Menu Plan Monday Vegetarian/Flexitarian Edition
It’s been a bit of a crazy month around our house, with one toddler birthday and a host of health issues for me, we’ve being doing things a bit differently. I’ve been a vegetarian for more than 20 years, but I’m in a bit of a dilemna now due to my health. Maybe some of you long-time vegetarians can help me out. I’m thinking about changing our family (currently a blended eater family with me, a vegetarian, and my omnivore husband and our two undecided kids–one who leans toward veg and the other toward meaty) to a flexitarian family. All that basically means is that, instead of doing all vegetarian meals at home, we’d be mostly vegetarian with a bit of meat now and then (currently the meat-eaters only eat meat when we eat outside the house). It would certainly make mealtime a lot easier for everyone, but I’m not sure I can make myself do it.
I’ve always been a vegetarian more because I don’t like meat than for any philosophical reasons, but I’ve always considered those “bonus reasons” to being a vegetarian. So, it’d be hard for me to commit to a flexitarian lifestyle. But, with anemia and other concerns, I’m wondering if it may be best for my health to, ahem, suck it up. :) For now, we’re still, mostly, vegetarian, at home. But that may change in the near future. Any other flexitarians out there? What are your thoughts?
Menu Plan Monday
Monday -
- Toddler Lunch – Watermelon Yogurt Pops
Watermelon Yogurt Smoothies Pucks
- Dinner – Lemon Berry Pound Cake (Goose’s B-day Party) or Cinnamon Roll Cake
Tuesday -
- Toddler Lunch – Baked Spaghetti
- Dinner – Hovan Rolls
Wednesday -
- Toddler Lunch – Red Velvet Crepes
- Dinner – Basil Eggplant Parmesan
Thursday -
- Toddler Lunch – Fruit Salad with Coconut Whipped Cream
- Dinner – Baked Chickpea Veggie Egg Rolls
Friday -
- Toddler Lunch – Quinoa Pizza Bites
- Dinner – Mom’s Pepper Steak, Veganized
Saturday -
- Lunch – Homemade Spaghetti O’s
- Dinner – Zucchini “Meat”balls, veggie-converted
Sunday-
- Lunch – Pear Streusel Muffins
- Dinner – Roasted Tomato Bisque
For more great Menu Plan Monday menu planning ideas visit orgjunkie.com!
Healthy meats, like pasture raised meats,and using butter instead of margarine, give your body a lot of vitamins and minerals! Most of those vitamins and minerals are in the animal fat. Here is a unique article about the truths of cholesterol. http://www.westonaprice.org/cardiovascular-disease/myths-a-truths-about-cholesterol Cholesterol is actually good for your body.
Use cast iron cookware to cook all of your meals in and you will alleviate the iron deficiency. That is how I was able to be a vegetarian and not get anemia. When I was in a living situation without a stove and only a microwave to cook with, then i got mild anemia. Now I eat quality meat and LOVE it!
I get a lot of satisfaction seeing my husband and kids enjoy their meat, that I cook with love! It is best to embrace and serve them with love what your husband enjoys most. My husband gets so excited with meals. Used to,for him, food was a chore, something you needed to survive, but not an ethereal enjoyable experience. Now he enjoys meals more and looks forward to taking a break in his plans to sit down and eat what I call ‘Holy Spirit inspired’ meals. It is one of the simplest joys that God has given us…to sit and enjoy our food…the fruit of our labors. I encourage all homemakers to take the time to remember that and make your meals with your families filled with love, joy, and especially thanksgiving! 1 Timothy Chapter 4 talks about how everything is acceptable to eat if done so with thanksgiving. The motive behind it is what matters.
I agree! There are essential nutrients in animal products that our bodies require for optimum health. If the animals are sustainably raised (grass-fed/pasture raised/wild caught) there are many healthy and beneficial nutrients found in animal products. The Weston A Price Foundation (and website) is a great resource.
Thank you all so much for all your help. I guess what’s holding me up is that, after years of choosing vegetarianism because I don’t like meat, I’ve gotten used to the “bonus” of not harming animals. Now, I’m not sure I can make myself eat meat regularly without feeling bad. :)
By the way Kristi . . . you don’t have to eat meat “regularly”. Just supplement your diet occasionally. By purchasing quality product and preparing in a “quality manner” (low fat, low sodium, low sugar, etc.. such as Gina (www.skinnytaste.com) advises – you actually enjoy your meal. I recommend starting with a salmon dish then graduating to chicken, then perhaps adding beef. I just experienced lamb for the first time a couple of weeks ago. It was extremely difficult for me (Just as you – I see the beautiful animal and the thought of consuming is absolutely disgusting. I was at a friends and they had BBQ’d a cut of lamb they had marinated for several days. I only tried a small slice – but I tell you . . . it was prepared wonderfully and tasted absolutely marvelous. Cheers and happy exploring!
I wholeheartedly agree! Your comment was very well written and I enjoyed your reference to scripture. I agree that we all need to refrain from the meat “bargains” provided at supermarkets and spend the necessary funds to purchase your choice of meat from a farmer. Not only are you supporting your local farmer but you are ensuring that you are ingesting quality product and not adultered product. Way to go!
Our family is flexitarian and I didn’t even know it until recently. For a long time now, we have limited our meat consumption to a couple of times per week and we purchase organic/humane/local. There are 5 of us and we collectively consume one pound of chicken per week and one pound of beef. When not at home, we try to avoid meat but don’t make a fuss if it is impossible.
We also buy organic dairy products but have a difficult time acquiring humane/local so we are in the process of easing up on our reliance on these foods. We are lucky to have a local source for free range eggs so we will not be giving them up. Our toddler refuses to drink milk so he eats 1 – 1.5 cups of yogurt per day for both the protein and the fat. Due to his age, yogurt will remain a staple of his diet for some time. He also adores cheese so I will be trying to wean him from Trader Joe’s organic choices and onto free range/local cheeses.
The rest of us are learning to eat more sparingly of these foods and focus on other sources of bio-available proteins. My goal is to transition us to a dinner menu that includes each of these once per week:
1. healthier, wild fish (salmon is a fav)
2. tofu or crumble
3. organic/humane/local beef OR chicken
4. Indian veg dish w/ rice
5. pasta
6. pizza (home or out)
7. vegetarian soup
I’d also like us to eat more quinoa, beans, and nut butters for lunch. Have you cooked with tempeh, seitan, or nutritional yeast?
Mmm…We LOVE quinoa and yes, I’ve made my own tempeh and seitan actually. And I use nutritional yeast a lot.
There is iron in plants, and there are plenty anemic omnivores. I like Megafood’s Blood Builder. It’s 100 per cent whole food based, herbicide & pesticide free along with organic. I also like that it contains vitamin c to help in absorption. If you do decide to add animal protein, pasture raised, antibiotic & hormone free is best.
I was able to raise my iron levels by eating more beans and lots of kale (raw in salads and on sandwiches). My doctor was really impressed.
Combining non-heme (non-animal) sources of iron with a vitamin C rich food will help boost absorption. Many vegetarian sources of iron (legumes, spinach, nuts) have a greater number of milligrams of iron per serving than animal (or heme) sources of iron. However, heme iron is much more easily absorbed by the body than non-heme.
While I prefer to obtain iron from naturally-occurring sources, there are many fortified cereals that contain iron. I often recommend Total cereal in my practice as a registered dietitian.
So true. That’s what I’ve been doing in the past. Obviously not completely successfully. But I do love spinach and pretty much every legume and nut there is!