Ryan and I are meat eaters. Carnivores.
But, eating meatless meals at least once a week is a practical and realistic way to save money, eat healthier and reduce our carbon footprint. (Check out the facts here. Lots of good reasons to make Monday your new meatless night.)
Eating meatless is also a fun way to try new recipes and flavors.
So, while we were lackadaisical about having weekly meatless meals in the past, in 2011, we’re working hard to keep at it. (As noted in my 2011 goals.)
I’m also going to try to share meatless recipes with you when we’ve tried them. Here are the first few.
Lime and cilantro rice with black beans
Via: VAMH
Review: If I made this recipe every night, Ryan would be thrilled. We could never eat meat again. It’s delicious and filling and inexpensive. And, did I mention delicious? We’ve been making it regularly since seeing it on Allison’s blog in 2009. We really like it with homemade guacamole.
Baked caprese macaroni and cheese
Via: 30 days 30 ways
Review: This is the yummiest, cheesiest meal and easy enough for a weekday. While it’s really just a baked pasta, it feels kind of fancy. And, while Ryan isn’t a big fan of mac and cheese, he loved this. It had great flavor and was filling enough for supper.
Spinach florentine shells
Via: My Happy Meals
Review: This is a huge meal, but quite good. If you like spinach, you’ll like it. You may even like it if you don’t.
Have you gone meatless? What’s your favorite meatless recipe?ย
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Real Housewife in MN says
Oooo I’ve done the cilantro-lime rice and it’s AMAZING! We made some burrito bowl type of things and they were AWESOME. I’ll have to try some of these other ones!
Kelly says
That mac and cheese looks incredible!
Red Stethoscope says
My mouth just started watering at the picture of the baked caprese mac and cheese!
I was a vegetarian for a few years and one of my favorite recipes was this: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/vegetarian-moussaka/Detail.aspx
It’s a little time intensive, but oooh, the flavor! So delicious!
Emily @ Longley's in San Diego says
Since I don’t eat meat all of my favorite meals are meat-less ha. It’s so easy to find such good variety out there!
Allison aka Half of VAMH says
Nice work! You should try the sweet potato/black bean recipe I recently posted. Divine.
Mrs. 5C says
We’re meatless every Friday! The rest of the Catholic world goes meatless every Friday (not just during Lent), but Americans think they’re special or something, so most American Catholics ignore this. We kick it old school in the Five Camels household. ๐
I’m very excited to hear about your meatless dishes!!
Jordan says
We’ve been eating vegetarian for over 2 years and I really don’t miss meat! My family is always worried about figuring out what to make for us but it’s really not that hard and eventually you’ll even learn tasty things to make that arent pasta or pizza :). But yay for going meatless on Monday’s!
Kristy says
My favorite meatless meal is veggie stuffed peppers. I change the way I make them every time, but mostly I just saute some onion, garlic, and zucchini, stir in a can of diced tomatoes (or fresh, if I have them on hand), and then mix it all together with cooked (brown) rice. Stuff the pepper and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. Sometimes I add cheese, and top with breadcrumbs.
This is actually the same recipe I use for meat-stuffed peppers – I just add ground beef, ground turkey, or even chopped Italian turkey sausage to the mix. I often make up a big batch of the stuffing mixture, then stuff the number of peppers I need for dinner throughout the week.
Amanda @ Little House on the Corner says
Good for you! Those pasta dishes look scrumptious – I bookmarked both recipes.
I haven’t gone meatless, but it’s crossed my mind. I think I could do it (my husband definitely couldn’t). My sister has gone fully meatless though, and when we were home for Christmas, my mom made a really yummy vegetarian soup with sweet potatoes in it. If you’re interested in the recipe, e-mail me and I’ll send it to you.
Leigh says
It looks like Meatless Monday is almost the same as Pasta night. ๐ I’m too picky to remove a food group that I do willingly eat. We were almost meatless last night- perogies with maple bacon brussel sprouts.
Shannon says
Every single one of these looks awesome. i’m adding them to next month’s plan. We really need to limit the meat over here…thanks pal!
amber waves of grain says
We had homemade pizza and salad the other night, and my meat-loving husband didn’t complain at all. I’ll have to try some of your recipes… my hubby LOVES cheese!
Michael - Innkeeper says
who told you i love – freakin’ love – pasta.
you’re killing me with these dishes!! you need to show recipes for ‘one’. cause i’d totally sit down and eat the whole pan until i couldn’t move.
yum!!
Amy@My Front Porch says
Those first two are definitely on my “to try” list. They look delicious!
Mrs. Adventure says
I love that you guys are doing meatless Mondays, keep those yummy recipes coming :+)
Jenny @ DIY Newlyweds says
Kim, I love this post! You are totally right about all of the benefits of cutting down on meat.
About 3 years ago I decided to cut back on eating meat, which lead to trying to go for a week without eating meat at all, which turned into a month and then almost 3 years now! I still eat seafood on occassion, but I don’t miss eating meat at all and I’ve never felt better (or eaten tastier food).
There are plenty of other things to eat and ways to get all of the protein and nutrients you need from non-meat sources. A great recipe I recently found is this Quinoa and Chickpea Salad:
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipe/salads/warm-quinoa-and-chickpea-salad/
I totally recommend the book “Eating Animals” by Jonathan Safran Foer for anyone who’s interested in learning about the food they eat (its totally not a pushy vegetarian book, it objectively researches the pros and cons of meat).
Sorry to go on and on about this, but this topic gets me excited! Kudos to you for doing Meatfree Mondays and thanks for sharing your recipes!
Rita/Fighting Off Frumpy says
Yum, these look absolutely delicious … especially that mac & cheese … MMM! These could definitely get me behind “Meatless Mondays.” ๐
Amanda @ Serenity Now says
Oh my word, that macaroni and cheese looks amazing!!!! I like the idea of doing some meatless meals as a way to save some money.
Liz @ It's Great To Be Home says
Um, yum!!! I will definitely be printing out those recipes, thanks for sharing! I don’t make an effort to go meatless but it winds up happening a fair amount – one of my faves is our “fake Chinese food” which is basically just rice, topped with veggies that we’ve stir-fried with a spicy sauce – maybe sriracha?, and topped with cashews. Our sauce comes in a bottle with a rooster on it, for what it’s worth. ๐ Anyway, it’s tasty!
jen @ homeinthecountry says
Whoa – great timing! We just decided last night that we are really determined to eat local meats, which are pricey, so we’re adding in a few veggie meals each week to keep our food costs low. These all look great – I’m excited to see what else you come up with… ๐
Mike and Katrina @HA says
That’s great! When I met my wife she was vegetarian and I was meat and patatoes. We found some middle ground and now I don’t mind meatless meals a few times a week. It’s definitely healthier ๐
*claire* says
those all look delicious!!
i have to admit, i would go meatless every day if i could get away with it. it’s not that i want to be a vegetarian, i just prefer pasta and cheese to meat! the husband forces me to eat more meat though, for the protein and whatnot. but i think these dishes would be a great addition to my meatless ideas! good job, chef kim!
Biz says
That Baked Caprese looks delicious!
Biz
http://busybizblogs.blogspot.com/
Emily says
Adding the top two to my next menu plans! (Does the bottom one taste like Lasagna? It looks like Lasagna in shell form. Lasagna and I aren’t the best of friends).
I tried to convince B to go Vegan. It did not work.