebook page; when I logged back on there was a specific post noting “Shonda will have a meat free cooking class”. The original location had to be moved since interest grew; however, it was kept under ten attendees so it was very intimate and hands on. One of the lady's opted to (perhaps temporarily) remove animal protein from her diet recently so it was with great pleasure for me to show her and others in the class a few ways to still have meat free protein substitutes that were inexpensive, easy to prepare and satisfying for even meat lovers. No attendee fell in the vegan/vegetarian category; however, they were all interested in eating healthier and curious about plant based substitutes’ they could occasionally incorporated. I’m known to share samples of my vegan dishes with coworkers’ and friends’ alike but, frankly I was pleasantly surprised how they really liked the sampled items. My class was hands on and questions were asked throughout the class. I was a bit nervous prior to the class since my cooking instructions has been on a “one on one” basis no pun intended. Naturally, my passion for cooking suppressed those emotions shortly entering the kitchen.

Seconds were enjoyed and attendees quickly pulled out their containers to take home any leftovers which were split amongst them. During a follow up conversation, I found out one lady ate all her leftovers without offering any to her hubby (lol). It was tasty; so how could I blame her??? On Sunday, she got the necessary ingredients to duplicate a few items. 

Falafel patties & veggie burgers were prepared and served on spinach wraps; vegan chik-free bites and creamy spaghetti were made; scrambled tofu topped with nutritional yeast etc. 

I enjoyed the opportunity to share some of my vegan dishes with curious ladies on the path of clean eating as they “run for optimal health”.

 I look forward to another cooking class soon.