Enjoy 7 delicious meat(less) dishes
Who knew that eating no meat could end a friendship? That was the shocking revelation by my friend Conscious C shared on Thursday night. Before she’s moving to the UK this week, we met up and it was so fantastic to see her. She looked great, was full of energy (even more than usual) and all thanks to making some dietary adjustments.
Giving up meat for improved health
Little did she expect going meatless would end a friendship for her. Conscious C decided to join her husband making some lifestyle changes for medical reasons in January. For them, health had to come first and gave going meatless a chance. Surprisingly, they found it easier than expected (they were meat lovers) and soon, combined with some other adjustments, saw her husband’s health improve tremendously.
Research has shown the benefits of reducing their meat consumption for years. You don’t have to become a full fledged vegetarian or vegan overnight. Making small adjustments like introducing Meatless Monday can be a good start.
Eating less meat cannot only lower risk for cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Depending on your genetics, your cholesterol may also be reduced. This dietary change can also improve certain medical conditions. Speak with your physician about your situation – we can’t give you medical advice.
Saving a friendship
In our region, meeting friends seems to be centred around food and coffee. If you go out for a meal, everyone orders whatever they fancy. Pretty easy and almost fool proven, unless you meet at Red Lobster. It’s probably the least vegetarian friendly restaurant in town, good for seafood lovers.
During the last few months, more and more friends kept their social interactions to a small group and, once allowed again, they’d have dinner parties at home. That lockdown was a good opportunity to improve cooking skills and they have to be shown off!
Conscious C’s friends, unfortunately, stopped invited her and her husband over. The friends didn’t know which meals would be suitable for vegetarians and it became too difficult. It’s too bad that a friendship wouldn’t uphold some lifestyle changes.
7 Recipes for meat and meatless eaters
To spare you this experience, here are 5 great recipes which you can cook, no matter if you want to add meat or not.
1. Chili
Cook it all in one big pot. Take out as many servings as you need for the meat eaters. Fry up some ground beef and add to the pot for the meat eaters.
2. Quiche
Just like using a pre-made pizza dough, you can buy a ready-made crust for the quiche. Leave out the ham and you have adjusted this recipe for your meatless friends.
3. Pizza
It couldn’t be easier than this! Add different toppings and you got one of the biggest crowd pleasers. EVER!
4. Enchiladas
Do you want to prepare something in advance? Enchiladas are wonderful! Easy to make and an all time favourite. Add chicken or beef for the meat eaters.
Get ready and make tacos everyone will love.
Fantastic for any BBQ!
Forget what anyone ever told you about risotto being a challenging dish. It’s not and it’s so yummy. Try it!
I don’t think there’s any reason to not invite your vegetarian friends over. You can host them easily at home with one of these 7 dishes where you can simply swap the protein and tada! Bon appetit!
Which one would you going to try? Maybe for your very own Meatless Monday?
Until next time,
Agni