First off, let me state that I am not a vegetarian. I have tried at various points in my life to give up meat but then the scent of a good steak on the grill always pulls me back into my carnivorous lifestyle. There are various website that will tout the benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle – this site however is about making small changes.
There are reports that show that perhaps eating meat every day isn’t healthy for our bodies or our environment. I am not an expert so I will list some of those sites below so that you can research for yourself and determine what works for you and your family.
• FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
• Compassion in World Farming
• Meatless Mondays
Going forward on Mondays we will be sharing a recipe that we have previously tried for Meat Free Monday – in hopes that you will find this small change something easy for you and your family to try along with us. This week’s recipe is below:
Cheese Manicotti
8 whole grain manicotti shells
1 cup lowfat cottage cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup shredded lowfat part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 egg white
2 TB chopped fresh parsley
½ teaspoon oregano leaves
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
16 oz organic canned chopped tomatoes
4oz diced green chilies undrained
1TB cornstarch
Cook manicotti as directed on the package.
Heat oven to 350’F. In a medium bowl combine cottage cheese, parmesan, mozzarella, egg white, parsley, oregano and cayenne. Blend well then spoon cheese mixture into manicotti shells. Place side by side in a 2 quart backing dish.
In a medium saucepan, combine tomatoes, green chilies, and cornstarch. Cook until mixture boils and thickens – stirring constantly. Pour over filled manicotti in baking dish. Cover and bake at 350’F for 40 minutes. Makes 4 servings.
I made this recipe kid friendly by using mild green chilies. This gave it a little bit of spice but not so much that my kids wouldn’t eat it. I also sprinkled a little mozzarella to the top of the dish prior to baking. When the dish was done cooking I sprinkled with a little more fresh parsley just to make it look pretty. My whole family loved the manicotti and I will definitely make this recipe again.
Let us know if you try this recipe or have a meatless Monday recipe to share. Happy Eating…
Hey there this is a fantastic post. I’m going to e-mail this to my pals. I came on this while exploring on aol I’ll be sure to come back. thanks for sharing.
Again a very yummy recipe. Hubby loved this one too and usually if dinner doesn’t have some kind of meat, he counts it as an appetizer, but this one he filled up on. I was used to other manicotti recipes so I was cautious on the cayenne pepper and green chilis thinking it would be too spicy, so I used a limited amount and so it turned out kinda bland to me. Next time I will use what it calls for. Also, I cannot find whole wheat manicotti shells anywhere. I called around places too. Where can I find these in So Cal?