Meatless Monday Ideas- Easy Meatless Versions of Mexican Food Favorites

Many health specialists and environmentalists support the concept of “Meatless Monday”. Incorporating less meat in our diet, such as having at least one day a week where we don’t eat meat, can benefit our health. Plant-based foods are easier to digest than meat, and don’t contain saturated fat or cholesterol. We can save petroleum products and other resources by not processing and transporting meat. Not feeding grain to cattle can provide plant based food to scores of humans.

But it can be hard to wrap your head around the concept of Meatless Monday if you were brought up with the concept of meat, starch, and vegetables for meals, like I was. And at our house, the vegetables were completely optional. So I hope you’ll know that having grown up on meat-based meals, I take food and recommendations seriously.

These are easy versions of Mexican food favorites that I think you’ll enjoy. Choose from the following for a satisfying meatless meal:

Veggie Fajitas

Chile Rellenos

Meatless Quesadillas

Tamale Bowls

Pinto Beans

Spanish Rice

Cilantro Rice

Salsa

Pico de Gallo

Guacamole

Grilled vegetables such as red, green, yellow, or orange bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, yellow squash, and zucchini are good for fajitas. Roasted corn would also be good, as well as a few black beans. You can throw them on the outdoor grill or the Foreman. The last ones I made, I seared them in a wok frying pan. Then I arranged them on my tortilla. Lucky for me, here in Texas, most of the HEB grocery stores make fresh tortillas daily.

You could also make fajitas as though you were going to make meat fajitas, though this is a little messier. I use a package of taco or fajita seasoning with some canned diced tomatoes or tomato juice. Add in vegetables and cook over medium high until vegetables are tender crisp.

Top your fajita with fresh salsa or pico de gallo, and cheese if you like. You could also add sour cream, Greek yogurt, or guacamole.

I had homemade chile rellenos a few years ago when I went with my friend Josie to Mexico to visit her family one hear for New Year’s. As you might guess, they were very different from “restaurant” chile rellenos, and refreshingly simple.

Grill some large poblano peppers. Josie’s sisters did this right on the burner on the gas stove. Cut a slit in the sides of the peppers and remove the seeds. Place a large slab of mild white cheese inside the pepper. Wrap in a soft flour tortilla and enjoy.

Who knew quesadillas are ultra easy to make? I guess I never thought about it until my sister started making them. Just take a flour tortilla and cover with a layer of cheese, such as mild cheddar, Colby, Monterrey Jack, Pepper Jack, or queso fresco. Two cheeses would be even better. Place a second tortilla of equal size over the top. Add a tablespoon or two of olive oil to a skillet. Place quesadilla in hot skillet, and lightly brown on each side over medium heat.

You could also add some chopped fresh cilantro or spinach inside your quesadilla, or some thinly sliced mushrooms. Top with your favorite toppings, such as salsa, sour cream or guacamole.

I was watching The Rachael Ray Show a few months ago, when I saw her make Pork Tamale Bowls. I thought “What a great idea!” Making actual tamales sounds complicated, but this sounded nice and easy. You make polenta, pour it into individual little bowls, then make a well and add your stuffing. For Rachael, it was a pork mixture. For us it will be beans &/or rice. This could become your default way to serve beans and rice with Mexican food.

Heat 1 ½ cups vegetable stock and 1 ½ cups of whole milk to a boil. Add 1 cup quick cooking polenta and whisk 2 to 3 minutes to thicken. Stir in 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of honey or agave, and salt and pepper. Pour polenta into individual serving sized bowls. Form a depression in the middle and add pinto beans or Spanish rice. Top with shredded cheese, chopped cilantro, chopped onion, and a dollop of sour cream.

If you want to follow Rachael’s pork flavor profile for your pinto beans, add 1 tablespoon cumin, coriander, and smoked sweet paprika; 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon, a pinch of cloves; salt and pepper to taste, 3 cloves minced garlic, and ½ cup lager beer. Simmer beans until they are soft and have a thick broth.

I always use dried pinto beans and soak them overnight, then cook them in a crockpot. For my own crockpots, cooking speed varies significantly. My current crockpot is pretty fast, and even on low, will cook the beans soft and thick in 6 to 8 hours. With a slower crockpot, I have turned it up on high for half of the cook time, and sometimes transferred to the stove to bring to a high boil to thicken. My mom uses a pressure cooker.

I cook my beans pretty unadulterated, with just salt and vegetable oil. As far as the gassy properties associated with beans, I have heard to use baking soda in the soak water and a little sugar in the cook water. My naturopath recommends some fresh ginger in the cook water.

For something a little different, see the flavor profile for Rachael Ray’s tamale bowls (cumin, coriander, paprika, cinnamon, cloves, and lager beer). If you prefer refried beans, use an immersion blender, or transfer to blender or food processor.

Spanish Rice

My standby for rice as a side dish for Mexican food for many years has been Spanish Rice-a-Roni. I sauté a large diced onion and large diced bell pepper (red, green, orange, or yellow) in a large skillet in olive oil, then add the rice and pasta packet to the pan to brown. Then I add the water called for on the box, the can of diced tomatoes, and the seasoning packet, and simmer per the package, about 20 minutes. This not only tastes good, but stretches the dish considerably.

Cilantro Rice or Green Rice

Place ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, ½ lb coarsely chopped spinach leaves, 4 scallions, zest of 2 limes, half a cup of vegetable stock and a tablespoon of oil in food processor and process into a coarse paste. Stir into rice the last 3 or 4 minutes of the cook time. If you boil your rice as you would pasta, then pour it up, then transfer rice back to pot after draining. Stir in cilantro mixture, place lid, and let sit 5 minutes.

Salsa

In a food processor, pulse 1 (packed) cup of cilantro and 2 cloves garlic for 30 seconds. Add ½ course chopped onion and 1 jalapeno, and pulse until finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl. Work in batches to process 2 ½ lbs of ripe tomatoes that have been cored and quartered. Add tomatoes to cilantro mixture. Stir in the juice of 1 lime and salt to taste.

Pico de Gallo

Combine 1 ½ cups diced tomatoes, ¼ cup diced red onion, 1 tablespoon diced jalapenos, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 2 tablespoons cilantro, juice of 2 limes, salt, and pepper.

Guacamole

Select 2 large or 5 small ripe avocados. Cut each in half and remove pit. Spoon out avocado onto a plate. Mash with a fork until creamy. Add 1/3 cup diced onion, such as Texas Sweet or Vidalia. Optionally, you can add a small diced tomato. Salt to taste.