5 Top Meatless Monday Vegetarian Recipes for 2011

Hello and welcome (back) to the Miratel blog for our 2011 best-of Meatless Monday recipes. We took the Meatless Monday pledge as part of our CSR business initiatives in support of reducing meat consumption one day per week (15%) to improve the health of people and the planet. Every Monday we have been featuring a new vegan or vegetarian recipe that can be made in substitution for meat-based meals. Today we are featuring our top 5 most popular Meatless Monday recipe posts from 2011.

1st The Butternut Squash, Mushroom and Red Onion Pizza recipe took the top spot as the most viewed and shared recipe of 2011. The recipe was posted at the end of the summer/beginning of autumn and the ingredients used seasonal vegetables that you wouldn’t necessarily think to pair. The recipe was an adaptation of a Rachel Ray recipe that we came across on the site Jewelry4Change. Jewelry4Change is a blog that is named after the talented and charitable owner’s Etsy shop that raises funds to support Africa Water and Life. The blog shares the mom & daughter team’s love of cooking, gardening, reading and crafting.

Image courtesy of Steve Russell/Toronto Star (click on image to enlarge)

2nd Vegetarian Rice from the Drake Hotel. We are not completely surprised by the popularity of this post as the recipe is delicious and it comes from the iconic Drake Hotel which is a hip boutique hotel in the heart of downtown Toronto. This recipe was part of the hotel’s pop-up 1940’s LA-styled Chinatown restaurant which coincided with the launch of the Toronto International Film Festival and was available for a limited time. The number of ingredients in this recipe may seem intimidating but it comes together fairly quick and the taste makes it well worth the time. The Drake never disappoints.

3rd Raw Zucchini Pasta with Garlic and Tomatoes. We were a little surprised at the popularity of this post as the raw food movement is not generally embraced due to the extreme perception of it. I think there might be a misconception that you have to be 100% raw to feel the benefits of the diet which is simply not the case. Eating a whole food diet (preferably vegan) and increasing your raw food consumption to 50% is much more attainable and the benefits of the diet can be experienced. This recipe was posted in the summer months when vegetables are at their best adding to this already delicious dish. Zucchini pasta is quite tasty if you can give it a try with an open mind.  Our thanks to Evil Chef Mom for this recipe.

4th Ancho Lentil Tacos. This recipe swapped beef for lentils in a way that completely improved on the meat version. The lentils and seasonings combine for an amazing filling that is light yet hearty and filling but so healthy. You can use this filling in a number of dishes. This recipe comes courtesy of the very talented Isa Chandra from Post Punk Kitchen

5th West Coast Grilled Vegetable Pizza and Grilled Radicchio Salad was featured in a summer post when outdoor grilling is an option for most. This tasty grilled pizza recipe came courtesy of Martha Stewart and included a recipe for grilled radicchio salad from SimplyRecipes which would be a satisfying meal on its own.

Thank you for joining us on Meatless Mondays this past year – we look forward to sharing more vegan, vegetarian and raw vegan recipes with you in 2012.

Visit the Meatless Monday website and join us in taking the pledge to reduce meat consumption one day per week – it’s easy to do with delicious recipes like these. Spread the word at work to promote the value of CSR business initiatives like this and make your green call centre, office, factory, shop, restaurant, hotel or salon even greener.

Cheers!
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Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery services, donation caging, donation processing and other donor management services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all contact centre services and mail house operations and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.