Meatless Mondays

I often joke that I would make a fantastic vegetarian if  I didn't love meat so much. And what I mean by that is simply that I relish eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and can happily devour meals without meat. It's just that I really really love meat. I am quite aware that there are lots of arguments why we shouldn't eat meat, and have had many a philosophical discussion on the matter. But I always come back to the question, "do you eat to live, or live to eat", and I most definitely fall into the latter. Despite all the reasons, if I restricted myself from enjoying ALL the food in the culinary spectrum I think, truly, life would be a bit more dull for me. But the tiny tree hugger in me tugs at my heartstrings because she's worried about carbon footprints, water usage, ethical treatment of animals and such.

That said, as a household, we make efforts to eat in a more sustainable fashion; by choosing local produce and meat when we can, and raising our own chickens for eggs. We probably eat a vegetarian dinner two, three times a week, just because. But I'd like to try to establish a lifestyle less meat dependent for health, environmental, and economic reasons. In Michael Pollan's book, Food Rules: An Eater's Manual, he lists guidelines in which to eat balanced and healthfully. It's number twenty three that is applicable here...

23. Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food

I think that's a great guideline, viewing meat as a treat rather than a daily staple. And I can live with that (Chris too). So, my first step is to join in with the "Meatless Mondays" campaign. Weekly devoting a whole day to not eating animals! If anything, it will encourage me to plan meatless meals more often. We try our best to balance what's good for ourselves, the wellness of our environment, and the limits of our budget, which can be difficult at times! But living the lifestyle we do, we're very lucky to be able to make decisions such as these. So for our first Meatless Monday we had a coconut curry with a variety of beans, carrots, onions and heaps of Thai basil from the garden. The curry was made from simmering coconut milk and Penzey's Bangkok Blend, so fragrant!

UPDATE: I'm the worst! Only one week later I broke Meatless Monday for some IKEA meatballs at lunch. To be fair, I didn't do it knowingly, and it was Labor Day. But still, I need to be a little more conscious in the future...