I have 4 hungry guys in my house. One happens to be my husband who is easily out-eaten by my 7 year old twins and my 3 year old, but that’s a whole other blog.
In our home we have one vegetarian (that would be me), one meat-a-holic and three carb-a-holics. Add to that the fact that they are all guys and you have 4 meat-eating, carb-loving, food-hogging stomachs. If you haven’t guessed it, I pretty much live in my kitchen.
Considering I am a Holistic Nutritionist, I work to balance out their preferences with what their bodies need. I feed them vegetarian meals at least twice a week because I am well aware of some of the dangers of meat.
Dear disease … let’s not meet.
The consumption of red and processed meats has been linked to many degenerative diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease as well as diabetes. Red meat is also high in saturated fat and its over-consumption plays a major factor in the obesity problems we are facing today.
TodaysDietician.com states that high-processed meat intake has been linked to a 42% risk increase of coronary heart disease. A follow-up study also suggested that a daily serving of 100g of red meat was linked with a 19% risk increase of developing type 2 diabetes and a 50g daily serving of processed meat increased the risk by 51%!
But you scream, I won’t get enough protein!
Before you tell me I’m an idiot and send me on my way, hear me out.
Protein is needed for tissue growth, repair and maintenance. It is also important for providing your body the nine essential amino acids, the building blocks of protein, as the body cannot produce them.
Protein is considered a “macronutrient”. In english – it is a nutrient that your body needs in large quantities. But we have definitely taken “macro” to another level.
The average person needs 10-35% of their calories to come from protein and most adults don’t have a problem meeting that criteria. In fact, the problem is getting people to chill out on their need to eat protein like it’s going out of style.
Plus, there are plenty of ways to get protein and still be a vegetarian, like: vegetables, beans, legumes, whole grains, quinoa, nuts & seeds …It’s a fad, let it go. {insert over-played frozen song here}
This “Meatless Monday” phenomenon is nothing new. According to MeatlessMonday.com it all began in World War I as a way to conserve resources (it also included “Wheatless Wednesdays”. Clever.). At the time, over 13 million families signed the pledge.
Now, every Monday, much of the world takes part in “Meatless Monday”.
So, before you tell me you don’t want to join the Meatless Monday “fad” – just remember, Monday is only 15% of your week. It’s also a way to decrease your risk of disease, increase your health, help the environment and save money. This is a winning combo, people.5 ways to love Meatless Monday …
To encourage you to fall in love with Meatless Mondays, we thought we’d help you out with some new recipes.
If this is your first Meatless Monday, or you’ve been doing this for years and are just looking for new recipes – you’ve hit the gold mine. You won’t know how awesome these are unless you try them!
Vegetarian Burrito
ingredients:
- 2C cooked quinoa
- 2C spinach
- 1/4 sweet onion, diced
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1/2C fresh salsa
- 4 10” whole grain tortillasdressing:
- 1 lime, zest and juice
- 1 Tbsp cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
directions:
Mix dressing and combine with cooked quinoa. In the centre of each wrap, place quinoa, spinach, onion,
avocado and salsa. Roll tightly.
Serves 4
Twice-Baked Yam
ingredients:
- 4 small yams
- 1/2 C non-fat, plain greek yogurt
- 1/2 C fresh chives, diced
- 1/2 C parmesan cheese
directions:
Preheat your oven to 425F. Slice your yams in half, lengthwise. Spray a baking pan with EVOO and place the yams face down. Bake for 1 hour. Once slightly cooled, gently remove yam from skin, leaving approximately 1/2 inch on the bottom. Mix the yam, yogurt, chives and parmesan cheese. Divide bak into the yam skins.
Serves 4
Kale & Sweet Potato Frittata
ingredients:
- 12 eggs
- 1 roasted sweet potato, mashed
- 2C kale, stems removed and chopped into bite-size pieces
- 1C cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1-2 sprigs fresh rosemary, removed from stem
- pepper, to taste
directions:
Preheat the oven to 375F. Spray an oven-safe dish with EVOO. In the
dish, beat eggs and add sweet potato and mix well. Add the rest of the
ingredients, folding gently until coated with egg mixture. Bake for
40 minutes.
Serves 6
Roasted Veggie Salad with Kale and Quinoa
ingredients:
- 1 1/2C brussels sprouts, sliced in half lengthwise
- 1 1/2C cauliflower, cut into florets
- 1C carrots, sliced
- 1C raw, unsalted pecans
- 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp cold-pressed, extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp fresh ginger, diced
- pinch of ground pepper and nutmeg
- 4C kale, washed and chopped into bite-size pieces
- 2C cooked quinoa
directions:
Preheat oven to 425F. Mix veggies with the rest of the ingredients, except the kale and quinoa. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes. Serve on top of kale and quinoa.
Serves 4
Clean-Eating Veggie Pizza
ingredients:
- whole-grain pizza dough –
- 1C warm water
- 1 tsp organic coconut sugar
- 1 Tbsp yeast
- 2 C white whole wheat flour
- 1C plain, non-fat greek yogurt
toppings –
- 1/2C-1C low-sodium tomato paste
- 1 Tbsp dried oregano
- 1/2-1C shredded cheese
- 4C of your fave veggies
(We love onions, peppers, mushrooms, spinach, cherry tomatoes … anything goes!)
directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Place warm water in a small bowl and add sugar and yeast. Let sit 5 minutes. Combine whole wheat flour, greek yogurt and yeast mixture in a mixer (or with a spoon) and then knead until it forms a ball. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes. Flour your surface and roll until 1/4 inch thick and then fold the edges over to create your crust. Move pizza dough to a pizza stone or parchment lined pizza sheet. Coat with tomato paste and add oregano, toppings and cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
Serves 4
