Meatless Healthy Dinners: A Wise Choice for the Whole Family

Whether you are looking to trim money from the grocery budget, reduce your carbon footprint or add variety to your existing weekly meal menu, the meatless dinner trend is on the rise. Many people think that a meal without meat is incomplete or void of flavor and taste; this could not be farther from the truth. Crock pot stews filled with vegetables, beans and dried herbs are bursting with flavor.

If you are interested in making a more permanent transition to meat-free meals as a vegetarian or vegan, your biggest fear may be that you are going to miss out on the taste and protein provided by animal products. Contrary to popular belief, a vegetarian or vegan diet is filled with necessary plant proteins. Soy beans, leafy greens, broccoli and cauliflower, and nuts and seed are chocked full of protein. As an added bonus, they also provide a host of vitamins, antioxidants and minerals that animal products simply do not provide.

Meatless convenience foods have taken the grocery industry by storm in recent years. Companies like Gardein create everything from fish-less fillets to chicken-less nuggets, beef-less ground and chicken-less strips to create healthy dinner recipes that will please even the pickiest meat lover. These veggie meat products are full of flavor and let you replicate your favorite comfort food meals like spaghetti, chili, stir-fry and stew without feeling like you are missing out. Whether you choose to implement meatless Monday or eliminate all animal products from your diet, garden-based meat products are a tasty alternative to animal products.