Hi friends! I am linking up with Erika & Ashley for Tuesday Talk. A monthly link up where we can talk about any and everything!
In January we talked about the crazy snowstorm we had here...Snowvember!
Last month we chatted about having kids pack themselves for trips!
This month I want to chat about working more plant based meals into our family's table.
So the beginning of this year I set a goal to incorporate more plant based meals into our diet. I don't recall anything specific that had me decide this other than the obvious that eating more plants is good for you!
I think part of it may have been after all the holiday eating I was just craving veggies.
I thought I would share some of my findings since we have been doing this. Let me say that I am not vegan or totally vegetarian, I still enjoy eggs and I still love a good burger. I have just made it part our weekly meal plan to have at least two meals be plant based (aka no meat). We also usually have one of our meals with some sort of seafood.
Be open minded.
As I began to look for some inspiration for meals or create things on my own, there were flavor combinations I never would have thought of. Like butternut squash and lemon in my lasagna??
Cauliflower tacos?
But let me tell you, some of those "what the heck" dishes have turned out to be my favorites! When you are trying a new way of doing something you have to be open to explore different things...so keep your mind and your taste buds open!
Be prepared for some digestion changes.
Let's just cut to the chase.... when you add a lot more fiber and beans to your diet...well things are going to work there way out a little differently! That's just how it works. It took a few weeks for our bodies to "adjust".... so just be prepared for that. You may to need to change how your plan your meals, maybe not a bean based meal two nights in a row.😉
Always use the fresh herb or zest or spice.
This has made all the difference in so many of the dishes we have made. The freshness from herbs or zest can really make a dish pop.
I always try to pick up the ones called for in a dish I am making and then plan to use it something again later that week, so I don't waste it.
Make time to prep.
With a veggie heavy meal, you need to make time to do quite a bit of chopping.
This is actually something I don't mind too much. There is something about chopping that is kind of relaxing to me and I enjoy it.
I usually spend about 30-60 minutes on Sunday prepping stuff for our weekly meals or snacks. You can check out some of my meal prep tips here.
You will see a decrease in your grocery bill.
Since we have started making 1-2 meals per week vegetarian, I have notice about a $20-25 drop in our weekly grocery bill. So that has been a nice bonus!
My family has not really noticed the absence of meat.
I did not make some big announcement that we were cutting out meat from some meals. So my crew just went along with it. Paul did not seem to really notice the absence of meat in some meals... the squash lasagna he didn't realize until I told him!
I have really enjoyed looking for inspiration for our veggie based meals. I have loved looking at Oh She Glows and Pinch of Yum for inspiration. I also love how colorful our meals are!!
I feel physically better since getting in more plant based meals. I think that is partly because as I eat more vegetables I seem to crave them more, so it has definitely made an impact on choices we make for other meals and snacks too.
As the weather warms up I am looking forward to finding some new plant based meals that we can grill. I have been sharing a new plant based meal every Monday here on the blog.
Here is a peek at what we have shared so far...
I hope you will pop by every Monday to try out a new plant based meal with your family! And if you have any favorite plant base recipes, please drop them in the comments!!
See you soon....there's always room for one more at our family table.
xoxo
Genevieve
This post is very motivating to add more plant based meals into our diet! I love it!! We discovered spaghetti squash about a year ago and that has become a staple in our household. My kids don’t even seem to notice it’s not actual spaghetti noodles 😜
ReplyDeleteLove this! I meal plan so that we have 2 veggie meals a week as well because it just feels good. We've tried your Black Bean Soup and it was GREAT! Since it's just my hubby & I we had leftovers that we then filled quesadillas with later in the week - YUM! Some of our favorites and veggie stuffed sweet potatoes or acorn squash :) Thanks for sharing your plant based meals!
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