If there's one thing we have learned in the last few months (the Summer of Food, as we like to think of it), it's that we should cut back our meat consumption. Thanks to Food, Inc., Michael Pollan, Mark Bittman, and other real food advocates, we're quite literally trimming the fat. We think it's not so bad. What about you?
We may be behind the times with our newfound pseudo-vegetarianism; the two of us in the house grew up on farms in Texas and that translates to lots of meat and potatoes. But things, they are a-changin....
In general, we eat veggie during the week. This means we've eliminated the occasional bacon-based breakfast, gone for veg wraps in lieu of turkey sandwiches in our lunch boxes (and turned to bentos packed with local vegetables in recent weeks), and opted for dinners based on whole grains and fresh ingredients.
That's not to say we've eliminated meat from our diet; once a week we indulge in sustainably caught salmon fillets, and just yesterday chowed down on a cheeseburger. But when we do eat meat, we stick within our parameters: The meat must be as local as possible, sustainably and ethically raised, and organic. If our litmus test can't be met, then we look for a veggie option.
Truth be told, we're not really missing meat that much and since we've eliminated about 80% of our meat-eating from our diets, we're vastly reducing our carbon footprint.
We found the hardest part of getting to where we are now was realizing that we didn't need to eat so much meat. Once we understood that meat can be treated as a side, we felt freed.
Maybe we've hit our perfect balance of vegetarianism and omnivorism. What do you think?
Looking for meatless inspiration? Here are a few non-tofu, non-meat options at EcoSalon.
(Image: Amber Byfield for Re-Nest.)
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
I was a pretty strict vegetarian for about 15 years. These days I consider myself a flexitarian, eating some meat/fish a few times a month. My husband, a meat-lover, has adopted this diet as well. When we first got together, he ate meat daily, so this seems like a nice compromise.
view mellon's profile
Here is a good video on the subject: http://meat.org
view mherzog's profile
I have been cutting down on my meat consumption as well. My mother suggested thinking of meat as a flavoring, versus meat as the main course. It's along the same lines as "meat as a side dish."
Let me tell you, though, that a little bit of bacon on top of a salad makes a WORLD of difference in tastiness!
view casey w's profile
i was vegetarian for about ten years but then became a low-impact omnivore for about ten more years. i recently married a vegan and that's resulted in a return to vegetarianism as a compromise. the trickiest part hasn't been giving up meat, but trying to coax him out of so many meat substitutes. his diet was/is heavily based on faux-sausage, faux-chicken, faux-hamburger crumbles, etc. it is becoming the great project of my life to expand his pallet.
view hikatie's profile
We are still working on this. For some reason, dinner is the hardest, but we are committed to at least one meatless dinner a week; and when we do have meat, we are reducing our portion sizes.
Having a vegetable garden has really helped. In the middle of summer, it is hard to make room on the plate for the meat, because there are so many veggies we are trying to eat.
To see some of the vegetarian dinners from my garden, go to:
http://2greenacres.blogspot.com/2009/08/dinners-from-my-garden.html
view 2 Green Acres's profile
I was a vegetarian for just over a year. I grew up eating a lot of veggies and even as an adult, I was able to go days without meat and not even notice it. Became a vegetarian after a trip to Thailand where it was so tasty and easy to be a vegetarian!
Eventually, I had to go back to fish (that was what I missed most). Now I eat meat, but still probably much less than the average person.
On another note: did you know you can also invest in veggies and such? Like as in for retirement?
Check it out:
http://donkeehouse.com/?p=1240
view bitdot's profile
The average person would be stunned to see the size of an actual healthy portion of meat. By sticking to correct portion sizes, I can feed my family of four three meals with one chicken.
view Fnnkybutt's profile
Here is a good video on meat: http://meat.org
view mherzog's profile
Living with a vegetarian, meatless shared meals are a must. I definitely don't miss meat enough to make two dinners ;-) I never used to eat much red meat. If I do eat chicken or turkey these days, it's part of a veggie-filled sandwich or burrito during a work lunch.
view Claire T.'s profile