Contributed to BlogHers ACT Canada by Naomi of Urbanmummy
Going (almost) meatless isn't that difficult, but it does take a little planning. Eating lower on the food chain is one very easy way to lower your environmental footprint and make a difference.
If you are used to eating meals focussed around the meat, it can be daunting to cut it out completely.If you are not ready to give it up however, try lessening the focus of your meal from the meat to the other dishes. Including one or more meatless meals each week will help. For the meals where you do include meat, try reducing the amount. Aim for 1/3 meat, 1/3 vegetable, 1/3 grain. Choosing whole grains and brightly coloured vegetables will add some variety to your meals, as well as increasing the nutritional value.
In our house, we eat meat or fish twice a week, and for the rest of our dinners we are vegetarian. We find it to be a nice balance (and a reasonable compromise between a meat eater and a former vegetarian). Finding interesting and tasty vegetarian and vegan meals is always a challenge, and we overcome that by preparing a weekly meal plan.
Here is our plan for the coming week. I'm including breakfasts and lunches for the children to give some idea of the variety. Feel free to use as much of it as you like.
Monday |
|
| Breakfast |
Omelettes with vegetables (chopped very small), yogurt |
| Lunch |
Homemade macaroni & cheese, green vegetable (raw or cooked) |
| Dinner |
Japanese Broccoli Noodles with Bok Choy & Tofu |
Tuesday |
|
| Breakfast |
Pancakes prepared with sweet potato puree |
| Lunch |
Chick Pea burgers, noodles, green vegetable |
| Dinner |
Cauliflower Lentil Soup, Baked chicken breast, farfel with mushrooms or mashed potatoes, green salad |
Wednesday |
|
| Breakfast |
Cereal, toast or muffins, fruit, yogurt |
| Lunch |
Grilled Cheese sandwiches, green vegetable (raw or cooked) |
| Dinner |
Homemade Pizza (whole wheat crust), green salad |
Thursday |
|
| Breakfast |
Scrambled eggs or Omelettes with vegetables (chopped very small), yogurt |
| Lunch |
Fishies (baked fish sticks), green vegetable |
| Dinner |
Crockpot black bean & corn chilli served over basmati rice |
Friday |
|
| Breakfast |
Baked Oatmeal (prepared in advance) with berries |
| Lunch |
Tofu nuggets, noodles, green vegetable |
| Dinner |
Something with meat or fish - Our Friday night Shabbat dinner with relatives
|
Happy Cooking!
Naomi is a busy mum of 2 young boys, 3 and 1. She is a huge proponent of meal planning and vegetarian cooking. Her weekly meal plans, vegetarian recipes and other good stuff can be found online here.
Comments