the surprising ingredient for more plant based meals

Do you sometimes get the nagging feeling that you should eat more plant based meals? Maybe you’ve been told that you can only lead a vibrant and healthy life if you are cutting out animal products and now you can’t shake the idea that somehow the way you are eating is not ‘clean’ enough.

Being vegan or at least vegetarian is very fashionable right now. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with it, in fact I love the variety that vegan food options bring into my diet.

Here’s the thing though. I wish we would stop making food choices such an ‘all or nothing’ concept.

Feeling you ‘should’ be doing something can make you anxious

Feeling stressed about or ashamed of food choices is never going to lead to a positive outcome, quite the opposite. You have enough pressure in your life already, you don’t need to add any anxiety about what you are eating into the mix.

However, according to a recent article in The Age, Australians are eating around 110 kilograms of meat per year, averaging 300 grams a day, which is more than twice the recommended amount. Looking at how we can reduce meat consumption and increase plant based meals seems like a very good idea, right?

No matter where you stand regarding how to eat for good health, adding more vegetables into your diet is always considered a good thing.

So let’s focus on that!

What’s the surprising ingredient then?

Well my friend, it is bacon.
Yep.
Or pancetta, or speck, or any of these varieties really.
Because if you want to limit your meat intake and add more vegetables, there is nothing better than a little bit of flavour that goes a long way!

You could make a large pot of vegetable soup that starts with a little bit of bacon:

Fry bacon, add a variety of vegetables, add water, season, bring to a boil, simmer until tender, puree!

Or a simple vegetable panfry:

Fry pancetta, add frozen peas, add chopped cabbage, season, stir through baby spinach, serve with large chunks of crusty bread!

Or a satisfying couscous salad:

A little bit of bacon fried to crispy perfection and then tossed through wholemeal couscous, chopped raw and roasted vegetables, topped with roasted pumpkin seeds makes for a fantastic veggie-packed dish that even a meat-lover will enjoy.

The amount of meat per portion is negligible, yet you are eating a large amount of vegetables. These methods of preparation are on high rotation in our house and I throw in whatever vegetables are in season.

Some food for thought

Look, I’m not one to preach. I’m also not a nutritionist or doctor so I stay clear of any food related health advice, but I will say that two aspects of meat consumption are important to me. They too contribute to our health and we can’t ignore those if we want to truly take care of ourselves.

animal welfare

Buying higher welfare meat (organic, free range, grass fed, etc) is more expensive. If we buy less meat, but higher welfare it’s almost a no brainer to find balance in the process.

(This is a great article that digs a little deeper around the oftentimes confusing terminology of meat labels in the supermarket.)

the environment

There are quite a few environmental issues to consider regarding meat consumption. For example livestock production for human consumption is listed as the largest emitter of greenhouse gases on the planet. That’s pretty astonishing! If we want to reduce our negative impact on the environment, we need to reduce our meat consumption.

(This is a great article if you’d like to learn more.)

So there we are.

Let’s eat more vegetables.
Let’s be kind to ourselves and find balance.

Much love,

Katrine x