One day a week, cut out meat. That’s what the Meatless Monday public health campaign asks of you. The goal of this non-profit initiative is to reduce meat consumption by 15% (1 day/7 = ~15%) to improve personal health and the health of our planet.
Unlike my little blog here, Meatless Monday is not a rant on vegetarianism. It is a public health initiative focusing on reducing the four leading causes of death in America: heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and cancer. Eating less meat is a proven way to reduce your risks of these 4 killers as well as obesity & cardiovascular disease. Additionally, eating less meat reduces your carbon footprint and saves precious resources such as fresh water and fossil fuels. Going meatless just one day a week can make a very significant difference to your health and to the environment.
Now, before you start whining about how you can’t possibly imagine one whole day without eating meat, first consider how selfish, and lazy, that sounds and then get real about your health, the health of our planet, and the immense pain & suffering that millions of animals are enduring, just because our culture isn’t willing to venture outside of their comfort zone. This is your opportunity to do something good for yourself, good for the Earth, and to end some of the unimaginable cruelty that humans are inflicting on other living beings. I’ll step off my soap-box now.
Why Monday? It’s not just cute alliteration. Studies have shown that Mondays set the tone for our entire week. By starting the week with a healthy diet, we are more likely to maintain healthy practices throughout the rest of the week.
To help you get started, I’ll be posting Meatless Monday meals every Monday, so let’s get going…
Tacos
Growing up in south Texas left me with an addiction to Mexican food, so we’ll kick off Meatless Mondays with a classic. Tacos are so easy to make meatless because you just make them how you always would, but substitute the meat with beans or vegetarian “meat.”
My absolute favorite taco filling is soy chorizo from Trader Joe’s. If you are lucky enough to have a Trader Joe’s nearby, go pick some up immediately! It is a vegetarian-Mexican-food-lover’s heaven.
Unfortunately, not everyone has a Trader Joe’s nearby (like in Texas, where Whole Foods has kept TJ’s out of the market due to some shady politics), so another option is Morning Star or Boca meatless crumbles. These are simply a textured vegetable protein (TVP) designed to replace ground meat. Toss them in a pan with some taco seasoning (and water – follow the directions on the taco seasoning packet) and voila!
For those who aren’t quite ready to try the meat substitutes yet, just use whole black or pinto beans. If the pintos are canned, make sure they’re vegetarian – no bacon!
Now you have your filling, pile it into either a tortilla or a crispy taco shell and top as you like. Some suggested toppings are: lettuce, tomato, onion, cilantro, avocado/guacamole, jalapeno, cheese/soy cheese, sour cream, salsa.
Here is my soy chorizo taco topped with soy cheese, fresh salsa verde (from a local farmer’s market), homemade guacamole, and cilantro. Delicious.
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Go Veg | Powered By Produce says:
Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at 10:14 am (UTC -5)
[...] tacos, and when you do choose meat, choose locally raised, free-range, organic meat. Try doing a Meatless Monday every week (or a meatless Tuesday, or meatless lunches on M,W, F). Be conscious of the issues [...]