For anything that calls for ground beef, I usually sub TVP or green lentils. Both are cheap, shelf stable and healthy options.

I’ve been vegan for four years and honestly, while it was practically not difficult for me, there was a pretty big mental hurdle I had to get over. It sounds silly in retrospect, but I literally mourned foods that I thought I’d never be able to eat. Turns out I still eat all the foods I like, just with small adjustments to make them vegan. So glad I switched. Best decision I ever made.

Wingman is the term you’re looking for.

But in my date’s opinion, he was clam jamming her!

I had a girl bring a guy friend along on our first date without giving me a heads up for the same reason. I was like, ok that’s a little weird but whatever. I’m certainly not going to give someone shit for doing something that makes them feel comfortable. Ended up chatting it up with the guy friend who turned out to be super cool.

So me and the girl end up seriously dating after a while and she later tells me that she spent most of our first date trying to subtly get her friend to leave so that she could spend more time with me.