Trying To Go Meatless

In an attempt to be more informed consumers and more conscious about the things that come into our home, Mr. Milk and I have decided to limit our meat/poultry consumption to at most twice a week, including weekends. I've always tried to buy locally grown produce (and with the sun out 80% of the year, we really have no excuse not to have local produce!) but we haven't always paid as much attention to the meat/poultry that we buy. So I've committed to buy only free range eggs, and I'm always looking for free range chicken, which isn't as readily available. Luckily we aren't big meat eaters, and living on island gives us the opportunity to have fresh fish more than average, but even this requires more effort, meaning going to the fish market instead of buying it conveniently from the grocery store. 

So this meat-only-twice-a-week business is trickier than what I thought it would be! It's not always easy to find alternatives and it's sooo easy to to turn to sweets and carbs when you want a snack! A well stocked fridge and pantry are in order if we are to avoid snacking on choc-chip cookies and having pasta for dinner every night! And like any habit changing attempt, it's easy to forget and go about your business as usual. For example, the other day I went out to grab a sandwich for lunch while doing a grocery run. Even though I filled the cart up with fruits, vegetables, legumes, and beans, I just as easily picked up a chicken avocado sandwich! Not until I had taken the first bite had I realized what I'd done. While telling Mr. Milk this later in the day, he quite arrogantly pointed out that even though he had the option of putting chicken on his salad at lunch, he hadn't. Only to later realize that he had added ham to make it a "more balanced meal!" :)

So needless to say we both need to work on this before it becomes second nature, but in the meantime, I am discovering new dishes to make that will satisfy us and help us not miss chicken and meat! 

Like this pizza! With roasted eggplant, onions, pesto, and ricotta cheese :) Of course if you ladies have any favorite veggie recipes, please feel free to share! We can use all the help we can get!