“Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.” – Albert Einstein
Going vegetarian (or vegan) is a scary proposition for most of us. We think what will we eat? Where will we get our protein? I get it. I’ve been there. I went completely plant-based (for a while) a couple of years ago after reading Dr. Michael Greger’s book How Not to Die. (Great info in this book, btw). But it was like learning how to eat all over again. The main obstacle with the plant-based lifestyle is it’s so foreign to us that most of us won’t even try. Enter the flexitarian. {Ta-Daaaaa!!} It’s an easy way to transition from a meat heavy diet to a more flexible way of eating where meat is NOT the main attraction.
It’s different, no doubt. But we can all change what we eat one day a week. This is where the Meatless Monday campaign came into play (back in 2003). The idea is that if everyone removes meat from their diet one day each week, it reduces the demand for meat production by 15%. (You can really pick any day of the week that works for your schedule, but Meatless Monday sure is catchy). My tip is to try and work it into the beginning of the week rather than the end. Your willpower may start to diminish the closer you get to the weekend. And if you don’t think you can do a whole day, start with just dinner and work up to more of your meals.
There are two main reasons for eating less meat: increased health benefits and a reduction in our carbon footprint. Some of the reported benefits of reducing your meat (especially processed) consumption are: lower risk of diabetes, obesity and heart disease, as well as lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Eating less factory farmed beef reduces our carbon footprint because fewer resources like water and grains are needed if we are eating fewer cattle. In case you didn’t know, it takes 1850 gallons of water to produce a pound of beef. That’s A LOT of water. (For comparison it takes 39 gallons of water to produce a pound of vegetables).
Do some searching, there are tons of delicious vegetarian recipes to be found out there. Pick a new recipe each week and at the end of this month you will have several meatless meals your family (and you) will enjoy. (Here’s a recipe for a yummy burrito bowl you can try for your Meatless Monday dish this week). And maybe, just maybe, after a few weeks you’ll realize you like flexitarianism and continue this lifestyle for the health of you and your family.
Light and Love (and veggies),
♥k