May Meatless Monday Roundup

Meatless Meals for Families: Menu from May 2014

Check Out This Month's Plant-Based, Vegetarian Picks

 

Have you joined the Meatless Monday Movement yet? It's easier than you might think and a great way to stay healthy and support our natural environment.

March Meatless Monday Roundup

Meatless Meals During the Month Of March

The tastiest {and most alliterative} month of yet ;)

We had another great month of Meatless Mondays this March; here's how they played out:

Meatless Mondays: February Roundup

Meatless Mondays in February

with some unusual meals making the cut :)

 

Meatless Mondays in January

Check out the Four Vegetarian Dinners We Tried This Month

Meatless Monday is gaining some momentum here!

Photos by Original Recipe-Makers
Smoky Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos
Cannellini Bean Vegetarian "Meatballs"
Spaghetti Squash Mac & Cheese
Creamy Gnocchi, Butternut Squash, and Spinach

While my family's been practicing Meatless Mondays for about a year now, this is my first month of sharing about it on the blog. My struggle has been to find vegetarian meals that my kids (and my husband) will enjoy as much as me! The four dinners we tried this month were certainly strong candidates. While we didn't have a particular meal that we all could agree was tasty enough for a "thumbs-up," I'm happy to announce that everyone at least liked one of the dinners! I think we're making progress!

I've mentioned this before, but it's worth repeating: I can't cook, and I don't like to cook. That often comes as a surprise to people who think that being crafty and being a good cook go hand-in-hand... well, feel free to use me as an example to dispel any myths about that!

Since I'm not lucky enough to be blessed with culinary talents, I MUST rely on a recipe to make a meal. I have never understood how people can just look in at a bunch of spices and ingredients and be able to make a meal... I've tried, believe me! I've just never had success. So, I rely on my recipes, and these days I get most of them on Pinterest. That's where I found a few of the four awesome recipes I made this month. A couple other I found on Yummly. Here they all are, with the links so you can make them yourselves!

• Smoky Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos by How Sweet it Is
• Cannellini Bean Vegetarian "Meatballs" by Cookin Canuk
• Spaghetti Squash Mac & Cheese by Lizzie Fuhr on Popsugar
• Creamy Gnocchi, Butternut Squash, and Spinach by Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice

Hope you find something you like! I have to say, the Sweet Potato Tacos were probably my favorite this month, but everything else was awesome, too! Do you have a Vegetarian Recipe that works for kids and adults alike? I'd love if you'd share! Leave me a comment in the post or write me an email. Maybe I'll make it next month!

Connect with me on Instagram and Pinterest to keep up with our Meatless Monday adventures!






Linking up to:

Tutorials and Tips Link Party

Tuesday's Takes on Meatless Monday Meals

Source: Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice

January 13: Creamy Gnocchi, Butternut Squash and Spinach

If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you may have seen some of this dish in the making last night! The recipe is by +Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice, and I found it through +Yummly .

Although it put my cooking stills to the test, I considered it a success. It smelled great, it looked great... it was definitely a thumbs-up from me. And surprisingly, Ben gave it a thumbs-up, too (he tends to be a Meatless Monday Grouch)! The kids were mostly just fans of the Gnocchi (oh, and the cheese of course), but I think the sage may have been a little strong for them (although it doesn't help that R dumped in ALL of the sage I cut up after I told her to add "a sprinkle").

But overall, a success. The only thing that would have made it better would be a nice loaf of crusty french bread to dip in the sauce! But alas, I'm only allowing those in the house once a week these days, and we just had French Onion Soup the other night ;). Here's an Insta-Review:

I got pre-cut squash to save a few steps.

This is about when it started to smell delicious!

Wilting is about to begin ;)

My helpers

As far as the cooking process, it was a little tricky for me (but please don't let that discourage you--remember, cooking is NOT a strength of mine... and that's an understatement). I definitely think I "over-salted" and probably should have cut up MUCH less sage in the first place so we could have avoided the sage overload. But it all worked out. Ben liked it, and I had enough left over for lunch today! I actually may try it with basil next time since she gave that as an option, too. I LOVE basil... come to think of it, I don't know why I didn't try that in the first place.

On a side note, I've decided that instead of posting about the previous meal EVERY Tuesday, I'm going to do a Meatless Monday Roundup on the last Tuesday of each month instead. I think I'll be able to organize my thoughts better that way (and that it'll be more useful to other families looking for +Meatless Monday ideas.

Follow me on Instagram and Pinterest for more fun ideas.

Meatless Monday Intro & Sweet Potato Tacos

Source: How Sweet It Is

January 6: Embarrassingly Easy Smoky Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos via How Sweet It Is

If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you're probably aware that we practice Meatless Monday in our home. We've been going at it for over a year now, and it gets mixed reviews from my family. For some reason, I think they associate Meatless Monday with "gross."

But I can't be too hard on them. It's true that my culinary skills are less-than-mediocre to begin with, so when I start putting restrictions on my already limited aresonal of cooking techniques, well, I can see where we may have a problem.

So this year, I am determined to find {simple} meatless recipes that my family will enjoy. And this is actually harder than you might think. To make it even more difficult, I'm trying to steer clear of our old standbys on Meatless Mondays (e.g., mac-and-cheese, pasta with a jar of sauce, grilled cheese)... and then I'm gonna blog about it. Should be entertaining, to say the least!

I'm planning to pick a Meatless Monday recipe the week before, prepare and serve it for dinner on Monday, and then quickly let you know how it goes the next day. 

And today being Tuesday, I'll let you know how last night went!

Embarrassingly Easy Smoky Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos

So maybe for Jessica at How Sweet it Is this recipe is embarrassingly easy, but for a cooking-averse individual like me, it was just my speed, and even pushed my boundaries a little (e.g., I don't normally add lime zest to our dishes). But it was all worth it, and I thought it was so GOOD! There were even several times my girls were able to "help," so that made it extra fun for them.

The Preparation

The Girls Were Happy to Help
(and even made their own version of sauce using Agave syrup)

Before Digging In... YUM!

The results from the family? Here goes:

• B1: Thumbs-Netural; Quote: "I liked the wrap on the outside."
• B2: Thumbs-Up; Quote: "When you put a lot of cheese in it, you can't even taste the beans!"
• Ben: Thumbs-Neutral; Quote: "Good, but it would be better with meat."
• Me: Thumbs-Up; Quote: "The manchego cheese was like the icing on the cake!"

Find me on Pinterest to check out next week's Meatless Monday pick (on the Meatless Monday board)... and maybe cook along with me?!

Do you practice Meatless Monday (or Meat Free Monday)? What are some of your favorite recipes?

Enjoy this {cold cold} week!

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