Meatless March: Four tips for meat-free meals

Nowadays, more and more people are opting to follow a plant-based diet for health and environmental benefits.

With March being the time of Lent, many around the world also take part in the Meatless March Challenge.

Royal Palm Hotel’s executive chef Qhawe Tshabalala provides some tips on how to experiment with meatless meals.

Tshabalala says important to have some flexibility in your food choices so you don’t end up despising the experience.

Picture: iStock

• Track one of the key nutrients you to need to watch. Check-in on your calcium levels, plan to boost your iron intake, or ramp up your Omega-3 levels.

• Take a cooking challenge. If you’re someone who doesn’t like to cook, take this month as a chance to get more comfortable in the kitchen.

• If you’re new to meatless meals, start small, with just one night a week, and work up to more meals on more days.

• If you’re someone who says you could not eat meat, don’t feel pressured to give it up. However, you could use this month as a chance to eat more vegetables and whole grains.

Below is a tasty recipe to whet your vegetarian appetite:

Recipe: Roasted vegetable salad with garlic dressing

Picture: Supplied

Here are some vegetarian options that will most certainly excite even the most hard-edged carnivore:

• Granola bars
• Cereal with soy or almond milk
• Nuts and dried fruit
• Fruit and nut butter (apples and almond butter are a favourite of mine!)
• Hummus and whole-grain crackers or veggies
• Salsa and baked chips
• Smoothies made with fruit and non-dairy milk
• Sorbet with fruit and granola
• Smoked tofu slices with crackers or fruit (my version of cheese and crackers)
• Regular oatmeal

Whether you want to make more healthy life choices by cutting down on your meat intake, or you simply want to try and have one night a week meat-free, make March your trial month.

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