Monday, January 24, 2011

Meatless During the Week



My husband and I are cutting down on eating meat. Don't get me wrong, we still like steak once in a while, same goes for chicken and fish. However, we find we feel better when we concentrate on beans, corn, veggies and fruits during the week. We also feel like we are doing something good for the planet, despite only buying free-range chicken, grass-fed beef, and sustainable fish.

My husband does his own refried beans recipe and freezes it in small containers to be used a little at a time. We usually go through one of these containers a week. We make bean tacos, bean taco salads, breakfast burritos and sometimes use them as a side with scrambled eggs.


Another favorite of mine is Sushi Rice Salad, recipe posted here.

My daughter passed along a new recipe for a Sushi Bowl that we will try tonight. I like that it uses tofu and brown rice. She says she could eat it every night. She also highly recommends 101 Cookbooks for wonderful recipes that are very healthy. I think I will pre-order the new cookbook, it looks fabulous.

How about you? Any veggie recipes I should absolutely know about?

23 comments:

Teresa said...

those look wonderful. i don't have any great meatless recipes at home but i have a folder at work that i'll email to myself and then send you some. there are a few really good recipes there.

Jen said...

Burritos and tacos are also some of our fave veggie fare. You can put all kinds of stuff in/on them and you never miss the meat!

Lillian Robinson said...

Refried beans are a favorite here, but let me try and skip the meat! Mr J would call that grounds for divorce. I can't get away with healthy meals here.

Desiree L Thompson said...

Awesome for giving up the meat for a week. I'm a meat lover too. When I find a vegetarian option that is good and tasty, it satisfies the appetite and that's the most important thing to stick with a goal like this. Meatless tacos are probably my favorite by YVES. Tofu stir-fry works too.

Hilary said...

I just made this fantastic soup, Lentil with spinach and sweet potato. It was UNBELIEVABLY good.
You can find it here.http://twopeasandtheirpod.com/lentil-soup-with-sweet-potatoes-spinach/

DJan said...

well, I am not a vegetarian, but a pescatarian, meaning that I eat fish but no other flesh. I am fortunate to be able to get sustainable fish here in the Pacific Northwest and many restaurants make their reputation around that fact. I have not eaten red meat in forty years and haven't missed it at all! :-)

Brian Miller said...

mmm....might have to try that sushi bowl...and i love refried beans...good stuff...

Trish and Rob MacGregor said...

oh yum. I'm hungry now.

luksky said...

I have to agree with Jen...Burritos and tacos are some of our favs around here. They are definitely versitile and easy to prepare. :-)

Miss Sadie said...

When my doctor and I were trying to discover some of the things which have been upsetting me, I tried some food experiments. My goal was two meatless meals a day. I'm still working on that. Often make a stew with yams, potatoes, kidney beans, carrots, etc.

I think more refinements are coming.

Unknown said...

Cool post. I am so used to having meat in main meals. Its a great idea to cut down. Will try having vegetarian mains for one main meal a day, and see how that works out... Great to start a healthy change, thanks for the thought. :)

Natalie said...

Vegetarian Lasagne,Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni is a winner here.
Quiche only using free range eggs.
I often substitute canned brown lentils where beef mince is called for. Patties, 'meatloaf', cottage pie etc,etc.

Midlife Roadtripper said...

I'll have to think about that. I do have several veggie recipes. My change is to quit wine during the week. I also only buy the grass-fed beef, wild fish.

Seems I've been on strike a lot with cooking. Get your own frozen dinner out of the freezer. Amy's Organic dinners. Does that count for your veggie dinners for some nights of the week?

The Good Cook said...

I couldn't live without Falafel! Love it and so do my "small palate eaters" (aka daughter)

Vegetable and barley soup - yum...
5 bean salad with lemon parsley dressing.
Couscous with raisins, orange zest and pinenuts.
Tabouleh!
Potato Soup
Eggplant parmesan
I'm going to have to pull out my Moosewood Cookbooks and email you a couple of tried and trues.
Linda

Umā said...

Yes - and it's from the same 101 Cookbooks website I noticed!

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/caramelized-tofu-recipe.html

J and I make this every other week or so. Delicious.

gypsywoman said...

natalie mentioned my favorite - spinach and ricotta lasagne [with pine nuts] - yum -

ellen abbott said...

We are eating less meat too. and a 'meat only once a day' routine. so if we have meat for lunch, none for dinner. unfortunately, my husband hates soy, says it upsets his digestion (which I don't necessarily believe, but he does). I like tofu though but since he does the cooking these days, the only time I get it is the rare times we go out to an asian restaurant.

Kathryn said...

Love this topic! We eat meatless once or twice a week purely by accident. We love nachos, bean and rice wraps, salads, etc, but a favourite of ours is lentil and brow rice casserole. It's full of protein, very filling, savoury, has a touch of wine (optional), and is a great meal to have with bread on a cold winter's day. I've ticked the "email followup comments" box, so if anyone wants the recipe, Nancy or commenters, I'll type it up and put it on my blog for y'all. Mmmmmm...

Kathryn said...

Oops, that's Lentil and Brown Rice Casserole, not Brow rice, heh heh.

Nancy said...

Thanks for the recipes, everyone! I can't wait to try them.

Kathy G said...

Great minds think alike...we're trying to eat healthier in the new year, and when you eat more grains and vegetables, by default you're eating less meat.

Whole Foods has a wide selection of meatless recipes on their Website. The ones I've tried have been quite good.

California Girl said...

Howdy there Reno girl: My husband is on a glueten free kick right now and I'd begun a "heavy on the vegetarian" kick in Dec when I was so ill with one virus or bacteria after another. Sunday I prepared my 30 year old chicken soup recipe using the wide Thai rice noodles and it really didn't make a difference at all. I've been preparing all vegetable soups: roasted root vegetable soup, spinach soup, broccoli soup, squash soup. The other ninght I cooked red lentils with carmelized onions & garlic and hard boiled eggs. Sounds so so but was quite good.

I will look into the 101 cookbook as I have only one decent vegetarian cookbook now, title I cannot remember. But it's a "quick & easy" genre and the recipes are really good.

Kathryn said...

Sorry for the delay - finally posted that recipe on my blog.
Kathryn : )