I am not a vegetarian, nor do I plan to be. The reality is that good quality meat is expensive. So,
thinking about the quality and at the same time trying to be my economical self, I end up usually
buying only about two pounds of meat a week for myself, and that’s plenty. I have never felt like I
need to eat meat every single day, nor did I serve it to my son every day when he was growing up.

Go meatless once or twice a week. Try eggs, pasta, beans or legumes as a main course. Another valuable idea is to use meat as a flavor. Use just a cup of meat to flavor a pasta sauce or an egg dish. Stretch a pound of meat by using it a few times instead of all in one dish. Go meatless for breakfast and lunch. Treat meat as a side dish. Fill your plate with veggies and grains or pasta and have a very small amount of meat, this is a very healthy way to go.

The benefits, though I tend to take the economical route, are many. I choose to buy good quality
meat, and I just don’t want to spend that kind of money to eat meat at every meal.

Beyond my initial reasoning, the benefits go far and beyond my wallet. First and foremost, there
are health benefits. Cancer. Heart disease. Diabetes. By not eating so much meat we are actually improving our diet by, hopefully, adding more grains which are full of fiber and fruits and
vegetables.

Then there are environmental benefits. By slowing our consumption it reduces our carbon footprints. Less water is needed for livestock than for producing vegetables and grains. Also, reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.

All of these benefits by just not eating meat once or twice a week—question and answer all wrapped into one.