Last week I participated in
Meat Free Week, an Australia wide initiative to get people thinking about where their meat comes from. I mainly did it as a show of support for my 12 year old son who became an ethical vegetarian last year. But also as a bit of a culinary adventure.
I'd first
seen it promoted in a weekend newspaper back in February. I will admit to some Sunday night nerves the day before it started. What would I cook? Would I last the distance? I'd been eating quite a bit of fish this year, and loving it. I would have been more nervous if I had known that Mr Wicker would join us on our week long adventure...
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Breakfast didn't need to change of course!
Plain yoghurt, fruit and 25 gm of muesli |
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I'd cooked with this once before
it's ok, but I don't really like that it's imported from the UK |
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Vegetarian spag bol
not as filling as a meat one |
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| Felafel salad for a lunch at home |
We took the opportunity to introduce Master Wicker to the local buddhist vegetarian Tawainese place. He was overwhelmed that he could order anything from the menu- although of course 12 year olds, even 12 year old vegetarians rarely like mushrooms.
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Soy skin drumsticks!
Delicious. |
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| Dumplings are always good and popular with kids |
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Pumpkin and pesto quiche
Lunch with a friend at Cafe Espresso |
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| Vegetarian pizza was simple enough for our weekly family pizza and movie night |
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| Felafel platter at the UB |
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| Zucchini and corn fritters for the Sunday night finale |
We all lasted the distance and it was pretty easy as it turned out. The vegetarian restaurant was probably the highlight of Master Wickers week, he's keen to go back. I enjoyed it all well enough, and will keep trying new veggie dishes. This week Master Wicker tried the
Quorn Southern Style Burgers (ie fake chicken burgers) they were pretty good actually, and better than the mince I think.
Saturday Snapshot, is a wonderful weekly meme from at home with books
17 comments:
Glad you enjoyed your meat-free days. I've been vegetarian for years, and don't eat meat or fish, or products made from them (though this bit is sometimes difficult). I think I must be unusual, because I don't do meat substitutes either - I choose not to eat meat, and I have no desire to eat something masquerading as meat. My Snapshot is at http://goo.gl/AnAv3
Good morning! I've been vegetarian for over 20 years. There is so much you can do that is healthy and satisfying. Bravo to your son for doing it for ethical reasons at such a young age. I did it mostly for health but the more I see, the more I'm on his side!
I love vegetarian dishes...those with eggplant, and those with pesto.
My eldest son cooks a lot of vegetarian dishes when he's around.
I love veggie pizza! Thanks for sharing.
Here's MY SATURDAY SNAPSHOT POST
These look delicious and such a good idea! Just wondering... what's in the dumpling if not meat?
Thats a fun idea! I think I could give up meat id I could keep chicken. :) I am curious about the dumplings having never made them they look interesting... what is in them? How do you do it?
I never see that happening here in Texas and I must say that I'm surprised to find it occurring in Australia! It's a great idea. It would nice if we'd just start with a Healthy Foods Week. So much terrible eating here. Terrible mindless eating.
We do strive to have some meat-free meals in a week, but my husband cannot do without it for very long. The way we grew up? Always meat on the table, but then we lived on a farm and had it nearby.
I think I could easily give up meat if it weren't up to me to plan all the meals. I just am not that creative every night when mealtime comes and the family is hungry. It sounds like you managed very well, though!
Those fritters look scrumptious!
All of those dishes looked delicious, well, except for the soy skin drumsticks. Good for you. Here's Mine
Well done. We do meat free Mondays. I was veg for a while but missed meat too much. I now try to buy organic, sustainable, free range meat - our local market is a good source.
congratulations, you did great, I'm afraid I'd gain so much weight, even though I don't eat a great many meat dinners. I use to make a chic pea burger for my mom, and she loved it. If I come across the recipe I'll send it to you.
I just stopped by to wish you a happy Easter - if you celebrate - and to say hello. I'm reading this about 10am in the morning and just not in the mood for food at all - except your breakfast which looks like my cup of tea. have a great week!
I never heard of this initiative!
The veggie pizza looks delicious!
I'm a week late to visit. But These recipes look good. I wouldn't mind trying that for a week. But my DH is the cook and -- there is no way that would happen. :-) Thanks for sharing.
Lasting the whole week without meat? I don’t know if I can do that. Haha! Meat is also important to our body since it also contains some proteins that our body needs. We just need to remember that we have to moderate the intake since too much meat they can also harm the body. Anyway, congratulations to lasting the distance, and I guess you can be meat-free for the months ahead.
Alex Staff
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