Meatless Mondays

For much of my life I have consumed meat in almost every meal. I enjoy the flavors of meat, and I have felt like I needed the protein.

After recently reading books like The Compassionate Carnivore and Omnivore's Dilemma, I was disgusted by the huge increase in the the amount of meat that Americans consume each year. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, "In 2000, Americans consumed an average 57 pounds more meat than they did annually in the 1950s." I started thinking that this has to have contributed to the obesity problem in the United States. Compassionate Carnivore was the tipping point for me to try Meatless Mondays. I cook a lot, and I tend to have a lot of leftovers because I live alone. When I now actively participate in Meatless Mondays, this also means that many of my other weekly meals will be meatless because I undoubtedly have leftovers.

I was surprised to see immediate results on the scale. I have been losing a few pounds each week, and I think it's definitely linked to Meatless Mondays. I also know that I am consuming and purchasing more vegetables, and therefore I'm eating more vitamin rich foods.

Compassionate Carnivore also made me more cautious about the meat that I do purchase. The word organic is a legal term. Big factory farm companies who are producing non-organic foods are also in the organic business. There are a lot of awesome farms that are not organic, and there are a lot of shady farms that are legally labeled organic. Think about this when you chose your allegiances. Read here to learn more about what organic actually means.

Click here to learn more about Meatless Mondays.

Interested in recipes for meatless meals? Click here.