One Vote For Nature

The article shared last week “Eat Less Meat To Turn Down The Heat” touched on the topic of animal agriculture and examined its contributions to climate change. The article discussed how raising animals for food is the leading cause of deforestation and responsible for vast quantities of pollution in the environment. This week the focus is shifting from learning the facts of the agricultural industry to sourcing action.

A Plant-Based Diet

The concept of eating less meat and more plants is not new. Every time a person spends their money they are voting for a system. People around the world have started to catch on to the devastating effects of the agricultural industry and are now starting to vote for the system that will take us out of this crises, our greatest ally, nature.

Making the shift to a plant-based diet can be extremely daunting, after all it is a whole new way of nourishing your body. It is important to understand that everybody makes this lifestyle change differently and that moving at your own pace is key.

If you are worried about meeting all your nutritional requirements there are many books, research papers and articles that I can happily recommend to you. I would also recommend that you see a dietitian or nutritionist who can help you through this journey.

How To Start

As I mentioned earlier, there is no perfect way to make this lifestyle change. Rob and I chose the “all in” approach because we found that if meat was completely off the menu we could focus on making plants the “hero” of the meal. However, this approach may not be suited for everyone and if you are someone who still isn’t sure about the lifestyle change, I would recommend taking one step at a time. Try making small simple swaps in the beginning, for example using chickpeas in a stir-fry rather than chicken or finding a plant milk to have in your morning coffee rather than cows milk. There are many ways you can start to incorporate changes and the more you do, the more they will become lifelong habits.

Below I have provided 3 recipes for you to try. I have included the plant count in each one to show you how easy it can be to incorporate more plants into your day. Each recipe is from my food blog www.happyherbivore.com.au where you can find more delicious recipes.

Recipes

Breakfast: Gluten-Free Pancakes

SERVINGS: 3 people PREP TIME: 10 mins COOK TIME: 25 mins TOTAL TIME: 35 mins PLANT COUNT: 7

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp chia seeds or ground flaxseeds
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 2 medium bananas
• 1/2 cup oat flour Make sure it’s gluten-free if necessary. You can make your own by blitzing oats in a blender.
• 1 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/2 cup raw sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 Tbsp flavourless oil I use grapeseed
• 1 cup plant milk I use cashew
• 1 tsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar

Instructions

• Mix the chia seeds and hot water in a large mixing bowl and leave to sit for 5 minutes or until the chia seeds absorb all the water.
• Mash the bananas into the chia seed mix using a fork.
• Add all the wet ingredients to the bowl and mix.
• Add in all the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
• Heat your frypan on a low-medium heat.
• Spoon in your pancake mixture onto the frypan to form your pancake (whatever your desired pancake size is fine).
• Cook for approximately 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
• Repeat until all the pancake mixture has been used.
• Serve with your favourite toppings.

Lunch: Rice Paper Rolls w/ Satay Sauce

SERVINGS: 3 people TOTAL TIME: 55 mins PLANT COUNT: 11

Ingredients

Spring Rolls

• 15 sheets rice paper
• 2 carrots sliced
• 1 cucumber sliced
• 1 capsicum sliced
• 1 avocado sliced
• 1 handful fresh coriander
• 500 g firm tofu I used my homemade tofu

Satay Sauce

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 3 Tbsp tamari or soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp chilli sauce I used my homemade fermented chilli sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup spring onions sliced
• 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
• 1 tsp sesame seeds

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.
• Slice your tofu into long strips (2cm x 2cm), place on a lined baking tray and bake for 20 minutes or until they start to brown. This will make the tofu firmer and easier to handle; you can skip this step.
• Prepare all your vegetables by slicing them and presenting on a tray or plate.
• Prepare the sauce by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl and using a fork to combine.
• Fill up a large bowl with warm water. This is for the rice paper.
• Take the tofu out of the oven (when it is finished).
• Assemble the rice paper rolls by placing a rice paper sheet into the water until it becomes soft, placing it onto a plate, adding all the vegetables and tofu and then rolling tightly.
• Serve with the dipping sauce on the side or add to the rolls while you are making them.

Dinner: Chickpea and Eggplant Curry

SERVINGS: 6 people TOTAL TIME: 50 mins PLANT COUNT: 14

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 brown onion diced
• 3 cloves garlic diced
• 1 2cmx2cm knob ginger diced
• 1 red chilli diced
• 1 Tbsp cumin ground
• 1 Tbsp curry powder
• 2 Tbsp garam masala powder
• 1 Tbsp sugar I used coconut but any sugar is fine.
• 4 tomatoes diced
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 1 medium eggplant diced
• 3 handfuls spinach
• 700 g chickpeas cooked
• 1 400g can coconut milk
• 1 pinch salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Sauté the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli in oil in a large frypan at a low heat until soft.
• Add the cumin, curry powder, garam masala, salt and pepper and fry until fragrant.
• Add the tomatoes and water to the fry pan and simmer on a low-medium heat until the tomatoes start to soften.
• Stir in the tomato paste, eggplant and spinach and simmer for a further 5-10 minutes or until the eggplant is soft and the liquid has reduced.
• Add in the cooked chickpeas and coconut milk and leave to simmer until the curry is at your desired thickness (approximately 10 minutes).
• Serve with rice.

Needing more help with this? Please feel free to send us a message either through instagram or email. We would love to hear from you and to help you on this journey!