Over the past two and a half months I have been trying my best to eat less meat. I am more conscious of how much meat I buy and how often I make meals that contain meat. I recently found this information on the website http://www.mygreenlife.com.au/
which I thought was very interesting.
In 2005 the University of NSW and CSIRO conducted "A triple bottom line analysis of 135 sectors of the Australian Economy" called "Balancing Act" from which it is possible to calculate the environmental impact derived from a dollar spent in any of the industry sectors analysed. Using the 'meat products' sector the environmental benefits of reducing your meat consumption by half (to the recommended levels) are as follows:
- Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions - 7,092.8 kg CO2
- Reduction in water use - 206,627 litres
- Reduction in land disturbance - 51,150 m2 or 5.115 hectares
These figures suggest that current meat consumption results in over a third of our ecological foot print. So eat well and help us move to a more sustainable and healthy diet.
One of the recipies I found online that I want to try is the Summer Chili Stir Fry with Seasoned Potatoes
Ingredients (use vegan versions):
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon sweet basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon vegetable stock powder
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 large potatoes, peeled, diced, and boiled to soften - not to a mash (or try sweet potato for a lighter option)
1 tablespoon + 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 to 2 portabello mushrooms, chopped (a.k.a., field mushrooms)
2 cups cabbage, cut into thin ribbon strips
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, peeled and diced
3/4 cup rice, prepared to package directions (I use long-grain brown rice)
Directions:
Potatoes:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat shallow baking dish with vegetable oil or non-stick spray.
2. In a bowl (big enough to stir through the potatoes), combine curry powder, basil, salt, cayenne pepper, chili powder, and vegetable stock powder followed with breadcrumbs. Stir well. Stir in potatoes until they are seasoned. Lay the seasoned potatoes into the baking dish and place in oven to keep warm.
Stir Fry:
3. Heat another tablespoon oil in another skillet. Add field mushrooms and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Toss in cabbage. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in broccoli, then stir in mushrooms. Leave to fry on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, then turn down to low. Add carrots and whatever seasoning you like. (I used a sprinkle of chilli powder, a large sprinkle of sweet basil, 1 teaspoon of curry powder and half a teaspoon of vegetable stock powder.)
