Meatless Monday: Eat less meat throughout the week
February 1st, 2010
Middle Eastern kofta, a centuries-old (and delicious) way to stretch those meat dollars; Photo via Flickr: SauceSupreme
This post was originally published on Aug. 17, 2009.
My husband was willing to give Meatless Monday a fair shot when we signed on to the cause last May, and fairly amenable to the cooking experimentation that has ensued. Tofu stir-fry has become a new weekday dinner favorite (who knew my al pastor–craving hubby would find it so satisfying?), and I’ve discovered that eggplant parmigiana never fails to disappoint guests who find themselves dining chez nous on a Monday.
But as much as he’s tried, my husband has a hard time sticking to meatless eating for an entire day — he can’t do beans (no need for further explanation), and he feels sluggish when his diet gets a bit carb-heavy. You, reader, can criticize, but the fact remains that you can’t really force someone to eat a certain way if he doesn’t want to.
So, while I continue to eat meatless on Mondays (I quite like the “whole world gathering together once a week for a cause” spirit of it all), I’ve implemented a different plan for family meals that actually ends up reducing our meat consumption way more than if we both stuck to meatless eating on Monday alone.
Buy less meat. Americans eat twice as much protein as the rest of the world (and twice as much as the USDA recommends), and a serving of meat has come to approximate nearly half a pound. I’ve found that by reducing that amount just a little — buying, say, two-thirds of a pound of chicken for dinner for the two of us whereas I used to buy an entire pound — I save money (on average, $15 a week), and no one even notices. The trick is to fill up that missing space with a fresh salad, veggies, and a bit more complex carbohydrate — brown rice or quinoa, for example.
Make meat portions look larger than they are. It sounds silly, but visual perception has a profound effect on appetite and consumption. A Cornell study a few years back found that even nutrition experts given a larger bowl in which to serve themselves ice cream dished up 31 percent more than colleagues given a smaller size bowl. The lesson here? People feel satisfied when they see a portion that appears plentiful. I like to take smaller chicken breasts, pound them into a very thin paillard, and then top them with a mound of crispy salad. It’s more satisfying than serving a regular chicken breast that actually weighs more, but looks half the size.
Stretch out your meat supply. Ever wonder how meatloaf originated? Well for centuries, cultures around the world have been making versions of the dish — Italian meatballs, Middle Eastern kofta, and the classic American ketchup-crusted comfort food — as a way to “fatten up” scarce meat supplies and use up lower quality scraps of meat. A handful of breadcrumbs, some chopped onions, a couple of eggs, a dash of spices, and voilà: You’ve got a hearty meal that no carnivore would complain about.
Little changes like these really add up. Let’s say you, like the average American, consume 200 pounds of meat a year. Trim that number by a quarter — which would work out to a mere 2.3 ounces of meat a day, or two slices of turkey — and the environmental payoff would be notable: You’d reduce your carbon footprint by 950 pounds a year, which would be like not driving your car for a whole two months.
–Jennifer Grayson
Do this now: This week at the supermarket, try going for the slighter smaller package of meat.
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August 18th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
You guys should check out this video: http://meat.org
September 15th, 2009 at 8:36 am
Thanks for this, Torry. Definitely a must-see for anyone needing more reasons why they should extend Meatless Monday to the rest of the week.
February 1st, 2010 at 7:13 pm
I just sneakily make dishes like chili with very little chicken or turkey. Then, make Taco Salad with little bit of ground turkey. Then, Pasta Primavera. Stir Fry veggies with brown rice,…so on. And the family doesn’t even notice that we haven’t had meat for days. It works.
February 2nd, 2010 at 9:50 am
Glad to hear I’m not the only sneaky cook! Love the taco salad idea – with all those veggies, plus beans, cheese, and maybe even a little rice, the ground meat becomes more of a flavoring than the main idea.
February 3rd, 2010 at 8:24 pm
- I do taco salads as well. I make the “meat” base out of kidney beans and add a little ground turkey to my husband’s salad.
- Jen, I’d love your eggplant recipe.
- I was a vegetarian for four years, primarily for ethical reasons. I felt that it made sense to substitute dairy products for meat (so long as those dairy products come from happy cows). I’m wondering if those who substitute dairy for meat for environmental reasons are really doing more good than harm since dairy cows produce a lot of environmental waste and climate change gas. Any thoughts?
February 4th, 2010 at 11:15 am
The eggplant recipe I use a lot of the time is Batali’s:
http://www.theredwhiteandgreen.com/2009/05/18/meatless-monday-whats-for-dinner/
I like it because the eggplant isn’t fried first, it’s baked. Open to other people’s favorite eggplant parm recipes, though!
Re substituting dairy for meat: It’s true that conventionally raised dairy cows produce a lot of environmental waste, since they’re raised in the same types of CAFOs as cattle raised for meat. From an ethical standpoint, you may be saving the life of a cow by switching to dairy, but these cows lead pretty miserable lives.
That’s why I think it’s so important to buy milk and milk products that come from organic, grass-fed cows — and even better, buy them from your local dairy farmers at the farmer’s market. You’ll be helping to support local, sustainable agriculture. Another great option is to buy dairy products made from goat and sheep milk. They’re absolutely delicious, are a lot easier to digest, and these animals are traditionally raised on grass and in a sustainable way, even if the label doesn’t say “organic.”
I’m in love with Redwood Hill Farm goat’s milk yogurt (especially the vanilla flavor, which is sweetened only with maple syrup). It tastes like pudding! http://www.redwoodhill.com
February 4th, 2010 at 11:39 am
Thanks for the recipe. I love eggplant, but my husband was never a big fan so I don’t make it very often. But in December we at at Batali’s restaurant, Otto, in NYC and my husband really liked the pasta with the eggplant. I’ll try the parm recipe. Thanks!
Thanks also for the dairy tips! I used to buy Horizon milk, but after reading about them in Omnivore’s Dilemma I’ve tried to switch to a more local brand, Clover Organic. But you are right, the farmer’s market is the best bet!