There are quite a few compelling reasons to go vegetarian. (Or at least to make your diet predominantly veggie.)

I feel most strong about the health reasons: reversing diabetes, heart disease, stroke, etc. (But I do eat meat, however sparingly.)

A friend of mine stopped eating red meat once she learned of the environmental impact of the beef industry. (The graphic below maps out a “water footprint” for your day. The beef bar is staggering.)

And, of course, there are animal lovers who just find it cruel.

Good Magazine (click to enlarge)

We can all benefit by choosing vegetarian, even just now and then.

The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health launched a campaign in 2003 called Meatless Mondays.

Meatless Monday provides information and reminders to help people eat healthy food in moderation. Research has shown that adding a time factor to a campaign when to start eating healthy helps people to change their behavior. Monday is the beginning of our week, and a great time to start the week on a healthy note.

The website is fantastic with recipes, a weekly newsletter and great information to get involved with outreach and action to promote Meatless Mondays in your community.

An easy way to make a statement for your health and your environment. Try to go meatless today!

Fresh Kale

Here’s a good seasonal recipe to inspire your first Meatless Monday. Karen told me about kale chips not long ago and they are delicious! Kale is in season here in central Virginia and was part of my CSA basket last week.

Kale Chips

3 or 4 large kale leaves, with stem removed and cut into 2″ pieces
1 tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350.

Toss kale leaves with olive oil and salt. Place in a single layer on cookie sheet. Bake 10-15 minutes, turning halfway through cook time.

The trick is to find the right cook time according to your oven. Overcooking will make the chips bitter and they taste best when evenly crisp.

Any tips, Karen?

Log your meatless Monday in the comments!

Tags: buy local, eat local, Environment, health, nutrition, vegetarian

This entry was posted on Monday, April 27th, 2009 at 9:00 am and is filed under Buy Local, Eat Local, Environment, Nutrition and Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.