Meatless March
Join me for Meatless March.
Meatless March Week 1. Click for menu plan
Traditionally for Dietitians, March is “Nutrition Month”, I am just taking this concept a little further.
Want to join in?
Easy just stop eating meat for March.
I know this is a little late, but I had a large project I was working on. I have been trying to save some agricultural Land from development, so in the future there will actually be some land left for growing healthy food locally. So please forgive my tardiness.
I have to admit I am not currently a total vegetarian, but I was for many years in my teens and twenties and was vegan for about 6 months. I started to eat meat again when I was pregnant and never really committed to going back. I try and eat more vegetarian protein than meat, particularly when I eat out. I always choose, humanly raised, antibiotic free meats, sometimes organic, but not always.
My problem is I am lactose intolerant and diary seems to cause me a problem also so I cannot just substitute meat with dairy products, so I just eat less meat and substitute with veggie protein when I can.
Why should we try and eat less meat?
There are a lot of reasons, here are a few
Environmental: –
Save animals. Save money. Reduce greenhouse gases.
Numerous Health benefits: –
Reduces salt and saturated fat intake.
Reduces Cholesterol levels and lowers blood pressure.
Regenerates your gut biome.
Reduces the risk of some cancers – particularly colon.
Am I saying just don’t eat meat in March and then start back up again in April?
For many people saying “I am going to be a vegetarian tomorrow for ever” can be too big a step, too big to take. Lots of vegetarians just start off by eating less and less meat, particularly less or no red meat. This is like a practice run, for people to explore vegetarian meals, get used to eating less meat, see how easy they are, and maybe see how much cheaper vegetarian meals are too. It takes a while to get into the habit and start seeing the benefits and notice whether they feel different after 4 weeks with no meat. I am hoping that after the 4 weeks that many people, even if they return to meat, will eat less meat and try and eat vegetarian dinners at least 2- 3 times a week, not just on meatless Mondays.
What about Fish?
Good question. So I have called this meatless March not vegetarian March and so fish is OK once week. Just make it sustainable and only once a week, otherwise you will not get used to making vegetarian dishes.
One thing that is essential with only eating vegetarian meals is good planning (to ensure you get a balance diet) and having a good stock of vegetarian staples so you do not end up cooking meat in a time crunch situation. More on that in another post.
Clink the link below for this weeks menu plan
https://sarahrushrd.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Meatless-March-Week-1.pdf