Meatless Mondays: 4 Great Options for Chinese Lunch – Vegetarian Style!
Posted by Amelia K. on Friday, September 26th, 2014 with 4 Comments
A recent popular food trend is Meatless Monday. You may have heard of this craze – it involves completely removing meat from your diet one day a week (although some seafood is okay to eat). If you’re not overly familiar with the concept, it might seem a little strange to take an entire food group off the table for part of the week – but this idea has a lot of healthy facts to back it up.
Eating less meat can help reduce your risk of preventable conditions like heart disease, certain types of cancer, stroke, and diabetes. Plus, studies have shown that people who eat more greens and whole grains – and less meat – generally have a lower body weight. Meaning reducing your meat intake, even just one day per week, can help reduce your risk of obesity. But with all that being said, finding a lunchtime meal that’s quick and easy – while still being nutritious – that sticks with the Meatless Monday requirements can sometimes end up in something a little bland.
Choosing shrimp spring rolls is a great way to follow the Meatless Monday guidelines while still packing protein in your lunch.
Photo Credit: Flickr user chevre intrigant
To give you some great options, we’ve found four delicious menu choices from one of our favorite cuisines: Chinese!
Veggie Lo Mein: This delicious dish is packed with vitamin rich veggies like carrots, eggplant, onion, sprouts, and celery. They’re mixed with a light wheat noodle and topped with a lovely mixture of hoisin and soy sauce. It’s a tasty, light way to get your daily vegetable requirement over lunch!
Spring Rolls: Traditionally, spring rolls consist of cabbage, carrots, and other veggies being wrapped up in a thin, rice-based pastry. Some varieties also include shrimp – which is fair game on Meatless Monday, and can pack a big protein punch into your midday meal. This is a great lunchtime option to help you feel full and satisfied all afternoon long.
Szechuan Tofu: Although it might not sound appealing to everyone, this is a tasty dish that will get you through the rest of your day, as half a cup of tofu offers 10 grams of protein! And usually you’ll find Szechuan tofu also loaded with vitamin packed veggies like sauteed green beans, eggplant and broccoli. Topped with a yummy Szechuan sauce, you’ll be surprised by how much you like this meal.
Vegetarian Wonton Soup: On chillier days, a bowl of soup can be just what you need to get through the day. And vegetarian wonton soup can be a filling treat on Meatless Monday. The wontons are typically filled with veggies like mushrooms and broccoli, and can be made more filling by adding tofu, which offers a lot of protein to get you through the rest of your day. This is the perfect option for a brisk fall lunch.
Choosing to go meatless one day per week is a great way to lead a healthier life. It forces you to explore different food options that you might not have otherwise tried and will help you add a bigger variety of veggies and protein sources to your weekly diet. When you’re used to eating meat every day, it can seem challenging to find meals that are delicious and will keep you full until dinnertime without your normal source of protein. But by checking out your favorite restaurant menus, you’ll see that there are far more options than you ever imagined!
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“Meatless Monday” is a good concept, but I feel that it may be a bit too gimmicky, and many people will abandon it after a few weeks. I think that more effort should be put into educating people about the health benefits of eating smaller portion sizes.
Eating smaller portion sizes is certainly a great message for a healthier lifestyle!
I’m an athlete, and I do try to use plant-based proteins for the majority of my meals each day. Ethnic cuisines such as Chinese definitely provide some really tasty alternatives to meat-based dishes–and some good variety in my diet!
I’m glad this was helpful! Do you have any other favorite lunchtime meals to mix it up?