Adventures In Plant-Based Eating
Posted on
Have you heard of Veganuary?
No? I hadn’t either. So here’s a definition, from the Collins Dictionary: “Veganuary. (Noun) An annual event that encourages non-vegans to adopt a vegan diet during the month of January.”
Since its inception in 2014, more than half a million people in 178 countries have signed up for Veganuary, pledging to eat vegan in January. Why? In their post, Why Veganuary Is the Perfect New Year’s Resolution for Reducing Your Impact in 2020, Greenmatters explains that, “Eating plant-based has a significantly lower environmental impact than any other diet, including a vegetarian, pescatarian, or meat-eating diet; veganism is the kindest diet for animals; and a diet rich in plants is generally healthier than one filled with animal products.”
It’s the healthy aspect of it that caused me to pay attention (hence my bolding!) As plants do not have any saturated fat, eating a plant-based diet is one of the most heart-healthy lifestyle changes you can make.
And while it may be too late to participate in Veganuary this year (and for me, vegetarian would be an easier place to start than no-dairy vegan), one great thing about #Veganuary is a new abundance of delicious, easy-to-prepare dinner options.
Worried about how you’ll get enough protein? Or that eating plant-based will be too difficult? This article by one of my favorite New York Times journalists, Melissa Clark, will answer some questions you may have: The Meat-Lover’s Guide to Eating Less Meat. There are also great-looking recipes to try—and I’ve found Melissa Clark’s recipes to be outstanding in both of ease of preparation and accuracy of directions. Oh, and they taste great.
The key thing is—just try! You can start with just including one or two plant-based meals in your regular dinner rotation, or go all-out and switch to vegetarian or vegan. No judgment and no need to be stringent—any meals you replace with plant-based are a heart-healthier option. And who knows, maybe you’ll feel so great and like it so much you’ll add more!
I’m going to make a concerted effort to make more plant-based dinners. To that end, I’ve been scouring the web for other resources for plant-based recipes. Beyond the Melissa Clark article above, here are some other sites and recipes that look appealing:
From Tasty: “25 Dinner Ideas For People Who Are Trying To Eat Less Meat” has some really tasty (sorry!) looking recipes. My list of recipes to try from this article include:
- Creamy Vegetarian White Chili
- Eggplant Meatballs, Mushroom & Spinach Lasagna
- Parmesan Garlic Spaghetti Squash
- Herb Buttered Wild Mushroom Tagliatelle
- Zucchini Noodles Alfredo
My 16-year-old niece is vegan and my sister recommended these three sites for recipes:
- Cookie & Kate – and they have a great post: PERFECT LENTILS, EVERY TIME.
- Peas & Crayons – I’m going to try SWEET & SOUR CHICKPEAS
- Well Plated by Erin (vegetarian) – I’m intrigued by their ONE PAN BROCCOLI QUINOA SKILLET
Lastly – my RECIPES page has a VEGETARIAN & VEGAN section. These are my go-to vegetarian / vegan recipes – head on over to my RECIPES page if any of these look appealing!
