“I want to stop eating meat for a week,” the boyfriend said.
That was about two weeks ago and I haven’t eatten meat for an entire week even when I stayed in Philly over the weekend. I packed myself some lunch and dinner just in case my family’s food choices couldn’t accommodate the challenge. It was a good thing I did because they didn’t have anything I could eat except oatmeal and peanut butter and jelly. I had to make it work when my food ran out.
Anyway, in his mind, he thought that his days would be filled with some pan seared fish, tuna sandwiches, the occasional frozen pizza and a salad here and there.
No, no, no.
You said no meat, so no meat is what you are going to get.
I turned the week into a meatless challenge and I am loving it! I did buy all of the ingredients for the above meals just in case I didn’t feel like cooking one day, but I wanted to turn up the heat on this task.
The last time I was in this stay-at-home girlfriend experience, I was a domestic goddess. I packed huge lunches for the next work day, cooked big meals every night and even dessert. And I am talking time-consuming desserts like peach cobbler. I was a beast in the kitchen.
This time around, eh, not so much. I am rebelling against all those domestic duties and I have been slacking something serious. I figured going meatless would give me the challenge I need to get me back to my goddess-like traits.
I already had two recipes in mind, which were from my study abroad days in Argentina: Una Tarta de Espinaca or Pascualina (Spinach Pie) y Empanadas de Verduras (Vegetable Empanadas). But I needed at least one more recipe for the week and I found it when I was talking to my sister-in-law about lasagna. I found this really simple recipe and it. was. amazing.
This challenge was just what I needed and I learned that cooking vegetarian-style meals weren’t that bad after all. Not only could I do Meatless Mondays, I could really see myself adopting more of a vegetable and fruit based diet. But what I don’t know is how do you do meatless without a bunch of dairy and starch. Seriously, look at those dishes. 
Vegetable Lasagna
Spinach Pie
Vegetable Empanadas
Yes, that is a green smoothie and you should definitely try it.
One night, I also made store-bought spicy black bean veggie burgers, which are absolutely delicious. I also made pierogies with a spinach salad one night.
Do you guys have any vegetarian-style recipes?
