Meatless Monday!

A recent viewing of the documentary Forks Over Knives inspired me to try and trim down the meat in my diet. The premise of Forks Over Knives is that many of America's health problems (heart disease, diabetes, cancer) are linked to the high levels of meat and processed foods in our diets. The film advocates a whole foods, plant based diet and follows several people who are combatting weight and health issues.  There are some pretty intense stats in the film, including that there is a monumental disparity in cancer rates among the United States and many Asian countries where a plant based diet with less meat based protein is prevalent.  So, I am going to try and do a Meatless Monday every week.  I certainly don’t mind eating vegetarian – I was meat-free for a year or so in high school (although I don't think I did it in the most healthful way). I am hoping that devoting one day a week to a meatless diet will help me come up with new recipes and healthier meatless alternatives that will result in permanent changes in my diet.  I’m also going to strive to share my meals on Meatless Monday on the blog, which I hope will have the dual effect of getting me to update more frequently and to stick to the meatlessness. Forks Over Knives is on instant play on Netflix - I recommend that you check it out!  In the future I think I need to work on incorporating some more beans and other proteins to keep me feeling full, but I will say I felt pretty good about how I ate yesterday. For today’s inaugural Meatless Monday I had: Oatmeal with blueberries for breakfast (old fashioned oats microwaved with frozen blueberries).  For lunch: Salad with onions, campari tomatoes, cucumbers and fat free Italian dressing and Green Giant frozen cauliflower in cheese sauce. Ok, there are some preservatives in the cauliflower with cheese sauce but the whole box is 150 calories and it's a good substitute for mac and cheese if you're in a comfort food mood.  I went to zumba after my classes were over for the day and I was pretty hungry when I got home, and, admittedly I was a little bummed that my dinner wouldn't include any meat.  However, this whole wheat linguine with zucchini and onions was totally delish.  I boiled the pasta until it was al dente while I sauteed some zucchini, garlic and onions. I mixed the veggies and pasta with tomato sauce, cubed up a bit of fresh mozzarella, grated some fresh parmesean over the top and baked the pasta in a 350 degree oven for about six minutes.  What are some of your favorite meatless meals?  Do you think there is too much of a focus on incorporating meats into every meal?