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Green Eating  > A Diet for the Enviromnet    Printable Version

Going Meat-Free One Night a Week- It’s Easy, Delicious and Cheap!

Meat is a great source of protein, and it tastes good too. Unfortunately we are eating so much meat that we are damaging the environment. Meat production adds more to greenhouse gases than all forms of transportation!
 
Also consider this:
• Meat makes 1.4 per cent of global GDP but 18 per cent of greenhouse gases
• Forty calories of fossil fuel energy are needed to produce 1 calorie of beef, that same amount of fossil fuel can produce 18 calories of plant protein
• Livestock production uses 8 per cent of the world's fresh water
• One billion people are overweight, mostly in the West, where meat consumption is higher. Vegetarians tend to be slimmer
Source: United Nations, Meat Free Monday
 
When we think of protein we think of meat, chicken and fish, but protein also comes from many plant sources as well. Take a look:
Food
Calories per serving
Grams of protein per serving
Grams of fiber
per serving
Grams of saturated fat
per serving
Price per serving (US dollars)
4 ounces of 80% lean of beef (cooked)
306
29
0
8
$1.57
4 ounces of skinless  chicken
186
35
0
1
$1.87
1  chicken egg
74
6
0
1.5
$0.21
1.5 cups of lentils
345
27
24
0
$0.60
1/2 cup of hummus
218
6
5
1.4
$1.24
1/2 cup of tofu
180
20
3
1.6
$0.63
 
As you can see, it’s very easy to get enough protein without eating meat, and it comes with a bonus: less saturated fat and more fiber per serving.
 
Going meatless one night a week does not mean going tasteless, there are so many delicious choices for healthful, fiber rich foods. Here is one of our SetPoint Health favorites:
 
Black and White Bean Salad
Combine the following ingredients and enjoy!
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup chopped cucumber
• 1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
One serving of this meal (1.5 cups) provides 560 calories, 1.6 grams of saturated fat, 27 grams of protein and 29 grams of fiber.

There are many more recipes out there, try some tonight and go meat-free for a night!
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