Going vegan isn’t a lifestyle choice that happens overnight. Charity Morgan learned that early in her meat-free journey, when she’d haul home carloads of plant-based groceries — only to find herself stumped. What could she cook that her entire family, including small kids, would eat?
Then it hit her: Rather than reinvent the wheel, she would figure out how to modify the foods her family knew and loved, including the jambalayas and savory hand pies of her Creole and Puerto Rican heritage. The creativity that has spun out of that revelation became the basis of a private chef business catering to celebrities and top athletes, and was featured in “The Game Changers,” a Netflix documentary about plant-based food for maximum athletic performance.
“Unbelievably Vegan: 100+ Life-Changing, Plant-Based Recipes” (Potter, $39.99) details the game plan she developed at home in Nashville after her husband Derrick Morgan, a Tennessee Titans linebacker, decided to remove meat and dairy from his diet. The aches and pains that come with inflammation, Morgan explains, are prevalent in sports where injury is a given.
The former model and professionally-trained chef had been dabbling in vegetarianism since she was a teenager growing up on a farm near Sacramento, California. She hadn’t planned on taking such restrictive measures herself until she began to feel her own energy levels soar as her plant-based repertoire grew. To distinguish her approach from more rigid forms of veganism, she came up with the term “Plegan” to appeal to people receptive to going meatless, but not to being chastised for wearing leather shoes (or throwing footballs).
Among the recipes that reflect her inclusive philosophy: Fried Chik ‘n’ with Spicy Maple Syrup, with battered oyster mushrooms standing in for the chicken; Spinach-Artichoke Dip that replaces dairy with Brazil Nut Sour Cream and nutritional yeast; and Smoky Hold-the-Ham Collards with Shiitake Bae-con.
Weaning yourself off cheeseburgers can be hard, Morgan acknowledges. Phase out some of those meaty favorites gradually as you incorporate more plant-based alternatives into your diet, she advises, “and eventually you won’t have these cravings at all.”
AUTHOR APPEARANCE
7:30 p.m. Feb. 17. Charity Morgan discusses her plant-based approach to cooking. $10; $5 Atlanta History Center members. Atlanta History Center, 130 W. Paces Ferry Road NW, Atlanta. 404-814-4000, purchase tickets online at atlantahistorycenter.com.
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