Meatless lunch week

It's lunch time again. And I can still feel last night's spicy meatball sub trundling through my colon. So I thought it might be appropriate to dedicate this week's adventure in lunch blogging to those dishes that are meatless. And yes, fish and seafood are included.

I'm not giving up on meat. However, Mecca and Michael Pollan have convinced me to limit my meat consumption and to eat only naturally raised and humanely slaughtered animals. And I've already taken that to heart and stomach. It is clearly more than just a health decision. There are moral and environmental factors involved which I will not go into detail on.

I regularly eat two to three meatless lunches per week. When I do eat meat for lunch it's usually meat-lite. I opt for turkey sandwiches, a slice of pepperoni pizza (i even pick off some of the pepperoni because some places just put too many on), a Chipotle burrito with chicken or the weekly sushi splurge. On a rare occasion I'll get something more meat heavy like a gyro from Falafel King.

For the first day of meatless lunch week, I chose a favorite.

Yellow curry with tofu and white rice (pictured above).

When they see me approach the steam tables, the identical twins who run the Royal Orchid in the skyway say, "the usual for you today?"

This is a substantial meal. I often can't finish it. The yellow curry is creamy. The hunks of skin-on potatoes and stewed carrots are weighty. You have to cut them with a knife. The tofu pieces are meaty and hold the flavor of the sauce. Royal Orchid also serves a side of steamed carrots, cabbage and broccoli on the side. Thankfully, the veg is nice and firm, not overcooked. I top it all off with a few squirts of sriracha chili sauce.

You may be wondering about the combination of white rice and potatoes. 'Aren't refined carbohydrates and starches evil?' Well, asian cultures have been eating white rice and potatoes for thousands of years without their folks keeling over from diabetes. I'm no nutritionist, but I suspect that white rice and potatoes combined with fat - like from animals - is more responsible for obesity, than just the carbs and starches with vegetables.

But really, I eat this dish once a week because it just tastes good.