12 Week Challenge Week 11- Meat-free Monday (or any other day)

Hey everyone. I hope that you had a fantastic easter! I'm sorry that I have been out of action for a few weeks. I ended up getting really busy with work and trying to get everything sorted up in Auckland before we went down to Dunedin for a week and a half. Then unfortunately, the day we got home I was hit by a cold and have been feeling less than fantastic this past week.

Anyway, I am back now and ready to get stuck into Week 11 of the 12 week challenge. This week, the challenge is to go veggie for a day. Why vegetarian? There are a few reasons actually.

1. Saves you money. Meat tends to be the most expensive component of a meal, whereas vegetarian forms of protein are often dirt cheap. Ditching the meat for one day a week is a great way to reduce your food bill a little bit.

2. It forces you to be a bit more creative. Sure you could just go with a simple pasta, but once you start looking, there are actually some really great vegetarian options out there. Some of my favourites are falafel, bean burritos and lentil-based soups.

3. The key to health is variety (of real foods of course), so mixing in some vegetarian is definitely a way to mix things up.

If you are already vegetarian then this will be easy! Perhaps instead you could challenge yourself to try a new vegetarian dish. On the other side, if you are paleo, then you can probably ignore this unless you are able to find a well-balanced vegetarian dish.

Here are some ideas from the blog to help you along:

Try a lentil-based vegetable soup: http://www.libbysfood.blogspot.co.nz/2013/06/pumpkin-and-red-lentil-soup-with.html

This roast beetroot sub makes an easy, quick lunch or dinner: http://libbysfood.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/roast-beetroot-sub.html

In the mood for pizza? Try this veggie based pizza: http://www.libbysfood.blogspot.co.nz/2014/01/veggie-rific-margherita-pizza.html

Stack these potato and parsnip fritters up with avocado and tomato for a delicious meal: http://libbysfood.blogspot.co.nz/2011/08/potato-and-parsnip-fritters.html

Lots a recipe books have a vegetarian section now and you can always use google for more ideas.