Meat-free Monday 2021 New Year’s Resolution Challenge
I know resolutions get a bad rap, but I always find it exciting to start the year with a goal. However, I’ve learned that the trick is be realistic, and let yourself off the hook preemptively 🤣 My advice is to commit to something only for January, and then only keep up with it if you end up liking it. Which brings us to this New Years challenge: Meat-free Mondays for a month.
I have a whole video on New Year’s resolutions for the veg-curious, and trying out Meat-Free Mondays is one of my top suggestions. So, for those who are up for the challenge (I promise, it won’t be hard), I want to help you crush your first resolution by guiding you through the first few Mondays of the year to give you a “taste” of being plant-based (pun intended). Here is what we’ll be trying out together:
Dinner Schedule (every Monday of January 2021):
Week 1 (January 4): Tacos
Week 2 (January 11): Vegan Mac & Cheese
Week 3 (January 18): Chili
Week 4 (January 25): Curry
Bonus Week! (February 1): Spaghetti with “Meat” Sauce
I tried to pick things that most omni folks are going to be comfortable with (Tacos) and not extra vegany things (Green Goddess Buddha Bowls) with easily accessible ingredients. This is to baby-step y’all in, and to give you a chance-in-hell of getting family (and kids!) to get on board. Here’s how it’s going to work:
I’ve provided recipes for each week below. You don’t have to follow any of these recipes: if you have a recipe you already like, use that and I’ll suggest some swaps below to help you veganize it. If you do want to check out the recipes, you’ll also get introduced to some websites I often use to discover vegan- and vegetarian-friendly meals.
I’ll be cooking along on instagram—look for it in my story highlights. I’ll try to make it a day or two before so I can give you some inspo! Also, if you have any questions, chat with me over there.
We’ll all make the Monday dinner recipes, and by the end of January you’ll have crushed a resolution, and have a few sweet veg-friendly recipes in your arsenal.
If you want to download a PDF version, it’s here for you.
A few more tips, and then we’re ready to rock and roll:
Do we need a hashtag? #MeatFreeMondaywithKassia - it’s long, but it’s what I’m going with. I’d love to see your creations!
You don’t have to start at any particular time. Officially, the first Monday is Jan 4th, but who cares. Do them out of order. Start the third week of January. Repeat weeks if you want. Maybe Friday is better than Monday for your schedule (Farm-animal Free Friday, anyone?) Whatever works for you!
If you want to do a full Monday of being meat-free, cool. I eat oatmeal or toast with peanut butter every morning. Do that too. Or a smoothie. Vegans fuckin’ love smoothies (for the record, I do not). For lunch, I’d suggest keeping it simple, and making a sandwich (classics like pb&j or a grilled cheese will work, or you can get fancy and make a chickpea salad sandwich). Also, you can try the Beyond Meat burger at A&W, a bowl or wrap at Freshii or treat yourself to cucumber and avocado maki with some veggie tempura at almost any sushi joint. You might be able to do leftovers from the week before if it’s a dish that freezes well.
Do whatever is reasonable for you! Maybe you do all four weeks in January. Maybe you just do one Monday a month. Maybe you do every Monday all of 2021! Maybe you become fully vegetarian or even (gasp!) vegan. Maybe you do some kind of mix! Any step is better than none. But also, push yourself! And please feel free to brag to me about it over on Instagram.
Okay, let’s get this show on the road!
Week 1: Black Bean Tacos
Photo via Cookie & Kate
I chose tacos for week 1 because I always am very tired of heavy food after Christmas. I wanted to start the challenge with something that feels light and healthy, but also super fun (who doesn’t love tacos?).
You don’t need to follow a recipe for this (but if you want one, check out this one by Cookie & Kate). All you need is some tortillas (corn or flour - we’re prefer flour, but you do you) and then whatever toppings you like! Some good ones are:
Black, Pinto or Refried beans (check that they don’t contain pork/lard)
Red cabbage
Iceburg Lettuce
Salsa
Corn kernals
Sour cream (if you’re consuming dairy)
Squeeze of fresh lime
Cheese (feta is good) or vegan cheeze (Earth Balance and Daiya are options)
Tomato
Cilantro if you like it (I do!)
Avocado or guac
We like to warm the tortillas on a hot skillet, and heat up the beans in the microwave. Everything else, we just chop up and pile on!
Week 2 Vegan Mac & Cheese
Photo via Tasty
I chose this one especially for picky eaters and people with kiddos. Mac and Cheese (or in this case “cheeze”) is basically universally palatable. Also, I’ve made this recipe by Tasty several times and it’s delicious. Picky eaters won’t even notice how many veggies have been snuck into the cheese sauce.
There is only one tricky ingredient—nutritional yeast (which is sometimes called “nooch” for short) but you can order it online, or if you’re in Canada, try out Save on Foods (they typically have Bob’s Red Mill in their healthy/organic aisles) or Earth’s General Store if you’re in Edmonton (#yegpride).
Two tips for this recipe:
1) Cover the cashews in water and soak overnight, or boil them for 15 minutes day-of just before using them in the recipe.
2) Two tablespoons of nutritional yeast is not enough for me. I always use at least a quarter cup (or more - I really dig nooch).
Week 3: Veggie & Bean Chili
Photo via Minimalist Baker
Once again, this isn’t a week you really need a recipe for; you can just use your own family chili recipe (is that just me, or does everyone have a family chili recipe?) and leave out the meat. But if you haven’t made chili before, this recipe by Oh She Glows will work perfectly.
I recently got an Instant Pot, so I’m going to be trying out this Instant Pot chili recipe from Minimalist Baker.
The best thing about chili is that it makes a lot, and generally freezes really well. You can even freeze a portion to use for lunch on next week’s Meatless Monday!
Week 4: Lentil Curry
Photo via Rainbow Plant Life
I did a poll on my Instagram stories, and curry is what most people were most excited about! Yay!
This recipe was chosen by my husband, Geoff, and he’s awesome in the kitchen so I trust his judgement. We make curry all the time, but we usually wing it. We’ve never tried this recipe before, so we’re excited to test it out with all of you!
Like chili, curry generally freezes really well, so you can freeze a portion to use for lunch on next week’s Meatless Monday if you’ll be continuing to week five.
Bonus 5th Week: Spaghetti with “Meat” Sauce
Photo via the Kitchn
This one I added as a bonus, because it requires you to use a faux meat. Not everyone loves fake meat, but I definitely do. The previous weeks’ recipes solely rely on veggies and pretty common ingredients. But, I wanted to give you a taste of faux meat on our last week together. (Of course, you don’t need to use meat substitutes at all. You can just have pasta with marinara sauce! )
Now, you don’t need a recipe for this. You can just sub any faux meat into your regular spaghetti routine. You also don’t need to use any particular faux meat: Beyond Meat, Beyond Burgers, Gardine crumbles, St. Yves ground round and LightLife are all great. I also love Beyond Meat or Field Roast sausage. At least one of these will be found at any major grocery in Canada.
If you do want to follow a recipe, this one by the Kitchn looks great!
If you got this far, you absolutely crushed it (and by “it” I mean making it through the longest blog post ever).
But for real, if you tried out these Meat-free Mondays with me, you crushed your first resolution, and hopefully enjoyed some delish food. You should be very proud of yourself. I’d love to hear more about your experience so pop over to Instagram and tell me all about it.