If you haven’t heard the term Meatless Monday by now, it’s time to introduce you to a movement that’s gaining momentum. Many meat eaters are cutting down on their meat consumption for environmental reasons, and have chosen a simple way to start. They’re going meatless once a week – often on Mondays.
According to the Meatless Monday website the “meat industry generates nearly one-fifth of the man-made greenhouse gas emissions that are accelerating climate change worldwide.” That’s more than the world’s transportation system creates. Additionally, it takes 1,800 to 2,500 gallons of water just to create a single pound of beef. If everyone replaced just one beef dinner a week with one meatless dinner, a whole lot of water would be conserved.

The demand for meat worldwide continues to grow as the population increases and other countries in the world gain the same appetite for meat as the United States has. If we all went meatless just one day a week, it would help to curb the increased production, and the increased environmental impact, of meat.

So does this mean that on Mondays, you have to turn to tofu and wheat germ for your meals? Of course not. There are many filling, nutritious meals that you can create that don’t scream, “I’m meatless!” Here are a few ideas.

Vegetarian Chili – Lots of hearty beans take the place of meat in this chili recipe that people love.

Grilled Eggplant and Red Pepper Sandwich – Meaty eggplant replaces beef or chicken in this sandwich that has melted cheese and a pesto sauce on it. Delicious.

Linguine Frittata with Cheese – This could be breakfast, lunch or dinner, and it’s a perfect way to use up leftover pasta if you have some from the day before.

White Vegetarian Lasagna – You don’t need ground beef to make a delicious, hearty lasagna. Serve with a salad and crusty bread and no one will miss the meat at this meal.

These are just a few ideas, but the possibilities are endless. And, don’t feel like you have to make Monday your meatless day if that doesn’t work for you. You can make any day of the week meat-free. In fact, an easy day to make meatless is Friday. Simply order your Friday night pizza with vegetables on top instead of sausage or pepperoni, and stay away from meat during breakfast and lunch, and you’ve got a meatless day.