Lenten 2022 Green Eating Tips and Recipes

Tips on Plant Based Eating

Interested in moving towards a more plant-based diet, but don’t know how to get started? Here are some tips for making some changes:

Try meat substitutes (like Impossible burger or Mornigstar crumbles) in lasagna, tacos, spaghetti sauce.

Try a veggie burger: Some options, like Impossible burgers and Beyond burgers, mimic a meat flavor and texture. Other types of veggie burgers (which tend to be healthier than the meat substitutes) aren’t trying to imitate meat but offer flavor varieties based on black beans, chickpeas, mushrooms, beet, etc.

Get adventurous and try foods that are truly plant-based and not trying to imitate meat. Veggies that are substantial enough to be the focus for an entrée include yams, squash, mushrooms, eggplant, lentils, chickpeas and various beans. Pick a main ingredient you like and search for recipes online – or choose from our variety of recipes below.

Experiment with great grains: Go beyond rice to try more interesting alternatives like barley, farro and quinoa.

Choose restaurants with a variety of meatless options:

Whether you’re dining out or getting takeout, these types of restaurants tend to offer a lot of meatless options:

Italian: veggie pizza, meatless pastas, risotto, pesto, eggplant parmesan
Middle Eastern: falafel, hummus and other dips, veggie couscous
Indian: a wealth of vegetarian options, featuring eggplant, lentils, chickpeas, cauliflower, potatoes, okra and other veggies and legumes

How to feed meat-eaters and non-meat-eaters together:

A stir-fry, chili, or burrito bowl can easily be made with no meat but have meat added to a couple portions.
Creating a salad bars, taco/burrito bar or pasta bar allows diners to assemble their own entrees with the ingredients they prefer.

Share recipes! Get started with some favorites below. And send a favorite meatless recipe or two to Lori Rapuano to have it added to this web page.