Try One New Vegetarian Recipe Each Week Challenge
Try One New Vegetarian Recipe Each Week Challenge.
There's nothing terribly wrong with eating burgers or steak, but it couldn't hurt to cut back. Try a once-a-week vegetarian meal to help cut calories and saturated fat and increase your intake of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Other potential benefits of eating vegetarian meals:
Weight loss
Better blood sugar control and blood cholesterol control
Reduced risk of complications from heart disease and type 2 diabetes
Cancer prevention
Reduced risk of hypertension
If you decide to take the meatless plunge, steer clear of this old standby: substituting cheese for meat. Cheese provides two to three times as many calories as meat (in an ounce-for-ounce replacement) and too much saturated fat and sodium. Instead, create your vegetarian meal by making the following adjustments to three popular dishes:
Most Popular
Casserole: Try 2 tablespoons canned beans (rinse and drain well to remove excess sodium) instead of an ounce of meat.
Salad: Toss in 2 tablespoons edamame or sweet green soybeans in exchange for each ounce of meat.
Burger: Cook up a veggie version in place of a three-ounce portion of meat.
Use these guidelines from Good Housekeeping's The Supermarket Diet to choose your burger:
1 burger should be 2.5 ounces
Calories: 110 to 120
Protein: 12 g or more
Sodium: Preferably under 400 mg
Soy should be the first or second ingredient
Here are some popular vegetarian websites to help find easy healthy recpies.
