My New Favorite Dinner, With a Protein Flex

Hi there,

I used to be a vegetarian. I ate that way for a solid decade before going back to eating seafood (grilled shrimp! sushi!), and then chicken (while pregnant with my daughter and craving it).

That left me eating recipes that are plant-focused, plus chicken and fish. Along the way, I realized this was basically the Mediterranean diet.

This is what caused me to become so interested in this way of eating.

I love that it is a lifestyle approach, not really a “diet” in the strict sense of the word. It’s all about enjoying the abundance of delicious, fresh foods with your loved ones. Which is 100% my vibe.

Then I learned it was ranked #1 in the world by many health professionals, and started geeking out on Blue Zones, lifestyle medicine, and took a class from Harvard (here’s what I learned there, if you’re interested).

All that to say, I' still eat a lot of plant-forward meals. And having been a vegetarian for so long, every time I create a new chicken recipe I say…

I have to make a vegetarian or vegan spin too!

So that’s what I did for you this week.

I love the idea of a dinner with separate plant-based and meat/seafood protein options — so much so that I have a whole chapter devoted to this “flex protein” idea in my new cookbook (Mediterranean Every Night coming in March ‘27!).

I’m giving you a little preview to that idea with today’s recipe!

This Mediterranean-style plate is a variation I can’t stop riffing on: big, herby flavors and a side of creamy tzatziki sauce.

The Greek chicken meatballs here are loaded with fresh mint, inspired by my full garden and an idea I saw on Splendid Table of adding a load of mint to lamb meatballs.

The vegetarian version are made of chickpeas and feta and also very delicious: they’re naturally a little drier in texture, kind of like falafel!

I tested this on my family and my kids like the chicken version best, but I love both equally. Hope you love it too, let me know what you think!

My best friend just told me she heard about the value that an 8-minute phone call can have on your life.

I did some digging and found that a Harvard study on human behavior (referenced in this NYT piece from 2023) found this: Strong relationships are what make a happy life.

The author of that NYT article challenged people to try proposing an “8 minute catch up phone call” as an easy place to start. Surely everyone has 8 minutes? It makes connecting that much easier.

This week’s invitation: Think of a person you love: someone you wish you connected with more often. Send that person a quick text asking if they can chat on the phone for eight minutes (then, do it!).

I’d love to hear how this goes so please report back :)

xoxo
~Sonja