Meatless meals are not automatically healthy. Vegetarians who subsist on refined carbohydrates, full-fat cheese and starchy vegetables may take in too many calories and fats, while failing to obtain a balance of nutrients. Low-fat, meatless meals can help you manage your weight while promoting health.
Significance
Health experts, including those at the Harvard School of Public Health, encourage eating more plant sources of protein to promote health. It notes that eating more than 18 oz. of red meat per week may increase your risk of developing colon cancer. Meatless meals are often less expensive than those featuring pricey beef or lamb. Some people choose to forgo meat for ethical or environmental reasons.
Features
Low-fat, meatless meals feature proteins like beans, lentils and soy. Ovo-lacto vegetarians may also choose to eat low-fat dairy and egg whites. Whole grains, such as brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, whole-grain breads and quinoa, add fiber and B vitamins to your diet. Watery orange and green vegetables, as well as fruits, add volume to meals with only trace amounts of fat.
Benefits
Regular consumption of nutritionally balanced, low-fat, meatless meals can lead to higher intakes of dietary fiber, magnesium, folic acid and vitamins C and E notes C. Leitzmann of the Institute of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Giessen in a 2005 edition of the "Forum of Nutrition." You can also benefit from a lower intake of dietary cholesterol. Meatless meals, as part of a vegetarian diet, may help prevent certain chronic diseases like heart disease, high blood pressure, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, cancer and diabetes.
Considerations
Some dietary fat is necessary for basic body functioning. Limiting saturated and trans fats is a way to reduce your risk of heart disease, but you should still seek to obtain about 25 percent of calories daily from unsaturated sources, notes the American Heart Association. If you follow an 1,800-calorie diet, seek to consume about 50g of fat daily from plant oils, nuts, seeds and avocados. Fat also helps you feel satisfied after meals, deterring cravings and overeating.
Sample Meals
Oatmeal with pumpkin or berries, egg white and vegetable omelets, low-fat cottage cheese with applesauce or fruit smoothies make low-fat, meatless breakfasts.
At lunch, salads topped with diced tofu, chickpeas or black beans are low in fat. Use salsa, citrus juices or balsamic vinegar as fat-free salad dressings. A sandwich made with whole-wheat pita, hummus and spinach is a portable option.
For dinners, whole-wheat pasta or brown rice topped with a mix of vegetables sauteed in a small amount of vegetable broth, fresh herbs and canned, diced tomatoes is full of flavor and low in fat. Many ethnic cuisines, like Indian or Thai, offer ways to spice up vegetables, lentils and beans without tons of fat.
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