Lightweight Eats

As we've worked meats and cheeses out of our diets—flavors that often stand alone—Dan and I have developed our flavor palates significantly. Creating tasty vegan sauces is the key to creating tasty vegan meals.

In our trials we've noticed two things that consistently improve meals.

If it's savory, add sweet. If it's sweet, add acid.

For example, we use sweet soy sauce (similar to a molasses and soy sauce combo) instead of regular soy sauce to season our tofu. Salt + sugar + fat is delicious, and your taste buds will make sure you know it.

Maybe you're trying to cut down on sugar; we decided to do that by not eating brownies and cake and ice cream instead of trying to eliminate a teaspoon of sugar from our stirfries. It's up to you, but your taste buds might thank you.


Of course, taking away ice cream and cake and brownies means that suddenly, even a fruit smoothie tastes cloyingly sweet. We've taken to fixing that by throwing in something acidic: a peeled lemon or lime, a hunk of ginger, orange/grapefruit sections, etc. It helps brighten the whole affair, infusing it with life and making it dance on your tongue.

The same goes for sweets: topping your pancakes with powdered sugar and lemon zest is highly recommended; adding chunks of crystallized ginger to muffins is also lightweight approved.


What are your go-to methods for making any meal tastier?