QUARANTINE WITH PROTEIN
by Katherine Tran
Copyright 2021 Katherine Tran.
http://www.hangryvore.com
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication, including photographs and images, may be used or reproduced in any form whatsoever without the prior permission of the author. All content is for informational purposes only. Readers should follow their best judgement and seek professional help for complete health, nutritional, dietary, or other advice. If youre still reading this, I know you havent gotten to the cookbook section yet, but I do want to remind you that this is indeed a cookbook. Likewise, any information in here is based on the opinion and experiences of the author, and the author of this book cannot be held liable for any disasters that occur to the reader in the kitchen or outside of the kitchen. Please follow safe habits. Any mention of brands, companies, or organizations does not imply endorsement of nor by these entities. Its a cookbook for goodness sake. I have to buy real products too. It doesnt mean its the best product ever, and no ones ever heard of me to have me endorse them. In general, Im sure youre here to read a cookbook, not a book of disclaimers. Just know that everything here is based on my experiences and provided for your knowledge. The author is not responsible for anything the reader decides to do with the information in this publication.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
(but not the only table with contents after youre done with this book)
INTRODUCTION
In 2020 , I was like most of you.
Sheltered-in-place. Quarantined. Social distancing.
I dont know when youre reading this. Im not sure I want to know. Weve definitely made it out of 2020. But, are we still getting through the beginning of this? Did the scientific advancements work? Have we still not gone outside for over a year? Has it been many years and staying indoors is the new norm in life? Is everything back to normal, but staying indoors is your new norm? I have no clue, but were in this together now.
Being used to a 9 to 5 job with a cafeteria on campus and only having to cook one to two times a week, getting nutrition during the beginning of shelter-in-place was a challenge. I was fortunate to continue working at home during this time. However, this also meant an extra meal to prep when time was paradoxically limited. In general, I'm sure you already understand the numerous struggles of feeding yourself in the quarantine times:
- Ramping up to cook 10x the meals per week than you're used to
- Having to limit trips to the grocery store, which leads to
- Stocking up on unappealing long-lasting items and kitchen staples
- Shopping in grocery stores that are out of stock of many everyday items
- Limited variety and recipe options due to the limited stock
- Fitting in lunch when you may be working or caring for the family and household
- Meeting your nutritional needs while maintaining fitness goals in the absence of gyms
That last point was where I struggled most, and is what pushed me to create this book.
As someone who is passionate about food, fitness, and health, my biggest worry was maintaining all the hard work from before shelter-in-place.
Starting about 3 years ago, one of my close friends got into a habit of dragging me into terrifying adventures as part of her (okay, our) 1/3-life crisis. While I've always been active, my type of activity was more of low-intensity awkward dance, and less of trying to pull myself up off a ledge of a cliff. To ensure survival, I started training harder and trying to get stronger. Since then, I've gotten a lot stronger and took pride in my ability to become more independent (i.e., carrying all those grocery bags all in one trip).
However, I didn't want to lose everything I had worked so hard for (and risk getting uninvited to these adventures once we were allowed out again. Yes, FOMO). Maintaining strength in the absence of the same heavy weighted workouts in gyms would require creative home workouts. It would also require the proper nutrition with enough protein.
First, these recipes were scribbles for my own reference. Then, I wanted to share it for anyone else having the same concerns about getting enough protein during quarantine instead of turning to highly processed, carb- and fat-loaded meals. In talking to my friends and cousins, it seemed that I was facing more difficulties in getting resources than others (likely due to my own inefficiencies and impatience of my quarantine-mate). My coworkers would make fun of my extreme measures of suggesting eating protein powder with rice. Hopefully, resources are better where you are. Regardless, my hope is that this book helps you get your protein in during quarantine, without having to drink protein shakes, meal prep chicken breast with mustard and broccoli, nor eat protein sprinkled rice. That is, all while maintaining those gains!
What can you expect from these recipes?
The recipes are intended to meet all the phases of your quarantine moods. The first goal is to get you through survival mode - whether you're feeling malnourished, feeling like your muscles are atrophying away, or if youre just trying to get through quarantine.
Once you've gotten the hang of it and know you'll be okay during quarantine, this book will be here when that boredom hits and you want to experiment, yet also maximize your ingredients for nutritional value. This cookbook is here for you when you're starting to miss going out to eat and crave treats from your favorite cafes.
Finally, this is here for when you've realized you have too much toilet paper and are at a loss of what to do with all the canned food, grains, and frozen hodgepodge foods you've hoarded at the start of the quarantine. I can't help you with the toilet paper, but I may help turn those unappealing "emergency foods" into something to fuel you with energy instead of filling you with junk.
What if youre keto, vegan, or following XYZ diet?
These recipes are based on my quarantine mindset: meeting my nutritional goals, what was available in the nearby grocery stores, and what other oddities were in the pantry already. The only thing in common in these recipes is to use common quarantine ingredients or to maximize protein in your meals. I get a bad rap by my friends for being obsessed with vegan milk alternatives, yet eating tons of dairy cheese and cream sauce. I'll eat a variety of pasta or flour alternatives, yet stuff myself with carbs and sugar. I warn you, this cookbook is just as hypocritical. The goal is to get you through quarantine with what's available to you, and providing alternatives in case items are not available. The idea of this is to help you meet the protein part of your macros, while assuming you also have a percentage of your macro goals geared towards carbs and fats.
While I may make substitutions that appear to be keto or vegan, the ultimate goal is to use what's available while maximizing protein intake. I try to be health conscious in these recipes, but this is by no means an exclusively low-fat or low-carb cookbook. Make sure to track your food intake and macros in order to meet your goals. Some recipes may have healthy substitutions, but may leave in some indulgent ingredients. This is to help you lead a balanced lifestyle where you can eat the foods you enjoy by making smart substitutions that wont ruin the meal for you. There are a variety of recipes using a variety of ingredients to help you decide how you'd like to substitute items to fit your needs. See the "A quick word about" section (p ) for ingredient replacement suggestions depending on your diet and considerations on how it affects the recipe.