Recently my husband and I have thought more about our food and where it comes from. It’s true that certain foods we eat create excessive waste and more stress on our environment. My ears perked up when I started to hear about a new trend called “Meatless Mondays.” Have you heard of it? Many people around our nation have decided to become vegetarians for one day a week, if they’re not already vegetarians, that is. Mondays are turning more and more meatless, and even the hardiest of carnivores are curiously eyeing some yummy vegetarian recipes.
But why, you ask, is going meatless, if only for a day, an environmentally friendly thing to do? According to Wikipedia, the meat industry generates nearly 1/5 of the greenhouse gases that are attributed to climate change. We also use far more fresh water to “grow” our meat as opposed to what is needed to water protein-rich plants like soy and other whole grains. If we ate just a little less meat, our streams and ponds and lakes would be far cleaner.
Going meatless just one day a week could also help our bodies. Meat has a lot more saturated fats than plant-based proteins. Americans eat about 45% more meat a day than what the USDA recommends, which could lead to poorer health and raise our risk of certain diseases. Plain and simple: eating too much meat actually decreases our lifespan. Bring on the vegetable lasagna!
I hope this little excerpt inspires you to take care of your body, as well as our planet! Below is my favorite veggie lasagna recipe... it is oh so delicious... and I've attached a picture as well. It basically looks like a huge wad of cheese, but it shows how yummy it is :). And, I've made this with plain noodles and rice cheese for my dairy-free friends, and it's just as good! Recipe from Real Simple magazine:
1 26-ounce jar pasta sauce
2 30-ounce bags frozen large cheese ravioli, unthawed
1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess water
1 8-ounce bag shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Directions
Heat oven to 350° F. Coat a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with cooking spray and spoon in a third of the sauce. Arrange 12 ravioli on top and scatter the spinach over them. Top with half of each cheese. Cover with another layer of ravioli and the remaining sauce and cheese. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 to 10 minutes more or until bubbly.
3 comments:
I've made this before just not with spinach, not because we don't like spinach just because I didn't think of it! It was a great and easy recipe!
We do one meatless meal a week! Well 90% of weeks! We don't do it specifically on Monday but I love doing it. It's also good for our monthly budget. Even my manly meatloving husband is down with it! We had the best Zucchini, Tomato and Onion Pasta this week for our meatless meal!
Keep up the awesome posts Becca!
Love this idea. Did you watch the movie Food Inc? Love this movie, but also hate it. If you've seen it you will know what I mean.
Leigh... I love that you do "meatless" too! it's such a nice change, and great to fill our bodies with more veggies :).
T- I haven't watched the movie yet... mostly b/c i know it will drive me even more nuts than I already am about food and where we get it... so trying to take baby steps in that direction... when i'm stable enough and feel balanced, i'll watch it :).
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