Meatless Mondays... or Tuesdays, Even Fridays!

Even if you're not one who believes in climate change, there are still a number of logical reasons why we should talk about reducing our meat consumption.

1. PRICE throughout history meat has almost always been a food for the rich.  I know we all want to be rich, but wealthy doesn't always mean healthy.

2. HEALTH I have heard so many people tell me that we humans NEED animal protein.  I am not going to dispute that there are some people who, biologically, need more animal protein than others, but that is something that has to do with what their ancestors evolved to eat it wasn't a species-wide determination.  Consider this, the Inuit people live near the Arctic Circle, historically not much produce could grow in such a climate, therefore, the Inuit people evolved to eat a diet rich in animal protein.
On the other side of the spectrum, the tribes native to the South American forests subsist largely off of sweet potato-like tubers and other vegetation.  Occasionally these people hunt small animals like squirrels, but such animals are fast and require a hunter to expend a lot of energy for a small amount of protein.

3.  CALORIC NEEDS when most activities were run via "manpower" humans needed a large caloric intake in order to have enough energy to complete their required tasks.  Today, many of the jobs we humans have are sedentary.  We simply don't need the number of calories that many of us consume in a day.

4. ENVIRONMENT I want to stay away from climate change here, and simply talk about numbers.  The average American eats 220 lbs of meat in a year.  The average cow (1,000 lb) produces 430 lbs of retail meat.  There are roughly 1.5 billion cows on the planet.  There are 7.5 billion people on the planet.  Everyone on the planet wants to eat like Americans.
These numbers mean we would have to more than double the number of cows on the planet to feed the current number of people on the planet, and the planet's population grows about 80 million people a year.  **Edit in response to a comment** Again, I know nothing about how the Earth's temperature changes, I don't think we have enough information one way or the other to say, what I do know, is if you cut down forests that produce oxygen, in order to make room for cows that give off methane, then that will not work out for humans as a species that breathes oxygen.

5.  AIR QUALITY Given the numbers above, do you want to breathe oxygen or cow flatulence?

The whole point of this post is that I want to share with you some meal ideas and recipes that I use to make meatless meals a little less scary.  My family is pretty good sports, they will try anything at least once, and it's a good thing for you that they tried the gross stuff, so you wouldn't have to.

Chickpea Gyros
Ingredients:
Tzatziki:
1-2 c. Greek yogurt
1 medium cucumber grated, grate it into a tea towel and then squeeze out the moisture.
Juice of one lemon
1/4 fresh dill or 2 T dried dill
1 clove garlic crushed or 1 t. granulated garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
A pinch of sugar

Chickpeas:
2 can chickpeas drained, rinsed, and patted dry.
2 t. oil
1/2 t paprika
1/2 t. onion powder
1/2 t. garlic powder
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 t. oregano
cayenne pepper is optional if you want some spice.
Pita bread
Sliced tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers for serving.

Directions:
Stir together all of the tzatziki ingredients in and bowl, cover and refrigerate.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil or a baking mat.  Stir together the chickpeas, oil, and spices. Bake for 20-30 minutes stirring every 10 minutes until crispy.
Spread pita bread with tzatziki, top with chickpeas and vegetables, serve.

Barbecue Black Bean Burgers

Ingredients:
8 oz white or baby Bella mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup onion, diced
2 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 can black beans drained and rinsed, reserving 1/4 cup of the liquid
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup panko or regular bread crumbs
2 tablespoons ketchup
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic and onion powders
1/4 cup barbecue sauce

Directions:
Heat one tablespoon of oil in a large skillet, add onion and season with salt and pepper.  Saute for five minutes until softened, add the mushrooms and cook another 5-10 minutes until most of the moisture is cooked out.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl, add the beans and mash everything with a pastry blender until everything is combined.
Add oats, panko, ketchup, and spices, fold everything together.  If the mixture is too dry, then add a little of the reserved liquid from the beans until the mixture will hold together in patties.
Form the mixture into 4-6 patties, place on a plate or baking sheet and refrigerate at least one hour.
When you are ready, heat remaining oil in a large skillet, cook the patties for 3-5 minutes on each side, brushing each patty with barbecue sauce after you have flipped it over.

I like to serve the burgers on toasted buns with all the trimmings.

Here are some other delicious meatless meal ideas.  If you'd like me to share these recipes, then let me know in the comments.

Vegetable Curry
General Tao's Cauliflower
Potato and Onion Pizza
Lentil Nachos or Tacos
Potato & Onion Pierogies with Broccoli & Greens
Braised Cabbage and Carrots
Polish Cabbage Rolls

Enjoy!
Nichole