20 Recipes For Your Next Meatless Monday
Have you always wondered about vegetarianism, but love your meat way too much to give it up? You might want to add a Meatless Monday meal into your weekly routine. Meatless Monday encourages switching a meal (or three) per week for a meat-free version, to improve your nutrition, up your veggie intake, reduce your carbon footprint, and help you save a little cash.
The concept of meat-free meal replacements is by no means a new idea. According to meatlessmonday.com:
During World War I, the U.S. Food Administration urged families to reduce consumption of key staples to aid the war effort. “Food Will Win the War,” the government proclaimed, and “Meatless Monday” and “Wheatless Wednesday” were introduced to encourage Americans to do their part. The campaign returned during World War II when President Franklin D. Roosevelt relaunched it to help that war’s efforts on the home front. In the immediate post-war years, President Harry S. Truman continued the campaign to help feed war-ravaged Europe.
The idea was revived in 2003 by Sid Lerner, a former advertiser turned health advocate who, in association with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for a Livable Future, reintroduced Meatless Monday as a public health awareness campaign. Since 2003, Meatless Monday has grown into a global movement, which has been implemented in schools, hospitals, worksites, and restaurants the whole world over (even Beyoncé is a fan!).
If you’re looking for a way to get all the healthy benefits of regular vegetable-heavy meals and help the environment while still enjoying all your favourite carnivorous foods (you’ll have to pry dried meats out of my cold, dead hands!), try implementing Meatless Monday into your diet. Check out these 20 yummy recipes to get you on your way!
1. Sweet Potato, Chickpea and Spinach Curry
A vegan, gluten free, thirty minute one pot wonder.
2. Mushroom and Garlic Spaghetti Dinner
Packed with meaty textured, vitamin-rich mushrooms.
3. Cheesy Veggie Chickpea Burgers
A yummy, super easy cheesy burger that everyone is sure to love.
4. Lentil Bolognese With Peas & Aubergine
Try this veggie-heavy substitution for your favourite meaty dish.
5. Fluffy Carrot Broccoli Fritters
Super fluffy thanks to whipped egg whites.
6. Homemade Stovetop Baked Beans with Hidden Vegetables
A veggie-laden switch for canned baked beans. No baking required.
7. 4 Ingredient Baked Zucchini Fritters
A delicious patty packed with versatile zucchini.
8. Spinach Ricotta and Feta Pie
Try this easy savoury treat reminiscent of Greek Spanakopita or Maltese Pastizzi.
9. Pumpkin Alfredo
Creamy and delicious, sans all the calories of a regular Alfredo sauce.
10. Asparagus, New Potato and Spring Vegetable Frittata
Gluten and dairy free; perfect for picnics.
11. Pumpkin Soup
A comforting, veggie packed winter warmer.
12. Mushroom Stroganoff
This delicious main only takes 30 minutes to pull together!
13. Broccoli Stir Fry
A light, refreshing dinner you can whip up in 20 minutes.
14. Spanish Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
Try these hearty, filling, oh-so-flavoursome stuffed peppers.
15. Taco Grain Bowl
Totally customisable and topped with crunchy chipotle chickpeas.
16. Crock Pot Low Carb Lasagna
This lasagna swaps zucchini and eggplant for pasta, for even more veggies!
17. Mediterranean Baked Sweet Potatoes
A creative, well-balanced, yummy lunch or dinner.
18. Cozy Autumn Wild Rice Soup
Full of hearty vegetables and wild rice for a comforting soup.
19. Chunky Portabella Veggie Burgers
With black beans for added protein, fibre, colour, and texture.
20. Spinach and Mushroom Quinoa
A low carb, high fibre, super simple dish.
