So today I wanted to share with you a few of our tips and ideas for turning traditional meat dishes into more sustainable dishes… did I say vegetarian??
We have 2 ways of doing this, the first is to use half the meat quantity, the second to remove it completely from a couple of the dishes per week. Here are the four ways we do it.
Number 1.
Replacing mince with grated veges, beans and fungi. Now mince is one of those meats I have mixed feelings about. On one hand, you don’t really know whats in it, but on the other, using all the animal is much more sustainable then throwing the less pretty bits away. We grate carrots, zucchini/squashes, celery, and anything else we can find and fry them up with herbs. You can add stock powder at this point to if you need the vege’s to taste meaty.
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| Dahl with Kumera, broccoli and flatbread, all homemade |
Number 2.
Halve the meat. Do you use the amount of meat you use because that’s how it packaged or because that’s how much you needed. Do you really need the whole packet of meat? Can you buy better quality and humanely treated meat from your local butcher and spend the same or less by buying half??
We use extra mushroom in Stroganoff, Grated zucchinia and carrot in bolognese, and just serve up less of the roast and more roast vege’s leaving leftovers.
Number 3.
This brings me quite nicely to using leftovers. We have had the habit of throwing out a lot of food. We’ve stopped this by having many more “Left overs” nights. Either re-doing last nights roast or freezing and pulling out on those nights where we really just don’t feel like cooking.
Number 4.
leave it out!
Do you actually need the meat in that dish?? Do pizzas, risotto, stirfries, pasta dishes or sandwiches really need meat?? I know, they can make them yummier, but quite often I feel these dishes only have meat in them “because we can”. Try it.
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| Caprese pizza |
No I’m not vegetarian, quite frankly I’m too lazy to be willing to label myself as either Vegetarian or Paleo, but both ways have obvious (to me) benefits not just to the eater but the environment. And vegetarianism has added bonus benefits to the wallet. Try it, half your meat consumption for a fortnight and compare your supermarket bill.
vickitucklee 
I grew up on a farm so sustainability and eating leftovers is ingrained in me now as an adult. We eat way too much meat though, trying to eat more fish and vegetarian meals (but I am not confident cooking vegetarian)
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Sometime I feel I do better if I don’t think of it as vegetarian… it’s a meal, it just doesn’t have meat in it. If you need the meaty feel try replacing with hearty veges such as mushrooms or grilled eggplant. I find one pot style dishes such as pasta bakes, risotto and casseroles can work best, as you are not expecting that chunk of meat on the plate. Tip, add much garlic and herbs… For none or less meat try a basic risotto recipe and experiment with the toppings, a sauce of beans, tomato and bacon… soo good! Or bulk out your leftovers with vegetables only. Good luck and most importantly, Enjoy!!
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