Many people want to join in on the meatless Monday trend but coming up with tasty meatless meals and snacks for a full day one day every week can be difficult. It becomes even more troublesome when you have to get creative with the ingredients already in your fridge. If you are a lone wolf in your family when it comes to meatless Mondays, finding some room on the grocery list for special items can also be a challenge.
Why are people joining meatless Monday? Check out the environmental and health benefits of meatless Monday I discussed in a past post.
If you want to commit to meatless Mondays, I suggest keeping any of these items on hand in your fridge and pantry every week. What’s great about these items is that they can be used for various meals throughout the week, so they won’t go to waste; they are also healthy!
- Baby spinach
- Bell peppers
- Eggs
- Quinoa, brown rice, couscous
- Salsa
- Beans (black, garbonzo, white, pinto)
- Whole wheat tortillas
- Cheese (everthing’s betta with feta!)
- Whole wheat English muffins
- Fruits (apples, bananas, kiwi, strawberries, blueberries, etc)
- Carrots
- Hummus
- Whole wheat crackers
- Cereal or oatmeal
- Yogurt
- Nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc)
Here are three meals and a snack to try out for a meatless Monday:
- Breakfast burrito:
- Need: Whole wheat tortilla, eggs, salsa, beans, cheese, bell peppers, and avocado. Have cilantro on hand? Throw some of that in there!
- Breakfast sandwhich:
- Need Whole wheat English muffin, egg, cheese. Veggies to add to the egg if desired.
- Yummy Oatmeal:
- Needs: oatmeal, almonds, cinnamon, raisins, topped with sliced fruit. Need extra flavor? Try vanilla extract.
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Image courtesy of Janet Hudson on Flickr.
Lunch:
- Veggies in a Blanket:
- Needs: Make a wrap with: spinach, cut up veggies like bell peppers, cheese or hummus inside. Carrots and hummus, fruit or fruit salad on the side.
- Veggies in a Blanket:
- Quinoa salads:
- Mexican fiesta: Mix cooked quinoa, spinach, bell peppers, beans, cumin, and salsa.
- Chickpea salad: Mix quinoa, spinach, your choice of veggies, feta, garbanzo/chickpeas.
- Dinner:
- Try a minestrone:
- Ingredients: Minced garlic, onion, potato, green beans, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, cannellini beans, vegetable broth, basil, ground black pepper.
- Throw these ingredients into a crockpot and slow cook for a good four hours
- Rice bowl:
- Need: sushi rice, sesame oil, Asian veggies (red onion, snap peas, red bell pepper, mushrooms, bok choy, etc), and garlic.
- How-to: Heat sesame oil in a pan and add minced garlic. Then throw on the veggies.
- Try a minestrone:
- Snacks:
- Whole wheat tortilla spread with peanut butter and rolled up with banana slices.
- Cottage cheese topped with fruit
- Carrots, hummus, and crackers
- Apple and string cheese
- Fruit/veggies and handful of almonds
- Edamame and crackers
