Vegetarian Dishes that are Perfect for a Meal Train or Freezer Meal
What's the easiest switch you can make for the environment? Eat less meat!
On Mondays, we are exploring vegetarian meals for meat eaters. Cooking with seasonal vegetables can seem really limiting at first, but the possibilities are endless. And it is worth it. Just cutting one day of meat eating out of our diet can keep thousands of tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere a year. No seriously, it's that big a deal. Cutting down on fish (and only eating sustainable fish) can also help with our huge plastic problem, because plastic fishing nets are the largest source of plastic in our oceans. The production of fish and meat come at a huge environmental cost, and we are simply eating too much.
Plus, it's a great opportunity to have some new adventures and try new things. Just another way to take care of the planet AND make life a little bit better!
We have been in meal train mode this summer. I really love meal trains. We talk a lot right now about "self-care" but my theory is that what we all need is more community care. We need to feel that other people care about us. If you have never done one, a meal train is a schedule where people sign up to bring someone food. It can be because they have a new baby, are recovering from a surgery, or just are in a season where they need a little bit of help. It's so simple (the meal train website or sign up genius makes it super easy), and we can lift each other up when we need it most.
We have a few meal train staples- we usually go for lasagna or chili, because they are filling and you can spread them over multiple meals. That said, we have often used pork sausage or turkey in them. I think a meal train is the perfect opportunity to put a few more delicious meatless meals out into the world. You can still take care of someone, and you can help take care of the planet. Pat yourself on the back, friend!
The classic at our house is to send a lasagna- I think this vegetarian lasagna from Cookie and Kate looks absolutely delicious. I love how many veggies she sneaks in, and you can check her other baked pasta ideas if you want something with a little less prep time.
We just had good feedback from skipping the casserole and bringing lunch meats, popcorn, and fruit salad. It was super simple (and easy for us), but they could prepare it as they want and it was light for the summer. I think you could do the same thing by dropping off all the parts for caprese sandwiches- this one from Jessica in the Kitchen looks yummy, and you can make your own pesto so you look like you tried (with still pretty minimal effort).
If you are looking for something different, Enchiladas also can be a good casserole dish. These ones from Two Peas and their Pod look tasty, nutritious, and pretty easy to do. I wonder if you could make a nice pico de gallo to leave with it.
I think one really comforting and homey food is mac n cheese. You can really warm someone's heart with something like this. So I am totally going to try this roasted garlic mac and cheese from Just a Taste for a meal train. Maybe not the healthiest meal, but good for the soul?
Another great meal train option is to bring some soup and a big loaf of french bread. This amazing soup from Mommy Cooking is loaded with spices, and a curry coconut soup is really hard to beat. I love the idea of sending something a little lighter, since so many meal train meals are pretty heavy.
I found lots of good soups- this one from Gimme Some Oven looks amazing- and I think that could be a perfect pick me up for someone. I also love this chickpea noodle soup from Veggies Save the Day, because when I am home sick, I really love veggie noodle soup. You can't go wrong with soup.
We love doing chili as a drop off meal. We usually drop it off with some cilantro or avocado to sprinkle on top. This is such an easy one to make vegetarian, and honestly, no one will even notice. This one from Chelsea's Messy Apron looks amazing, but I would be careful to not make it too spicy since often after surgery or with a new baby, people aren't looking for super spicy food. You can sneak in more veggies like zucchini and corn too.
Hope this helps you! So many ideas they will love!
Want more vegetarian recipes to try? Awesome! Adding more meatless meals to your diet is such a fun challenge and you can discover so many things you like. Check out this page for all of the Meatless Monday Recipe Round Ups!
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