Have you considered going meatless once or twice a week? There are so many reasons to do so! Consider some of the following:
- Less expensive! The price of hay has skyrocketed and is now the highest it has been since 1953, due to 2012's disastrous drought. Lack of grass and dry conditions have forced cattle owners to purchase more hay than normal, and the price of hay has more than doubled in the last two years, from $111 in 2010 to $195 in 2012. Meat prices have been driven up due to this increase. Beef prices are up 6.7% compared with last July, and pork is up 6%. Chicken is up 1%. Going meatless once a week, whether on Monday or some other night, can save a family of four hundreds of dollars over the course of a year.
- Healthier! A plant based diet is healthier for your heart, lowers your cholesterol, decreases your diabetes risk, and helps you to maintain a healthy weight.
- Greener! Meat requires more land, water and energy to produce, and releases more greenhouse gases.
You can still make simple, delicious and easy meals that are meatless. Many have gone to "Meatless Mondays' as a way of promoting a healthier, plant-based diet. Some dishes cost as little as .59 cents per serving, have all the nutrients your body needs, including protein, and are much healthier for you and the environment. Here is an example:
Spiced Veggie Burgers
Cost: $2.35, or $0.59 per serving
“This recipe is a favorite of my kids and is so simple to make that they love to join in,” says globe-trotting writer G.L. Troubridge. Boil a cup of white rice with water and half a vegetable stock cube. Chop half of a large onion very fine, and mix with the cooked rice, a crushed clove of garlic, half a package of stuffing mix, and your choice of cooked vegetables. (Troubridge likes peas and sweetcorn.) Add salt, pepper and chili powder to taste. Form into patties. If desired, place a cube of cheese in the middle and close the patty over it. Bake, grill or shallow fry.
Serve with sliced tomatoes and lettuce on a roll, and a simple green salad, and you’ll barely break the $1 mark per serving.1
Treat yourself to a meatless meal one day a week, for yourself, your health, and your planet.
Be well!
Shelli Rossignol lmt/cr January 2013
- mintlife.com/meatless meal
- US News Health
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