By Theresa Hoyles, RD

You don’t have to be vegetarian to eat occasional meatless meals.  Take the challenge and eat meatless meals one day of the week.  October is coined Vegetarian Awareness Month and is the perfect time to change habits.  Join others who are recognizing that a plant-based diet focused on grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds is a healthy eating style. 

Evidence continues to be published touting the health benefits of a plant-based diet.  The advantages include lower levels of obesity, reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and/or type 2 diabetes and reduced risk for certain cancers.  A plant-based diet is able to provide those benefits with its’ health-promoting nutrients of fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, while naturally minimizing saturated fat and cholesterol.  Plant-based eating is not only good for your body but for the environment as well.  The production of plant-based foods has a lower impact on the environment when compared to the production of meat, dairy and eggs.   Less water, grain and petroleum are used during the production of plant-based foods.

Trying a meat-free day will allow your culinary practices to expand and your taste buds to try new foods.  Start by changing your mind set that meat must be the center of the plate.  Many dishes use meat as a flavoring instead of the main event such as in curries, stir-fries, stews and pasta recipes.  Utilize the library to check out a vegetarian cookbook and browse websites such as vegetariantimes.com or meatlessmonday.com to find recipes.  Plant-based meals don’t have to be complicated.  Keep it simple by serving black bean burritos or lentil soup and cornbread.  Take this opportunity to get creative in the kitchen and cook with an ingredient you’ve wanted to try such as tofu or quinoa.

Appointments with a registered dietitian are available at Memorial Medical Center.  A registered dietitian can help answer questions you may have about eating a plant-based diet.  Contact them at 715-685-5460.