Meatless meals

Climate change is and has been an ongoing thing for decades now and given the brutality of this summer here in the UK it would be a very good thing to consider how we might be able to help slow it down on an everyday living basis. A suggestion from an expert this morning included the idea that eating less meat would be a good thing as farming livestock for food is expensive both in terms of land tied up, crops grown to feed them and emissions because they are living beings.


If we take the suggestion to eat less meat as a good one it would be helpful to have some tasty and satisfying meat free recipes to help us eat in an alternative way that would be more beneficial to the planet and therefore to us, our children and their children in the fullness of time and take a very small but significant step to help keep the temperatures down.


I like meat as well as most folks but I'm prepared to eat less if the end result is a better world for future generations and also us now!


So, any meat free recipes that are tried and tested and delicious enough to make as part of a regular weekly menu plan would be very helpful


My favourite soup is Lentil Soup, we eat many bowlfuls in the colder months

Lentil Soup

200g split red lentils (picked over for stones and well rinsed)
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot chopped
1 celery stalk chopped
1 large potato diced
2 and 1/2 litres of vegetable stock (salt free of low salt)
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
good grinding of black pepper
2 x bay leaves

to finish when the soup is cooked
1 heaped teaspoon of yeast extract
celery salt
seasoning of salt and pepper

In a very large pan put all the soup ingredients except those to finish it. Bring to the boil and simmer partly covered on the hob until the lentils have completely broken down to a soft consistence, this can take a couple of hours so I cook the soup on a heat spreader to stop it catching on the bottom of the pan, stir it occasionally. When the soup is done, remove the bay leaves and add the ingredients to finish the soup in quantities to suit your own personal taste. This amount gives around 6 good meal sized portions.

It makes sense also in a time when prices are rising and there is some small question over both this years harvests and availability of produce from around the globe t have at our fingertips some ideas to feed us and our families with both local produce from the UK and things that are easy to store dried and tinned which will also help all of our futures.