Meatless Monday

I first heard about the Meatless Monday campaign about a year ago via twitter and was intrigued.  I spent a year of my life in my early 20's as a vegetarian and have always really enjoyed vegetarian cuisine.  But since then I suppose I always had the "all or nothing" mentality...if you were a vegetarian then you didn't eat meat, but if you weren't a vegetarian then why wouldn't you eat meat?  I am also married to a man and grew up in a family who would say things like "A meal isn't a meal without meat".  I think this is a common sentiment, especially among Americans...we are a meat and potatoes nation.

All that being said, when I heard about this Meatless Monday campaign I thought it was a great idea and we should give it a try.  My first hurdle was convincing my husband to not eat meat one day a week, which at the time seemed next to impossible.  I brought it up to him, and his 2 questions were "Why?" and "What are we going to eat then?"  Luckily I was prepared!  I began by explaining all the health and environmental benefits (see below).  He is a smart guy and is really into environmental issues and eating organic...so that hurdle was no problem.  But then it came to the "What are we going to eat?" question...so i started naming off things that i knew he liked: grilled cheese and tomato soup, bean and cheese burritos, macaroni and cheese, pasta with marinara sauce, etc...  Well, to my surprise he didn't say no...but I knew I needed to make it more interesting and more healthy than those initial things I mentioned...so has been my Meatless Monday journey!

We have come a long way since that initial conversation.  In fact after the first two Meatless Mondays, my husband said to me, "You know, I think we could and should do this more than just once a week" Gasp...I couldn't believe my ears!  So we now do Meatless Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays and sometimes Fridays.  We have even thrown around the idea of moving that up to 5 meatless days with one of them being a vegan day...we will see!

Some personal benefits I have noticed after incorporating meatless days are:

• We eat more of a variety of foods that we had never tried before
• We have saved money (organic meat can be expensive!)
• I enjoy meat more now and see it as a treat rather than a necessity
• I have enjoyed finding and cooking new and unique meals to make it interesting 
• We have convinced my parents and a few other close friends to start encorporating a meatless day once a week
•  I feel better over all knowing I am benefiting my body and the planet

As an example, below is what I ate today for Meatless Monday:
**All Organic of course!

• Breakfast:  All fruit smoothie w/ spinach (homemade in my Vita Mix!) 
• Lunch:  Homemade black bean & veggies soup for my husband and a chopped green salad with goat cheese and an oil and vinegar dressing for me (All made the night before)
• Snack:  Homemade roasted pumpkin seeds and a red pear
• Dinner: Quinoa w/ grilled veggies and a roasted beet, arugula, walnut & goat cheese salad.
• After Dinner Snack:  A cup of ginger tea w/ a piece of chocolate

Here is a picture of the roasted beet salad w/ recipe:

Recipe:
Ingredients
3 med/lrg. beets - tops trimmed (I like using organic golden beets)
1/2 cup raw organic walnuts
1 bunch of organic arugula
 4 oz. of crumbled goat cheese
Dressing:  a mix of olive oil, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper & garlic powder
   **I mix the dressing ingredients to taste...I prefer more balsamic vinegar in my dressing
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
W ash the trimmed beets and pat dry.  Wrap them individually in foil and place in the oven for 1 hr
Prepare the dressing
Place the walnuts on a baking sheet and put in the oven for the last 10 min - stirring once
When the beets are done, take them out of the oven, open the foil and let cool enough to handle
Once the beets have cooled down, take off the skin...skin should slide right off
Cut the beets into bite size chunks and marinate in the dressing for 15 minutes (leave some dressing on the side)
In a serving bowl, toss the arugula and the beets. Mix in the walnuts and goat cheese and serve with extra dressing if desired.

What are some of your go-to Meatless Monday dishes?  I would love to try new dishes and then post about them here!

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I have included some information below from the official Meatless Monday website. 
Visit them at http://www.meatlessmonday.com and follow them on twitter @MeatlessMonday for great recipes, articles, information and updates on community support.

"By cutting out meat once a week, we can improve our health, reduce our carbon footprint and lead the world in the race to reduce climate change."

Health Benefits

• LIMIT CANCER RISK: Hundreds of studies suggest that diets high in fruits and vegetables may reduce cancer risk. Both red and processed meat consumption are associated with colon cancer.
• REDUCE HEART DISEASE: Recent data from a Harvard University study found that replacing saturated fat-rich foods (for example, meat and full fat dairy) with foods that are rich in polyunsaturated fat (for example, vegetable oils, nuts and seeds) reduces the risk of heart disease by 19%
• FIGHT DIABETES: Research suggests that higher consumption of red and processed meat increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.
• CURB OBESITY: People on low-meat or vegetarian diets have significantly lower body weights and body mass indices. A recent study from Imperial College London also found that reducing overall meat consumption can prevent long-term weight gain.
• LIVE LONGER: Red and processed meat consumption is associated with increases in total mortality, cancer mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality.
• IMPROVE YOUR DIET. Consuming beans or peas results in higher intakes of fiber, protein, folate, zinc, iron and magnesium with lower intakes of saturated fat and total fat.

Environmental Benefits

• REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT. The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization estimates the meat industry generates nearly one-fifth of the man-made greenhouse gas emissions that are accelerating climate change worldwide . . . far more than transportation. And annual worldwide demand for meat continues to grow. Reining in meat consumption once a week can help slow this trend.
• MINIMIZE WATER USAGE. The water needs of livestock are tremendous, far above those of vegetables or grains. An estimated 1,800 to 2,500 gallons of water go into a single pound of beef. Soy tofu produced in California requires 220 gallons of water per pound.
• HELP REDUCE FOSSIL FUEL DEPENDENCE. On average, about 40 calories of fossil fuel energy go into every calorie of feed lot beef in the U.S. Compare this to the 2.2 calories of fossil fuel energy needed to produce one calorie of plant-based protein. Moderating meat consumption is a great way to cut fossil fuel demand.