Almost Vegetarian

vegetable saute.jpgMost of us are familiar with all the different types of vegetarians. Lacto-ovo vegetarians are the ones that include milk and eggs, Pesco-vegetarians include fish and now more commonly these days we have the Flexitarians or “semivegetarians” who occasionally include meat.

There is no denying the health benefits of a vegetarian diet. In fact the American Dietetic Association just updated it’s position paper restating those benefits. Vegetarian diets are typically lower in fat and higher in fiber than a traditional diet. It may also prevent and treat certain diseases (like coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and some forms of cancer).

I come from a family of 4 brothers and raising 3 boys of my own. Tofu, Lentil Casserole and Veggie Burgers wouldn’t exactly be a big hit in my family. Remember that Burger King commercial “I am man”? It would be hard to convince my meat-eaters to give up their BBQ. Thankfully, there is no need to. Try a more gradual change:

Use meat as a side dish. We tend to over-do it on the meat anyway. Try getting the portion sizes down from the 12 oz steak to a more reasonable serving portion of the 3-4 oz that we always hear about. Make the focus of your meal be the grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, seeds and nuts.

Reduce meat in recipes. Casseroles are the easiest place to reduce the meat. I often will cook a chicken in a crock pot on Sunday and it will give me enough chicken for 3 different recipes that week.

Replace meat with beans. In our chili we have more beans than meat. In our enchilada casserole, not only do we 1/2 the meat, but we add a can of kidney beans.

Leave out the meat. Try to start with 1-2 meatless meals each week. You might be already eating some meatless meals already. For our family, our Italian meals tend to remain meatless. You won’t find meat in our spaghetti, lasagna, tortellini etc. Other good meatless meals include: bean burritos, cheese sandwiches, vegetable/ bean soups, baked potatoes, pasta salads, veggie pizza and stir fry.

Try meat analogs. These are your food products made from soybeans that are made to look like meat. Grill up a veggie burger instead of a meat patty.

Handout: Making-the-Change-to-a-Vegetarian-Diet.pdf

Rebecca Felker