One way to help the environment is to eat less meat. Like I discussed in 5 Ways to Cut Back on a Carnivorous Family’s Impact, you don’t have to go whole hog vegetarian (hee – unintended oxymoron there) if you don’t want to. Choosing to have just one or two meatless meals a week can make a positive impact.
I’m committed to going meatless at least twice a week in my house, and as I find or create good recipes, I’ll be sharing them with you from time to time. This recipe is perfect for vegetable gardeners right now because it uses several garden ingredients just when you’re getting a little tired of making the same old thing with them.
Today I made 17 Bean and Barley Soup from a mix I bought at Trader Joe’s over the weekend. The bag has a mix of dry beans and barley, and I provided the rest of the ingredients, mostly following the recipe on the back of the bag.
To the mix (after soaking the beans for 12 hours) I added 8 cups of organic vegetable stock, tomatoes (garden fresh) and various herbs and seasonings (including fresh basil from my garden), and sauted garlic, carrots, onions, celery, and green pepper (another straight from the garden treat). Then it simmered for an hour.
It was very easy, and for those who are looking to save time, many stores now sell what the French call a pre-cut mirepoix – carrots, celery and onion already chopped up and ready to put in thousands of recipes. Buying these vegetables already chopped can save quite a bit of time, but actually, I enjoy chopping vegetables. I find it relaxing.
This soup packs a wholop of nutrition – loads of fiber and protein, lots of fresh veggies, and very little fat. In fact, the only added fat was the two tbsp. of healthy olive oil I sauted the vegetables in. And since the soup was so low in fat, my husband and I didn’t feel guilty at all slathering a piece of homemade bread (from my bread machine) generously with butter to accompany it.
My carnivorous husband’s remark at the end of lunch, “Excellent.”
I’ve seen mixes similar to this in many grocery stores. You don’t need to shop at Trader Joe’s to find one. The back of the packet should have a recipe on it, so before you leave the store make sure you have all you need to make the soup. With fall upon us, it’s the perfect time to start making soups, and this one is meatless, filling and yummy.
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Robin Shreeves
Robin and her family began to take a look at how their actions affected the environment a couple years ago when her son (who was six at the time) wanted to know why they were killing the earth with their SUV. They traded in the SUV for a hybrid, and Robin began educating herself and making small changes in how the family did every day things. She also began to write about those changes for various magazines, websites and blogs including her own blog www.alittlegreenereveryday.com. She is committed to sharing what she learns about sustainability and being green because she believes that if she can make these changes, anyone can. Robin holds a B.S. in Bible from Philadelphia Biblical University and a K-12 English teaching certification from Rowan University. She taught high school English before leaving that career to raise her two sons. She now has a successful freelance writing career, writing about many things green and a variety of other topics.
4 Responses to Meatless Meal Recipes for the Non-Vegetarian: 17 Bean and Barley Soup Mix from Trader Joe’s
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Janine – I know you’ve got a lot of garden stuff you need to use up – this will be perfect for it.
Does your family do pizza one night a week? If you do it with no meat on it, it counts as a meatless meal you know!
That’s funny, I almost grabbed that bag to make the soup:)
Adding vegetarian meals is also very good for your budget.
I’m doing one a week but will soon move up to more, then who knows:)
- http://www.cheapcookinmama.blogspot.com -
Looks Delicious!
great idea