Meatless Monday: Give it a taste

I like my meat; I view it as protein and I need a lot of that when I’m working out. I also view it as flavor and something else on my plate, and I guess it’s kind of habit too.

So I was interested when my friend, Tom Coale, asked me to participate in Meatless Mondays in Howard County.

Howard County has its own Meatless Mondays Facebook page so I was on there on Sunday night getting some ideas for my meat-free Monday.

Meatless Monday is an international campaign that encourages people to not eat meat on Mondays to improve their health and the health of the planet.

meatlessmonday2Meatless Monday is a non-profit initiative of The Monday Campaigns Inc. in association with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for a Livable Future. Meatless Monday was founded in 2003 by marketing professional Sid Lerner. The program follows the nutrition guidelines developed by the U.S Department of Agriculture.

In May, 2009, Ghent, Belgium, became the first non-U.S. city to go meatless. Shortly thereafter, Paul McCartney introduced the U.K. to Meat-Free Mondays.

Meatless Monday is now active in 29 countries and growing because every nation can bring its unique culture, customs and cuisine to the table in meat free and vegetarian dishes.  See the new Global Meatless Monday map on Pinterest.

Skipping meat one day a week is good for you, great for your nation’s health, and fantastic for the planet. For help launching Meatless Monday where you live, get in touch with them or download the toolkits.

meatlessmonday3So, what did I eat on my Meatless Monday?

  • Breakfast: Egg white and spinach omelette
  • Snack: Almonds
  • Lunch: Homemade tomato soup with a cheese and hummus wrap
  • Snack: Apple
  • Dinner: Grilled asparagus, cheese and pine nuts

This isn’t much different from my regular meals, except that I would usually have had chicken in my cheese and hummus wrap and fish with dinner.

Did I feel a need to eat meat? Nope, not really. I upped my levels of asparagus to increase the protein and so that I would feel full and as I write I’m pretty satisfied.

I’m actually really impressed by some of the recipes on the Meatless Monday site and next week, when I have more time I will prepare in advance and get cooking!

Here’s to Meatless Mondays!