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Meatless Mondays might not be something the everyday foodie considers trying initially. First, though … what is a foodie? A foodie is a person who not only loves food, but may also enjoy learning about food, trying new foods, embracing new ideas around food, and trends, and may or not be interested in the healthy side of food. They may also just be looking to try something exotic or may just love food in general. Many foodies also love traditional dishes, prepared just the way they grew up eating.
If one of these characteristics describes you and you’re proud to call yourself a foodie, then this Meatless Monday post is especially for you. Giving Meatless Mondays a try is something anyone can do, whether you’re interested in plant-based nutrition for health or you just want to eat an animal-free diet.
Each of these Meatless Monday ideas is out of the everyday norm. They’ve been given a special spin on an original dish, and make things a bit more exciting than a typical veggie burger and a bowl of simple oatmeal would. Have a look at these foodie-inspired Meatless Monday ideas for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!
Breakfast
Wintery Quinoa Porridge
This breakfast is a great idea for anyone looking to add a complete protein to their day with a bit more excitement than a plain bowl of quinoa. Featuring superfoods, berries, and a delectable crunch, this dish is full of flavor, texture, and nutrition that takes a spin on your plain bowl of oats. Give it a try for cold mornings when you want something delicious, a bit out of the norm, but also super easy.
Carrot Cake Oatmeal with Ginger Spiced Cashew Cream
For some of us, oatmeal is just the best and there’s nothing wrong with sticking to a dish you love, even if it’s plain oats. They are one incredibly healthy food, after all. They’re also delicious and filling! But why not make oatmeal interesting every once in a while? For the foodie who likes eating something that tastes like dessert for breakfast, this oatmeal will become a favorite in no time! It’s also rich in protein without the need for one bit of eggs, cheese yogurt, or bacon!
Whole Grain Protein Bowl
For those that want something interesting, exotic looking, but also simple and energizing, this superfood, economical bowl is for you. Packed with superb grains like millet, quinoa, teff, oat groats, or even amaranth if you choose, you can add inexpensive, yet versatile and nutritious superfoods to this bowl like goji berries and cacao nibs. This dish is incredibly creamy as well, so give it a try before or after a workout, or when you need a high dose of energy to get you through the day.
Superfood Raspberry Smoothie
For all the smoothie fans out there who want not just nutrition, but also color and a great taste, go with this delicious superfood smoothie, packed with low-glycemic, high-fiber berries that give this a fruity flavor without a hard hit to your blood sugar. It has an array of flavors from the lime, maca, raspberries, and other great ingredients used here. Forget just fruit, almond milk, and some greens, get your blender ready for something new!
Lunch
Kale Avocado Wraps With Spicy Miso Dipped Tempeh
How about a hearty, filling wrap that tastes like something you’d get at a restaurant? Forget the mayo and try this wrap out instead, which features hearty and filling (and even healthy) avocado, along with probiotic-rich and flavorful miso. It also features a common staple in a meatless diet, tahini, which is one of the best sources of plant-based iron and calcium, not to mention delicious flavor. Wraps are great for lunch because they’re portable, and filling, and you can make them as creative and healthy (or indulgent) as you like. Tempeh adds protein, and a meaty texture, and also adds more beneficial probiotics to the mix.
Walnut Taco Meat in Raw Tacos
Craving tacos? Who said you can’t have them without the meat!? Trust us when we say that you’ve never tried something so delicious until you’ve had raw taco meat made from … walnuts! Yes, walnuts make a delicious meaty substitute and are all-natural at that! Try out these raw tacos which even one of our own Green Monsters said she and her family loved!
Kale Miso BOWL-ed Over
This dish combines everything almost nearly any foodie could want: healthy ingredients, trendy foods, simple but high-impact flavor, not to mention a delicious variety of textures. Creamy, crunchy, and chewy, but also savory, sweet, and succulent too. Seriously friends, if you don’t try any other salad bowl out this year, let this massive bowl be the one you do. Kale, miso, tahini, and sesame seeds add a bunch of iron, calcium, probiotics and fiber!
The Eggplant Crunchburger
For the men out there who are struggling with the whole meatless burger thing, or any women out there who love one hearty burger themselves, this dish will change every single thing you ever thought about the term veggie burger. Inspired by one of our own Green Monsters, this burger is jam-packed with delicious ingredients, and to boot, it’s even gluten-free if that’s a concern. Don’t be intimidated by this dish either. Anyone can make this to transform a plant-based kitchen into a vegan burger masterpiece joint!
Dinner
Baked Cajun Tofu
Let’s face it, just because we go meatless doesn’t mean our cravings for hearty foods disappear. Here’s how to treat them the healthier way: choose a plant-based product that’s whole-food-based and give it a vegan makeover. This tofu-based dish defies anything you’ve ever heard about tofu being bland. It’s also incredibly rich in exotic flavors even though it’s simple to make. Give it a try for a simple, healthy, and flavorful dinner tonight.
Portobello Mushroom Steaks
Mushrooms are both foodie-approved and healthy at that. You can use these magical gems that nature gave us as a substitute for a burger, a steak, and even buns on sandwiches or burgers. Here, you have a portobello mushroom steak that conquers those meaty cravings and also offers up some natural Vitamin D, and fiber and has the same flavors you’d find in steak without any of the cholesterol-containing, cruel red meat.
Sweet Potato, Sesame, and Chickpea Pizza
No matter who you are, there has to be a small part of your heart that will always love pizza, right? Well, making vegan pizza isn’t only simple, but also freeing. You can put whatever you want on your pizza since it’s a shell for limitless ingredients. This pizza is perfect for the foodie who wants something new to try, rich in flavor, but also easy to make at home on those Monday nights when you’re tired from the new start to the week. Bonus tip: Make a couple of these ahead, wrap it up in some foil well, and place them in the freezer for easy defrosting and cooking throughout the week.
Gluten-Free Lasagna
Lasagna is a favorite dish among many of us, but if you want to try something new, or don’t want heavy carbohydrates in your meals, a gluten-free (noodle-free) lasagna is the way to go. Made from all vegetables, this gluten-free lasagna is simple, and delicious, and offers that traditional flavor with a new spin that’s perfect for any foodie’s kitchen. The best part? It’s great for families looking to eat more plant-based and makes multiple servings that make great leftovers.
Learn How to Cook Plant-Based Meals at Home
Reducing your meat intake and eating more plant-based foods is known to help with chronic inflammation, heart health, mental well-being, fitness goals, nutritional needs, allergies, gut health, and more! Dairy consumption also has been linked to many health problems, including acne, hormonal imbalance, cancer, and prostate cancer, and has many side effects.
For those of you interested in eating more plant-based we highly recommend downloading the Food Monster App — with over 20,000 delicious recipes it is the largest plant-based recipe resource to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals, and get healthy! And, while you are at it, we encourage you to also learn about the environmental and health benefits of a plant-based diet.
Here are some great resources to get you started:
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