Meat Free Mondays

Meat Free Mondays

You may, or may not have heard of 'Meat Free Mondays' or 'Meatless Mondays'. Meat Free Mondays is a campaign fronted by the McCartneys and aims to encourage people to give up meat one day a week. I was recently interviewed by Sainsbury's Magazine on my thoughts on Meatless Mondays, or 'Semi-tarianism' as they like to call it, and I thought I'd share it with you all. To see my quotes in print you can pick up the new Sainsbury's magazine in stores this month (p.135).

Page 135.. Semi-tarianism

So what did they ask me? And what did I say? Read on to find out...


1) Why do you personally think meatless Mondays are such a good idea?

I love the idea of 'Meat-free Mondays' as it invites meat lovers to try something new and different, just once a week, with possibly pounds and lb's saved along the way! A tin of chickpeas can cost as little as 59p, meaning Jamie Oliver's 'Quick Chickpea and Spinach Curry' is not only relatively low in fat and high in soluble fibre, but cheap too.  

I personally recommend a mixture of lean meats, oily fish and meat-free dishes with 'cottage cheese and sweet potato salad’ and ‘walnut moussaka’ being very popular! - Mornflake have a great recipe video for walnut moussaka [click here] for the video link!

Vegetarian diets have been associated with lower risks of diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, obesity and colon cancer. Vegetarian diets can also often be lower in saturated fat and higher in fibre than meat-filled diets, however care must be taken not to see 'cheese' as the only source of protein for those who exclude meat but not dairy within the diet. Cheese is both high in saturated fat and calories which could cause weight gain if eaten too frequently.

 

Page 135 of the October Sainsbury's Magazine...

2) If people want to go fully vegetarian, what are the nutritional issues they need to be careful of and how to you avoid them becoming issues?

The key to a nutritious vegetarian diet is to have a variety of different meat-free protein foods over the day to ensure that the body receives all of the essential amino acids it needs (the building blocks of protein) e.g. chickpeas, lentils, beans, soya, nuts, seeds and grains such as quinoa.

If individuals are looking to cut out meat altogether, then care should be taken to ensure adequate intake of iron, which is found in fortified breakfast cereals, wholemeal bread, green leafy vegetables, beans, lentils, nuts, sesame seeds and dried fruit. Vitamin C helps to absorb iron in the body which means that including vegetables or fruit with your meal is a good idea.

Stricter vegetarians who cut out dairy foods and eggs should also be mindful about their calcium as well as vitamin B12, B2 and D intake. Fortified soya milks and yoghurts, as well as tofu are good sources of calcium with  fortified breakfast cereals and yeast extract providing vitamins B12 and B2. Vitamin D can be created from sunlight however certain people may need supplements; you can speak to your GP about this if you are concerned.

 

 

Do you take part in meat-free Mondays? And if not, why not give it a go?!

 

Have a great week,

 

Nic x