Rekindled

Tibits restaurant celebrate National Vegetarian Week with body painting!

Ok, so I’ll start with a confession: I am not a vegetarian. However, I do like to dabble in a bit of veggie cooking now and then, and I am taking babysteps to reduce the amount of meat I eat. My reasons? It is greener, healthier and cheaper. This week is National Vegetarian Week (18 – 25 May 2009), so it is an ideal time to find out more and experiment with some new recipes.

Most people’s understanding of vegetarianism is that it means not eating any meat or fish, but the term ‘vegetarian’ is not one size fits all. There are actually several different types of vegetarians, from fruitarians (the strictest) to partial vegetarians (the most tolerant). So you can find a set of guidelines to suit you, or make up some new ones and suit yourself!

Greener

If you’ve ever driven past a field of cows then you’ll know that livestock produce methane. But did you know that methane is a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide? In addition, producing meat uses up far more water than producing vegetables or grains. Meat production also needs a lot of land, making it one of the leading causes of deforestation.

Healthier

A well planned vegetarian diet can actually be healthier for you. Studies have shown that vegetarians have a lower risk of a whole range of diseases including obesity, heart disease, type II diabetes, some types of cancer, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, gall stones and constipation. Note: this does not apply if you live on chips and chocolate!

Cheaper

Because of the amount of water and land needed for meat production, as well as various other costs, switching to a meat free or reduced meat diet can actually save you money. One Australian experiment found that it was around 20% cheaper to go completely meat free.

So, to celebrate National Vegetarian Week, why not try a new vegetarian recipe? Feeling ambitious? You could even try a whole day meat free. There are lots of recipes and meal ideas on the Vegetarian Society website, like this selection of Meat Free Made Easy dishes, so get stuck in!

For more info: Vegetarian Society

As I mentioned in this post, one of the things I would like to do to make my lifestyle more sustainable is to eat less meat. As I work full time, I take my own lunches to work, so I have mostly been alternating between cheese sandwiches and marmite rice cakes (sooo yum!). I did have chicken and stuffing sandwiches for a couple of days when we had leftovers from a roast dinner but I don’t really count that. I think I need to work a few more alternatives into the mix so I don’t get bored.

Here are some of the meat-less main meals I have enjoyed over the past few weeks:

• Cheese Risotto
• Jacket Potato with Baked Beans and Cheese
• Baked Camembert with French Bread
• Spinach and Ricotta Tortellini with Napoletana Sauce (ready made)

Is anyone else noticing a theme here? Hmm…

At the same time, I have also been making better use of leftover meat.  For example, we had a small roast chicken for dinner, one Sunday, from which I also made sandwiches (as I mentioned above) and a chicken risotto, and there was still enough left to give to the cats as a treat!  Then last week, we had a leg of lamb (yes, we do love our roast dinners!) which then became a lamb stew the next day.  It didn’t really take any extra effort, just a small amount of thought, and it made me feel like some kind of extraordinary food magician!

I am also very happy to see that my favourite veggie burgers are back on the shop shelves – I probably just missed them last time. Hurrah!