The last time we caught up with Tastemade’s All Up In My Grill star Dale Talde, the Chopped, Iron Chef America , Knife Fight and Top Chef cheftestant was singing the praises of Cantonese-style char siu BBQ ribs.
Though he’s still grilling, Talde has at least partially turned over a new leaf since then — a green one.
Now a father of two, the 43-year-old has become much more conscious about what he puts into his body. That raised level of awareness has led to Talde incorporating more plant-based food items into his diet, including Nasoya’s new Plantspired Steak.
“I’m a carnivore and I’ll always eat meat. At the end of the day, I don’t think you’re trying to replace meat. It’s more about including plant-based foods in your diet,” Talde tells InsideHook. “What does that mean? If you’re making dumplings, use half pork and another half soy protein. You’re gonna get a great texture and great mouthfeel. You just reduced your calories and reduced your animal protein consumption.”
As other meat-loving chefs have previously mentioned, many of the plant-based products that are on the market today are not your father’s tofu dogs. For Talde, it all comes down to major advances in the texture department.
![A plate of Plantspired steak skewers](https://www.insidehook.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/20220512-GH-NASOYA-1091-e1655244032198.jpg?w=3600&resize=3600%2C2400)
“A lot of times, the mouthfeel is wrong,” he says. “With soy protein, the biggest thing it brings to the table, besides the flavor and the fact that you’re eating a vegetable, is texture. That’s the most important thing because I can make it taste good. It can be marinated. It can be stir-fried. You don’t have to change your cooking style. Treat it like a normal protein and you’ll get great results. Make it taste delicious and work your way back from there.”
Not that Talde, who has also incorporated working out a few times per week as well as intermittent fasting into his wellness routine, is advocating for people to switch to a 100% plant-based diet. Far from it. What he’s pushing for is for carnivores to incorporate some herbivore tendencies into their monthly meal plan.
“Everyone’s so gung-ho when they start a plant-based diet. After week one, they’re like, ‘I need a cheeseburger,’” he says. “It’s hard because you want to go so hard when you start to make these decisions about your health and what you’re eating. You go to the store and you got $200 worth of vegetables. Then there’s no way you can eat that many vegetables and they go bad. That’s not sustainable. It’s all about balance. That’s when I think you find the most success. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. I think that’s a misconception.”
Talde also thinks that a small change like going plant-based a few times a week can end up having a big impact.
“Ask your actual gut if it appreciates your willingness to eat more plant-based. Immediately you just feel lighter,” he says. “Don’t eat plant-based for a week and then eat plant-based for a week and see which one makes you feel better. You already know the answer. Take a step back, go to the doctor and ask what they think. They’ll tell you the same thing. People don’t realize it’s a really fast, easy and delicious way to get food on the table. Food has to start with delicious and then everything else falls into place.”
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