As you have hopefully caught on, I’ve been posting a blog series with several meatless dinner recipes. See the end of this post for a complete list of these recipes
Some of you may be wondering why we choose to eat meatless meals. I think incorporating meatless meals into your diet regularly is a helpful practice. For us that looks like about one dinner per week. We also eat leftovers from our dinners for lunches, and rarely eat meat for breakfast so we end up having a few meatless meals per week.
Now, I do have a few guidelines. I still want to make sure the meal includes protein, vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats. The meal should fill us up, keep us satisfied for a while and provide our bodies with the nutrients they need to thrive. I hate to break it to you, but cereal for dinner doesn’t count.
Another tip for when you’re planning a meatless meal is to skip the “meat replacements.” Trust me, you can make meals that taste way better, and are way less expensive than a plant based hot dog (or something of that nature.) Learn to appreciate beans, legumes, vegetables and grains and try making them the star of the dish. Your health, wallet and taste buds will thank you.
Why should we eat more meatless meals? Here is a quick list of reasons, although there are likely many more.
Meat is expensive. Let’s be honest, my main motivation for incorporating more meatless dinners was to save money. Meat is usually the most expensive part of my grocery list per pound so I am happy to save a few dollars by eliminating meat from one dinner.
It allows you to expand your taste buds. If you aren’t using meat, you have to find other ways to bring flavour and texture. My meat-loving husband was surprised by how much he enjoys my vegetarian-style dinners.
More room on the plate for veggies. I won’t speak to the health or quality of meat that most of us buy. But I do know that when there is less meat on a plate that means there can be more room for vegetables and most of us could stand to eat a few more servings of those!
It’s better for the environment. I think we have all heard by now that eating less meat can help reduce our environmental footprint. Even one less serving per week could make a difference if we all did it.
It’s easy! No need to remember to thaw your meat ahead of time, deal with icky raw meat, worry about raw meat contamination or making sure it’s fully cooked without over cooking it. Most of the vegetarian meals I make don’t take long to put together and use simple ingredients which saves me time and hassle. It’s nice to have one dinner a week where I am not dealing with preparing and cooking meat.
If you’re feeling inspired to add a meatless meal to your meal plan this week here are a few recipes that I love.
Lunches/ Dinners:
Soups! In the fall and winter I make a ton of vegetable soups.
Breakfasts:
I would love to see your favourite meatless dinner recipes! Comment below or send me an email at tricia@homestylefitness.ca or a DM on Instagram or Facebook @homestyle.fitness.
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