Homesteading With katlupe

Meatless Is Not As Hard As It Looks!

I have two very close friends who are vegetarians. They always check what is in anything to eat. If they eat in a restaurant they have to ask about the ingredients or what is available. One time one of them and another friend and myself had gone to a small town diner and she asked about the spaghetti that was the special for lunch. It had meat in it. There was nothing really available for a vegetarian except for eggs. I felt sorry for her that out of all the food the diner served they could not make a meatless sauce and just add meatballs for the meat eaters.

I have taken an interest in vegetarian eating for two reasons really. First, meat is way too expensive. Second is that right now, we are living without refrigeration. I am sacrificing so that we can buy  a solar refrigeration unit. Our refrigerator is propane and actually, I have two right now. I  am hoping to get them both cleaned up and sold. As much as I loved having a gas refrigerator, since they just work so much better than the electric ones, they just have to go. It is the price of propane that has caused me to shut the gas off to the refrigerator. Our goal within five years is to be fuel free. So this is part of realizing that goal.

I have discovered that many dishes that you automatically add meat to, can be just as great without that addition. It also makes the dish much more healthy. So we only eat meat when we feel we really need it or are craving it. It's hard to give up when you've eaten it your whole life. Of course, with the meat not being as safe in the supermarkets as it used to be makes it pretty easy for me to make the change. 

I love to make stirfries and have been making them with every vegetable I can find, but no meat. Don't even miss it in there. My husband will eat meatless as long as I make plenty and it tastes good. I hardly ever have leftovers. Last week, a good friend of ours came over with a wonderful picnic supper. She is one of my vegetarian friends. And she brought the makings for sandwiches, but with cheese instead of meat. We loved it! Not long ago we had ordered subs from the local sub shop, and there was too much meat on mine. I gave the meat to my dog and ate it with no meat, just the vegetables and it was out of this world!  So I think meat is just a idea in your head that you have to eat it.

I made a list of recipes that have no meat in them and discovered that I have quite a few. I could eat a whole month or more on meatless recipes. And my husband and son would love them. I just do not make a point of the no meat. Just fix the meal like always and no one ever says a word about the missing meat. I am also going to be experimenting with the meatless sandwich. Now I think I could come up with some very good combinations.

There is no question that it is healthier. I have a friend who lives with a man who used to only eat meat. He would cook up a big pan of meat and that is all he would eat. Needless to say, he does not look very healthy and has absolutely no energy. Does not exert himself in any way. I think that is what the meat does to him, not to mention the kidney stones he had. She has changed him a little bit, but meat is still the center of his diet.

So after I experiment with my meatless recipes I will post them on here. You have to make sure to get your protein from other sources. I will have no trouble with that as we do eat a lot of beans and rice and other sources. I also like to cook with international recipes and they seem to make meat the smallest part of the dish. So I will be doing that too. Just less meat. More vegetables, fruits, whole grains and good fats. Can't wait to get started!