Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Meatless Mondays

As I was putting the finishing touches on dinner last night, Ainsleigh walked in, glanced through the glass cover on the skillet and asked, "What happened to meatless Mondays?" I smirked and replied, "You're looking at it!"

Let me introduce you to our most recent family program: Meatless Mondays. This concept began to take shape as I pondered the question, "Could we have one meal a week that didn't have poultry/fish/beef?" I mean, I know there are vegetarians out there. I know it can be done. And that's when the question changed to, "WHY would I do this?"

Most of the time when I am facing something with that exact question (see: cloth diapering; making yogurt; installing a new fuse in the breaker box; giving up store bought bread for homemade; natural childbirth; repainting the majority of the inside of our house; getting up before 5 am to exercise; etc.) the answer is simple, if borderline juvenile: BECAUSE I want to see if I CAN.

In this instance, I saw other benefits such as saving money, being a healthy alternative, and it works into the vague weekly meal plan I've set up for myself to help reduce that, "What am I going to make for dinner?" feeling that usually settles in around 3:30 pm (Sunday - whatever I want, but half the time probably a roast and mashed potatoes and a bunch of vegetables; Monday - Meatless!; Tuesday - chicken; Wednesday - fish; Thursday - soup; Friday/Saturday - misc/leftovers/pizza). But mostly I wanted to see if I COULD.

I'm happy to report we've been on this program (calling it that makes it sound super formal) for a month now with success! Last night I made Tasty Lentil Tacos (served in just soft corn tortillas) and I have to agree - they were tasty. I would NOT agree with the people who said it was similar to ground beef. It's not. That's not why I made it, though. And I certainly didn't think, "Wow, I really miss meat!" Served that with a variation on a salad the sensational Sarah told me she's been eating (chop a bunch of cucumber; chop a bunch of red bell pepper - or was it tomatoes? I use peppers; thinly slice a bunch of romaine lettuce even though she said she doesn't use it; wish you had some green olives as well; crumble in feta until you're satisfied; grind some black pepper over it and drizzle a couple teaspoons of both extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice; toss and EAT) and some of that crazy delicious sweet corn from Costco's frozen section and I was FULL. On top of it, Gemma snarfed down her taco as if having a piece of chocolate cake depended on it (maybe because I told Donovan it did?). The point is: she loved it. The other kids enjoyed it as well (Ainsleigh: "Mom, you made ANOTHER favorite meal!").

So we've done a quinoa-based main dish (delicious - don't forget to rinse your quinoa first), a Cuban black beans and rice night (I enjoyed it more than Joel - I don't think he was expecting it to be a little sweet thanks to a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar added at the end), and then I phoned it in one night and made waffles.

Also, if you happen to check out those recipes and see that they have chicken broth in them (not the waffles, duh) and get all, "That's not vegetarian!!" Then just pipe down because I'm just talking about not using meat. And I don't have vegetable broth. Yet.

But I think I'm going to need some inspiration. I mean, I can do different beans/rice/quinoa combinations, but I'd love to know if there are any tried and loved meatless main dishes out there.

Here's the catch, though: I'm not doing tofu. I just can't. It doesn't taste like meat. And I'm not pretending to eat meat. Just like I don't hide vegetables in food so we pretend NOT to eat them. So no tofu/meat-substitute recipes. I mean, WHY would I try using tofu?

Uh oh...

8 comments:

laura said...

I actually rarely buy meat because 1) it's expensive and 2) it's more work. A lot of pasta dishes are easy to do without meat--like that Broccoli & bowties recipe you gave me a while back. Or you could make an Asian noodle stir fry with snap peas, peppers, etc. You could also do fancy grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato and basil. And my recent obsession (probably better as a side, but you can also put them on a salad with a balsamic vinaigrette) is assorted roasted vegetables: potato cubes, brussel sprouts, broccoli, carrots, asparagus, etc. Tossed with olive oil and kosher salt and roasted in a foil-lined pan. Simple and delish.

Alice said...

i agree with laura on the meat....mostly the more work part.

you could make garden burgers

Sarah Burgoyne said...

Bell peppers AND tomatoes, greek olives if I have them :)

Do your recipes need to be egg free? If not I have a couple good Persian recipes for you :)

Allison said...

Can't think of anything beyond beans and quinoa right now, but I just wanted to point out that if you get the big bag of quinoa from Costco, it's pre-rinsed. Also, I'm going to have to look for this frozen corn.

Jess said...

Meatless Mondays are also good for the environment! :)

Coming from a former vegetarian, I am sure that you can do it - there are TONS of delicious options without eating tofu (ew).

celeste said...

well, there's always salads of course. do you guys like eggs? what about a frittata? or you can make roasted potatoes and serve with poached or sunny side-up eggs and fresh asparagus (or other green veg, but the asparagus (on the egg on the potatoes) makes a really pretty dish if you compose it all top chef).

janine said...

We just had this for dinner....super quick and easy, simple and VERY tasty!!! I use Barilla Plus pasta (whole grain with omega-3) and the BEST feta cheese (it's a specific one from Costco that is fabulous!)....

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2010/05/spinach-and-feta-pasta/

loewymartin said...

veggie lasagna and we do a white sauce. I have made lasagna rollups as well as the layered kind.