Last night, I was so freaking hangry, my stomach’s rumblings were comparable to that of The Nothing from The NeverEnding Story. I had later clients than usual yesterday, so my plan was to order a Rama Garden (steamed vegetables with brown rice) with tofu from my favorite Thai restaurant, Thailand Cafe. That way, I could pick up, go home, and snarf. Alas, my go-to take-out resto was not answering their phone! AHHHHH!!!!  I called 3 times–once as I walked to the subway station on my way home from my client, again right as I came out from underground, and AGAIN, (hangrily) 2 seconds later. No answer. What was a hangry chick to do? I had to think on my feet. What could I wrangle up FAST so that I didn’t start mowing people down on the street in hanger?

I had a rice bowl concoction in my head as my meal of choice, so I had to come up with an alternative for a Rama Garden that could be made in a jiff. As I trekked home, I mentally took stock of what I had in my fridge. 1) I had some left over brown rice ready to go. Good, don’t have to wait an hour to cook that. 2) I had some broccoli that I could steam. That takes 5 minutes and although it won’t take the place of the variety of veggies that Thailand usually offers, it would make do. Finally, what could I sub for the tofu? I don’t usually keep tofu in my fridge, so what could a protein alternative be? I got it! 3) I’ll go all veggie burger on it! I had Amy’s Texas Veggie Burgers in my freezer and although I’d have to microwave, it would have to do on such short notice.

I mixed the cut up veggie burger with the steamed broccoli, re-heated brown rice, and a tablespoon and a half of hummus for flavor and texture. The finished product looked like this:

Guys, I know it doesn’t look appetizing, but it tastes pretty damn good for a 5 minute meal. Especially when you’re so hungry, you could eat your own hair and think it was a 6 course meal, complete with wine parings, from Le Bernardin. There ain’t nothing wrong with a little bump and grind veggies, brown rice, and cut up veggie burger, ya’ll. Get on it when you’ve only got a brief moment to refrain from eating your $200 haircut. Peace, not hanger.