Hi, happy Labor day ladies. I am looking to switch my family over for many reasons from having a meat based diet to much more of a plant and vegetarian diet. Not cutting out meat completely of course but reducing our amount of meat very significantly. I think right now we usually eat meat almost every night. We eat ALOT of chicken. We eat pork, we eat red meat. We eat too little seafood because my kids don't like it so it becomes annoying. I need to try harder with them. But anyways. I want to start eating half of our meals completely vegetarian and the meat ones to be less meat. Some ideas I have for dinners are:
- bean and cheese burritos
- stuffed peppers with rice and beans and cheese
- mushroom barley soup
- lentil soup
- spinach and feta quiche
- hummus and veggies and pita
- veggie burgers
- pasta primavera
- bow tie pasta with buckwheat (kasha varnishkes)
What I'd like to know is if any of you have made a similar change, and if so what were your reasons and secondly, can you give me some menu suggestions and/or recipes in addition to those I said. (I don't really like tofu that much so preferably other things that are still healthy :-) )
For info, my reasons have to do with the completely inhumane farming and treatment of animals both the cruelty to the animals and the unsustainability of this for the long run. I do not have any bee in my bonnet to change others, so don't worry! I am not going to preach here. this is just my own thing. I am wanting to be healthy and not eat tons of carbs too. Thanks moms!
Thank you so much ladies, you are awesome. @ Dawn, no I didn't see Temple Grandin, but of course heard of the movie. I had no idea that's what it was about, I'll check it out, thanks! I completely agree with all the suggestions about moderation, totally good point. I am going to try alot of your suggestions. Obviously one can google anything but it is so nice to "talk" to other real moms and get info that you know is not pushing some agenda or product. XOXO to all of you! I will keep you updated on my new approach. I was raised eating alot of red meat. We had meals like chili, ground beef and mac and cheese, burgers, tacos etc ALOT. I DO NOT want to cut meat out of our diets BUT I am going to only buy organic free range meat and only in moderation because I cannot afford to eat that kind of meat in the quantities we do now! And I think we'll all be healthier for it! I'll let ya'll know!
I just wanted to say, thank you for posting this and for the ideas. We do one meat free dinner a week at the request of my daughter and trying to do two this school year so I appreciate hearing what other people cook. Kashe Varnishkes are a childhood favorite of mine, I make them frequently as a side dish
Sounds like you're already gotten great advice but I wanted to add - good for you! We started doing less meat once we decided to go organic/grass fed because its expensive. I feel better and healthier.
One thing that I personally love is grain, veggie, cheese and nut combos! They're delicious and filling!
Best, J
I did but not drastically. I just started adding more vegetables and reducing the amount of meat on the plate or in the recipe. I usually makes sure there is always something green on the plate. The half the plate in vegetables, quarter starch and quarter protein, really does work.
If your family isn't familiar with the food, then they may reject it. I found it easier to introduce one new thing/recipe a week. My kids love salmon...grill or pan fry and brush with teriyaki sauce. You really can't go wrong.
Good luck!
I get an email once a day from "All You" magazine. Each Monday it's "Meatless Monday" and the recipes seem pretty simple and healthy.
http://www.allyou.com/food/recipes/
We had to do this when my husband developed an allergy to anything derived from a mammal. Try bean nachos, roast vegetables with olive oil and basil and garlic bread, salmon patties with salad and brown rice, potatoes baked inter jackets etc. You'll get used to it pretty quickly.
Try mixing cooked whole wheat berries in with your ground beef. It takes on the flavor of the meat, increases your whole grain intake, is much cheaper, and decreases the amount of meat you eat.
I tried to cut out a lot of fat in my diet a few years ago. Im not so sure it was the best way to eat but it is what I did. I bought all fat free when I could and didnt use margarines and oils as much a possible. I ate chicken and fish a lot along with tons of salads, and veggies. I used fat free dressings and fat free bread. I drink only water. I dont eat candys, chips, cakes, or milk or ice cream. Yes I lost a lot of weight (I also walked 2 miles a day), I felt great, but, I then started to back off a bit and found when I did want that big juicy steak at my favorite restaurant, it tasted/felt like vaseline in my mouth. I couldnt eat a porkchop, and got really sick when I had "real" salad dressing. I had gone too far in the fat free direction and my body just couldnt take the fat when it got it. I might as well have picked up a bottle of cooking oil and guzzled it down. Certain vitamins need some fat to work, so be careful to not get too strict with the foods. I of course fell off the "fat free wagon" and gained all the weight back, and have been eating meats again. I wouldnt mind going more meat free to some extent. Its probably good for us, but Id have to be careful not to go too far and make it hard to live in the real world.
Here are a couple of my favorite non meat dishes....
Fried Eggplant
Small white (Japenese) eggplant, or other small slender variety. Peel, thinly slice. One can do the same with Zucchini, but don't have to peel the zucchini.
Depending on how much.........2 eggs beaten, sprinkle generous amount of Italian seasoning, (fresh finely chopped basil, oregano, thyme will also work) salt, pepper, mix together .. (I don't measure, I just season to what I think will combine for good flavor).
Wheat or saltine crackers (finely crushed)
Dip the eggplant slices in the egg mixture to coat, then dip into the cracker crumbs
Preheat skillet with olive oil.
Fry in olive oil in skillet or griddle about 4-5 minutes on low heat until golden to dark brown and eggplant is tender, turn to cook on other side til same. The thickness of the eggplant will determine how long to cook.
These taste like mushrooms.
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Stir fry veggies (fresh/raw).
Chop or slice or use chunky bite size pieces.
Celery
Onion
Green pepper
Cabbage
Carrot
! packet of Sunbird oriental seasoning mix.... recipe on back
For variety, I sometimes add Broccoli or Zucchini or Asparagus
In hot skillet or wok, generous olive oil. Stir fry til tender crisp, then add whatever seasoning you desire. You may make your own or prepare the seasoning packet per directions on packet (calls for soy sauce, water, sugar). I personally do not use the whole packet as I think the flavors are too strong. I take out what I want, estimate the mixture, save rest of packet for another use or two..
Serve with brown rice.
If you want, you may use small amount of meat, stir fry it first, chicken or pork before cooking the veggies.
I use ground boca meat for some of my recipes like tacos or even Lasgna. I also grill portabello mushrooms and it's really yummy. Pizza is another dish you can make super healthy, I make or buy pesto use that for the base a little cheese and tomatoes.
I think I would get a few new cookbooks. You want to be informed about the protein and nutritional content of foods.
I have a friend who was vegetarian for decades, but gave it up because she is raising three growing boys, two with ADHD issues, and she couldn't provide them enough protein to keep them healthy (physically and otherwise). Things are better now that she's included some meat in their diet.
I have been cooking with reduced meat for myself for some time, and my daughter is now expressing a desire to limit her meat intake, too. So I will also be looking for new ideas for meals.
We've tried to do that too. We still eat meat and cheese and dairy, but try to do it only a few times a week. I have a great cookbook called Clean Food by Terry Walters. It's a vegan cookbook, so we modify the recipes a bit to include real cheese and dairy, but they're REALLY good! It's divided into seasons too so you can try to eat more seasonally fresh food too.
I also found this blog that looks like it could have some good recipes, and also links to others. http://thelazyvegetarian.blogspot.com/
Good luck!
Here are a few awesome meat-free blogs:
Www.peasandthankyou.com
Www.ohsheglows.com
Www.101cookbooks.com
Cutting meat out of your diet does not have to be boring or bland all!
Happy cooking!
I had to get away from meat. That's what keeps my cholesterol low. I don't worry much about carbs. You actually need carbs, especially since you're thinking about doing away with meat. Just not the candy carbs. (lol) There was a documentary on these Shaolin monks that came over from China and settled in various parts of the U.S., because they weren't allowed to practice Kung Fu in China. One of them settled in NYC. He had the worst time finding out where to get vegetarian food when he first came here, so he wound up eating lots of plain pizza. You can make your own pizza via bread machine. The meat substitute crumbles are really great for making vegetarian versions of hamberger hash, chili, and tacos. You can look for the crumbles in the vegetarian freezer section in your local supermarket. It's put out by Morning Star. You can also make cheese manacotti with tomato sauce... Fetucini Alfredo...Egg salad sandwiches...(You can make are really good sandwich spread by cooking off chick peas, mashing them, let them cool then add mayo and chopped onion.)
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My son brought back this recipe he found while cooking for an Americorps team... it is so yummy!
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/black_bean_quesadillas....
They are very easy to make... I made them the other night, also.
I actually am cooking up dried beans, a pound at a time, and freezing them.. I get 3 bags of cooked beans (2 C each), without all the sodium and such that is added to the canned beans.
He also told me about a recipe for chickpea burgers.. we haven't tried those, yet. They do have an egg in them as a binder. No, they aren't going to taste like a standard hamburger, but apparently they are pretty yummy in their own way.
Hi L.,
I'm with you on this one. I haven't eaten meat in over 30 years, for your reasons and more. If you'd like a wonderful turkey lasagna recipe or seafood casserole recipe that we love, let me know. You can substitute turkey for just about any meat recipe.
"Grams"
from the Pocono Mts. of PA
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