Yeah, it’s Sunday, but what better way to prep for a Monday than to read about it on a Sunday? I think it is a great idea too! Sundays are the perfect times to prepare for the week and also gives you a jump start to the week. No only can we learn from Meatless Monday {more info below} but we can also turn a Meatless Monday into any day of the week!
From farm-to-table restaurants to the ubiquity of organic produce, new health and food trends have been sweeping the country for years. One of the fads that is taken the western world by storm is that of Meatless Monday, a public health awareness program developed in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for a Livable Future. The goal of this initiative is simple: convince people to eschew all meat for one day a week.
There are plenty of reasons to support this initiative (several of which are outlined below). But if you, your partner, or one of your family members is a dedicated carnivore who simply can’t fathom the idea of being a vegetarian one day a week, then you’ll have your work cut out for you. Luckily, the following strategies can help you make Meatless Mondays palatable to even the most devout carnivore in your midst.
ChooseVeg.com
Provide education about the benefits of Meatless Mondays.
Foregoing meat just one day a week can seriously benefit your health, your wallet, and the planet. Assuming that you emphasize eating more vegetables and whole grains on Meatless Mondays (as opposed to serving up processed foods), you’ll improve your nutrition overall, reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes, and even increase your odds of living longer. This, in turn, can save you money on healthcare. Meatless meals also tend to be less expensive than meat-full meals, so going meatless one day a week can save you some serious dough.
Another one of the primary benefits of Meatless Mondays revolves around the health of our planet. Going meat-free can significantly reduce your eco-footprint by minimizing the water, fuel, and greenhouse gasses involved in the process of getting your meal from farm to table. In fact, if everyone in the country committed to forgoing meat one day a week for one year, the U.S. would save around 12 billion gallons of gasoline and all the associated greenhouse gas emissions. We’d also reduce the costs of climate change mitigation by around 50 percent.
When you frame Meatless Mondays in terms of the value they provide to people and planet, it gets a lot harder to argue against the merits of going meatless one day a week.
Emphasize hearty meals.
One of the most common concerns carnivores have about eating vegetarian meals is that they won’t get enough protein and, as a result, they won’t feel full. Anyone who’s eaten vegetarian meals knows this doesn’t have to be the case, but you can help cut this concern off at the quick by emphasizing hearty, protein-packed ingredients even on Meatless Mondays. Look for recipes that include fiber- and protein- rich foods such as beans, whole grains, tofu, nuts and seeds, and so on, and be sure to include a healthy mix of fats, proteins, and carbs. When the carnivore in your life realizes that eating vegetarian meals once a week isn’t equivalent to fasting every Monday, they’ll be more likely to give Meatless Mondays a chance.
Stick to what’s familiar.
If you’re trying to convince a meat lover to go vegetarian for a day, you’re already pushing their comfort zone. So if you want to be successful, it’s probably going to behoove you not to push any more than that. Instead, stick to familiar dishes such as tacos or lasagna—whatever the carnivore in your family genuinely likes. Then, simply seek out vegetarian versions of those same favorite meals.
SheKnows
Frame it as an opportunity to learn new kitchen skills.
Getting the carnivore in your life involved in the production of meatless meals can help them get excited about the prospect of forgoing meat one day a week. To that end, encourage your carnivorous counterpart to take a vegetarian cooking class or buy a vegetarian cookbook (or several) with recipes that appeal to their pallet. Learning new cooking skills and thinking about ingredients in new ways will help vegetarian eating seem more exciting.
The Splendid Table
Experiment with substitutes.
There are two schools of thought on this point: Some people advocate for meat substitutes (such as seitan or soy-based “meat” products), while others believe vegetarian dishes should be able to stand on their own without pretending they’re just like meat dishes. For carnivores who are particularly skeptical of vegetarian meals, serving up meat substitutes might help ease their transition to No-Meat Mondays. In order to know what works for the carnivore in your life, you’ll need to experiment. Try serving veggie burgers in lieu of meat patties or adding textured vegetable protein to spaghetti sauce instead of meatballs.
Pinch My Salt
Celebrate vegetarian ingredients.
Instead of emphasizing what’s missing from meatless meals (i.e. meat), focus instead on celebrating what’s being gained, from fresh flavors to tons of nutrients. Shop for fresh veggies at a local farmer’s market or join a CSA—and make sure to get your resident carnivore involved in the process by encouraging them to pick out veggies and vegetarian ingredients that appeal to them. The more skin they have in the game, so to speak, the more they’re likely to be invested in sampling the finished product.
Armed with these strategies, you’ll find that even devout carnivores can learn to embrace a more flexible diet that benefits people and planet.
