Throughout the past week, I challenged myself to reduce my ecological footprint by lowering the amount of meat in my diet. While I did not write a daily journal/food log for this endeavor, I can say that (as a meat-lover) it was not nearly as bad as I had anticipated. Notably, I did not eliminate meat from my diet entirely, but I did limit it mostly to dinners (and 1 lunch). Some of the alternatives were actually quite tasty as well!
For breakfasts, I generally made either a bagel (with cream cheese or peanut butter) or cereal (Kashi Cinnamon Harvest/Multigrain Squares/Blueberry Clusters are among my favorite) with some low-fat (1%) organic milk, as opposed to a breakfast consisting of eggs/bacon/etc. Not only is the bagel/cereal easier to prepare, making it a great option when rushed in the morning, but it also did not upset my stomach later on like the egg/bacon breakfast would often do.
For lunch, I generally had a lighter meal, such as a parfait (with organic vanilla yogurt, strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries), or a banana/apple with peanut butter, as opposed to a sandwich with various deli meats. This, too, was a change I did not mind, at least in the short term.
For dinner, I did not actually have any meatless meals, but a few would be perfectly adequate meals if the meat were taken out: salad (with chicken), Mexican-style nachos (with beef), and black bean pasta (with chicken). In each of these, the meat was more of a complementary part, rather than the main feature; the meals would be perfectly serviceable without it!
Overall, I found that this was a reasonable experience, and while I do not think I would become a vegetarian or vegan (at least not in the near future), I do plan to consistently have less meat than I did previously - particularly during breakfast and lunch.
For fun, here’s a black bean pasta recipe! (Spicy components optional, of course)
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