What's For Dinner: Meatless Meals

Why should families limit animal consumption?
Let me start by saying, I am not a vegetarian. I have many friends that are, and I admire their commitment to eating and adapting their diet and lifestyle in such a way that they do not need to consume any animal products. I don't think that you need to be vegetarian to achieve optimal health, (and I certainly don't teach my clients that) but I do think that limiting animal products consumption is a good idea.

Meatless Meals
About twice a week, I try to make a dinner without any meat. (They aren't vegan meals, I still use chicken broth, eggs and dairy products, etc.) I do this for a couple of reasons.

• First of all, vegetarian sources of protein are usually cheaper (beans versus chicken.) This helps cut my grocery costs.
• I like the fact that most plant based protein is full of fiber, vitamins, antioxidants and other nutrients that are so important to your health.
• When you limit animal consumption, you limit the amount of saturated fat in your diet. A diet high saturated fats contributes to heart disease and obesity.
• Personally, I don't have a moral problem with eating meat, but I do have a problem with eating it in excess and not being prudent and moderate with animal consumption. There are lots of reasons for this other than the ethical, moral reasons, but I will save you the politics and just say that this is my very small way of contributing and limiting our family's animal consumption. 
• Another reason I like vegetarian dishes is that many of them are simple and easy to prepare. Opening a can of beans is so much faster than cooking chicken for a dish. 
• It forces us to try many new and diverse recipes. Our family really enjoys Mexican food, which is by far the easiest to adapt to a meatless dish. But there are many other ethnic dishes that are vegetarian to choose from! 
• Last of all, from a fat loss point of view, plant based proteins have less fat and fewer calories than their animal based counterparts! 

Here's what we are having for dinner tonight!
(Recipe found at Vegetarian Times)

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The distinctive flavor of this soup comes from a sofrito, a puréed mix of onions, garlic, and bell peppers.

Directions

1. Sauté onion, bell peppers, and garlic in saucepan with a little water or vegetable broth over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes, or until vegetables soften. Transfer to blender, and purée until smooth. Add 3 cups beans and 6 to 7 cups water; purée until mixture is consistency of thick soup.

2. Return mixture to saucepan, and add remaining beans, potatoes, vinegar, cumin, oregano, bay leaf, and salt. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, covered, 20 minutes, or until potatoes are soft. Remove bay leaf. Garnish each serving with diced red onion and green bell pepper.

Ingredient list

Serves 6

• 1 medium onion, diced (1 1/2 cups)
• 1 small red bell pepper, diced (1 cup)
• 1 small green bell pepper, diced (1 cup)
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
• 6 cups cooked black beans, divided
• 3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced (2 1/2 cups)
• 2 Tbs. white wine vinegar
• 1 Tbs. ground cumin
• 1 Tbs. fresh oregano leaves
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Diced red onion and green bell pepper for garnish

Nutritional Information

Per 1-cup serving:

Calories	321
Protein	18g
Total Fat	1g
Saturated Fat	<1g
Carbs	62g
Cholesterol	0mg
Sodium	610mg
Fiber	18g
Sugar	4g

How can my family start doing the same thing?
Getting started is easier than you think. You don't have to eat tofu and hemp to start having vegetarian meals. What non-animal protein sources are available, and what are some good substitutions for meat in your family's favorite meals? Here is a wonderful, informative list that I found at Vegetarian Times to give you some ideas:

MAKE IT MEATLESS Ingredient Substitute Meat Beans, cheese, seitan (wheat meat), tempeh (cultured soybeans), textured vegetable protein (TVP), tofu Meat/seafood stocks Vegetable stock, water in which beans, pasta, or vegetables have been cooked, vegetable bouillon cubes, miso (fermented soybean paste) diluted with water Seasoned or smoked meats Flavored soy meat substitutes, crumbled tofu seasoned with fennel, parsley, and garlic, canned chipotle chiles, roasted vegetables, toasted nuts, smoked tofu, smoked cheeses Gelatin  Agar-agar (powder or flakes), arrowroot (powder), guar gum (made from seeds), xanthan gum (made from corn), kudzu powder

MAKE IT VEGAN Ingredient Substitute Buttermilk Clabbered soymilk (1 cup soymilk mixed with 2 tsp. lemon juice or white vinegar) Cheese Soy- and nut-based cheeses Cheese or ricotta cheese Crumbled tofu Eggs Ener-G Egg Replacer, 1 mashed banana or 1/4 cup applesauce per egg (best for baked goods); 1 Tbs. agar flakes whisked into 1 Tbs. water and chilled for 5 minutes (for an egg white substitute), 1 Tbs. ground flaxseeds simmered in 3 Tbs. boiling water for 2 minutes Mayonnaise Soy-based mayonnaise Milk Nut milk, rice milk, soymilk

MAKE IT LOW-FAT Ingredient Substitute Creamy soups and sauces Nonfat strained yogurt, soymilk, puréed roasted vegetables, cooking rice in soup then puréeing it Oil in baked goods Applesauce, puréed bananas, puréed cooked prunes Oil for sautéing Vegetable stock, wine, vinegar Salad dressing Vinegar or citrus juice thickened with puréed roasted red peppers, carrots, onions, or garlic Sour cream Strained nonfat yogurt White sauce Puréed white beans

MAKE IT ALLERGEN-FREE Ingredient Substitute Butter Clarified butter (milk solids have been removed), olive oil, sesame oil Chocolate Carob Cows’ milk Goats’ milk, soymilk, rice milk, nut milk Cows’ milk cheese Goat cheese, sheep cheese, soy cheese, nut cheese Eggs Ener-G Egg Replacer, 1 mashed banana or 1/4 cup applesauce per egg (best for baked goods); 1 Tbs. agar flakes whisked into 1 Tbs. water and chilled for 5 minutes (for an egg white substitute), 1 Tbs. ground flaxseeds simmered in 3 Tbs. boiling water for 2 minutes Peanuts Almonds Wheat flour (for baking) Flours made from barley, buckwheat, corn, kamut, oats, rice, rye, spelt Wheat pasta Pasta made from corn, spelt, kamut, quinoa, rice

MAKE IT ETHNIC Origin Ingredient Substitute Americas Cactus pads (nopales) Green beans, okra Chayote squash  Yellow or green pattypan squash or zucchini Poblano or Anaheim chiles  Minced jalapeño chiles and green bell pepper Posole (dried hominy)  Canned white hominy Asian Bok choy (Chinese white cabbage) Beet greens, kale, Swiss chard Chinese cooking wine Dry sherry Chinese five-spice powder Mixture of anise seed or star anise, fennel seed, cinnamon, black peppercorns, and cloves Galangal (Thai ginger) Fresh ginger Lemongrass Lemon zest Lotus root Jicama or water chestnuts Mirin (Japanese rice wine) Sweet white wine Nam pla (Thai fish sauce) Soy sauce and lime juice Rice wine vinegar Cider vinegar, white wine vinegar Sesame oil 1 Tbs. sesame seeds fried in 1/2 cup vegetable oil Thai basil Italian basil Water chestnuts Jicama Indian Atta (chapati flour) 1/2 cup all-purpose unbleached flour plus 1/2 cup sifted whole-wheat flour Chana dal Split yellow peas Curry powder Mixture of ground ginger, cumin, coriander, fenugreek, turmeric and fennel Garam masala Mixture of 1 tsp. cardamom seeds, 1 Tbs. cumin seed, 1 Tbs. coriander seed, 2 tsp. black peppercorns, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. cloves, and 1 tsp. nutmeg Jaggery (coarse palm sugar) Date sugar or brown sugar Toor dal, urad dal, mung dal Red lentils Mediterranean Broccoli rabe Broccoli plus arugula or dandelion greens Cannellini beans Great Northern beans, navy beans, red kidney beans Fava beans Lima beans or butter beans Fennel Celery plus some fennel or anise seeds Parmesan cheese Any hard, aged grating cheese such as Asiago, Romano or aged Monterey Jack Pine nuts Walnuts or a mixture of walnuts and almonds

MAKE IT ALCOHOL-FREE Ingredient Substitute Red wine Pomegranate juice or 1/2 cup water with 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar White wine Vegetable stock, apple juice, carrot juice Wine or beer Non-alcoholic wine or beer