Tofu Anonymous

The off-white, slimy cube looked back at me with a concentrated gaze that matched my own. I tentatively picked up my fork, poked its side, and watched it jiggle and sway under my fork’s careful teasing. “The time has come,” I thought to myself. “Today is the day I will eat tofu.” I stabbed the dang cube with my fork, raised it to my mouth, and swallowed it—along with my dignity. A dumb decision made in the spur of the moment can change one’s life forever, and, that week, I made the dumb decision to take part in a bet that I lost.

Now I found myself face-to-face with a block of pressed baby soybeans and with what seemed like an impossible challenge: be vegetarian for a week.

While a vegetarian diet is easy for some, I grew up in a carnivorous family. A trip to the Brazilian Steakhouse, Costco hotdogs, and rotisserie chickens were not out of the norm. Being vegetarian would require commitment, perseverance, and daily battles with leafy, green-eyed monsters. Out of desperation during my first week, I combed internet for recipes and flipped through the pages of Vegetarian Times. Somewhere along the way, I was blinded by a blog’s neon green background and emphasis on graphic factory farm photos; despite the awful visuals and clear...