Meatless Monday

Each Monday I will feature a meatless dinner recipe. Why meatless? Research shows that going meatless once a week may reduce your risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. Here are some other benefits of going meatless:

• Increase your vegetable intake
• Taking the focus off meat as the star of your meal allows for incorporation of different vegetables to add flavour and increases the nutritional value of your dinner!
• Decrease saturated fat intake
• Animal protein is one of the main sources of  saturated fat in our diets.  Overconsumption of saturated fat increases you risk for various cardiovascular issues.
• Reduce fossil fuel dependence
• On average, about 40 calories of fossil fuel energy go into every calorie of feed lot beef in the U.S. compared to 2.2 calories of fossil fuel energy needed to produce one calorie of plant-based protein (1).

Today, I listed an easy recipe for Veggie Quesadillas.  Enjoy this meal with 1/2 cup black beans for added protein & fiber. *

Number of Servings: 6

Ingredients

•   1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

•   1/2 cup chopped zucchini

•   1/2 cup chopped yellow squash

•   1/2 cup chopped red onion

•   1/2 cup chopped mushrooms

•   1 tablespoon olive oil

•   Cooking spray

•   6 (9 inch) whole wheat tortillas

•   1 1/4 cups shredded reduced-fat sharp Cheddar cheese

 

Directions

In a large nonstick pan, cook red pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, onion, and mushrooms in olive oil over medium to medium-high heat for about 7 minutes, or until just tender. Remove vegetables from pan.

Coat the same pan with cooking spray, and place one tortilla in pan. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of cheese evenly over tortilla, and layer 3/4 cup of the vegetable mixture over the cheese.

Sprinkle another 1/8 cup of cheese on the vegetables, and top with a second tortilla. Cook until golden on both sides, for approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove quesadilla from pan, and repeat with remaining ingredients. Cut each quesadilla into 8 triangles with a pizza cutter. Serve hot.

Nutritional Info

Calories: 273.6 , Total Fat: 6.9 g ,Cholesterol: 6.9 mg , Sodium: 764.2 mg ,Total Carbs: 35.1 g ,Dietary Fiber: 22.0 g , Protein: 16.8 g

*Adding 1/2 black beans adds 114 calories, 20 g carbohydrate, 8 g protein, 8 g fiber, & 0.5 g fat

1) Pimentel, D. & Pimentel, M. (2003). Sustainability of meat-based and plant-based diets and the environment. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,. 78(3),660-663.