a week of meatless meals

I've been trying to incorporate more meatless meals into our repertoire here at the Taylor home for a couple of reasons:

1.)  Having a "plant slant" to your diet is supposed to be a step toward healthier eating.  That is, eating a more plant-based diet is better than one heavy on animal products.  You get more fiber and a wide variety of vitamins and minerals.  Or something.

2.)  I thought it could help us save money.  We cut our monthly grocery budget this year--partly to save money, partly because I wanted a challenge.  Shortly after that, beef prices skyrocketed.  Since I'm not so good at cooking chicken, I needed to come up with some other options.  (Also: we at a LOT of pork).


3.)  I wanted to cut back on the amount of meat we eat, because there may or may not be some things about the meat industry that I don't think represent good stewardship of our land and resources.  And they may or may not exacerbate world hunger problems.  I say "may or may not," because it is a really complex issue, and I truly don't know.  But cutting back on meat consumption can't hurt.

Having said these things, I think it is also important to share that:

1.)  Cutting back on meat has lead to an increased consumption of dairy products at the Taylor home.  And that's sayin' something, because we already ate a lot of dairy.

2.)  We are way over on our grocery budget and have been for months.  Because we bought a quarter of beef in May.  And it's really good beef.

3.)  We still do (and always will, probably) eat meat.  And we are probably not very healthy eaters.

Also, I want to say:  I'm just me... not a doctor or registered dietitian.  And I have no idea what I'm talking about.  Except that I do know good food when I taste it.

With that confusing introduction, I though I would share a week of meatless meals.  And by "meatless" I mean "I didn't put any meat in it."  I certainly don't mean vegan. And by meals I mean dinners.  

I have made all of these recipes, and know first hand that they are all very, very tasty. 

Click on the name to go to the recipe.

Enfrijoladas by Pink Basil (featured by Three Many Cooks)



If you are ever making these, and you think to yourself "Self... I have a little bit of ground beef cooked up in the fridge, waiting to be put to good use....maybe I should throw it in here" DO NOT LISTEN TO YOURSELF!  Meat ruins these.  They are so good without meat.  They are not so good with me.  Trust me on this one... please.

Tacos de Papas (Potato Tacos) by Saveur

I have never actually made these but we recently instituted "Taco Tuesday" (meaning, we had tacos last Tuesday and thought it would be good to make it a weekly occurrence) at our house, so I plan on trying these on Tuesday. Anything that involves frying corn tortillas sounds like an excellent plan to me.
UPDATE: I made the tacos for dinner, and they were so good!  Tim thought they were a little greasy, so be diligent about draining and blotting the grease.  But definitely make them!  Other than being fried, I consider them healthy.  They are almost entirely a plant-based meal, and very cheap to make.

Broccoli Cheese Soup (my mom's recipe)

I apologize for the lack of picture, but here is the reason: I didn't take a picture.  Maybe someday when we have our new camera, I will take a picture.  But maybe not.  Either way, trust me on this one: its good.  If you're into broccoli and cheese.

Spinach Torellini Soup (my mom's recipe)

Again--sorry for no picture.  Again-- trust me, it's good!  And I also consider it a handy pantry meal.  All ingredients come from the pantry or freezer.

Macaroni & Cheese (my mother-in-law's recipe)

(See soup recipes for apologies regarding pictures).

This is one of EVERYONE'S favorite.  Sven likes to make this one.  I take it to most potlucks.  Its just an easy and delicious recipe.

It is very important that you ignore the part of that post where I say that I will post a recipe per week.  I got caught up in the moment and it was a campaign promise.

Fake-Bake Spinach Pasta (by Rachael Ray)

Steph, it says "ham" in the title, and clearly lists it in the ingredients.

I know, I know, I know.  What she doesn't mention it that its totally optional, and totally delicious without it. Especially if you aren't into ham.  I make it without meat about half the time.  The other half of the time, I often use sausage instead of ham, which is also delicious.

Baked Lemon Pasta (by Pioneer Woman)

Believe it or not, Tim loves this one.  It is so good.  Its a nice refreshing (yet suprisingly rich) pasta, that I would never in a million years have though of making.  The combination of flavors is great.  You should really try it sometime.

So there you have it.   A week of meatless meals.  I'm glad I finally got that off my chest.

Go forth and eat less meat... or not.  Either way.