Stuck on Supper This Week? Here’s Your Mostly Meatless Dinner Plan

All throughout January we’re bringing you 30 Days & Ways to a Healthy New Year, a series of easy strategies for overall wellness. Because we live for good food, our plan focuses on the ingredients, techniques and dishes to add to your life, instead of what to take away.

 

Our latest eat well strategy is going “mostly meatless.” This doesn’t mean quitting fish or animal protein cold turkey, but rather using it as an accent, and letting fresh vegetables and fruits take center stage instead. Not only does this approach boost your vegetable intake—which, by default, means you’ll be eating more vitamins, minerals and fiber—but it’s also cost-effective, as grains and legumes are overall less expensive than meat. (Our test kitchen cooks also find cooking with less meat to be easier.)

 

Curious about cooking with less meat, but not sure how to implement the idea into your cooking schedule? Start by changing just a meal a day, like one of the weeknight dinners shown below. We have it all mapped out for you!

 

Monday: Pastina and Kale Soup with Andouille Sausage   A little bit of spicy andouille sausage—in this case, three links—goes a long way to flavoring this soup with tiny pasta and wilted kale.

 

Tuesday: Mushroom Spaghetti Carbonara   This pasta only calls for an ounce and a half of pancetta, which is just enough to lend a full body and meaty flavor to an otherwise meat-free pasta.

Wednesday: Turkey Meatball Soup with Spinach and Farro   Traditional Italian wedding soup calls for sausage, pasta and wilted greens, but our healthy spin features learn ground turkey meatballs and farro, a hearty whole grain, instead. Spinach adds a healthy dose of color.

Thursday: Lentil Salad with Mozzarella and Prosciutto   Beef up lentils—a fantastic plant-based source of protein—with a few slices of umami-laden prosciutto to add another dimension of flavor.

Friday: Ditalini with Brussels Sprouts, Bacon and Pecorino   Bulk up brussels sprouts and bacon, a beloved side dish, and transform it into a complete meal by adding ditalini, tiny tube-shaped pasta.